The position of Music Director at a college radio station is a desirable, enviable spot, and not just because you have a vast knowledge of current releases. To some degree, you hold the power of a monarch since you hold veto power over all playlist decisions. The repercussions of this ideal position are exemplified in you relationships with those who call during your office hours, the one's they call music promoters. Herein lays the fundamental structure of the music director/promo person relationship, and tips on how your office hours can be made into something that is not the dreadful black mark of your week.

Acknowledging subdivisions, there are two categories of promotional people. A majority of them are people who work at record labels, be they major, independent, or somewhere in between, who are representatives of everything that label produces. Others are hired promoters, whose job corresponds with specific releases.

Small Labels
In cases where the labels are smaller operations, you will be getting a call from the owner, or somebody else who handles a large quantity of responsibilities for the label. For the most part, calls of this type are one of two extremes: either the caller completely does not understand your specific radio station, having obtained your address fifth-hand, and is attempting to sell you on something that your station would not play for any reason, or they are well informed and experienced radio veterans who have specifically chosen your station because your playlist represents a musical bent in line with what they are releasing. In cases of the former, the person calling is usually local—as the well-kemspt young man who came to my station with his five song CD of Joey Lawrence inspired pop music—and is dependent upon your attention and is dependent upon your attention for them to receive exposure. Perhaps you have a local show they would fit into, or maybe the music merits regular airplay. Regardless, the idea way to handle these calls is offer advice on how one may pursue their career locally, perhaps giving the person local show promoter phone numbers or telling them of record stores of which they may not be aware. In this manner you are fulfilling a responsibility (if you care to take it on) towards fostering the local music scene, even if you decide the music does not fit your format. If the caller is not local, and the music does not fit, simply explain your format so that they can make a more educated decision on whether to send you stuff in the future.

When somebody calls from a label which has specifically chosen your station—and it does happen occasionally, although most of the time this would involve you calling them—it is best to inform them as honestly as possible as to what has happened to the releases they sent you. If it is a label whose releases have been getting airplay, let them know that you are supporting them and would like to continue to receive their releases. If you are not playing their stuff give reasons which indicate you have paid attention to their release and have decided it doesn't fit.

Most of the time, the people calling you about these releases are firm believers in the quality and merits of their music. In cases where the music does not fit into rotation it is not your job to tell them how to make their music. However, it is your responsibility to indicate how the station operates in playlist decision-making. This can be done while still keeping the call short, and you are helping the person on the other end in their future marketing decisions.

Larger Label/Major Labels
As opposed to small label calls, you most likely hear from these people with a certain regularity. They have been hired to maintain contact with your station and chart the progress of the releases you have been sent. Their job is to get you and your DJ’s excited about their music, and employ tactics (such as phone calls) to inspire this excitement and foster awareness of their releases.

The relationship between label promo person and music director is based on dimestore psychology. From a business perspective, the promoter’s goal is to form a “relationship” with you. The reasons for doing this can be a combination of the following:

• When the promoter tells you that they have a new release, you will connect the release to the promoter, thereby giving the release greater priority since it has a human face (or voice) attached to it. When you see that release, you will think, "Oh, that is what promoter person was talking about!" Already, that release means something more to you than something else which came in that day, something which you have also never heard of before, because somebody who you know has told you about it.
• The promoter can ask you for "favors," meaning that you will prioritize listening to the release, list the release as an add to the trade, add the release into rotation, tell DJ’s about the release, or chart the release, because the promoter has asked you to do it, sometimes regardless on your feelings about the record itself. This works retroactively, since you can also ask for favors, such as extra copies of the release, or other gifts from the record company. It is your decision whether you want to play this came or not.

Once again, the only part of these calls you are responsible for is informing the promoter about their releases. All else is extraneous, meaning if you have a lot of work to do, or don’t like the person to whom you are talking, you can indicate that you only have "time to get down to business." Most larger label promoters, if they are at all decent at their jobs, will engage in small talk with you so they don’t come off as a telemarketer devoid of personality. It is you choice to determine how long you want to speak to them, so don’t feel obligated to stay on the phone for a half hour if the person to whom you are speaking sucks.

Independent Promoters
Indie promoters are hired on a project-by-project basis. Some act like radio stations, picking and choosing which releases they will promote, while others will work on anything for which they are hired. Most operate somewhere between these two polarities. It is an independent promoter’s job to assist the label promo person (if there is one) in making sure the release gets the attention it needs to receive airplay and, oftentimes, chart. While label promo people spend most of their time making phone calls, they are also responsible for various jobs involving the upkeep of their department. These could involve such things as setting up advertising, tour interviews, on-air performances, marketing, as well as spreading information to co-workers of college radio’s response to a release. The indie promo person’s sole job is to make phone calls regarding the releases they are working. Thus, many larger labels will hire indies even if they have a college radio person, the logic being that four people calling is more effective than one. They will reach more stations, and can work on specific stations which are wavering back and fourth on a release. Indie promoters provide label people with reports every week, indicating the stations they have called and the comments those stations made regarding the release.

Like label people, indie promoters call with certain regularity. However, they usually have a larger number of projects to work on, and given they are hired for releases on a week-by-week basis, the releases they ask about will change at a greater velocity than when you talk to label people, who see a release through to its conclusion. Although they have a different background, indie promo people have the same goals of forming relationships with music directors, as described above.

The above speaks of music director-promo person relationships from a business angle. Realistically, relationships can actually become friendships. This is especially true in college radio, where motivations are usually based more on personal opinions and passions than on market indications. I say this to indicate both sides of the coin. On one hand, all promoters are not your friends. I have heard many a time from ex-music directors about unreturned phone calls and general snubs once they leave their post. On the other hand, all promoters are not your enemies. Many are in their positions because of a love of the principles of college radio. They come from college radio backgrounds, or jobs where they have developed a passionate interest in working with music. They want to stay involved in an arena of the music business where they can work with people who care about music (something which, unsurprisingly, grows more and more distant the more big stakes become involved). Thus, don’t feel threatened by individuals if they are just trying to do their job. What’s more important is the manner in which they do their jobs.