Good afternoon, Chairman Martin and Commissioners Tate, Copps, Adelstein, and McDowell. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences with you today.
My name is Dobie Gray and I am a recording artist and songwriter, speaking to you today on behalf of the members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. I have been a recording artist for over 40 years and have released records in many different genres, including soul, country, and pop. I discovered gospel music through my grandfather who was a Baptist minister. Growing up, I listened to a lot of different kinds of music and I loved singing in all styles.
I had my first chart hit in 1963 with “Look at Me.” In 1965, I recorded “The ‘In’ Crowd” which was a huge hit for me. Then in 1973, I recorded probably my biggest hit ever, “Drift Away.” I’m still recording and releasing albums but its harder now to get my music played. In many ways I think this is because radio has changed so dramatically.
A couple of years ago I released Diamond Cuts, an album of standards. It had some of my No. 1 hits, including “Drift Away” and “The ‘In’ Crowd.” I remember contacting over 50 stations around the country to get my CD played. The people I spoke with were cordial and they would tell me they loved my music and to send them the CD. I never heard back from any of them.
My manager put together a list of the most popular and powerful deejays he knew at many radio stations. When I contacted these deejays, some would say that they would run my music by their Boards or by their bosses to see if they could get my music played or some would say that they would bring up my record in their weekly meetings to see if they could get my record included on the playlist. I was always told that by them that they remembered my music and that they loved it. I never heard from any of them.
It used to be the case that you could build a relationship with the program directors at radio stations, and the deejays at the stations would play your records because they knew you and liked your work. But program directors and deejays have no input over what gets played on the air anymore.
There have been a few stations that have played my biggest hit, “Drift Away.” But mostly, my music has been cut out of the playlists on AM/FM radio. The independent radio stations have vanished, and the companies that own the commercial radio stations get bigger and bigger. As that happens, the playlists start to look the same in every market. You can’t get played on one station, unless the corporate heads make the decision to add your song to their national playlist.
The same thing has happened to a lot of other name recording artists that I know; like it did to Jimmy Griffin from the band, Bread. And its not just the older artists that aren’t getting radio play, it’s the novice artists too.
AM/FM radio is still the broadest method for promoting a song and getting people to buy records. But radio has become so limited in what it plays. You tend to hear very few artists’ recordings played - breaking new artists is an uphill battle.
Without AM/FM radio, I have no choice but to turn to other ways of trying to sell my records, like, on my website or at my live performances. New media has enabled me to squeak by, but it’s not a substitute for radio. Even though there are all of these other outlets out there, not everyone has a high-speed Internet connection. Not everyone subscribes to satellite radio. And the people who come to my concerts—well, it’s a lot more work to connect with those people, when your songs aren’t being played over the radio. I have a lot of fans but they don’t hear my music on AM/FM radio anymore. Some college radio stations, who want to play music not being played on regular radio, have contacted me and my music gets played on small college stations. But, radio is not what it used to be – it has become very limited.
I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts with you today. I hope that, in your deliberations, you will take a very careful look at radio and the crippling effect it has had, not only on the ability of so many recording artists to make a living creating music but on the culture of our country in general.
