Greg Thompson

Few people have a better understanding of the label/radio dynamic than Greg Thompson, Starting as a College Rep for CBS Records, Thompson would earn a multitude of stripes, including VP/Top 40 Promotion for Chrysalis Records, EVP/GM for Elektra Entertainment and the Warner Music Group, EVP/Promotion for the Island Def Jam Music Group, and owner of GTM Entertainment.

Currently EVP for both Capitol Records and EMI Music North America, Greg Thompson applies his traditional music business background to the digital world of promotion and marketing.

You've been involved with the labels for quite a while now. What's your perspective on their overall business situation?

Capitol/EMI is on a path that is different than some of its competitors in that we're trying to redefine our business model. Once Terra Firma purchased the company and changed management, part of that change was a change in philosophy. That is to diversify our model, being less of a repertoire owner but more of a service organizer.

Service organizers in what specific ways?

This is about providing marketing services to our distributed labels on an a la carte basis. This is does not mean we will not be aggressively competing in the new music space.

How has that change impacted the way you do your job?

It has impacted my job a great deal, with artists who may be signed and distributed by this label, or it may be part of the label's different divisions, be it Christian, Country or Latin. My job is to work with all the music flows through EMI regardless of its place of origination.

Do you feel the dust has finally settled in terms of the label's business hitting bottom ... and it has reached a point where you can grow the business again?

Any time you're in an industry that's reinventing itself, there are going to be bumps in the road. Our road will continue to have turns and bumps, but hopefully the road will start to rise ultimately. The industry will make mistakes along the way, but it'll also make some great progressive moves in evolving the music business that will look a lot different than it did 20 years ago.

It seems that the definition of sale success been lowered from Platinum to gold or 100,000 depending on the history of the act. If you agree with that, has that downsized expectations also been translated to radio airplay?

There are definitely a few people who say gold is the new platinum, but I would say that you have to judge expectations by market conditions. But the truly successful companies study the entire revenue pie and not just SoundScan numbers.

What areas of that revenue pie seem especially promising to growth?

It is a combination of things and having more participation in those areas -- synch, merchandise (or some rights in that area), brand partnerships, touring, etc.

What do you think of iTunes' new plan to sell more full CDs/albums?

Anything that helps consumers have a desire to own a body of work, as opposed to a song, is a good thing for the record industry and the artist community.

What about expectations for airplay and the current level of impact it has on sales today?

Radio will always be biggest driver for breaking music in the U.S. How it plays into breaking music, as opposed to perpetuating music to much larger audiences is the difference. Radio is serving the broadest consumer base. Think of it like Wal-Mart; they need to touch a wide consumer. Sometimes a product needs to start with trendsetters and build a base. In some cases, those early adapters may discover music, either online or through word-of-mouth.

How has the promotion game changed over the past few years as the industry downsized and music radio consolidated and shrank in number?

Promoting records to radio is always going to be a fluid process that will change from record to record and artist to artist. I think the record industry, as a whole, should create more of a foundation underneath the artists and their songs before taking them to radio. Doing so would hopefully increase the chances of success by having some early adopters or trendsetters already on board.

What are you doing differently in promotion to optimize results?

Nothing specific off the top of my head, other than using more viral marketing in the distribution of information via e-mail and electronic communication. That allows us to reach people faster with more information. The key now is to be concise with that information and not inundate people with information overload.

Is it just budgetary considerations that have led to fewer station visits and face-to-face promotion, or are there better ways to get results nowadays?

I'm a believer in personal relationships between radio and record industry execs. Yet we all are faced with fewer resources and more responsibility. I disagree with the notion that we're not doing quite all things we need to do and have done in the past, as I still think relationships are a very important piece of what we do.

How has the so-called "payola agreements" of years past impacted the way to do promotion in terms of fly-aways, station concerts, etc.?

All the labels made agreements with the AGs, therefore we are living by those agreements today. The payola problem is far less prevalent, but I'm not sure that's so much a result of the litigation or the settlements as it is to the reality of the current economic times and cost of artist appearances, etc.

Has the implementation of PPM changed the way you promote your records? If so, how?

It absolutely impacted us. Programmers' lives have dramatically changed from programming for a recall-based evaluation to PPM actuals ... a real-time scorecard, if you will. PDs understand they need to create new hits to continue to feed their formats, but they probably struggle with how to do that and not create tune-out. It seems to be a learning process that is an evolution for all of us.

How has the growing nationalization of radio (i.e. Premium Choice) impacted how you promote to the individual or group stations and how you allocate your promotional resources?

To me, it is what it is. Clear Channel is in very difficult financial times. They made a choice that is in their best interests and what we as labels think of that is irrelevant. Our job is to adapt and move forward. Obviously, when more stations adopt Premium Choice there are fewer stations to promote music - or at least fewer opportunities at those stations to get on their playlist and possibly get as many spins.

The major label hierarchy and the RIAA are pushing for a performance royalty on radio. How does that impact your relationships with radio?

It does come up with some radio executives I speak with; it's the 10,000 pound gorilla in the room between the RIAA and the NAB. It's a very difficult financial climate for both industries; we both would do better working together than working apart.

Are you devoting more of your energies to satellite and Net radio?

I've always taken the philosophy that I'll promote the antenna on a car if it gives my artist exposure. I will continue to reach out to any outlet that will expose new music for our artists. There is a difference, however. There are outlets that create content and actively push it out, and I will promote to any entity that pushes content out. But there are other outlets that just load content and then let the public opt in. There's not a lot to promote to, in my opinion, other than just making sure they have what content they need from us.

What about videogames? Passing fad or legitimate promotional vehicle?

Absolutely legitimate. We're working very closely with the game companies. As a matter of fact, we're about to roll out The Beatles catalog on the same day as the Beatles Rock Band hits retail via synchronized marketing.

We've also worked very closely with EA Sports for years to place our music inside their games. Any opportunity we have to get our music to the public, we'll do.

Finally, what projects have succeeded in this harsh economic climate and what are you working on that you have high expectations for?

As far as success stories go, Katy Perry just had her third #1 single, "Waking Up In Vegas." Her success has been incredibly rewarding after all the hard work we put in. As an artist, she has this huge, bigger-than-life personality. That tends to make for great YouTube content; she also had huge radio support and has been an incredible partner with radio since the day we took her on her first promo tour.

Another great success story is the Sick Puppies. We put a ton of hard work into their last record and now we're seeing them break wide open with a new record at Alternative and Active Rock.

As far as upcoming projects, we signed Alice In Chains, who are about to deliver one of best straight-ahead, in-your-face rock records I've heard in years. We're also very excited about some new artists; Priscilla Renea and her song, "Dollhouse." I'm proud to be working Jet again, who's now part of the EMI family.