10 Questions with ... Mark Abramson

NAME:Mark Abramson TITLES:VP/Promotions COMPANY:Roadrunner Records FORMATS:Active Rock, Rock, some Modern Rock LOCATION:New York, NY BORN:New York, NY RAISED:Long Island, NY

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started out leaving a rapidly deteriorating college curriculum for my dream of an unpaid internship at the only company I wanted to work at - Roadrunner Records. I went from intern, to part time to full time to creating the Commercial radio department here and after 7 years left to go to The Enclave. Approximately six months or so later we were shut down after which I went to TVT, spent 2 1/2 years there and then came back "home." I am in my 8th year back here at Roadrunner.

1. What made you want to get into the music business? Early mentors? First job?

My instincts sent me down this road. I went to college to be a DJ and got the metal show at WBNY/Buffalo immediately. I had a blast but it was pure anarchy! That was great for three years until I realized it wasn't quite what I wanted to do but that I wanted to be on the label side and specifically at Roadrunner. I left college to be an unpaid internship and never looked back. It was all pretty much following my gut and I love selling music.

My mentors are pretty simple. Valorie DeLong, John Fagot and Dave Loncao have each had invaluable affects on my life. Val, literally, changed my life and I am forever indebted to her for changing me as a promo person and as a person in life. John and Dave are just experienced beyond words and I am a better man for having learned from both of them. And while Cees Wessels (RR Owner) isn't a mentor per se, I would not be here now if he had not pushed me down this road and believed in me. (I actually said no when he asked me to call Commercial radio, you believe that?)

2. Too many records, too few slots. What data seems to be most important to you when jockeying for an open slot on a radio station and why? Ticket sales? Tour info? Prior success? Retail? Other stations?

It really depends on the station and that is one of the most important things to remember. Some programmers want to know sales info and some don't. Some programmers care about download info and some have not figured that one out yet. If the station has a successful history with the band then that is pretty damn important for sure. I would say that painting the local picture is most important between airplay, sales, ticket sales, etc. If a band matters in the market then the station should care about it.

3. It seems that set-up is more important now than ever. What do you do to inspire your staff for success in the field on a daily basis with the amount of material that recording companies are releasing in today's market place?

I agree in the importance of set up and I feel lucky when I am blessed enough to have the time to properly set up a record. Programmers get so many records that we need to get their interest and ears early and then get them to spend time with it comfortably in between the first listen and the air date. Also, we love getting test spins early enough to see if there is a reaction to help us get a read. My staff are all really passionate about the records we work and so keeping them inspired is not so hard, it is a matter of keeping ourselves focused when we have so many records all going for the same rock slots that gets tricky at times.

4. Things are changing rapidly in our business. Were it up to you, what would you change in our "system" to give your bands a better shot?

The biggest thing that needs to happen for radio and records to all succeed is for radio to get excited about being the new band breaker again and to want to be the first place for people to hear music. Radio keeps wanting to get more conservative and that sends people some place else to hear the new music that they still want to hear. Sometimes it will be my band that benefits from this, and sometimes it will be someone else's bands, but we will all benefit from the attitude change.

5. Who do you consider the current tastemakers in the Rock world?

This is such a trouble-maker question, but some of the stations (and their respective programming staffs) that I get really excited when they add a record of mine include (alphabetically) KHTB, KISW, KQRC, KUPD, WJJO, WMMR. Now, before I get yelled at by all the stations I didn't list, this is figured based on my respect for the station and what they are doing, their success at doing it and the respect they have among their peers (and the affect they have on helping to spread the good word - thus "tastemakers").

6. It has become apparent that in this research driven time, records are taking much longer to "test." How do you go about making sure that your record will be given a fair shot?

Sometimes it can't be done but that can be the hardest part of working a record. A band like a Stone Sour or a Nickelback can ride along just fine until we get a good research read, the tough ones are the new bands that need to stick around long enough to research and yes, it does take a lot longer to get that read and so if we don't keep climbing the chart each and every week we run the risk of the lose-a-bullet-lose-the-campaign syndrome that can be so infuriating. It's tough but at the end of the day, we do need some indicator in the rough weeks to sell or it can be really hard.

7. Repetition breeds familiarity. How does your label increase exposure of your artists outside of traditional radio promotion?

Well, obviously we need multiple impressions to hit the public awareness, so as much as radio is the biggest affecter of sales, it on its own can't do it (and radio doesn't want to be out there on their own anyway). We do a lot of internet work with our MySpace page and our YouTube page. We still do make videos as we are an international company and get a lot of use out of them globally. We have a fantastic street team and we make sure that we are properly marketing our bands through all the tried and true tested ways of advertising etc. We, like all labels, are always looking for exciting new ways to hit the public minds.

8. Every promotion person has a record close to their heart that for one reason or another never broke through, "The One That Got Away." What is your "One That Got Away," and what did you learn from that record?

The biggest heartbreak of my career is the doubleDrive record. The track was called "Imprint" and I believe to this day that it was a hit, Donnie Hamby is a star and the band was amazing and the record was great. I will never get to find out if it was a hit and the band is broken up. I learned from that, as I explained above, if the full machine is not behind the track then it can be like the proverbial tree falling in the woods, if no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? People heard it but there wasn't enough around it to support the airplay.

9. What are the most important tools/resources you use to stay on top of the rock formats growth and constant daily changes?

I use all the resources I can get my hand on. Of course my primary tools are the spins on the record and what are the results of those spins. In addition, I feed ravenously on the information that comes from my marketing department and other departments and I try and keep radio pumped full of all the goings on with my bands be it on the phone or through my (attempted) weekly email to the panel that so many people have told me they love.

10. The lost art of Artist Development. What do you do to ensure your artist is building a career as opposed to just breaking a song? And does it even matter anymore?

We need to artist develop or we are all doomed! If we the labels don't build catalog and radio doesn't build library then we are building a house of cards that is destined to fall down. I always like to think of how that single choice affects the artistic vision and that we are not speeding too fast. For example, the fact that we still insist on going with hard rock tracks from Nickelback is a great example. Now, I know that Nickelback is already developed and so probably a poor example but we have to keep Rock radio caring, don't we? Also, the fact that with Stone Sour we are going harder-rocking with each single is important as well.

BONUS QUESTION: You are the remaining survivor on a remote tropical island with no chance for rescue. You have a CD/DVD player with endless power. What five CDs are a "must" to have with you?

Can't I just take my iPod with endless power? I narrowed it down to about a dozen records, I can't do 5, it would have to be up to fate. But those dozen are: AC/DC-Back in Black, doubleDrive-Blue in the face, Faith No More-Angel Dust, Mark Lanegan-Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, Metallica-Master of Puppets, Motorhead-Ace of Spades, Ramones-Mania, Rush, Chronicles, Sepultura-Chaos AD, Sevendust-Seasons, Shinedown-Us and Them, Slipknot-9.0 Live, Soundgarden-Superunknown