Thanks But No

A programmer asks for the newest single from a band. The band's reps respond with "thanks but no." Word on the street is that the band doesn't want to be "pigeon-holed" into a format so the polite response has been "thanks but no." But what if that programmer thinks that song will be a favorite with listeners. Still "thanks but no."

What if a market's listeners are requesting the song from the programmer? Should her or his response be "thanks but no" to them. How does the programmer answer that? "We can't get that song but you could call cross-town, if you like." Programmers certainly don't want to send listeners elsewhere when the request could fit into their programming.

Could the programmer use channels other than the label rep to get the song? Sure. And maybe she or he will. But to flat out not help a programmer based on a format? Seems a bit rude or unhealthy. Especially if everyone knows the programmer can get the song elsewhere and play it anyway.

To be sure, if the band and its label know that it is not targeting a specific format, they could simply be saying "thanks but no" in order to leave space for artists targeting that format. That seems kind. They don't want to take up a slot that the dozens working that format are also vying for. But to say "thanks but no" to one or two programmers' request simply based on format, still having a hard time wrapping my head around that.

Billy