Thursday, January 11, 2007

The (currently unofficial) street team, part five: just breathe...

What a wild week it's been! Bucky Covington's first single "A Different World" [listen to a clip here or here] made its unofficial FM radio debut on Fayetteville's WKML about a week ago, and since then we've been frantically dialing, requesting, voting, emailing, and generally having the time of our lives.

Now that the big countdowns and challenges are wrapped up until this evening, it might be fun to take a little breather, celebrate where we've been, and look ahead at where we're going.

One of the most enjoyable things about supporting Bucky's single is that it's such a good one that much of our heavy lifting as fans is already done. "Different World" will be requested by us, but not just by us; it'll attract people who may not have seen one episode of the show that brought Bucky to the public's attention, but who simply enjoy the voice, the performance, and the song.

In other words, we early adopters might be some of Bucky's biggest fans--but after this song officially hits radio, we sure won't be his only fans!

With that in mind, it's probably a good time to share a few details about the radio response to our contacts so far. A friend sent a very useful piece of information that'll help us during this gap between now and the official release of "Different World". At the moment, she says, many DJs simply can't play the song, even if they'd like to--until it's officially released on January 16th by the label and approved by their Program Directors, they can't honor our requests. So if you call your local country station and make a request now, and the answer is "not yet", you've done your part to let them know that there's local interest. After that, it's best to wait until the official release date of 1/16, then try again. Repeating a request that both parties know can't be fullfilled is a recipe for frustration--for them and for us. (And we definitely want radio on our side for the long term!)

As for those stations that are currently playing Bucky's single as a "test track" or something else along that line...have fun. One of the key points to remember about radio stations is that their local listeners and advertisers are their first priority, always--but online listeners are a feather in a station's cap, and many streaming stations are proud to roll out the welcome mat in the form of toll free numbers and online request and polling options. Definitely an awesome way to support Bucky and have a great time in the process, as we've seen this week!

However, as the release date approaches and the number of stations increases, we're bound to find a few streaming stations that aren't as online-listener friendly as they first appear. (Not every business has a grasp on this internet idea, alas.) If you come across a site that essentially makes you supply a fingerprint and scan your driver's license to prove you're a local before you can participate in a survey or a request hour, it might be a good idea to put out an APB for Bucky fans from that area--honesty is always the best policy, especially in the era of caller ID and IP tracking. Fortunately, these situations are few and far between these days--but they do exist. This is where having faith in Bucky, in the music, and in his local fans comes in. (Remember, "Different World" won a couple of this week's challenges before we online fans even knew they were happening! The song is that good.)

And last but not least, explore the fun of thinking far ahead and off the beaten path! Those Bucky fans who already had a warm and fuzzy relationship as fans and loyal listeners of their local country stations have a distinct and happy advantage now--they genuinely have the best interests of both their favorite emerging artist and their favorite station at heart, and the station knows this. With less than a week to go, it's a little late to form a Meaningful Relationship with your country FM station in time for the official release of "Different World", although it's never too late to get to know your local media for the long run. However, there are future considerations beyond your local FM outlet of choice. That regional music festival? Your favorite country concert venue? Get on those mailing lists now, get to know the people who answer questions, and perhaps those contacts, along with those FM stations, can come in handy this spring or summer when Bucky might be on the road.

And if the high-tech arena is more your speed, feel free to say thanks to, and keep in touch with, Sirius and XM. XM's Highway 16 played Bucky's new song twice on Wednesday, suggesting that somebody listening in liked what they heard--and let them know. That's the way it works!

(The official street team is likely to form over at Bucky's official site, BuckyCovingtonMusic.com, anytime now--hang in there! See you tomorrow morning with a preview of Bucky's WSOC 103 interview at about 8 a.m. ET--Winnie.)

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