At 10:35 AM 3/16/2003 -0600, Mike Bennett wrote:


>2.  What allowed smaller labels to compete in the top 40 market when I was 
>growing up?  How could Malaco have a hit with Dorothy Moore's great soul 
>tune "Misty Blue" or Starbuck to have 2 top 40 hits on two relatively 
>small labels (Private Stock and I forgot the other label).  Just less $ 
>being thrown around?  Pre-consulting radio, and PDs having more 
>say?  Other factors that I'm not thinking about?

Mike, a few quick observations.  As you know back in 50's, 60's and even 
the 70's there were a lot more labels and a lot of the smaller labels were 
run on a shoestring from record to record.  More importantly, radio was 
much, much more regional and interesting.  The way a lot of the smaller 
labels were able to have hits in the early days was to break the record in 
a small regional market or two or three and then hope they could keep up 
with the demand if it broke on a national basis.  Sometimes if they 
couldn't, they'd lease the song to a larger label (see Nathaniel Mayer's 
"Village of Love" as an example).  A label like Malaco wasn't that small 
within its region and could bust something out on its own base.  I also 
don't consider Private Stock that small of a label.  Finally, in many 
regions PD's and even DJs had a lot more freedom and even sometimes would 
break the wrong record by playing the B Side on their own.  Record 
companies in an effort to avoid the possibility of having B Side hits, 
started sending out mono/stereo versions of the A Side ;) - wouldn't want 
to have an unscheduled hit now.