Voyager Recordings & Publications
Why Our Recordings Are Not Found In Stores - A Personal Perspective
by Phil Williams
Only a handful of retail record stores carry our recordings of traditional
American and Canadian fiddling. Probably all of these are stores with a strong
mission to serve those interested in fiddling and/or traditional music. We do
not believe that any large record retailers stock our recordings. Why is this
so? It is simply reflective of the changes in record and music distribution
we have seen in our over 40 years in the record business, and changes in our
society.
Today, most of the music heard by the general public is that owned or controlled by an
increasingly fewer number of media companies. How many times do you hear traditional
American or Canadian fiddle music on the radio or see it on TV? Except for an occasional
selection on college radio, or perhaps a movie or video soundtrack, probably never. Some genres
of fiddle music have achieved enough popularity to be played on radio from time to time,
particularly, "Celtic" and "Cajun." Sometimes there will be a presentation of some heavily
arranged "show" fiddling. Good luck in finding any of the great traditional and dance fiddling
that is played all over North America.
When we were growing up in the 1940s and '50s, fiddle music was a part of life. Here in the
Puget Sound area, we danced to it, heard it on the radio, and could always find fiddle records in
stores. The fiddle was a primary instrument then in "Country & Western" music. Often the
Saturday matinee at the local movie house had "shoot 'em ups" with musical performances by
groups like the Sons of the Pioneers, Roy Rodgers, Gene Autry, and other "Western" singing
cowboys, with fiddles, square dances, old time couple dances, and songs. Fiddle music simply
was taken for granted as a part of the popular music of the country.
In the 1950s, the popular music of the country started changing to rock 'n roll and what has
become the "Standard American Band" - drums, electric guitars, electric bass, and vocalist -
began its way to dominance in the musical life of the country. In our area "Country" music with
fiddlers was still seen on local TV until the late 1960s. Country music, however, was changing
to conform more to the "Standard American Band" format, and fiddles and other acoustic
instruments were heard less and less frequently in any of the music presented to the public by the
media.
The media presents what makes it money. If it can't own it, it won't present it. Major record
labels have substantial promotion budgets and use them to make sure the public hears and buys
the products they own and sell. Popular taste is influenced heavily by hype and promotion, and
these record companies employ the best hypsters in the business. I remember the days of
"payola," and knew people back then engaged in making sure the DJs would give lots of air play
to the recordings being pushed by the record label. A couple Seattle radio stations had a
reputation for "breaking" new "hits" by constant rotation air play. This was no accident! I
learned then that it really didn't make much difference how a record sounded. As long as the
recording was "commercially acceptable," it could be made to sell by promotion. The head of
one large record distributor told me "I don't care how it sounds - just tell me if it will sell." If
there is enough money behind it, there is a good probability it will sell.
The record and radio industry followed what was being given heavy promotion
by looking at the "charts" in trade magazines. By the 1950s, I was listening
to radio stations featuring "Top 20" countdowns. I always thought that the rankings
were determined from data gathered from record stores around the country of
what records the public actually was buying. I learned later that this was not
the case. The rankings were based on how many records the record company pressed
and shipped to distributors, not the number actually sold. A record company
could buy its way to a top ranking by simply pressing and shipping a large number
of a record. It would report to the "Chart" publisher the huge number of records
shipped to the distributors, and this record would appear on the Charts for
that period in a high ranking, perhaps as a "No. 1 hit."
To the radio DJs and record stores this was a tip that this record had the promotion budget behind
it and that they had better get on the bandwagon or find themselves left behind. The DJs by then
would all have special "DJ" copies sent to them by the record company. (Often these DJ copies
were pressed on better material than the records sold to the public. We have "Radio Station" 78s
in our collection that were pressed in low noise vinyl, while the store version of the record is on
the noisier material used for mass market pressings.) With the high ranking in the Charts (and
possibly some payola), the record would be heard on radio stations throughout the country, and
the record stores would hasten to get copies in stock. The well-financed hype would ensure that
the record would live up to its ranking, if it were at least acceptable to the public tastes being
fashioned by the recording and media industries at that time. Records that were not backed by
well-heeled record companies simply did not stand a chance of becoming "hits," and may not
even get any distribution.
When we first started in the record business in the early 1960s, there were a lot of relatively
small local distributors, as well as some larger regional ones. The record stores got their records
from these distributors. The local distributors usually had a distribution agreement with at least
one major label issuing "hit" records. The sales from these enabled them to stay in business, and
to distribute records from small, specialized labels like ours. We had good distribution for many
years from these distributors, and many of their "reps" even made sure that the record stores in
their region carried our fiddle recordings. They even made sure that the store had a bin clearly
labeled where record buyers could find our records.
All this changed as the major record labels began starting their own distribution companies
which handled only record labels they owned or controlled. The major label withdrew its
distribution from the local distributors who carried our records and those of several other
independent labels in the traditional and folk music fields, and the distributor went out of
business. This happened all over the country. We went from having good distribution and being
in a lot of record stores, to not having any distribution at all, and no presence in record
stores.
There were still independent record stores that we could service ourselves and through the few
independent distributors left who were interested in our type of recordings. However, changes in
record retailing further shrunk the number of stores that would carry traditional fiddle records.
Distributors created "rack jobbing" divisions that would manage the inventory of a record store
and, with computer tracking, be sure to limit the selection offered to those records for which
there was the largest market. The record industry has always had a "returns" policy whereby the
store and the distributor could ship back to the record label for credit records not sold by a given
time. The industry payment structure gave the distributors and stores a relatively long period
before they had to pay the invoice from the record company for records they had received. The
computer tracking systems made sure that records were returned before that time period expired.
The absence of fiddle music from the media, and consequential lack of recognition of it by the
public, assured that fiddle records would be slow sellers. Consequently, fiddle records would be
among those "returned" and not restocked. Finally, even the category cards for the fiddle records
were removed from the stores.
Walk into a major record store today and look at the bin division divider cards. These cards have
a heading that shows the kind of recordings in that bin. Try to find one for traditional American
and Canadian fiddle styles. It would be very rare today that you would find one. You will find
most kinds of fiddling from around the world under headings for music from the various
countries in the in the "International" or "World Music" sections of the store. There probably
will be a section for "Celtic" and maybe another for "Cajun." Any other fiddle recordings in the
store may be hidden in the "Bluegrass," "Country," or "Folk" sections, but rarely will you find
there anything but high profile, professional fiddlers. Most of the fiddle styles found in North
America will have no representation in the store. Without a fiddle record bin card, the stores
don't have a place to put fiddle records, and won't carry them. They also are reluctant to carry
recordings that are not of "touring bands." We approached a major record store chain about
carrying our recording of Marc Savoy, Dewey Balfa, and D.L. Menard in their "Cajun" section.
This has received critical acclaim as one of the best traditional Cajun recordings issued. The sole
question asked was "Is this a touring band?" With two of the artists deceased, it could hardly be.
No matter that they were legends in Cajun music, the chain would not carry the record.
You will find historical oldtime music recordings in many record stores. The chances are pretty
good that these recordings are issued by labels that also have records of current artists that have
achieved some degree of commercial success. The store started carrying that label based on its
ability to sell records of the popular artists on the label. Once the distribution channel is set up
this way, the store may elect to carry other records from the label's catalog, but will not carry
similar type recordings from other labels that have not established distribution through a popular
artist.
Most record retailing now is through very large national chains. What records they stock are
determined by a central buyer. Some have a section for recordings by local artists who are
prominent and promoted in the local music scene. The general absence of fiddlers from the
entertainment industry, both nationally and locally, assures that fiddle recordings will not be
found in this section either.
We are always looking for and recording fiddlers who are great players and represent a regional
style, but who are not "commercial." In our experience, many of the very best traditional fiddlers
do not make a living with their music. At the National Old Time Fiddlers' Contest in Weiser,
Idaho, the fiddler's vocation often is mentioned as a part of their introduction as they make their
way to the stage. It is very seldom that a top fiddler is introduced simply as a fiddler. They all
have day jobs. Consequently, they have no hype or promotion behind them, do not travel the
country on an entertainment circuit, and so will be unknown to the general public, and to the
record stores. This situation will not change, and the vast majority of fiddle recordings will not
be carried in stores unless and until traditional fiddling by non-professionals receives a lot of
recognition in the media. I just don't think that this is going to happen.
There are a few distributors and mail order dealers carrying our CDs, such as Record Depot,
Sidestreet Distributing, Woodlark, County Sales, and Elderly Instruments. Otherwise, about the
only way you can get our recordings, tune books, and repertoire building materials is from us.
We now have an online mailing list which we will notify by email of new releases, and a printed
catalog that will be sent to you by "snail mail" upon request.
If you are a distributor or retail store desiring to carry our recordings and books, please contact us.
Thanks for your interest in helping keep old time music a part of our society.