It's Time to "Pick The Hits"
A new music website called Pick The Hits debuted a few weeks ago. It's different than your typical music site. There are no MP3s to download or videos to watch. Instead, it's a chance to listen to brand new music and give your opinions on that music to decision makers in the music industry. Music research has been done via telephone and in person for years, but testing new music on the web is a recent innovation. I recently spoke with Alan Burns, a radio consultant and one of the founders of the site:
Chad Bowar: What is Pick The Hits?
Alan Burns: Pick the Hits is a website that is devoted to helping both listeners and the music industry find songs that people really like. It helps put listeners in touch with some music they might or might not get to hear on their local radio stations, and if users really like these songs then it helps make sure that the record companies don't "lose" or forget the artist and his/her music.
What should someone coming to the site for the first time expect and do when they get there?
Pick the Hits is all about new music....getting to hear new songs and new
artists, letting us know how they feel about the songs, and possibly winning $5,000. After registering - we call it "the fastest registration on the internet" - new visitors can select what kind of songs to listen to (ie, Top 40, Alternative, Hip Hop, Adult Hits). Unlike most music sites, you get to listen to the entire song at Pick the Hits. And visitors can listen to as few or as many songs as they choose to.
How and why did it get started?
It was an idea that had been in the back of my head for a couple of years. I wanted to find an internet project that somehow dovetailed with my primary job, which is to advise radio stations on what songs to play, and with my passion for music. I finally carved out enough time toward the end of 1999 to start cobbling this together. It's been fun.
Who is behind Pick The Hits?
I started it...and a couple of people in my company have helped - Jeff Johnson, Donna Burns, and Sasha Noble. Our board of advisors includes Bruce Tennenbaum, who formerly ran DreamWorks Records, and David Leach, the former GM of Mercury Records. We've had great reaction: six major labels signed up on the spot to expose their songs and artists in Pick the Hits. Jive and Universal are two that I'm sure wouldn't mind me mentioning.
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