Side 1:
Listen: Side 1 (see label above for song titles) / Joan Armatrading
Side
Side 2:
Listen: Side 2 (see label above for song titles) / Joan Armatrading
Side
Unlike the mp3 giveaways as we know them now, back in the days of vinyl, considerable expense went into the decision of free product for the public. The costs of manufacturing and shipping alone were daunting, then there was the co-op advertising at retail and the process behind the curtain: ‘convincing’ radio.
Occasionally, a label, or label president, would feel so strongly and probably frustrated that a potentially important act was being overlooked. And so a campaign aimed directly at the consumer would be approved. This meant overstepping the stubborn media outlets, usually radio, and getting the music into the hands of the people.
One such example being A&M’s FREE JOAN ARMATRADING initiative. The slogan was twofold. “Free” meant just that. These 6 track EP’s were literally stacked on the counters of record stores around the country. The giveaway vinyl was housed in a two sided quotes sleeve that every artist and competitor of Joan Armatrading should have been envious of, as it was all true. The free EP’s were complimented with print ads, both nationally and locally, as well sale pricing and positioning of her catalog at retail. The plan was to concentrate heavily along her two month US tour routing, and so several of the local Rochester accounts, where I went to school at the time, were targeted given the city was a stop.
Personally, I would have chosen a few other songs to include, like ‘All The Way From America’, ‘Willow’ and ‘Down To Zero’, all from the albums highlighted and possibly more immediate than ‘People’, ‘Back To The Night’ and ‘Tall In The Saddle’. Still A+++ for effort.
The second meaning of the “free” of course meant to pardon her from the closed door, almost stonewalling stance that US radio took toward her, a black lesbian playing guitar music to their straight white audience. Radio never did cave.
Tags: A&M, Joan Armatrading