• by John Gaffney , June 24, 2003

No Requests: In case you didn't see it, Musicland announced yesterday that it will lay off 59 employees and cut Request magazine entirely. This follows the untimely death of Tower Records' Pulse magazine late last year, and it's a disturbing trend to me. What's disturbing is that record companies aren't marketing products like they used to. If they were, magazines like Pulse and Request would be worried about how many ad pages they would run instead of whether they would publish a magazine at all. I've thought for a long time that the malaise the record business and record retailing find itself in right now has its foundation in marketing. The business has cornered itself. If you're not a star of the magnitude and potential youth-oriented reach of Beyonce Knowles, you're nowhere. No business can operate like that. Even hit-driven Hollywood understands that its non-blockbuster films need to find an audience. So do performing musicians. Advertising and marketing are driving the film business and video games. It's about time for the record business the catch up.

TNN Again: I noticed that TNN has already started running ads for its new programming under the moniker of the new TNN. At this point you have to wonder if they can possibly recapture the Spike TV branding concept anytime soon. Even if they can settle with Spike Lee, they may need to wait until the fall to reintroduce the concept.

At The Buzzer: Now the son of musician Spike Jones wants a piece of the Spike TV lawsuit. What's next? The dog "Spike" on Rugrats?