What if I told you there was a band with a distinctive Rock-leaning sound that plays 100 arena shows every year to an audience of more than one million people and has sold millions of albums primarily based on the strength of an incredibly familiar, Rock-leaning hit song from 1995?
Would you consider it for your station? After all, both Classic Rock and Classic Hits stations are playing product from the nineties.
The band in question is Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and the song is “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24,” which was released in 1995. The same time as some of the Grunge and Alternative records being played regularly at the formats. Yet, digging into Mediabase, it appears that Classic Rock and Hits collectively account for only about 15% of the song’s airplay.
The Birth of a Classic
If you aren’t aware, or may have forgotten the background like I had, Trans-Siberian Orchestra grew out of a nineties metal band called Savatage. The band’s late founder, Paul O’Neill, produced a concept album about the Bosnian war called Dead Winter Dead, which included “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.”
The song was picked up by radio stations in New York and became highly requested. From that humble beginning came more Rock-leaning concept albums about the Christmas holiday, which led to the birth of Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Beyond the airplay, the other notable piece of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra machine is the yearly tour. The group maintains close ties with radio stations across the country in support of the annual trek. I spoke to John Kuliak from Night Castle Management. He is the primary radio contact for all things related to the band. He points out that not many artists play to as many people as Trans-Siberian Orchestra does each year.
“There are only a handful of acts of any kind who play to that many ticket buyers in any given year, and TSO does it every single year,” he said.
According to Kuliak, the band remains loyal to “early believer” presenting stations, maintaining promotional partnerships even when they could potentially switch to bigger stations in some markets. With those partnerships, one dollar from every ticket sold goes to a charity selected by the station.
“TSO has given over 21 million dollars to station charities so far,” explained Kuliak. That doesn’t mean other stations are frozen out.
“It’s a big show with a broad demographic. Any station that wishes to participate with ticket giveaways or artist interviews is welcome, presenting station or not.” That’s because, in his words, “Christmas belongs to everyone, and TSO is the biggest Christmas-themed musical event of the year.”
A Hit That Continues To Grow
Kuliak says airplay and participation vary widely from market to market. The Christmas-formatted stations play two TSO songs, while other stations go deeper. He also says if you roll up the different Rock formats, “’Sarajevo’ is now the most played Rock Christmas song of all, It’s getting more monitored spins at Rock stations than even John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.”
He adds that as Classic Rock stations embrace the nineties, “the fact that ‘Sarajevo’ is 30 years old and is still so popular and relevant should make playing it during the season both safe and useful.”
There’s no doubt that Christmas music in our formats is a tricky proposition. Between the quality of the available songs and the competition from all-Christmas stations, there’s no easy answer. Deciding how to embrace the season musically remains a challenge.
Perhaps getting involved with the TSO show closest to your market could help marry your station to the season.
But the best part might simply be the song that sounds like Rock and should be instantly familiar.
Kuliak points out, “Our songs have been successfully synched with many brands and sports teams over the years. People hear them in stores and restaurants every fall and winter. Thousands of people around the country synch their outdoor Christmas lights to TSO music. Our fanbase is huge, and it’s yours for the taking.”
For more information you can reach John Kuliak at johnkuliak@hotmail.com.
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Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
When I programed WNKI in Elmira, NY back in 1996, we were early adopters of ‘Sarajevo’ even though we were a Top 40 station. Co-founder and drummer Jeff Plate was from the area and our listeners took to it right away. Even as hard rock a song it is, the familiar “Carol of the Bells” influence transcends format. A rock station, classic or otherwise, who wants to embrace the Christmas season can use this song without “breaking format.” In the past few years, I was able to catch a TSO show live. Its the most pyro I’ve ever seen at a concert and a great time.
TSO is a no-brainer. As a Programmer, I was often accused by record companies of having no brain, so I played TSO. That proved to be a smart decision every holiday season. Merry Christmas and continued Congratulations to TSO!