Thank you for checking out The Industry According To. Every Tuesday we speak with a different expert or leader from somewhere in the vast music industry — label executives, artist managers, programmers, talent, artists, consultants, and beyond. To be considered as a future guest, email me at keithblackboxgroup@gmail.com.

Today we sit down with an elite promotion veteran from the artist and label side of the business, Gary Jay. He spent over a decade inside major labels before opening his own shop nearly 20 years ago: LAND SHARK Promotion Studio. Within the rock space, Gary has built an incredible career. He and his gifted, hand-selected team of professionals have worked with some of the biggest artists and projects, including AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Five Finger Death Punch, Alice Cooper, Greta Van Fleet, Rob Zombie, and countless others.

So, let’s dive in.

*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.*

Keith: Give us a brief bio of your path in the music biz, Gary. How and when did you begin working with records and radio?

Gary: began promoting records to radio in 1991, right out of college, working at Paul Yeskel’s AIM Marketing. I moved to NYC in 1996 and joined my fellow Land Shark, John Perrone, at TVT Records. We marketed bands like Sevendust, Default, Gravity Kills, and others.

Ten years later, I became VP of Promotion for Rykodisc, under the all-seeing eyes of Bill Hein and, later, Jim Cuomo. That run ended when Warner Music bought the label.

When I founded LAND SHARK Promotion Studio in 2007, I recruited my right hand and best man, John Perrone, to help steer the ship. Rob Baldwin has been with us for our entire second decade. Independent promotion has come a long way since it was considered a “cloak and dagger” livelihood. We are a voice for artists who don’t have one. And champion bands we believe are special and have something to say. We advocate for music that becomes the soundtrack to people’s daily commute, their summer vacation, or their catharsis at the gym. It’s a daily grind, full of blood and sweat to be sure — but 35 years later, I still catch a buzz from it.

An Indie Advantage or Curse

Keith: With all the digital changes and industry evolution — is now the best or worst time to be an independent promoter? What are the biggest pros and cons compared to when you opened LAND SHARK Promotion 20 years ago?

Gary: It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but you’d be foolish to deny that the business is shrinking. Between consolidation and downsizing, there are simply fewer people working in both radio and records than there were five or ten years ago — let alone twenty.

In some cases, that shift has actually benefited a firm like ours. As labels employ fewer promotion and marketing staffers, many are choosing to outsource those services instead. LAND SHARK has been a proud recipient of some of that work. At the same time, it’s not lost on us that some of those opportunities come from the elimination of jobs. We try to honor that sacrifice by giving every record we represent nothing less than our very best effort.

In a post-pandemic world, a growing number of artists are choosing to remain independent rather than sign traditional record deals. They are releasing their own music and then turning to companies like LAND SHARK to provide the promotion and marketing support needed to help those releases cut through. That shift has increased our product flow, but more importantly, it has helped cement our standing as an ally to artists and musicians across the sonic spectrum who want their music to be heard and are looking for a partner who believes in helping them reach that audience.

The Rock Reality

Keith: You’ve heard every version of “rock is dead,” but you’re inside it every day and have real boots-on-the-ground experience from then to now. What’s the real state of rock in 2026?

Gary: Anyone who says “rock is dead” ain’t paying attention.

Look at the massive success story that is Sleep Token. We’ve been pleased and proud to work with them from their breakout 2023 Spinefarm album, ‘Take Me Back to Eden,’ through their 2025 RCA debut, ‘Even in Arcadia,’ which produced two #1 rock radio singles. The first time I saw them live, they were headlining Webster Hall in New York City — aka the old Ritz for us old-timers. Less than a year later, they had sold out Radio City Music Hall. By last summer, they were filling hockey arenas across the country, playing to tens of thousands of mesmerized fans each night and generating hundreds of millions of streams. Does that happen in a world where rock isn’t thriving?

That “rock is dead” cliché was always incredibly lazy. Too many people want to be spoon-fed their new music. Without a massive, curated aggregator like MTV was in the ’80s and ’90s, even with social media and the rise of influencers, discovery takes more effort.

No room for currents?

Then, they tune into their local radio station that’s playing far too much gold and library tracks compared with new music. It becomes easy for casual listeners to assume there just isn’t any good new music being made these days.

From where I sit, there is no shortage of new music proving that rock is very much alive and evolving. There are an astonishing number of emerging bands proudly carrying the torch and making relevant, compelling new music — including ERRA, unpeople, Turnstile, Knocked Loose, The Devil Wears Prada, GORE., and Dayseeker, who notched their first #1 radio single this year. Each of these bands is rewriting the rulebook and forging its own path toward mainstream success and stardom. They are not waiting for permission or following an outdated blueprint — they are building momentum and chasing their dreams on their own terms.

Artist Beliefs

Keith: Many artists still think one PD or station can “break” them, like the old days. Is that still true — or is it just folklore, and the power is somewhere else now?

Gary: Cliché as it sounds, every great journey begins with a single step. Before an artist can break nationally or globally, they need regional traction — and that begins locally.

So no, it is not folklore to suggest that one radio station — or one emboldened PD — can become the foundation on which a career is built. It’s our role to give that station and PD every tool in our box and empower them to break the band in their market. Once that local success is legitimate, we can use it as a case study for other stations and markets: if it worked THERE, there is a strong chance it can work HERE, too. Rinse and repeat.

Radio’s Role

Keith: Radio playlists have generally grown tighter with fewer currents, airplay charts have less significant impact, and streaming metrics are the industry’s darling — so when it comes to new music, what is radio’s real role in 2026?

Gary: Over the years, I’ve watched radio make decisions that are counter-intuitive to its own success. Let’s face facts: it’s not 1998 anymore, and radio is not the only game in town.

Anyone can get into a car right now and choose from a litany of streaming platforms that are commercial-free, algorithmically tailored to their personal tastes, and built with a skip button for any songs that don’t land. That is the competitive reality that radio is facing every day.

Too often, radio’s response to that clear and present danger has been to overcorrect — tighten the playlists, retreat into old habits, and subscribe to the philosophy that 100% familiarity is the musical equivalent of warm comfort food. The notion that most radio listeners are uncurious sheep who only want to hear songs they already know and love is both broken and incredibly disingenuous.

What Radio Cannot Afford

Radio cannot afford to become a tired jukebox with 15 minutes of commercials every hour. Nobody needs radio to tell them the time and temperature anymore. Live and local is still optimal, and what happens between the songs still matters. The product on the air still needs to be compelling enough to sustain meaningful listenership. When radio and artists work together to create unique content, listeners get something that streaming platforms simply cannot deliver. That is where radio can still separate itself.

The magic of radio was always its ability to lure you in with the familiar and then — BAM! — turn you on to something new and wonderful. That discovery gave listeners a reason to keep listening, hoping to hear it again, and it built radio’s TSL metrics. Somewhere along the way, too many stations got consulted into becoming background noise — the equivalent of musical wallpaper instead of the magnificent, shining chandelier centerpiece that radio was always meant to be. I truly love radio and I want to see it return to its roots and become mad, bad, and dangerous to know once again. No one listens to radio because they have to. Ultimately, it is radio’s responsibility to make them want to.

The Power of a PD

Keith: Many say breaking a new song at radio requires corporate buy-in — the RVPs and SVPs. Is that true, or do PDs still have the freedom to pick their own currents without approval?

Gary: That varies from station to station and company to company. Some PDs and MDs still have meaningful autonomy over what gets on the air, while others are handed a list of songs by corporate leadership and schedule those records throughout the day.

Ultimately, though, the goal is bigger than getting a single programmer to say yes. We want true buy-in across the building — from the DJs to the MD, the PD, the GM, local advertisers and sponsors, and, of course, the listeners. Real hits tend to embed themselves at every level of a station and across every demographic. When that happens, a record stops feeling like something that’s being pushed and starts feeling like something the market has genuinely embraced.

If It’s Your Money

Keith: If you had to bet your own money on a new band’s success, which single lane would you tell them to pour everything into this year — radio, streaming, social, touring, cooking lessons, or something else?

Gary: The road to success can be long and grueling. I don’t believe any artist can afford to hyper-focus on one lane while back-burnering the rest. You cannot pour everything into one facet of your career and expect to compete. The bands winning right now are making radio, streaming, social media marketing, and touring all work together.

You’ve got to put the same effort and attention into your streaming strategy as you do into radio and social. Consistent, quality content only matters if people are consuming it, engaging with it, and coming back for more. For rock bands, there is still no shortcut or substitute for touring. Bringing the music to the people is as essential now as it was in the early 1990s — maybe even more so. Honestly, why would you want to be in a band that doesn’t tour? To me, that sort of defeats the whole purpose.ose.

When It’s Not a Great Song

Keith: You must frequently be approached about working projects where your gut or experience tells you it’s just not going to work — the song isn’t strong enough, the band is perceptually damaged, or there just isn’t enough juice behind a project to get it to cut through. What do you do in those situations? How do you handle them?

Gary: One of the hallmarks of our reputation is full transparency. We call the balls and strikes as we see ’em and let the chips fall where they may.

We will pass on projects if we do not believe we can add value. And pass if we simply don’t believe in the music enough to pitch it to radio and attach it to our brand.

That said, not every release needs to swing for the fences. Sometimes the smarter play is simply to get a man on base. Plant your flag, draw attention to the current single, and build toward the next one — especially if that next song has more hit potential or broader mass appeal. At the start of any campaign, we work with the client to identify realistic objectives and meaningful tentpoles. From there, we gather actionable data and help our clients use that information to shape the path forward.the path forward.

The Cliché but Important AI Question

Keith: AI is already making rock bangers that could fool half the industry. After the dust settles, do you see a future when radio is playing fully AI-generated music?

Gary: Christ, I hope not. Did anyone not see what happened in The Terminator when Skynet became self-aware? The idea of fully AI-generated music is repugnant. I’m not talking about a songwriter using AI as a tool to enhance, refine, or flesh out an idea — that is a different conversation. What I’m talking about is a completely fabricated AI-generated song, or an entirely artificial artist, taking an opportunity away from a living, breathing human being. To me, that desecrates everything I hold sacred about music and the artistic expression of ideas and emotions. I would hope that radio exercises extreme caution as we progress to ensure that they’re putting music on the air made by, and for, humans.

The One Story

Keith: Being in the industry so long, you’ve got an archive of stories from successes to flops to outright debauchery, arrests, or insanity. Give us a story you love to tell.

Gary: Well, I’ll save the truly salacious stuff for the book I’ll write when I retire someday.

But here’s a story I’m always fond of sharing.

Back in 2011, I spent two days with Whitesnake vocalist David Coverdale visiting radio stations across New York and New Jersey. David was every bit the quintessential British gentleman — gracious, charming, and exactly as engaging as you’d hope he would be.

All that time driving around Manhattan and along the New Jersey Turnpike gave us plenty of room to talk. At one point, David told me in candor that he didn’t know how much longer he could keep performing at the level he expected of himself. To prolong that, he had given up drinking. He admitted he didn’t really miss it all that much, “except for a bit of the old Midleton now and again, eh?”

I had no idea what Midleton was, so I smiled and nodded politely. Later, when we arrived at David’s midtown hotel, I sat down at the hotel bar for a quick pick-me-up. Looking over the selection, I was pleasantly surprised to spot a bottle of Midleton Irish Whiskey. I ordered a glass on the rocks and enjoyed it while I waited for David.

Hey, Bartender

When I finished, the bartender asked if I wanted another. “I probably shouldn’t — I’m on the clock,” I said, and asked for the bill. To my shock and amazement, he handed me a check for my $75 pour. I sheepishly paid it, very glad I hadn’t ordered a second, and met David back at the car. When I told him the story, he laughed with delight and said, “Oh, my dear boy!”

The very next day, a FedEx delivery arrived at my office: a full bottle of Midleton in a wooden box, along with a note from David that read, “Thank you for all of your hard work — DC.”

No one will ever say a bad word about David Coverdale to me. That guy is a class act.

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