Former Parlophone director of promotions Dave Rajan has launched a new music services brand, Never Say Die.
Primarily a radio promotions company, Never Say Die will also provide content creation, visual design and social media marketing.
The company’s promotions roster includes Gorillaz, Fall Out Boy, Hak Baker, Sad Night Dynamite and Avril Lavigne.
Dave Rajan has worked in the music industry for 20 years with a focus on radio promotions. Never Say Die will also provide other services to support campaigns across platforms, including TikTok.
“We see the company fitting in with the evolving music promotions business with a focus on communication,” Rajan told Music Week. “Radio needs to be completely aligned with streaming and social media, and so we pride ourselves on communicating with labels and management to map the success and trajectory of artists in the whole music industry ecosystem. None of us can be silos and we have to always evolve as the landscape changes on a daily basis and report this into radio producers, presenters and music teams at all the major stations.”
Rajan also emphasised the continuing importance of radio for breaking acts alongside DSPs.
Radio used to be the only thing that mattered, but over time it has changed into a big part of the storytelling and introduction of artists to music-loving audiences
Dave Rajan
“Radio is still really important,” he said. “It used to be the only thing that mattered, but over time it has changed into a big part of the storytelling and introduction of artists to music-loving audiences. It can be the jumping-off point to start an artist’s career in new music shows and also deliver the huge numbers and critical mass in heavy daytime rotation for the big pop hits, alongside the powerful exposure on TikTok and editorial playlists on DSPs. This is why Never Say Die is evolving into a services brand offering content creation and social media marketing to give a rounded and joined-up offering to artists, labels and management.”
Following a spell at Sony Music, Rajan spent a decade at Parlophone. He started at the Warner Music label as radio promotions manager and then progressed to head of radio in the last three years, managing a team that also included TV and podcast promotions.
At Parlophone, Rajan worked on campaigns for acts including Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, David Guetta, Avril Lavigne, The Snuts, the GRM roster and Tinie Tempah, as well as developing acts like Sad Night Dynamite.
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