That is a travesty, because sales are the barometer of a hit record. Record companies define a hit by sales. That mentality is not shared by radio because programmers don't have the means or the time to make that calculation. In the weeks it takes for a record company to determine whether or not a record is going to sell, a programmer's career can be over. Record companies must recognize this programming reality and adjust their promotion accordintly.
Immediate sales are impossible.
Now, record companies are asking programmers to play a record, and keep on playing it, sometimes for longer than six weeks until sales kick in. It takes that long to get records in the pipeline today. And depending on market size, it can take even longer. Record companies are concentrating more on the major markets because that's where the majority of the sales are. On the surface, there's nothing wrong with that.