Love to Sing Articles

Ten Tips to get Radio Airplay

By Mark Bee

You are a great singer, musician, band, (insert YOU here). You have a great song (or more) and you are ready for radio airplay, reviews, and super-stardom! Now what. I have recently received an amazing amount of material for reviews, consideration of airplay, and general feedback. This made me wonder if I was somehow special, or if it was so difficult for an independent or small label artist to get airplay, that they had to send their music to me as soon as they found out I was accepting material. Well, I'm afraid it is probably the latter, but ego aside, I can help.

As a program director, I am going to tell you, the Indie Artist (wear that title like a badge), how to get airplay and consideration for your music. Most program directors that I know won't share this info. I'm not sure why...It isn't a secret. It won't make them lose their job, or make it any more difficult. It might even make them out to be good guys, but then again maybe not.

A PD's job is to identify music and programs that will allow them to have listeners, increase market share, and SELL ADS. That is what radio is all about. Excluding public radio and college stations, advertising makes the world go 'round. That being said, let's move on to you and your music.

I have read some information on web sites to 'help' musicians that amaze me. Information that just doesn't make a lot of sense. So here it is. A Program Director's view of music submission.

Tip One. Have something presentable. We all use cool edit or a similar program at the studios, so we CAN filter out noise, etc., but that doesn't mean we will. Ever. I read somewhere that demos or CD-R's will not ever get airplay on a commercial station and you should not even try to submit to any of them. Actually, I read that in several places. It is not true. Some stations and some PD's may not. Here's two catches, DO NOT use CD-RW's, and print a label for your disc, don't just write on it. If it looks good and the recording quality is decent, no problem.

Tip Two. Packaging counts. If I listened to every CD every day, I would spend 8-10 hours per day listening to CD's. There are generally two ways of listening to a new CD. The first is the 6 second scan. A cd gets put in the PD's cd player and he or she hits play. After about 6 seconds, he hits next track and repeats the process until something makes him stop and listen, or the Cd tracks are all "reviewed". The other system involves using the packaging to prejudge the content. It is a sad but true fact that artists I don't know get my attention when they have a printed address label on their package, and it is boxed or in a padded envelope. I don't mind getting packages that have handwritten addresses, or that come in a plain brown envelope, but if I am pressed for time, the package counts.

Tip Three. Use a record company that specializes in promoting your work (single or CD) for airplay. MMG Records and Comstock Records are two such companies for country artists, that come to mind and are always sending out quality product. If I have an extra spot in the rotation, I will often go to a compilation disk from one of these companies first. I can count on them to have a radio ready song waiting for me. No 'which track can I play, what are the lyrics, does it sound decent' questions to answer.

Tip Four. Music talks, B.S. Walks. When I put a CD in to listen to it, I have invested some time in opening, glancing over the material (see tip five), (and finding my cd player on most days) and retrieving your music, and I do not wish to hear an introduction. I have my own voice over people, and yours generally annoy me. I do not want to hear some announcer waste my time telling me how great your music is, I want to hear it myself and form my own opinion. Now, don't be fooled into thinking there is no mob mentality in programming. There is. I want to see what other PDs and DJs are saying (in your material - tip five), but I don't want someone to sell me on disc. Time is money and at my 30 second rate, your announcer has already racked up a bill.

Tip Five. What to include in your packet. Do put in a CD. Two are better, and I'll come back to that. Also include a brief Bio with contact info. I'm not a psychic I just play one on the radio. Email is the way to go, and don't be too cheap, pay for an email account so you don't have one of those freebie accounts (that we all have) that send me a page of ads on the bottom of each note you send me. Include a picture or two, a website address, the aforementioned email and bio, and a one page sheet of who is playing your music, if anyone is. Call letters and city will suffice, ie; KBSZ in Wickenburg, AZ. Now back to the two cd theory. I like to get two cds because of the following reasons:1. One might be bad. A damaged CD is a waste of my time and your money. 2. If I don't have time at the office, I can take one to pop in the cd player in my car. I have made MANY decisions in the car.3. Autographing one never hurts. If you are getting airplay, all stations do giveaways. Autographed stuff makes for great giveaways. 4. The only additional cost is that of the CD. You are already paying for the shipping, the packaging, and vying for a PDs attention.

Tip Six. Start with local stations and smaller stations. If you only send your package to Big Radio Corporation Inc. the one or two people who make the programming decisions have to find time to hear you. Good Luck. Unless you are a regional act selling out 1000 seat venues and selling 65000 Cds per release, it's hard to get noticed. However, if the small stations are playing your music, the big stations do hear it. Playlists and listeners let the 'biggies' know what's getting spins, and what's getting noticed.

Tip Seven. Don't rule out internet radio stations. Many accept indie artists work and it is a great way to get some feedback from jocks and fans alike.

Tip Eight. Find out the name of the person to direct your package to. AT THE VERY LEAST write Attention: Program Director on the package. It could float around in studio limbo for days. If the station has a specific DJ who specializes in new music, or indie artists, that may be your best bet.

Tip Nine. The more things change, the more they stay the same. I got 8 cds yesterday. I got 8 cds today. I'm going to get 8 cds tomorrow. Why is yours different, and what should I listen to. Simply pick a few tracks that you would suggest for the air. EVERY SINGLE TIME an artists picks two or three tracks for potential airplay and writes me a quick note saying "listen to tracks 1, 2 and 7" or "traditional country sound - tracks 4 and 9", it saves me time in scanning the whole disk, and I will take the time to listen, since you took the time to choose. Other PDs do the same thing.

Tip Ten. Follow up. Please don't feel that you should wait for the station/program to contact you. We get back to everyone, but on our time frame. Sometimes that is very fast. Most the time, it is not. A quick email or call, asking for the correct person, and then introducing yourself never hurts. You will get receptionists, sales staff, and rejection. It is a part of the process. Don't burn a bridge just because someone told you no. Also NEVER, EVER buy 'spots' of airtime for promotion of your song, if the station/program is not playing it. It won't help you get airplay (regardless of the sales person telling you that the PD will hear it and may add it to a rotation). It will not happen. After getting airplay, if you choose to advertise you project, do.

This is not a complete list of things to do, but from the PD side of the desk, these are the big things that we look for and notice. Increase your chances of being successful in your endeavor for airplay by following some of these basic tips.

Mark Bee is the Program Director and General Manager of Green Mountain Music Productions. The company produces and distributes the syndicated radio programs Independent Country Universe, For The Record, Blades Of Blue, Wrangler Country, and Music Cross America. Marc also writes music reviews and is himself a published singer / songwriter who has performed across the United States and Canada.

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