It's not enough these days to be an artist with a fantastic, broadcast worthy, single to release, that every relative, and relative of a relative, thinks it's the best song they've ever heard. Radio stations and their Program Directors have to feel the same way. If you are an independent artist on an independent label, you are subject to their scrutiny of your ability to self promote, including but not limited to, your touring consistency and your willingness to do whatever it takes to please your fans and the station listeners. Remember, every programmer has anywhere from 35 to 100 artists spinning on their station at any given time and put yourself in their shoes - what would you be looking for, if 50 artists were standing at your back door, all with "fantastic" singles, wanting to get airplay, but you only had room to add 5? How would you determine who gets played? Would you judge them solely on appearance and personal style (which of course is not visible on radio?) Would you judge them solely on their music, with no fan base to back them up and no gigs lined up? Would you say to yourself "...now there's a nice kid, I think I'll give him a break" (and believe me, that happens more often than not)... or would you ask yourself "who's got the most potential to hit it big in the industry and who has that 'IT' factor due to not only their personality and style but also their work-ethic and commitment to their career?"
Radio is a subjective industry and pleasing every programmer is probably never going to happen. But one thing is for sure, if you are willing to get out there and you have what it takes to bring in the fans/listeners for a station, chances are you are going to get their attention in return. Radio promotion is a building process and rarely do all the stars line up for you as an artist on a first release. You will need to build the relationships with the stations that support your genre of music and with consistency and by being pro-active over the course of two to three releases you will begin to see the change in how radio receives you. When you help a station maintain and, more importantly, grow their listener-ship, you become like family; and as we all know, family expects a lot of you and not always at the most convenient times.
Still, it makes no sense to invite yourself over to a station for an on-air visit if you are not, at the very least, a local artist with a a full CD for sale, or a touring artist performing in their town, with a single releasing to radio and full CDs for sale. Radio listeners are a pro-active bunch themselves. They show up at the remotes and get autographs and give-aways from their favorite DJs and performers. Listeners want to know that their fan loyalty is going to be a positive experience for them, either through free tickets to a show, winning a CD for listening or the like. They want to know their "Like" button decisions matter and through them the artists they "Like" will reach a pinnacle of success. Yet they also know, there is only so much they can do for an artist and the rest is up to the passion and drive that artist has for himself.
That said, how do you gain the attention of a programmer in order to be invited to a station for an interview, let alone a concert for their listeners? First, have something to talk about, be creating events within your career that are worthy of attention. Donate your time to their causes, have something to give away to their listeners, a fantastic gig coming up, etc... and then hire a promoter to get the music and the word out to them. Any promoter worth their weight in salt keeps an updated list of programmers and their contact information. In addition, every Program Director has a set time when they are willing to take what we in the industry call "music calls." With the downsizing of many corporate businesses these last few years, many PDs are now programming 2, 3, even 4 stations at a time, which makes their time for "chatting" about music pretty non-existant. Many have gone to e-mail over music calls and again, an updated and current contact list is essential if you intend to be effective.
In addition, there are certain "rules of engagement" that have been learned by most of us promoters through trial and error, and it is through our various interactions with the programmers that we can determine whether or not they are going to take our calls and continue to give us time out of their busy day. Those are decisions that are made on a one-on-one basis and most promoters know who they can count on to at least test a single and who is not going to add an Independent artist, EVER, unless they are a home town kid that has a strong local following. It doesn't do a Chicago station much good to add an artist who's sole fan base is in Arkansas. They need to know that artist can draw a crowd in their town. In addition, every programmer has his/her own personal preferences that are based on their personality and that again is information garnered over months of interaction. One PD may love Country but not Bluegrass and another may love Indie Rock but not Metal. And many times it's not even the PD making that determination, it's the station owner and the advertisers. The worse thing an artist can do is pressure a Program Director to add his/her song to the station playlist when it doesn't fit their style of programming. PDs are very savvy and they can smell a "green horn" from a mile away... some are compassionate and will give you a few minutes of their time and others will eat you for lunch.
If you are just breaking into the music scene and are an emerging band or artist, on a tight budget, you are better off spending a little bit of money on a promoter who knows the ropes and can get the station PDs to take their calls, e-mails and faxes. There are varying degrees and budgets that a promoter can work within and every promoter is different. The least expensive promotion out there these days is digital promotion. The internet and digital delivery systems have leveled the playing field for new artists to compete in the non-commercial market and a small investment can go a long way to getting your name and music out there. Radio, again, is a building process and needs to be repeated many times over for Radio Stations to get that you are serious about your career and you're not going away! You do not want to spend so much money on your first release that you have no budget fir a second third or forth for that matter. It takes time to garner respect as an artist, and even longer to create name recognition. One programmer may think your first release stinks and then see potential in the second, love the third and so on... But once you have earned the respect and attention of radio programmers, there is no other single institution out there that can do more to help you and your career. And remember, there is NO such thing as an "overnight success," and talent is only 1 tenth of the truth, the rest is all hard work.
Be it commercial or non-commercial, terrestrial or internet radio, you need radio working for you, as they will be an essential part of your national and international sales success and SoundScan numbers.
My next blog will be about how to capitalize on Radio Airplay and what it means to the Independent artist and label.
