DIY Radio Promotion:
Many an Independent Artist have heard at least one story of a band being "ripped off" by unscrupulous promoters, saying they will get radio airplay once you hand over thousands of dollars to their company. But what they don't tell you is that independent artists rarely get enough airplay to make a song a "hit" and the life of the record will meet it's maker, usually before it's even had a chance to grow wings, with little sales or download increases to monetize the expense. So how does an artist, on a budget, go about getting radio airplay that leaves a little meat on the bone?
First things first, it must be a well recorded project, well mastered, and be in broadcast quality format for radio to even pay attention. Assuming all that is in place, you now need to decide who your target audience is. A well defined concept of who you are as an artist/band will naturally define your audience. Are you a vegan who loves the outdoors and sings acoustically from mountaintops? Are you a hard driving rock band with heavy electric guitar rifts and pounding down beats? Are you sentimental and heartfelt with lyrically driven songs? You catch my drift, right? Chances are, if YOU like your music, then wherever you like to shop, eat, vacation, drink etc... you will find like minded fans. Even a frequented favorite hardware store may allow you to put up a poster of your next gig.
As mentioned in previous blogs, artists are, in this day and digital age, and even since the first phonograph record was pressed, responsible for building their own fan-base and engaging those fans to support their career. Building your fan-base will be part of your job until the day you put down the mic, so from the beginning, embrace it, and love it, or get out of the business.
Your own hometown is an obvious place to start. Many radio stations save spins for local bands and a quick phone call to your favorite station's receptionist should give you an idea if that station is worth pursuing. If not, go to the station broadcasting just outside of your area and try again. Once you get a "yes, we spin local artists," find out who to address your package to and send off a copy of your CD along with a personal note and a One Sheet (see hyperlink for ideas) informing the programmer about who you are as an artist, who your fans are, etc... Once the station has been serviced it's time to engage your fans, make announcements at live gigs, post on your social media networks, create personal videos and any other means necessary to help raise awareness that you are going for radio airplay. The Smartphone camera is as good as any for making a 30 second "shameless self promotion" video while engaging your fans with a behind the scenes view of your world. Keep them wanting more... and never forget to ask for their help. Don't assume they know what to do, be the leader and tell them what you need, and again, ask for their help!
Request lines are generally always open at a station, (with 24/7 access on a station's website,) and fans can help push an artist by simply requesting that their favorite station play the record. Be careful that your fans don't solicite stations outside of where they actually live, unless it is an internet station, programmers know when this is being done and they will black-ball you quicker than you can blink an eye. Programmers want to hear from their actual listeners, not every fan you have. Some fans may need to be reminded to not be too over zealous about their "love" of the band... a once or twice a week call-in request is usually enough to get a DJ or Programmer's attention. Calling in every day will be considered annoying and can work against the artist instead of help. Using the radio station website to request songs is another story... once a day is more than acceptable online, and in fact encouraged, as it adds traffic hits to the stations website, and helps promote their advertisers. Find your niche and stick with it until your fan base is firmly in place; target, engage and connect with them, and then branch out from there.
But what if a fan lives out of town and the station doesn't have the record, you may ask? The chances of a staff member seeking out how to get the record is slim to none. It is the artist's job to ensure the record is readily available, in broadcast quality, as a digital download or on an industry compilation disc that the station is known to receive. A small number of stations will accept an MP3, usually when it's a student programmer or a single person staffed station. Most larger stations won't risk viruses and will automatically delete email with attachments.
Creating a Digital / Electronic Press Kit (DPK/EPK) is a good first step and choosing host servers for the DPK that have strong broadcast radio station memberships is a good idea. A built in broadcaster audience increases results when wanting radio programmers and music programmers to listen to you music and subsequently leads to downloading for airplay if they like what they hear. Many college and corporate stations are only allowed to download from specific servers, if at all, so you want to choose a hosting platform that your target stations utilize. If all the station accepts is hard copies, then make your package stand out in the pile of unsolicited material that they get daily. Like anything else an artist does in this business, you must always be thinking of your competitive edge when creating a press kit or packaging your mailout. You have to look smarter, look more professional, more popular and more engaging than the other 2000 artists wanting the same spins.
There are many services that independent artists can take advantage of, depending on their genre, budget and willingness to invest in a campaign and RadioMavens can help navigate the mine field with guidance and expertise while remaining mindful of budgetary limitations.
Once you find out a station is spinning your record, find that station on Facebook and Twitter, Like and Follow them, leave a thank you on their page and then make an announcement on your own page asking your fans to link over to that stations page and do the same. Nothing in this world goes further than a simple thank you and reciprocation. Never forget that your music is your calling card but YOU are the product. Getting your name out there in strategic ways is highly effective and by helping a radio station attract new listeners, you will be a welcomed addition to their playlist.
RadioMavens has a plethora of DIY links to services and sites that can help you to help yourself, and of course we welcome the opportunity to introduce and expose you to our 4800+ radio stations always looking for new music. No matter what, two hours a day of social networking, radio station hookups and brainstorming marketing ideas with friends and fans will take you much further faster, than sitting around aimlessly wondering what you should be doing. The creation process is only a small part of the business of music, so be sure and set aside a budget of time and money after all is mixed and mastered, and invest in the marketing and promotion of your project. It won't get to radio by itself.
Abby Montgomery
http://www.RadioMavens.com
615-491-0918
Radio Mavens Logo
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Thursday, December 15, 2011
I lost Dorothy Mae this year
Dorrothy Mae was an incredibly vibrant and dear partner on my dog walks. Every morning or afternoon, when I walked the dogs I would pass her house and she would be out walking as well. She wore a white sun hat (big) and white chandelier earrings (long) and had an 80 lb frame only 5 ft tall. She talked and talked about the day, not so much about her life. It was the sun, it was the wind, it was the cold it was the dark, but her life was not nearly as important to her beyond that moment.
One day I was walking my dog and I saw 5 cars in front of her house, I knew something was wrong... and I had felt it coming for a few weeks. A week went by before I finally cornered a relative in his car, napping, and I asked him "is everything OK with Dorothy?" and he said "No, we don't expect her to make it." I knew that none of her family knew me, but I knew her... But I also knew, this was a private time - one delegated to family members, not casual aquaintences, but OH, I wanted to be there - I wanted to hug her and thank her and embelish on those small moments, walking the dogs, that were ours. I wanted to share with her how her white hat and white earrings always brought out beauty in her. She knew they did, and that's why she wore them. I wanted to remind her of that - I wanted to give her a hug, goodbye. I wasn't invited, there for I didn't, but I wont make the same mistake with Wanda.
She lives across the street from Dorothy Mae. She heard what happened but is suffering from dementia and forgets things. But she now walks with me and the dogs. And she knows she's the next one to go on the street. She said to me, as I walked her back up her driveway, "I''m going to see my husband again - it won't be like this, but it will be better. We'll all be happy again." And I know she's right, and I want to give her that hug before she goes, and I want to ask her to look up my grandparents, my father, my friends and my aquaintences, and let them know, I too am coming. Maybe not this year, maybe not this decade, but I'm coming...
One day I was walking my dog and I saw 5 cars in front of her house, I knew something was wrong... and I had felt it coming for a few weeks. A week went by before I finally cornered a relative in his car, napping, and I asked him "is everything OK with Dorothy?" and he said "No, we don't expect her to make it." I knew that none of her family knew me, but I knew her... But I also knew, this was a private time - one delegated to family members, not casual aquaintences, but OH, I wanted to be there - I wanted to hug her and thank her and embelish on those small moments, walking the dogs, that were ours. I wanted to share with her how her white hat and white earrings always brought out beauty in her. She knew they did, and that's why she wore them. I wanted to remind her of that - I wanted to give her a hug, goodbye. I wasn't invited, there for I didn't, but I wont make the same mistake with Wanda.
She lives across the street from Dorothy Mae. She heard what happened but is suffering from dementia and forgets things. But she now walks with me and the dogs. And she knows she's the next one to go on the street. She said to me, as I walked her back up her driveway, "I''m going to see my husband again - it won't be like this, but it will be better. We'll all be happy again." And I know she's right, and I want to give her that hug before she goes, and I want to ask her to look up my grandparents, my father, my friends and my aquaintences, and let them know, I too am coming. Maybe not this year, maybe not this decade, but I'm coming...
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Capitalizing On Radio Airplay And Promotion
It's important to understand a very basic principle; radio is a PARTNER in your career as an artist! Although most partners will voice opinions about how to operate your business, radio rarely does. On top of that, you only get one chance to make a great first impression. Radio wants to know you are actively trying to increase their listener-ship by actively building your own fan base, and that is the symbiotic relationship that they rely on when deciding who gets their spins.
Given that information, and assuming you are ready to embark on radio promotion, there are several steps that need to be taken in order to have the best shot at getting royalties and downloads.
#1: Embed your metadata in the mastering process. CDs will carry a layer of metadata about the recordings such as dates, artist, genre, copyright owner, etc. The metadata, not normally displayed by CD players, can be accessed and displayed by specialized music playback and/or editing applications. It is all too common for radio to receive a CD, they put it in their computer, the track name comes up as Track 01, with the artist and album columns blank (unknown). What that means is when they get ready to report their playlist to the PROs or Sound Exchange, it will show segments of airplay with the report "Artist Unknown." If you expect the MD or PD to type in your info by hand, take off your rose colored glasses and put yourself in their shoes. They don't care if you don't care, plain and simple.
#2: Register with Sound Exchange and the PROs as an Artist, Label and Publisher. If you are not registered how will they know where to send the royalty check? It's your job to sign the forms, assign a SS# to your accounts and instruct them on how you wish to be paid. Trust me, they aren't going to seek you out - they make interest on the money that is not distributed so why would they? Don't wait, go register!
#3: Fan Base, Fan Base, Fan Base! As a solo artist, "1000 True Fans" equals on the average, $100,000 a year in income. If each of those True Fans spends $100 a year on your concerts, CDs, T-shirts, Hats, DVDs etc... you will achieve a decent living from those sales. There are close to 7 billion people on the planet earth and all you need are 1000 of them to Tweet about you, Facebook you, come to your gigs and buy whatever you put out that is new, and you are making a living. The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website. This small circle of diehard fans, which can provide you with a living, is surrounded by concentric circles of Lesser Fans. These folks will not purchase everything you do, and may not seek out direct contact, but they will buy much of what you produce. The processes you develop to feed your True Fans will also nurture Lesser Fans. As you acquire new True Fans, you can also add many more Lesser Fans. If you keep going, you may indeed end up with millions of fans and reach a hit. I don't know of any artist who is not interested in having a million fans.
#4: Put those fans to work. Tell them what you need them to do. Tell them to tell their friends to "like" your Facebook page, "fan" your ReverbNation site, call their local radio station and request your song, email their favorite internet station and rave about you, play your music on LastFM and "scrobble" it, repost your gigs on their pages, etc... etc...
#5: Create a promotion for radio that ties into their favorite charity or local non-profit. Give radio a reason to spin you, other than the obvious - that "they LOVE your song!" Royalty from radio is directly related to how many spins you are getting from terrestrial radio and how many streams are picked up on internet radio. Your fans can make all the difference in how much airplay you get, but by partnering with radio on a "Good Will" project, this gives them even more incentive to support your music.
#6: Submit your music to as many online music libraries as you can find - Start up your own personal radio playlists on as many sites as possible - Slacker, LastFM, Cloud, etc... Be actively played as often as possible.
Although there are many ways to build a music career, let's face it, even if all you get the first year is enough money to replace the bad transmission in your overworked touring van, you're ahead of the game...
Given that information, and assuming you are ready to embark on radio promotion, there are several steps that need to be taken in order to have the best shot at getting royalties and downloads.
#1: Embed your metadata in the mastering process. CDs will carry a layer of metadata about the recordings such as dates, artist, genre, copyright owner, etc. The metadata, not normally displayed by CD players, can be accessed and displayed by specialized music playback and/or editing applications. It is all too common for radio to receive a CD, they put it in their computer, the track name comes up as Track 01, with the artist and album columns blank (unknown). What that means is when they get ready to report their playlist to the PROs or Sound Exchange, it will show segments of airplay with the report "Artist Unknown." If you expect the MD or PD to type in your info by hand, take off your rose colored glasses and put yourself in their shoes. They don't care if you don't care, plain and simple.
#2: Register with Sound Exchange and the PROs as an Artist, Label and Publisher. If you are not registered how will they know where to send the royalty check? It's your job to sign the forms, assign a SS# to your accounts and instruct them on how you wish to be paid. Trust me, they aren't going to seek you out - they make interest on the money that is not distributed so why would they? Don't wait, go register!
#3: Fan Base, Fan Base, Fan Base! As a solo artist, "1000 True Fans" equals on the average, $100,000 a year in income. If each of those True Fans spends $100 a year on your concerts, CDs, T-shirts, Hats, DVDs etc... you will achieve a decent living from those sales. There are close to 7 billion people on the planet earth and all you need are 1000 of them to Tweet about you, Facebook you, come to your gigs and buy whatever you put out that is new, and you are making a living. The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website. This small circle of diehard fans, which can provide you with a living, is surrounded by concentric circles of Lesser Fans. These folks will not purchase everything you do, and may not seek out direct contact, but they will buy much of what you produce. The processes you develop to feed your True Fans will also nurture Lesser Fans. As you acquire new True Fans, you can also add many more Lesser Fans. If you keep going, you may indeed end up with millions of fans and reach a hit. I don't know of any artist who is not interested in having a million fans.
#4: Put those fans to work. Tell them what you need them to do. Tell them to tell their friends to "like" your Facebook page, "fan" your ReverbNation site, call their local radio station and request your song, email their favorite internet station and rave about you, play your music on LastFM and "scrobble" it, repost your gigs on their pages, etc... etc...
#5: Create a promotion for radio that ties into their favorite charity or local non-profit. Give radio a reason to spin you, other than the obvious - that "they LOVE your song!" Royalty from radio is directly related to how many spins you are getting from terrestrial radio and how many streams are picked up on internet radio. Your fans can make all the difference in how much airplay you get, but by partnering with radio on a "Good Will" project, this gives them even more incentive to support your music.
#6: Submit your music to as many online music libraries as you can find - Start up your own personal radio playlists on as many sites as possible - Slacker, LastFM, Cloud, etc... Be actively played as often as possible.
Although there are many ways to build a music career, let's face it, even if all you get the first year is enough money to replace the bad transmission in your overworked touring van, you're ahead of the game...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
YouTube - Sean Hayes - "Powerful Stuff"
What is it about this guys voice that is so delicious? YouTube - Sean Hayes - "Powerful Stuff"
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Americana Radio: Mary Beth Cross "Before I Go" - Stream/Download
This is a CD worth grabbing of folk music from around the world reproduced by Mary Beth Cross, a fine folk singer in her own right. I find it feminine and complex - cool stuff Gmail - Americana Radio: Mary Beth Cross "Before I Go" - Stream/Download - radiomavens@gmail.com
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
NIXA Country (40)
Awesome radio station playing Country and supporting Independent Artists!!! NIXA Country (40)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
JAZZRADIO.com - About JazzRadio
If you like Jazz music you're probably going to like this online station....JAZZRADIO.com - About JazzRadio
Thursday, May 12, 2011
YouTube Launches Top 100 Chart for Music
YouTube says: The YouTube 100 measures song traffic across official music videos, user-uploaded videos and viral debuts, and uses this data to provide a holistic view of song popularity. The new chart is published weekly, and shines a new light on the YouTube community’s engagement and creativity.
The YouTube music chart is located on the YouTube Music page. Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and other pop stars fill out most of the list, but there is defiantly some classic YouTube oddities such as “Darth Vader vs Hitler. Epic Rap Battles of History 2” that made the list.
Do you think this is good for indie artists or just another way to promote mainstream music?"
My answer to that is this...
There are several sites I have seen that are combining “Mainstream” and “Indie” numbers in charts etc. The problem with this is it’s like comparing AAA baseball attendance with Pro ball playoff ticket sales – they have nothing in common. Charts should be indicators of the strengths and weaknesses of “like” competitors. You wouldn’t put a welterweight boxer in a ring with a heavy weight boxer and expect a fair fight. The problem is we don’t have a way of honestly measuring one artist against another in order to more fairly categorize them yet. What determines the difference between an Indie, a Major Indie and a Major artist? When we come up with that answer we will have created a more fair charting system that all artists will appreciate.
The YouTube music chart is located on the YouTube Music page. Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and other pop stars fill out most of the list, but there is defiantly some classic YouTube oddities such as “Darth Vader vs Hitler. Epic Rap Battles of History 2” that made the list.
Do you think this is good for indie artists or just another way to promote mainstream music?"
My answer to that is this...
There are several sites I have seen that are combining “Mainstream” and “Indie” numbers in charts etc. The problem with this is it’s like comparing AAA baseball attendance with Pro ball playoff ticket sales – they have nothing in common. Charts should be indicators of the strengths and weaknesses of “like” competitors. You wouldn’t put a welterweight boxer in a ring with a heavy weight boxer and expect a fair fight. The problem is we don’t have a way of honestly measuring one artist against another in order to more fairly categorize them yet. What determines the difference between an Indie, a Major Indie and a Major artist? When we come up with that answer we will have created a more fair charting system that all artists will appreciate.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tennesse Back Roads
I took a wonderful drive today from Downtown Nashville to East Franklin and took some back roads to get there. I was so amazed at how beautiful the farm/ranch land is 'round these parts and how many hidden treasures there are just a short drive from the city. I had to go through 2 one-lane tunnels to get to where I was going and realized it had been a long time since I had slowed down long enough to even contemplate the way time can stand still in some parts of Tennessee. After that wonderful drive I had the fantastic pleasure of spending the afternoon with Chas Sandford and his lovely girlfriend Ashley. We worked out a few ideas for promoting his new album, "Wag More, Bark Less" and then I took the amazing drive back home. What a treat and what an amazing talent - what a lovely day and what a fool I am for not getting out into the country more often.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
I needed to hear this again today so I thought I would reshare it:
"LOVE recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls ---to arrive at its destination, full of hope." Don't ya just love Maya Angelou !!!!
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