HOW DO I GET MY SONGS ON RADIO?
Radio play is difficult to obtain for independent artists. You’re up against major label and small label releases, plus every major hit from the last 30 years! But when you do manage to get regular play on large regional or national stations it can provide great exposure, new fans, increased streams and some much-welcomed royalties!
The process for pitching music to radio stations can differ from station to station. The BBC have an exemplary process for new or indie artists called ‘BBC Introducing’. This allows you to upload your track, bio, social links, etc to their platform, where a member of their staff will assess everything and if they feel it’s a good fit for a certain programme or region they will play it!
Most radio stations have no formal process for submitting music. You’ll need to get a list of email addresses for shows that will play independent music and send your song and press release to them. (Irish artists can find these on the IMRO website, or you can email me for an up to date list in spreadsheet format)
There are a number of hurdles to overcome when pitching your music to radio stations.
1) Make sure that they receive and read your email!
The Subject is key! This is your headline, your only chance to make them want to read your email, make it compelling! And with so many new music emails landing in their inbox, so many don’t even get opened. Use the subject to perk their attention. Try to avoid the common pitfall “Band X Releases Song Y on June 1st” type subjects. Unless they are already familiar with the artist there’s a good chance that this will be overlooked…. Instead, try to perk their curiosity. If your sound is influenced by certain artists then use that to reel them in. Try something like (for example) “Lewis Capaldi meets James Bay”, or even combine new and old influences to make it more interesting. If you’ve had some notable achievements you could use that in the subject. eg: “Former X-Factor Finalist Releases Single”, “University Professor Releases Song about Drugs”….
Sending emails from unverified domains can often end up in spam, so be careful if you’re sending from an address like info@[myartistname].com. You can use a site like https://www.mail-tester.com/ to see how likely it is that your email will end up in spam! It may be easier to use a gmail address or any other trusted provider.
You can reach lots of contacts using platforms like TuneRelease, if you do end up using a service like this then I would suggest using personal emails too, particularly when starting out, in a two-pronged approach.
2) Once you’ve got their attention… don’t lose it!
The email format should be short and to the point with
information about the artist, with any unique points!
info about the song including what it’s about, the release date, producer and mastering engineer (so they know it’s pro!).
Try to give them something interesting that they could read out on air (make their lives a bit easier).
music should be available to stream and download with no more than one click. You can use SoundCloud to create a private streaming link. You should give WAV and MP3 download options. You can simply host the files in google drive and create a direct download link using this site.
Any notable achievements.
Upcoming gigs.
a few band/artists/artwork pics
links to social media (make sure you have a Twitter profile, lots of DJs tag artists using this platform!)
Your contact details.
Choose the right stations for your genre! Don’t send a folk song to a station that plays pop music 24/7!
The track needs to be top class. There is so much competition for places. Make sure that the song being released is competitive at the higher end of its genre. Do the lyrics affect people as they should when they read or listen to them? Are the vocals as good as they can be? Are the melodies really strong? Does the production and mix stand up beside what’s already getting played on the radio?
3) Keep a business mindset
You’re trying to build relationships here. Persistence and patience are required.
Know and accept that this is a very difficult thing to do. Be ready to hear nothing back from many stations. Be ready for the possibility that your music might just not be a good fit for that station. Keep in mind that radio stations are afraid of losing listeners so they tend to play it safe, limiting airtime for new music.
Focus on your wins, not your losses. Every time you get played is a win. Every time you manage to open a door it is going to make your next radio release easier.
Try to cultivate relationships with the DJs. Thank them on social media, plug their shows, and do what you can for them. Bear in mind that a DJ in one of the smaller stations could end up working for a national broadcaster in time!