Indie Production - Radio Play?

[analog4]

Alrighty then,

All this bitching and what are you collectively going to do about it????

This bbs has 14,000 plus members--what do you think would
happen if this group was mobilized to direct market its members
products even casually to their friends and progressed to their
local markets even part time....

Locally I involve myself in promoting original music to the local
market through coffee houses, summer festivals and street based sound stages set up with the local merchant associations.
This has resulted in even the shopping malls contacting me to
invite local musicians to showcase their stuff during peak times..
No, this is not airplay, but CDs are being sold all the time and
original music is being heard. I've been doing this for two years
now in my spare time and the public is used to this now..Local
artists are starting to take orders pre-selling their stuff..
You may say "who gives a sh*t about limited exposure in some
northern mill town?" and you'd of course be right..

But at least I'm busy doing something about it on a scale that I can....Just think if half of the members here could get their heads
around to doing the same in their little part of the world......

For better or worse I've made my stand---How 'bout you????


Graham.

PS. Just listening to the local radio station---They're doing an
anniversary party in our civic park and have just announced
a list of live bands that will be performing and these are the
original artists that have been involved with the above project..
None of which get airplay from the station but the community
has come to recognize as its own music...
Take the battle to the streets....

G.

 

[jitteringjim]

Yes, there is hope - ladies and gentlemen.

Being an indie guy myself, I know how hard it is though. In college, I had a year long seminar in Arts Management. A good bulk of this was learning how the radio game worked. Indeed, most stations are owned by the "big boys." In major markets, the hands of the DJ are often tied & the rotation is beyond his/her control. You have to look for other alternatives, namely college radio & community radio. In smaller markets, it isn't as difficult to get occasional play, but being part of the regular rotation probably isn't going to happen. For example: everywhere I've lived here (in the Southeast US) there has always been a local music showcase in the programming schedule of the big commercial stations. Usually a pretty lame timeslot, like Sunday at 8pm or something, but it exists. Lots of time the stations are begging for submissions from locals to play. Exposure is exposure. College radio play here is not hard to get. A lot of college stations consider themselves too cool for big label "college music" so they go for strictly locals and underground indie artists. Just call the programming director or find out which DJ spins your particular genre (there's usually a show in the programming that'll cover it) and contact him/her with your press kit/CD. Small school radio is sometimes even easier to break into.

Man, this is gonna be a long post. I'm gonna try and make this easier...

Jim's Tips for Airplay

1. LISTEN to the radio. I know it sucks, but you have to. Find out about local shows and/or genre specific programming that you can tap in to.

2. Meet and Greet your local DJs. Go to the live location sites & chat them up - If you gig alot, they're gonna probably end up doing a remote @ a gig you do eventually anyway, so you need to know each other. Establishing a working relationship will go a long way to earning their respect & they'll be more likely to cut you a break when you need it.
B.) Get to know you college DJs well. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. Who do you think is going to be spinning @ the "big station" tomorrow?!?!? Kiss that ass, boy.
C.) Get above mentioned DJs complimentary CDs & gig passes. Sure, there's a chance they'll shitcan your CD - but there's also a chance they will give it a listen @ home or in the car. If they like your music they can be your biggest allies.

3. Press your local club owner for radio promo spots. This works in everyone's favor. Nothing like hearing "Live at the Shitkicker Lounge!" with your music behind it. If you've done well on step #2, you should be able to get airplay before major local gigs.

4. Be Professional and Develop Your Phone Skills. When speaking to a program director or on-air personality, "Yo dawg, how about showin' some love for my tracks" won't cut it. Be articulate, courteous, and pretend to have a few brain cells left. Most of these folks have a college degree and don't suffer idiots easily.

5. Follow Up. When marketing your music, it's good to print some postcards for your band or project. When getting play, it's good to send a card to the station saying thanks. Even if you don't get play, a "thanks for your time" card may turn the tide in your favor.

6. Be Determined, But Not a Pest. Repeat steps 1-5.


Who is JIM and why should I listen to him? Well, I used to co-host a college radio show, interned for a short while for an indie label, learned this shit from experience - oh, and I usually manage to land radio play for my projects.

Well, there were lots of other topics brought up in this thread that I could discuss... but I'm drained.

Why am I typing all of this? Hmmmm.... I dunno.

 

[analog4]

Thanks Jim,

I'm not alone....

Don,t forget about public broadcasting and, in Canada at least,
the local cable outfits have a community channel which is always looking for local talent...Ours has a community telethon which
now features local music...

Graham.

 

[gec]

Analog and Jittering real good posts.............. This is a great thread for anyone in the future who may ask ???? about this subject................

 

[analog4]

Not airplay, but these tips may help also.

--some bands who want to do a show in our area sometimes
will burn a demo of say 3 songs and hand out a few CDs around
the high schools and coffee shops a week before their gig.

People listen to these cuts and are asked to pass the demo to a friend..

This does help draw a crowd to the venue and can lead to full CD sales at the gig.

--For singer/songwriters and others willing to do street performances---check out the gig oppurtunity forum at performers.net...All kinds of listings all over the place..(one current listing is for prerformers for a variety show in Times Square---could be excellent exposure for those interested.)


Graham.

 

[Sennheiser]

got the perfect solution...........I got 4 mics and $25..........who wants to chip in on starting our own radio station?

Actually, that's not as far out as it may sound at first.

The FCC does allow low power FM stations for personal use. I haven't been to the FCC's web site in a while to see what the licensing and equipment requirements and limitations are, but I think you are limited to 100 watts peak transmission power.

Granted, 100 watts will barely get you out of town, but at least it's something.

I think there also may be transmission time regulations.

Hey, if you got the bucks and want to start airplay for indie artists I couldn't think of any other way to do it.

 

[Pinky]

bottom line is the bottom dollar

I dislike the idea of someone paying my way. Dependence on others when creating any form of art is the weakest link in the chain. It inevitably ends up impacting/influencing your final product. I'm obviously a proponent of self-production on all levels.

Radio's about dead, everything's moving to the internet. I suggest doing as most new artists are and focus your attentions there. First stop would be MP3.com and the dozen other resources online for posting original music. My current project is being shaped to fit the internet bill, long trancy type songs for possible techno-type bandwaves play, shorter, cutesie songs for more general pop-play. Web site is a must, with quality MP3s available for download (why put up crappy MP3s?? so people can hear how crappy your music can sound if it were poorly produced??).

Make sure to cover your ass, stealing ideas is not new, and be prepared to know the ins and outs of copyright laws, copy protection, and understand that if someone steals it, before calling an attorney, make sure they are actually making money on it... otherwise you'll spend thousands in legal fees to retrieve $2 in compensation....

 

[gec]

bottom line is the bottom dollar

I like the quote and I like the other points you made, however I think everyone is missing the point on radio............. Yes you need denero to get in on a major level.......


..........................but at the end of the day you should look to radio not as cool to be on but as a marketing tool...just like every other piece of advertisement, it costs money....Radio reaches a very big market and NOONE has yet sold 1 million copies without it.....


the Bottom line is.................... IF you want to sell a mass amount of records YOU need radio rotation

 

[Sennheiser]

I think that's the only downside (besides copyright issues) to internet radio and internet posting of music.

It's not force-fed to you like on commercial radio. There's a bazillion songs out there I've never heard and never will. Some of the stuff is undoubtably marketable, sellable, commercial quality stuff that is really good. I'll never hear it though unless it hits the airwaves.

How could anyone possibly ever sell even a small fraction of what is required for gold, when everything on the internet is so unfocused? I'm sure A&R people have better things to do with their time than to shop the internet looking for the next big moneymaker for their label when they have hoards knocking at the door already.

Good, bad, or indifferent, that's just the way it is.

There is no advertising, no promotion. At least none that I've seen for any artist on the internet.

It's too bad it has to be like that. I guess when internet sites start advertising on cable and satellite there may be a change. I don't see it happening anytime soon.

That would be a heck of a market to open up. TV ads for internet sites. Or a whole cable network devoted to internet site exposure with previews and sound bites of different artists. And then on to internet based audio on cable and satellite channels.

 

[Pinky]

Very few make a living from their recordings, and those who do TOUR the country or fall into the above...

I push self-made/determined artists to the internet, mostly because of the odds stated are so poor in our favor, you mind as well go where most of the people are...

If I held my breath for money 10 years ago when I started playing I'd have collapsed by now.

Music for the self.

 

[geekgurl]

Re: Re: Indie Production - Radio Play?

The writer does get royalties when a song he wrote is played on the radio.

Don't try to offer payola yourself. Even if someone is getting away with it, I wouldn't bet that you could.

Yes, in the US, if you are affiliated with SESAC, BMI, or ASCAP, your songs, if aired on the radio, will yield you a pittance each time it's played (but it's more like TV's Nielsen ratings, where they take a sampling of stations in your market and a sampling of time and then extrapolate ... so it's approximate). I think it's like 6.6 cents royalty each time these days.

As for the "payola," you certainly COULD offer to pay, and if you go to the right person at the radio station, it wouldn't even be illegal; it's simply called "indie promotion," not payola. (But you'd want to hire a middleman -- the "indie promoter -- to keep it legal.) I think the must-read expose on how payola was criminalized and this promo was legitimized in its place is called Hit Men. A very good read.

BTW, "indie promotion" doesn't have anything to do with a style of music or label that calls itself "indie." It has to do with the fact that record labels cannot pay radio stations directly; that's payola. SO, they hire these independent goons in their place to actually make the transaction. It's legal bribery all of a sudden cuz there's a middleman.

 

[Pinky]

Re: Re: Re: Indie Production - Radio Play?

It's legal bribery all of a sudden cuz there's a middleman.

Nothing new there, Political Action Committees and lobbyists in government have been running our nation this way for years