|
|
Five Sure Fire Ways to Get
Radio Play for your Music
|
|
Music industry expert Ty Cohen gives five invaluable tips
for getting more radio play. While we believe that internet
promotion is vital nowadays, it is undeniable that people
still listen to radio and that the medium still has the
power to make or break artists.
Turn those dials and get the frequency right... |
You have to find radio airplay time if you’re going to
be heard and we’re not just talking the local college
campus. The trick is called promotion.
Now that doesn’t mean you just put your press kit in an
envelope with a demo and hope they take pity on you.
Perhaps you call a station and they give you the
standard pitch of, “Send it and if we like it we’ll put
you in rotation.” After a few months of never hearing
your music, you automatically think you’re not worthy.
First, don’t buy that. You’re one of hundreds, maybe
even thousands depending on your city. Your disc will
probably end up in the trash or, for more enterprising
DJ's, on Ebay in a one-cent CD sale. If you want to be
heard and make potential sales, you have to stand out
from the crowd, and in this jewel of an article, I’ll
show you Five(5) Knock ‘em Dead Ways to Do Just That!:
#1 - Get your CD into the right hands
The intern that’s too busy to getting coffee or typing
up a report for the station manager isn’t going to be
the one making the airplay decision. So find out who the
head honcho is in that department and touch base with
them. If the club you’re playing at charges an admission
or you have a show coming up offer to send the stations
tickets to give away to listeners. Now keep in mind you
can’t give the tickets to the staff, since that’s
illegal and called payola, but you can offer free
giveaway items to your potential audience.
#2 - If you’ve got one station in your pocket, then drop
names
Let them know that WABC is playing your music and it’s
getting a great response.
#3 - Make genuine friends in the business
If you’ve got a dj that’s got you in rotation and really
likes your sound, get to know them. Find out why they
enjoy it and see if they’ve gotten any responses from
listeners. If they haven’t, ask if perhaps they might Q
& A their callers about your music so you get a feel for
your target audience.
It’s not a bad idea to ask them for a testimonial or
quote if they’re well known in your area if you know
them personally. People help people. That’s a fact so if
you treat your area dj like a living and breathing human
and not dollar signs, that’s a foot in the door.
Another good source is club owners. If they play your
music and the fans go nuts ask them to say a few words
about your sound that you can pass along to prospective
stations, but be sure to sit down for a drink with them.
Ask them about the picture of him and the woman and two
kids behind the Magic Kingdom. Don’t be fake, but be
genuinely interested.
#4 - Network
Find out if someone you know (or someone they know) has
connections to the music stations. Remember six degrees
of separation - you’re only six people away from knowing
anyone on the planet and yes that includes station
managers, concert promoters and record execs. The trick
is it takes a great deal of work and time, but if you’re
serious, it’s well worth it.
#5 - Go local, state, national
Don’t think you’re going to skip your local and state
stations and be the next Eminem. It doesn’t work that
way. Start small and then get big.
Making contacts and getting names can be tough, that’s
why you should start with a tested and proven music
industry resource like The Industry Yellow Pages - Music
Industry Contact Directory at TheIndustryYellowPages.com
The TIYP is helpful and loaded with contacts you can
start using immediately without doing all the legwork
yourself.
Ty Cohen -
www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com
Back to
Resources Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
