To submit music for airplay consideration on Audiosyncracy, please do one of these:
To submit music for the podcast, do either of the above. I'm happy to accept downloads for the podcast, instead of CDs but I prefer mp3s that are 192 kbps.
All music submitted for the podcast will automatically be considered for radio play (but not vice versa).
This page is somewhat audaciously titled "My advice to independent musicians." Having a radio show that caters to and works with independent musicians has taught me something about what works and what doesn't for getting airplay. The contents of this page are nothing more than a summary of opinion and advice, all of which is free and worth about as much! You're welcome to use or discard anything you find here. I'm always happy to converse with artists and/or promoters about what works and what doesn't, so shoot me an e-mail if you'd like (address in sidebar, at right).
I know your CDs cost a fortune and promotion (marketing, mailing, etc.) only increases the expense. So you need to spend that money as wisely as you can. Here's my thoughts:
Do some research. Everyone hates being labeled and I'm no exception. Unfortunately, the radio biz is as labeled as it gets. You have to know where your music fits in the spectrum of radio formats and the various shows that play your style of music. Just because my show is on a college-owned public radio station does NOT mean that I play "college music." I get so many CDs that are the boom-boom-boom of college club music and I'll never play them. I'd hate to think how much money is being wasted by those bands and their reps who didn't do their research.
Spend some time identifying stations and shows that have a history of playing music like yours. When in doubt, ask! I'm only too happy to answer an artist's question about whether or not I'd play the music, especially if you have a site where I can listen to your musc! If I'll play it, I'll tell you. I will generally tell you if I won't play it as well and that'll save you some bucks there.
One other thing: I don't really like cross-marketing. My station plays jazz. We also play classical. If you send me a CD that's mostly jazz standards with an original thrown in for fun, I'm more likely than not to hand your CD to the jazz DJs. I have enough "new age" to promote without entrepreneurial jazz artists trying to be "broadly defined." Radio shows like mine tend to be pretty tightly formatted and, unless you know that you'll fit, don't count on fitting into their mix unless you've got a specific reason to think so.
Build a database. When you've identified your shows and stations, collect that info in a form that will be of use for future projects. Putting your promotional info into a database makes big sense but I think you'd be astonished at the number of one-time promo efforts I see, especially when I know it's an artist I'd happily play again and again. For whatever reason, I wouldn't be included in subsequent promotions and that's too bad for that artist.
Before you submit. Pure opinion here, so be warned!
First, make sure your CD is set up in the CDDB database. Put your disc into a computer with iTunes. Enter the track information the way you want the world to see it. Submit it!
Next, make sure your track info is entered in the database for the radio tracking database in your genre. In the "new age" realm, we have the New Age Reporter, other genres have other databases. One of my biggest pet peeves is getting to NAR, attempting to list a CD as being played then finding it isn't in the database! I've entered tons of discs into that database, so I will, but you don't want me doing it! You know the CD info better than I do. You might be a better typist. You have links where you want the audience members to go when they click your link on NAR. I don't enter that stuff. In fact, I won't even enter your CD if you're a big name label! I figure that, if the labels can't be bothered to enter their CD info, I'll assume that they don't care if the spin is reported or not. Period. Enter the disc info, please!
Keep track of who's playing you. That may be easier said than done, but if a radio programmer (or podcaster) is spinning your tunes, you need to know that! There's a mechanism on the NAR website that will tell you if a track of yours is entered within the playlist database. I always appreciate feedback from artists when they note that I'm spinning their music. Let's me know who's paying attention.
If you know of new age stations playing you but not reporting weekly playlists to NAR, bug them to do so! Having the playlists on NAR makes monthly reporting a snap for the programmer, helps you get more effective spin counts, and it increases exposure of their shows to a centralized gathering place on the Net. Reporting to NAR is so easy that I can do it live, if I wish. Give any recalcitrant programmers my e-mail info if they say it's not possible.
Being an independent is all about getting your music out there. You have to be heard and to be heard, you have to be played. I've been in radio long enough to know how it works. I also know that things are going to change in the next few years. Though the influence of radio will always be a factor, it's going to be less and less important because corporate radio is losing its soul.
Podcasting, for the three or four people who haven't heard about it, is downloadable, home-brewed programming that everybody from NPR, ABC and the BBC to the guy across the street who drives the muscle cars can create. Podcasters are a generally savvy bunch: they know the rules. To be played on a podcast, you have to own and control your own music. In other words, this is a realm the labels are shut out of! The indies, for once, have the advantage! Most podcasters will play your music once they have permission to do so. That permission comes in several forms: I tend to ask my artists outright for permission and an e-mail is sufficient. Other artists will submit music to the emerging "podsafe" music networks, such as music.podshow.com. I've gotten e-mails from artists who I didn't know existed and my guess is that they found me through the various podcast directories I submit to, most likely the iTunes Music Store. Good detective work will make your podcasting experience better, just as it will your radio experience. The best part about podcasting is that you are just as easily played with e-mail and mp3 distribution, saving you all that cost of shipping CDs around. Most podcasters love hearing from the artists they play and some unique promotional opportunities can arise from your relationships with them.
When submitting music for podplay consideration, you should always include the sales links for your music and the most correct main URL. It'd be nice to have a nice set of cover art jpgs for your music as well. Certain podcasts are "enhanced" and that means cover art and links can be embedded into the music file so listeners will be able to click directly to your site. My podcast comes in two flavors, the enhanced one takes advantage of this, though it means you have to use iTunes or QuickTime to listen to it.
Right now, there's no money in podcast play. One day, that might change. There's something of an "honor" system going on now. The podcasters do their best to respect their source of music and the artists trust us with their music. So far, it seems to be working. I, for one, am eternally grateful for the artists who have trusted their music with me in this new podcasting media.
Internet and satellite radio. I don't know much about this process, so I'd appreciate some insight here. If you're a piano artist, you should know about (and submit to) Solo Piano Radio. If you're a satellite system operator and you're looking for a programmer to build an awesome independent "new age" music channel, please contact me! (Like that's going to happen...)
Live, into the metaverse. Now, work with me here. I spend a lot of time on the Internet. A lot. If you have a decent Internet connection and you're willing (and able) to perform live, there is another interesting and intriguing option available to you. Massively multi-player online role-playing games, known as MMORPGs, have the ability to have live music streamed into the game. Second Life is the one I'm most familiar with but there are several out there that you may look into.
Let's take the example of Second Life. You create an online persona or avatar that represents you "in world." You can then be "hired" to perform at events or just in various venues throughout the Second Life metaverse. In order to do this, you'd need to be able to feed an audio stream (your music and voice, ideally) into a ShoutCast stream that's fairly easily accomplished with WinAmp or other freely-downloadable applications. What's crazy is that you can earn in-world money which allows you to do more while you're in the game. Like market your music! Just as in "real world" promotions, you want to make sure you know where you're performing and for whom. Nothing worse than having to open for a bunch of goth rockers!
I'm Jamey Sismondi in Second Life. Look me up. Check my second life page to read more about my virtual activities in SL.
If I were in a position to do so, I'd be a promoter!
Some are better than others. My gut feeling is that you get what you pay for. I can't remember an indie getting into the NAR top five without one, so it's almost a requirement but not absolutely essential if you're willing to do the footwork and willing to stay outside the top 5.
May I interject another opinion here? I'm a bit amazed that more indie artists don't "co-op" on marketing and promotion. So many seem to be reinventing the wheel...
I'll obviously defer to your better judgment here. Let me just emphasize how important a good website is nowadays. It's critical that people have a place to find you on the Internet and a place to buy your music. Not every radio programmer is diligent about stating where your music can be purchased but most will give out a URL where they're known. Your website needs to be able to finish the sale easily and with the usual security assurances.
One very good promotional tool, despite its controversial nature, is MySpace. MySpace, as I understand it, was designed to be a tool for bands to connect with their audiences before it took off into the social networking thing it is today. It's still a great place to connect with fans, other artists and shows like mine. My MySpace page is always available to you and some good artist MySpace pages should give you an insight about how it's done.
On the "getting your music heard" thread above, you might consider making a track or two available as a free download. There are a number of sites, including your own, where this can happen. MySpace is one, music.download.com is another.
Well, that's it for the rant. I'd enjoy reading your take on these issues. Let me know.