#11 – Radio – Part I
Radio is not dead - actually, it’s not even on life support. It’s alive, breathing and still running circles around other ways of promoting your band in the music industry. Sure, there are many bands that are a huge success without being on your local top 40 station, but I can almost guarantee that they are getting some type of radio play, whether it be college, non-commercial, or Internet, they are gracing the air waves somewhere.
In the following posts I will breakdown the different types of radio and how each can help lead to the success of your band.
Part I
Commercial Radio –
Commercial radio is basically a radio station that is for profit, with the majority of its income coming from advertisements. Their main goal is to get as many listeners as possible so they can charge more for advertising time on their station. There are many different types of programming formats from Rock, to Top 40 and Country to Easy Listening and everything in-between. You will recognize a commercial radio station by all of their advertisements, billboards, and commercials that promote their station. One thing to keep in mind about commercial radio, no matter what anyone says, they are in the advertising business not the music business.
Without being signed to a major record deal, it can be very difficult to crack the airwaves of commercial radio, especially during peak programming hours. The program director (pd) is the overseer of all that goes on the air at the station and their main objective is to keep generating money by keeping the ratings high. The pd wants music that people know and that will keep the listeners listening to their programming instead of tuning up and down the dial to another station that is playing that music.
There are ways to get on to commercial radio you just have to know them. One good way to get on commercial radio is to find out if there is a local or independent release program that specializes in up and coming indie bands/artists. These programs are usually run by the dj not the pd, which allows the dj to make the decision as to who gets airplay and what does not. Another way to get onto commercial radio is shoot for smaller markets. You have a much greater chance on getting on the air at a mid-size station in Dubuque, IA, then any station in New York. Granted the listening audience won’t be as large Dubuque, but it’s a start and even the largest fires started with just one spark.
If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll know by now that my advice for many situations is this; “do your research.” Find stations that play music that is similar to yours, find out if they have programming that plays indie/new bands, don’t waste your time making contact with a jazz station if you are a rock band. Once you’ve done your research, you can usually find their contact info on their web site and submit your music. If you don’t hear back from them within two-three weeks, be sure to submit a follow up to see if they are or are not interested in putting your music on the air.
Through commercial radio, you will definitely have the potential to reach the most listeners, but it is also the most difficult type of radio to gain access to. Check back for my next post on Non-Commercial Radio.
A.P.
