how to get your song played on Radio
You think the radio station should play your music. It doesn’t seem like a difficult assignment to complete. You or your radio marketing company must approach radio station program directors/music directors in order to have your song aired on the air.
The next step is to market your song to them using a combination of phone calls, faxes, press releases or one-sheets. The music will be played on the stations that are interested in it. Although it seems simple, it is considerably more difficult than that. So, how to get your song played on Radio? Read on!
Radio Promotion for Musicians Overview
Radio Promotion is hardly simple. It’s quite difficult to have your song broadcast on the radio these days.
For musicians outside of the major label system, getting on the playlist at large commercial radio stations in significant radio markets may be simply hard. That doesn’t mean that getting some radio play is impossible if your music doesn’t have a big budget and influential people behind it.
It does imply that if you ever want to flip the dial and hear your song coming from the speakers, you should be aware of a few aspects of the broadcasting industry.
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Benefits of Radio Promotion for your Music career
Promoting your music has never been simpler thanks to the enormous expansion of social networks and new distribution methods (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other streaming platforms).
Because everyone has ready access to these possibilities, doing so is quite simple. On popular streaming services, it is now feasible to release your music for a relatively reduced cost. On the other side, it can also be complicated because it can be challenging to build up an efficient plan that isn’t overly laborious and risky.
There are already more than 20,000 new songs posted on Spotify every single day, making it challenging to stand out from the throng without spending a lot of money or time.
You no longer need need traditional media, such as the press or television, to get your music recognized as much as you formerly did.
On the other side, despite competition from alternative streaming services, radio is still the major place to find new music. 20% of new music is discovered through streaming, compared to 62% through radio, especially among non-subscribers.
Your songs can be repeatedly played by listeners thanks to apps like Shazam and Spotify.
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What should you send to Radio Stations?
There are a select few radio programs that will air rough demos and provide feedback, but these are few and far between. Typically, you must submit a finished track to radio stations, and it must be a good-quality recording. Make sure you transmit radio-friendly versions because foul language and profanity typically don’t go over well on air. However, a professional approach can help you rise to the top of the DJ’s listening list. In the end, a great song will stand out and have a chance of being played.
You don’t need to add plenty of superfluous additions to your track, but a little background information will give the DJ something to work with when they present it on air and will give them a sense of who you are. Additionally, highlight other stations that have aired your music, and for local performances, include information about any future events nearby that they might be able to promote.
Types of Radio Promotion
Non-commercial Radio Promotion
Non-commercial radio (non-comm) and commercial radio are the two types of radio. Community radio stations (including NPR stations) and college radio are included in non-commercial (non-comm) radio, whereas commercial radio includes everything else (stations with commercials).
An emerging independent artist’s best chance of success is on non-commercial radio. Community radio stations frequently welcome such musicians, as are college radio stations.
You shouldn’t think that having your music aired on this type of radio makes it any “lesser” than having it played on a commercial station. Some non-commercial radio stations enjoy enormous popularity, and also, doing well in the non-commercial space might cause commercial radio stations to take notice.
Commercial Radio
Independent musicians frequently turn to tiny commercial radio stations after non-comm. Getting songs broadcast on the radio is comparable to building blocks in this way. On non-commercial radio, you build a base of plays that you use to advance to tiny commercial stations, which, ideally, results in airtime at medium stations.
The process of climbing the radio ladder involves more than just receiving spins at smaller stations, it is crucial to remember. Radio stations want to follow the development of your complete musical career along with your radio airplay.
Larger radio stations won’t want to play your song if you aren’t traveling, garnering more press, and selling more music. Large stations evaluate your songs not on the quality of the song itself but on their ability to boost their ratings by playing your music.
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How to get your Song Played on Radio
Follow these steps for radio promotion of your songs:
Compose a Stellar Song:
The most crucial thing you can have is a fantastic song, just like in any other aspect of the music business. Can you really expect a DJ to play your music if you don’t put any effort into writing it and are spreading unthought-out music?
Sure, you might be able to take a halfway decent song, promote it heavily with a few independent stations, and gain a little airplay. Even now, you can find ways to pay to get your song aired on the radio.
All of this, though, is essentially useless if your song isn’t worth listening to. Gaining new fans is the major goal of being played on the radio, and this won’t happen if your music is unappealing. Therefore, be sure that the work you are presenting is the greatest that it can be.
The answer is to give your music the consideration it merits when you are composing. People will be able to tell whether you’re passionate and confident in the music you’re producing, and they’ll remember your tunes.
Properly Record your Music:
The quality of the song’s recording comes in right after songwriting as the most crucial factor when trying to get radio play.
You may have a fantastic song, but radio hosts hear a ton of fantastic music every day, thus this is insufficient. They will typically prefer the better production when comparing two tracks.
Having a top-notch recording of your own is the only way to truly compete with all the high-quality music already available. It’s a prevalent misconception that studio-quality recordings are too expensive to be bothersome. Therefore, the independent artist typically stays away from this.
But nothing could be further from the truth than that. In fact, a variety of internet choices have emerged in recent years that put professional productions well within the budget of independent musicians.
Once you have a well-recorded song, it is much simpler for industry pros to understand your music. If you do, the possibilities that come your way will joyfully surprise you.
Sign Up With A Pro:
You may begin to receive a respectable amount of royalties if you are successful in getting your song played on the radio. However, you must register with a performance rights organization in order to be eligible to receive these payments.
These are businesses that collect royalties on behalf of the musicians and distribute them to the songwriters.
Even if you haven’t started yet, approaching radio stations with your music is a crucial step you should do right now. In this manner, you’ll be able to begin receiving royalties as soon as you have even a hint of success. Read further for more tips on how to get your song played on Radio.
Focus On The Right Radio Stations:
It makes no sense to pursue a radio station that plays mostly metal if you are a country performer. Your song has little possibility of being played, and it also seems insulting to the radio station. It demonstrates that you didn’t take the time to learn about them.
There is little possibility that they will feel obligated to repay the favor if you don’t care about getting to know them. Therefore, these situations typically result in the artists’ emails being blacklisted as spam.
If you don’t want to get to know someone, there’s little likelihood that they’ll feel obligated to do the same for you. Therefore, these situations typically result in the artists’ emails being blacklisted as spam.
The size of the radio station is comparable. Even though you might desire your song to be aired on a popular radio station, many of these broadcasters that play pop hits only play songs that are commercial successes and are at the top of the charts.
Submit in Cassette Tape or Required Format:
Although mix tape submissions are mostly a thing of the past, most radio stations still have a preferred format for music contributions.
There is a particular format for submitting songs to almost every radio station. Some stations even go so far as to require their musicians to create and submit profiles on a specific portal.
For the majority of stations, it’s much easier, and they might merely ask for a particular file type, such a.WAV or.MP3, with a set sampling rate, bit depth, and volume level.
You may need to do a little research to find out how to submit your song to a certain radio station. Therefore, there is never any damage in emailing a radio firm to inquire about their requirements.
Make an incredible Press Kit:
There’s a strong probability the radio station knows very little about you if you’re a smaller independent band. Therefore, sending the station an attractive electronic press kit is a terrific approach to introduce oneself.
An electronic press kit, or EPK, is a one-page summary of the distinctive qualities that make up your band. It ought to include publicity images, your biography, music (obviously), videos, and anything else the station ought to know about you.
This makes it easier for them to connect with your songs even before they have listened to them. Read further for more tips on how to get your song played on Radio.
Send Well-informed, Private Emails:
The more you can do to differentiate yourself from the plethora of other musicians contacting radio stations, the better.
Therefore, be careful not to copy the same bland email to each radio station. This gives the impression that you don’t really care about who supports you and is simple to pick up on. You’re just hoping someone will be interested in your music by sending it to as many people as you can.
Instead, spend a little time doing some research on the person you are emailing. Discover the email recipient’s names, listen to some of the station’s radio shows, and look up some of the bands they have previously highlighted.
You’ll gain their respect right away if you mention that you’ve heard their music and explain how it connects with what they’ve done in the past.
Follow-up:
Whenever you communicate with someone in the music industry, it’s a good idea to follow up on your emails if you don’t hear back.
Obviously, this does not entail bombarding the contact’s mailbox with emails every day. On the other hand, if a week or two pass without them responding, it’s completely acceptable to send them a quick follow-up email to see if they’ve had a chance to read your email.
Every day, these people receive hundreds of emails. So there’s a strong chance they either didn’t see your message or haven’t had a chance to read it yet. The procedure will move more quickly if you are gently persistent and stand out from the competition.
Frequently Asked Questions about Songs Radio Promotion
What price does it take to have your music played on the radio?
Depending on the market, the duration of the advertisement, and the size of the listening population, radio advertising can cost anywhere from $200 to $5,000 each week. Depending on the inclusions—such as music, voice actors, and editing—the cost of producing radio commercials ranges from $1,000 to $2,500. However, some stations have internal resources that can help you save money.
What is the duration of Songs Royalties?
If a recording agreement specifies that royalties will be paid to musicians from these secondary use fees and the original recorded performance is covered by that agreement, then this is the case. As of right now, sound recordings released in 1963 or later have a 70-year copyright period.
How much does each radio play of a song cost?
If a classical work is performed as part of a local commercial radio feature, each performance will be compensated at a minimum rate of 32 cents per minute for all participants.
When a Music is played on the Radio, who is Compensated?
One of the three performing rights organizations (PROs)—ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC—issues broadcast licenses for almost all music you've ever heard. You are not permitted to broadcast any music on your station unless it has a PRO licensing.
Final Words on Radio Promotion
Approaching radio stations that are appropriate for the stage of your career that you are in is the greatest strategy to get your song played on the radio. If you’re just getting started in radio, concentrate on non-communications and move up from there.
Some musicians may never get their songs aired outside of college radio and still succeed in their careers. Create a manageable, realistic radio campaign, and you’ll start to see success on the air.
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