How to Get Radio Airplay for My CD
Posted on July 18th, 2009 in Offline Marketing & Promotion, Radio Airplay.
Tags: demos, djs, fm radio, online radio, radio djs, radio hosts, radio stations
It’s a good question, how to get radio airplay. Your CD has had a lot of time, effort and money invested into it. Or maybe it hasn’t. Either way you’ve done everything you can to make it the best it can possibly be and you now need to get it heard for it to pay off.
Research radio stations that would most likely consider your CD for radio airplay. Initially look at factors such as the typical genre of music they play, which time-slots and shows are most suited to your style or allow new music to be submitted. Even look at their target audience. After all, there’s not much point in submitting your heavy metal 8-minute serenade on CD to a smooth Jazz station aimed at the fifty-plus knitting generation. Unless that really is your target audience. In which case a congratulations is in order for finding a true niche. Go get that radio airplay!
After looking for radio stations that your music would be suited to and the DJs that are most likely to allow radio airplay for your CD on their show, it’s time to work at getting your music through to them – or, at the very least, increase your chances of being able to get them to hear your work.
What Can I Do to Get Radio Airplay?
If you don’t already know who you need to get in touch with, contact the radio station and try to obtain the full name of the host of the show. This way you can direct your demo right to them. This will most likely work best if you post your CD to them as it’s hard to reject a CD that’s been sent straight to you, addressed in full. At least then they’ll at least be aware of your existence, your branding and any quotes and biography information you’ve supplied, if not your music.
Why not, as a backup plan, send the same thing to the producer of their particular show. They are far less likely to receive demos on such a regular basis and are more likely to give your work a listen. If they like your work they may recommend the CD to the host of the show and could strike up a conversation about your work, building up perceived hype and increasing the chances of your work being used in the show.
If you were lucky and managed to obtain direct contact details, drop them an email after a week or two and chase them up. They may have just set your demo to one side and will most likely need reminding that it’s there under a mountain a scripts and other paperwork or records.
Make sure you include a brief introduction to yourself but keep it short and to the point. People don’t like to sit at their computers in the evening after a long day at work to spend hours reading what everyone has to say. People using the internet also tend to skim-read and only pick out the most important snippets of information.
With that in mind, if they have to read for 3 minutes just to get to the part that says “I sent you a demo recently, have you heard it” then they most likely won’t reach that part. If they are interested they’ll read the bio in your package or visit your website. Don’t force them to read it by pasting it into your email as well because they won’t be interested. Keep it focused and friendly, reaching your point early on.
Include any branding in your email that you included in the mail you sent. It may ring some bells with them quietly in their subconscious mind and raise the level of perceived attention you’ve been receiving, especially if they can’t quite recall where they’ve seen your logo or photo before. If they sense you’re being increasingly promoted on the new music scene and you haven’t yet broken through to the world, the majority of DJs would be keen to give your track a play or two even if it’s just to say “remember, you heard them here first”. Again, the all important hype.
If you’ve chased them once or twice, try once more and if you hear nothing try to call them. Don’t come across forcefully or make them feel like you are pestering them. Try to prompt them by being truly interested in their opinions if nothing else is to gain from them.
There is an old saying that goes ‘if at first you don’t success, try, try and try again’. This is very true but not continually on the same person. They’ll probably get annoyed and you may end up spoiling your chances of them paying you any attention in the future.
If you don’t hear anything after several attempts at chasing them for even a response on your music they most likely will not be interested in your work at that time and won’t want to have to tell you directly. It’s time to focus your attention on another target radio host and see if you can get any further with them.
If you have any other tips or ideas on getting radio airplay, please comment below and share your ideas and experiences.
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