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Beating The Odds- How Indie Artists Are Winning the Battle for Effective Commercial Airplay

March 30, 2013
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Recently there was an article by a well-known indie artist’s site entitled, “Radio Promotion- Why You Won’t Get Commercial Airplay”.  There is nothing further from the truth.

Good News – outside the US, world radio plays what they consider is good music.

They don’t care “who” the label is and you can’t pay them to play what they consider bad music. They are attentive to their listening audience and play what the audience wants to hear.

The Not so good news -Every year thousands of Indie artists attempt to place their music on commercial radio in the US to find it is only a racket. It’s a closed system of secret handshakes, pay to play, and broken promises. The playlists on commercial radio stations are mostly dictated from a central corporate headquarters and the songs are picked based on what record companies are “paying” the most in favors, vacations, money, and other various “who knows”? (top forty anyone?)

However, radio is still the most effective way to expose an Indie artist’s music to the public.

In the past, it was a daunting, expensive process. For decades, a promotion company worked in a limited geographical area. The promoter sent out records, tapes, cds to about 200 or so radio programmers in a specific genre and geographical region. There are still old school radio promoters out there doing business the same way. Not very effective, nor does it reach a lot of stations or give the artist maximum exposure.

Radio Promotion in the 21st Century

Now there are tons of companies offering promotion to internet radio stations. Then there are some internet stations where a artist can pay for so many spins on that internet station. It is unlikely anyone will ever hear them since the only people who listen to these stations are artists who paid to have their music played. Most of the listeners are other artists waiting to hear their song played.

Then there are the promotion companies who for a fee allow you to place your music on their site advertising that they have X amount of radio stations. They say that their radio stations are going to go on their site and wade through millions of songs in the hopes they will pick yours to add to their playlist. Radio programmers do not have the time nor the inclination to spend their week wading thru releases to find your song.

So – How DO you get played on BBC, Sirrus, Clear Channels and other major reporting stations?

It’s a big planet we live on. These days with digital distribution and all the many sites on the internet you want the world to hear your music. Not just a limited geographical area. Yes, internet radio is global but mainstream radio is still the most reliable source for anyone to hear your music. Mainstream like the BBC, Sirrus, Clear Channels and other major reporting stations.

How do you get to them?

There are a few innovative companies out there that have stayed ahead of the curve and all the changes. What you as an artist wants is to be able to deliver your music directly into the hands of radio program directors. You want to be able to do this without having to send a cd . Without having to have radio programmers wade thru a million releases to have yours jump out at them.

You want to be heard and played.

So search for a company that delivers a high quality digital press kit to radio programmers that they can quickly stream and listen to. And if they like what they hear they can download it for airplay. Find a promoter who does this around the globe to tens of thousands of stations – one with developed relationships, measurable results, and references.

Indie Artists Are Getting Commercial Airplay – Now

The good news is outside the US world radio plays what they consider is good music. They don’t care who the label is and you can’t pay them to play what they consider bad music. They are attentive to their listening audience and play what the audience wants to hear. So if you are good as you think you are,  find one of these radio promoters who will deliver your music to the world without you taking out a second mortgage on your home.

We do exist.

 

 

 

Artist News Press Release Uncategorized

Dustin Walker to be released on Musik and Film Records

January 25, 2013
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Dustin signed a 3 yr exclusive contract for his forthcoming EP to be released over the next few months by Musik and Film Records.

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Dustin is playing in Rick Springfield’s new movie, An Affair of the Heart. Rick says of Dustin, “I’m honored to be part of someone’s life like that”. We will be seeing a lot of Dustin!

Recent press has quoted “Dustin is a heart throb waiting to happen”.

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Check out the Official Trailer for “An Affair of the Heart“. Dustin is introduced at 1:59!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lDhtW4RUA0?version=3&rel=0&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&w=560&h=315]

 

Musik and FiLm

 

 

 

About Musik and Film

Musik Radio promotions gets your music to 50,000+ stations and 150,000+ stations with syndicated in over 60 countries, 90% being FM! www.musikandfilm.com/get-promoted

Artist News Press Release

Grammy Award Winning – The Flamingos Starring Terry Johnson Romancing Airwaves Across the Globe with their New CD: The Diamond Anniversary Tour 2013

January 24, 2013
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Grammy Award Winning The Flamingos Starring Terry Johnson, aka the “Ambassadors for Romance”- herald the return of passion to radio airwaves worldwide as Musik Radio and Musik and Film Inc. launch into airplay “The Diamond Anniversary Tour 2013“ CD.

With a fresh new sound Hollywood, FL based Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famers The Flamingos debut their latest CD to worldwide radio through the promotions of Musik Radio ™ in association with Musik and Film Inc. Radio launch is scheduled to commence January 23, 2013.

When Cupid aimed his quiver of arrows at the music world, he inherently struck the hearts and voices of Terry Johnson and the newest members of The Flamingos. As unerring as the flight of those arrows, is the steady, rich flow of the music of love and romance from The Flamingos, Cupid’s “Ambassadors for Romance”. Proof the cherubic archer hit his mark, is the latest album, produced by Terry Johnson and Theresa Trigg.

Falling in love can start with a shared melody that one day becomes “our song.” The music of love and romance so evocatively delivered by this new album from The Flamingos has exactly that kind of power and persuasion. Released by Hot Fun Records, Musik Radio will be promoting the new CD to over 27,000 radio stations and 40,000 with syndication worldwide. From the opening track, written and performed by Grammy Hall of Fame Award honoree Terry Johnson, the listener is transported to a place and time separate from the daily details of ordinary life. Captivated by the richness of harmony interwoven into a musical tapestry you lose yourself. Dreamily sighing, one finds a hum tickling the back of your throat as you notice you are smiling and singing along hypnotized into an altered state. You’ve been romanced into the mood so aptly perfected by this impeccably produced new CD. In addition to being a gifted singer and performer, Johnson is a highly acclaimed producer. He was Musical and Vocal Arranger for The Flamingos during the magical time of the Grammy award win for their song,”I Only Have Eyes For You”. Starling Newsome and Stan Prinston join Terry on vocals presenting the listener with an audible example of the beauty of unity.

If, as some fear, romance has been “evicted” from much of today’s music, The Flamingos offer the recipe for reclamation: mix four parts smooth, mellow voices, fold in superb production, add sophisticated musical arrangements blend with keyboard and the guitar styling’s of award winning musicians, then sprinkle in familiar classics such as, “I Only Have Eyes For You,” and “When I Fall In Love,” and create The Diamond Anniversary Tour 2013 album. Send that recording into the world, taking it in concert and radio far and wide, to remind all of us that romance, and the love that a wonderful romance ignites, is ever near, if we just look and listen with open hearts.

“If you’re ever in the dog house, play this record and it gets you out fast.” – Bruno Mars in a Rolling Stone
Interview referencing The Flamingos, “I Only Have Eyes For You”

The Flamingos are currently on tour, traveling the world to present the romantic music of their Diamond
Anniversary Tour 2013 Album. For current tour dates and to purchase the new CD visit
www.theflamingos.com.

Theresa Trigg
TJ Entertainment Agency
http://www.theflamingos.com
(954) 579-9123

You can read the online version of this press release here

Artist News

Thieving and Streaming? Spotify Paid Gaga Just $167 for a Million Spins of “Poker Face”

January 23, 2013
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If you want to know where all of your download revenue has gone you might want to read this article. You need to be very careful when you sign a distribution deal because you may just be giving all of your music away…

 

Spotify, the Swedish-owned music streaming service that took Europe by storm before recently landing in America, is being heralded on Twitter and music blogs as a wonderful addition to any music fan’s life. But it turns out it might be a different story for the musicians themselves.

In the past week alone, two independent music labels, Century Media Records and Mode Records, have decided to pull their music from Spotify, claiming that the streaming service is paying them far too little to make the deal fair (about a third of a penny per song). In a blog postexplaining why he ended his relationship with Spotify, Brian Brandt, owner of Mode, wrote that Spotify has “the promise to squeeze smaller labels out of the picture.”

On a typical CD sold through a distributor (yes, still the bulk of our sales are wholesale), we may make a profit of $3-4 a unit. Already that is not much considering the total sales of a typical niche CD. Sales through iTunes or similar service can yield a similar profit. But this all gets turned on its head with the Spotify model. For example, in June 2011, Mode had a total of 11,335 streams through Spotify; our income was a whopping $36.98!

According to a similar 2010 claim by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, which represents about 2,000 different songwriters, Spotify pays paltry amounts even for songs from major labels. For instance, BASCA alleged that though Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” was streamed a million times over a five-month period last year, the artist earned only $167 in revenue from the track.

At the time, BASCA chairman Patrick Rackow said the real problem is that Spotify is extremely secretive about the deals it strikes with record labels and music publishers. “At the moment, the amounts of money that are actually being received are tiny,” he told the BBC. “That might be because there is no money there. But there is no clear trail that can be established so that the songwriter can trace back what they ought to have got. These things are behind a blanket of secrecy, and that is extremely worrying.”

Despite Brandt and BASCA’s worrying, a February report (PDF) from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry noted that Spotify is the second-largest source of digital music revenue for European labels, behind only iTunes. So while the service isn’t outright stealing from artists, it is stuck trying to figure out how to balance royalty fees with the fact that most of its users are not going to pay the $10 a month fee for a “premium subscription.”

In the meantime, Gaga should probably not rely on Spotify to pad her ever-dwindling wig budget.

photo via (cc) Flickr user petercruise

READ MORE HERE 

Artist News Press Release

Cletus Romp Out Now on Musik and Film

January 22, 2013
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CLETUS ROMP SELL SOME SNAKE OIL

By definition, snake oil is any number of various substances or mixtures sold as medicine (as by a traveling medicine show) usually without regard to their medical worth or properties. The men of Cletus Romp are carrying the phrase into the modern times, taking their tunes out of the back of a wheeled wagon and shilling what is good for what ails you on their debut, Snake Oil.

Cletus Romp are caregivers. Their regard for the music delivered on Snake Oil assures and gives good Alt Country and Roots’ bedside manner. Where the band slides into the dictionary description of their album title is the mixing pot of music used to concoct audio potions. The sound on Snake Oil borrows liberally from classic rock, rock and soul, swamp grooves and back porch jams echoing the shimmies, slides, and shakes of a million guitar-driven groups, present and past. The band proudly wear their love of Creedence, Motorhead, Drive-By Truckers, Tom Waits, and Motown.

Cincinnati, Ohio is where Cletus Romp calls home. Their traveling show foregoes setting up in the town square, but they nonetheless bear the form and feel of torch-lit tents and soul-saving gospel. Derek Stinson (slide guitar, piano) and Tim Golliher (guitar, banjo) share vocal duties. Mark Karapondo (bass) and Adam Brokamp (drums) anchor the rhythm, while Ryan Moore keeps it real by adding assorted junkyard percussion.

Snake Oil slides into action with the album’s opener, “Tin Roof”. And here is where Cletus Romp show their hand immediately. “Tin Roof” features dual vocals, and a constant and ever-present slide guitar, complemented by a cacophony of banging and beating on percussion. It sets a pace that the band carries well. “Coming Home” moves in like riverbank fog as it leads you along highway roads back to your own bed; “Wicked Left Hand” is a guttural groove fest; “Farmyard” slides along for a tale of the past, and “Floater” stays true to its rhythm-only arrangement as banjo notes keep the beat allowing a variety of percussion to have their sway. The band mellows into a steamy crawl for the appropriately titled “Lullaby”.  The vocals add a tender touch as a jangly guitar rides a steady dream beat.

Styles and manner of deliverance aside, Cletus Romp offer an honest brand of Alt Country that keeps artists like Mojo Nixon and Jimbo Mathus on the dashboard for saintly inspiration. They will get under your skin…maybe there is something to that medicine after all.                              Danny McCloskey/RA

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