If you’re like most musicians, the most important thing to you is sharing your music and message with as many people possible, and if you make a living through your music, selling your music through effective music promotion is also very important.

And if you want to effectively promote your music, radio promotion is still the best way to reach a broad audience, increase your fan base, and improve the results of your touring campaigns. Here are three reasons why you need radio promotion for successful music promotion.

Reason 1: Radio Is Still The Number One Method For Music Promotion

Technology has improved access for all of us to enjoy music one thing is clear: consumers of recorded music are discovering that there is much to discover – and rediscover. This is a good thing. And radio is helping with curation. The latest Bridge Ratings study looks at broadcast listening behavior among those in the sample who also spend at least 30 minutes a day listening to on-demand music services such as Pandora or Spotify.

A recent year’s study revealed that 84% of the panel listened to a music-based radio-station during the survey week; 61% listened to an on-demand service. And time-spent-listening for radio is being impacted by time spent with on-demand music services.

Reason 2: Radio Is A Smart Business Decision For Music Promotion

Most people don’t have a million dollars to budget for their music promotion, but if you are trying to make it on mainstream US radio and promote to Mediabase stations, you pretty much need that kind of money. This is a problem for most musicians. How do you get music promotion via radio without a lot of money? By becoming a businessman. By developing the business aspects of your music career through advertising yourself.

When you as a musician choose to make living out of your music, you have decided to go into business for yourself, whether you realize it or not. That’s right, you have now attached the word “business” to your music. Like any business you must advertise or no one will know you exist. If know one knows you exist, you will of course not have any business. You may have the best music in the world, but unless you advertise no one will know you exist.

And a large part of your advertising budget must include music promotion to targeted radio stations for your music. Like any other business, you must get leads. And you must follow up on those leads to sell your product, which is music. Your leads are any radio stations that play your music.

And here’s a very important point: You must choose a good radio promoter to follow up on those leads for a successful music promotion campaign. You don’t want radio promotion that carelessly blasts your music to random stations without followup.

A good radio promoter is one that deals professionally with FM stations in all markets all over the world. This is your best chance with a limited budget to make the most of your advertising dollars. I say, FM stations, because these stations always have venues that advertise with them.

Reason 3: Radio Helps Your Music Stand Out From The Competition

Once your music promotion with radio has begun, contact the stations that are playing you and thank them. Offer them radio liners, radio interviews, and if applicable, offer to send them a dozen professional CD’s. You can also offer free tickets to a local concert if you are touring. Radio likes to offer their listening audience giveaways.

When you offer freebies like this, you will often get played more, and you’ll likely get mentioned more as well, increasing your exposure. Once you have done this you are that radio station’s friend. So ask the stations that are playing you who their advertising venues are. Get their contact information. Call and email those venues. Tell them you are playing on a local radio station in their town and want to perform there.

Let the radio stations know you are going to do this and they will back you because if the venue hires you, the venue will hire them to advertise the performance. This will get you even more exposure on that radio station.

Radio will love you because they have the venue’s advertising dollars because of you. By doing this, you will get a performance date that is well advertised and a radio station that is playing your music and supporting you. Most likely when you go to perform you will have a full house of people who came to see you.

You will sell merchandise, gain fans, and if you perform well, you will be asked to come back again. Everyone wins. This may not make you a superstar overnight but it will build your business. It is a lot of hard work, but it gives you the possibility of building a business from which you can make a comfortable living.

Final Thoughts

A smart artist will not be under the illusion they are great and the world will embrace them with open arms because they are so good. A smart artist will know there is a lot of competition out there.

As a promoter running a successful radio promotions company, I get asked this question constantly: How does an artist make the most of a radio promotion campaign? First and foremost, you must have a quality recording. That begins with a good song and ends with professional mixing and mastering. I have seen a “not so good” song get good radio airplay just because the mixing and mastering of the song was so well done.

If you’re interested in music promotion via radio through our radio promotions service, check it out. We boast a database of 250,000 stations and syndicates in 180 countries. And we’re affordable.

About the Author:

Stephen Wrench is a producer and singer/songwriter having worked with top artists including Vince Gill, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and many others. He has contacts throughout the world with major labels, TV and movie networks, and media outlets. He also has cultivated numerous friendships within the artist community. Stephen has acquired label deals for many artists and has been instrumental in syndication of movie and television content throughout the world.