You write what you think is a hit. So now what do you do?
You go online and look for radio promotion companies. You think it’s simple – if you can get it out to radio they will know your song is a hit and it will be played and will chart. Wrong!
Getting airplay differs all over the world. Lets take the US, for example, everyone no matter where you live, wants US airplay.
Clear Channels entered into revenue sharing agreements with numerous record labels. Clear Channels is even called a “Media Mobster”.
You are an Independent artist, why do you think you are going to be played by the United States largest radio conglomerate? You may have a hit, a great song. But this is a money game, like most big business controlled by giants, so only giants have access.
If you want to get a hit in the US you will have to play the game. Meaning you better have some very deep pockets to play in this high stakes game. You will need to hire a team of promoters to maneuver your song into the charts. This team will need to be in a position to grease the airplay wheels to get your song played. Call it payola, call it big business, call it what you want. But the bottom line is unless you have a million dollars to drop into your single you are not going to get a hit record in the US.
So where does that leave you and your “hit” song? There are a lot of countries in the world. Most are very receptive to hearing and playing good music. The BBC radio network is the largest radio network in the world.
Guess what? They listen to independent artists music and if they like it they play it. There are numerous other radio networks and stations around the world that don’t care who the label is and don’t care if you are an indie artist. The only thing they care about is it good music. So, there is hope.
It is a digital world so why would anyone send a cd to radio? There are radio promotion companies that advertise – pay us and we will put your music on our site. The premise is that radio will sign in and wade thru the thousands of songs and find yours. Wrong again. You need to deliver your song by a respected radio promoter digitally to the radio station programmers. This way they can stream a piece of your music and if they like it then they will look at the rest of your submission, download it and play your music.
How to get radio airplay in the US?
There is always a way to get in the US front door , sometimes you need to go in the back door to be in the house.
