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Getting Airplay
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| KEXP programs an innovative, eclectic music mix you can’t find anywhere else. Rock, hip hop, electronic, country, blues, world and in-depth specialty programs. |
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KEXP's looking for some of you to join our team! We're seeking music lovers that are interested in learning about radio and participating in Seattle's vibrant music scene. Current internship openings are in programming, marketing and development. Must be a self-starter and a good communicator. If you love the station and are qualified to help, we want to hear from you! Help us build the future of our station! Learn more and apply now.
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GETTING AIRPLAY
There are so many questions out there for artists on how to get airplay on radio and if its even possible that their music will be heard or if it even matters anymore if you’re heard on the radio. KEXP is for sure a one of a kind station so how we do things might differ out there in the real world but for sure the way we do it feels like the right way to treat music.
WHAT'S OUT THERE?
First off, what the hell is left out there in the wasteland of radio? To be honest, not much in the way of creative music loving stations. There are a number of different types of stations that do exist though.
- Non Commercial stations such as KEXP. “Non-Coms” are what we’re called and we like that. We don’t have commercials so guess what? We don’t have to answer to commercial interests. Why does this matter? It matters because we answer to listeners. Why does THAT matter? For me it matters because it’s the listeners who listen for the love of music and commercial sponsors are interested in dumbing it down to sell their products. KEXP is not alone. There are other great public stations out there doing amazing work and you want to make sure they get your music. More than anyone else they are the ones who want to get your music in the ears of their listeners. There a handful of these stations including KCRW, The Current and WXPN. After that there are others but these are the main stations that hold a non-commercial license but aren’t student run. Student run stations are great but a big part of their mission is on air training so a lot of time you’re not going to get consistent programming but in a lot of cases you will and it’ll be the best radio you’ve ever heard.
- Non Commercial student run stations. More and more of these stations are on-line and a great place to get your music to. For instance at the University of Washington you have
KUOW and KEXP but for the students you have the on-line
rainydawg.org which is a fantastically run station. These stations need your music.
- Commercial stations. Don’t bother sending your music to commercial stations. They don’t want to listen to your music let alone play the music on their station. To be honest, it really wouldn’t matter anymore if they did. BUT there are pockets of good DJs and shows out there. Usually they put these shows on Sunday nights so check the listings on each station to find out what’s going on that night. Why Sunday night? For commercial radio, that’s the least listened to night. Awesome right? Well no but I hosted a local show on one of our commercial stations for a few years on Sunday nights and it was GREAT to expose kids to music they wouldn’t hear on the station. There are great programmers out there doing their best at these times to get music on the air. There will usually be two different shows, a local show and a new music show. Find out which is which and obviously send to the appropriate one.
There are a lot of different places where there is possible airplay but it can take a lot of work and a lot of research. One easy thing to do is simply go to itunes and check out the different stations featured there. They do a great job of having the better on line stations that are both terrestrial and just streaming. You can also find music shows on stations that play mostly NPR news and information. They’ll have different genres and some new music shows available as well. Again, its about the research if you’re doing it yourself.
WHY SEND?
The question has to be asked. Why send this to radio? Do you just want to hear your band on the air? Do you want to know someone heard your band on the air? Are you touring the city that’s playing your band? Is this just what “you do” when you release music? All good questions and I’m not sure I have all the answers. I had an indie label for years and every time I’d ask the question, “why are we sending this to 500 stations when I’ve heard of about 10 of them?” I’m going to be honest, if you are seeking airplay to significantly increase sales, it won’t. If you want to do that AND back it up with touring, it might. Now if it’s a well known band it WILL increase sales but its hard to connect in a way on these stations and translate that to a sale. KEXP is a different beast (as are the other main non-comms I mention). They for sure impact sales. One only needs to look at Easy Street or Sonic Boom Records top ten to see that. So make sure they get the release. If you aren’t going to tour you should make sure you’re hometown stations get it and if you’re a band that can play shows in your area than make sure the different area has the record. For instance a lot of Seattle bands can do the west coast tour so you’d want Seattle, Portland, Eugene, San Fran, LA etc.
WHAT TO SEND and WHO TO SEND IT TO
This is changing so much with the ability to send files and streams. I get them daily. It works the same way as records for me. For instance this morning I got the new Futurheads single sent to me and it hadn’t been played on the radio in the U.S. yet. Did I go right to it and listen? Hell yes, I know the Futureheads, great band. Was I rewarded by doing this? Hell yes, sounded great. Now imagine all the other emails I’m getting as well….a lot. But that’s the nature of the job but you have to remember that. What most stations have is a “MD” which isn’t a doctor of airplay but a “music director”. If you’re a small band, new band whatever, it’s going to be hard to get their attention. Send it but make sure you let them know why they should listen to it and if possible send a hard copy as well. With a DJ you should do the same. In fact, send it to all the DJ, the worse they can do is ignore you but again, we still have plenty of stations that use CD players. I use a combo of about 60% CDs, 35% MP3’s, 5% vinyl.
CHECK OUT MY MYSPACE!
I’d love to, I would. In a lot of cases I do. But not all the time and most of the lower quality things I hear are from people sending me to myspace. Plus you’re asking the DJ to do the work for you. It is a GREAT tool to put music out there and I highly encourage you to do so. Hell, post a song a day if you can! But for airplay, its tough. Try and get that into a file or burned to a disc for the DJ if you can.
WHAT AM I SENDING
The CD or Record:
Should you send a demo or something with no artwork etc? If the station knows who you are and knows your music and you are trying to get them stuff really early then yes. If they don’t know you from jack than you might want to think about cleaning it up a bit. If you ask our DJ’s they’ll tell you they can tell in most cases just by looking at a record what the sound is and if its going to be any good. Is this a scientific way of figuring out music? Not really, you just do this long enough and you know.
Don’t put it in a thin sleeve, put it in a jewel box if possible
Put a track listening on there
Mark any songs where you swear. We can’t play those, make it easier for us to play you
The One Sheet
This is exactly what it sounds like. ONE SHEET. This is a quick outline of what you’re sending and why you’re sending it. Think of it as your job resume. Would you get the job with a crappy resume? Avoid TWO sheets. I never get to the second sheet. Here’s what it needs
A song list
A list of songs that are FCC unfriendly
“Go To” tracks (pick your best 2 or 3 songs)
Any quotes you have. Chicken and the egg here, how do you get quotes if no one has heard it! Get it to any friends, bookers, managers anyone in the industry who can give you a good (and honest) quote
Signposts. Who might you sound like? Most people say “Radiohead” or “the Beatles”. Don’t aim so high, go for cooler indie bands in your genre that have a similar sound. You could also include genre in there as well.
Avoid too much clutter; get to the point and keep it clean and focused
Unwrap the CD and fold the one sheet inside the CD case. Don’t ask the MD or DJ to contact YOU. They won’t. You are one of thousands. Whatever you do (and this happens) DO NOT ask for the CD back. Seriously, I’ve seen it, “we only printed a few so please send back if you’re not going to play us”. I won’t detail how wrong this is.
Other Promotional Items
You look awesome in your photo. AWESOME! Radio doesn’t care though. We have a wall of bad photos at the station. You don’t want to end up there. Use your best judgment here. If you have a cool promo item, great. If you send too much you end up looking desperate and trying to show how unique you are instead of letting the music do the talking. Now if the station is playing you by all means follow up with stuff that could be given away to listeners etc. But don’t try to buy the dj with trinkets. I’m not sure if trinkets are payola or not but the last 500 keychains I’ve been sent have equaled zero airplay.
Follow Up
MD’s have music hours. You can find them on the site or can call their main line and get that info. Call then. They are usually one or two days a week and just a few hours a day so give it a shot during that time. DJs usually don’t have call hours, email them.
DO NOT assume that just because you've sent your package your CD is being played. Wait at least 2 weeks after you've sent it before you follow up with a phone call. Most music directors have call hours a couple of days each week. You can usually find these hours listed on a station's website or you can call them to find out when they are.
Patience and politeness
Keep trying and once you get through remain polite and to the point. Ask the following questions. If any of the answers are "No," stop asking and politely tell them to have a nice day.
- Did you receive so and so CD on so and so records?.
- Were you able to review so and so?
- Are you going to add so and so to your rotation?
- Where are you going to add so and so to your rotation?
- Is there anything else you need?
Most stations have a "Heavy, Medium, and Light" rotation system. If you're put into any of these its good news: you're getting airplay. At this point thank the music director and let them know you'll be calling back later to see how the record is being received and where it is charting. Continue to follow-up for 6-8 weeks, the life of a new release in rotation. Or, if you like, keep an eye on the station website's play list.
Requests
Inform your supporters what station is playing your CD; however, make sure that they don't overload the station with requests or turn bitter towards the station because your music is not being aired enough. DJ's can tell when a band's supporters are overloading them with requests and this will not win you friends or more airplay. Most stations will play music based on merit and not on requests.
NATIONAL PROMOTION
Does all this seem like a lot of work? It is so you should hire someone. Someone good to help you. There are several top-notch radio promotion companies that specialize in helping musicians get radio airplay around the country. They generally service 300 to 750 stations for a fee of $500 to thousands of dollars. Promotional mailings to radio stations will cost you money for both postage and lost CD's. Usually you handle the mailings while they track your release by calling the MD each week and find out where in rotation it is and how many plays it is getting a week.
You can go to the post office and get info how to bulk mail (saves you hundreds of dollar). Bulk mailing parties are when you find out who your friends are. Its like moving day.
Most companies service your CD for 6 to 8 weeks and can assist with setting up in-studio visits and giveaways. Most will recommend the type of stations to target. Here are a few of these companies:
Planetary Group, www.planetarygroup.com
Distiller, distillerpromo.tumblr.com/
Mcgathy, www.mcgathypromotions.com
Revolver, www.midheaven.com
AAM, www.aampromo.com
Fanatic, www.fanaticpromotion.com
Team Clermont, www.teamclermont.com
Nice Promotions, www.nicepromo.com
Pirate! Promotion and Management, www.piratepirate.com
IN CLOSING
Radio has been getting its assed kicked for some time by the bigger commercials interests that own our airwaves. It’s a shame. It should be a place where art and creativity and both local and national communities can come together and enjoy great music and ideas. I’m biased of course but this is only happening on the left end of the dial. The idea is taking off though. More and more commercial stations are turning to a listener supported model. More and more classical stations are doing this and by doing this, in theory, the quality should improve (less talk, less selling of the airwaves, more music and they must connect with their listeners) so all hope is not dead. There are more and more on line stations that you can reach out to with your MP3’s and not even worry about the cost of a hard copy. There are more and more sites and places to be heard so don’t give up. Being in a band or being an artist is such an incredible and frustrating thing. You have a very small window in your life to make this happen and I wish more of our media outlets would support you in this effort. The last thing you need is to beg people to play your songs. So hopefully these tips will help you and you can always reach out to me at: john@kexp.org for any advice or suggestions. I want you to keep making music, even if I’m not playing it but hopefully I am.
John Richards
The Morning Show KEXP 90.3 FM 6-10am Mon-Fri
Audioasis (all local) KEXP 90.3 FM 6-9pm Saturdays
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