Two Tips for Commercial Radio Airplay

The January 31, 2005, issue of Music Connection magazine featured a good article by Bernard Baur called "The Future of Radio." Here are a couple of nuggets I took away of particular interest to indie acts:

1. Secondary commercial markets. Even though you may think the major labels have all commercial radio stations wrapped around their dollar-laden pinkies, that's not quite true. Remember, big labels are struggling to be profitable. They've got smaller staffs and thinner marketing budgets these days.

When it comes to commercial radio promotion, the big boys focus on the major markets -- New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other big cities. That leaves a small crack in the door for acts that focus on commercial stations in smaller cities (called secondary markets).

2. A high-quality, radio-ready recording. While airplay opportunities may exist for indies in secondary markets, the quality of the recording submitted still needs to be top-notch before a commercial station will consider it.

One radio promoter quoted in the article recommends that indie artists pursuing a radio marketing strategy should spend their money recording, producing and mastering just one or two songs. With radio, you don't need a full album. You just need at least one killer radio single.

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