Do you want to get your music played on the radio? I’m sure you do and you are right! Even if the music industry has evolved, radio remains powerful and is still one of the most effective way to reach the masses.

As an independent artist, you can get your music played on the radio. For that, you can either hire a radio promoter or run your own radio campaign. To learn more information about this topic and get the steps to run your own campaign, I invite you to listen to the podcast below.

There are different kinds of radios:

• Commercial radio: the big and powerful stations lining up on AM/FM dial and owned by large media groups;
• College/Non-Profit radio: independent entities;
• Community radio: local and independent radio stations and offer a variety of programming (not just music);
• Satellite radio: it works like a cable TV subscription and offers its own unique programming;
• Internet radio/podcasts.

Here are the steps to help you get your song on the radio:

Step 1/ Put together a list of radio stations…

…that are appropriate for your kind of music and the stage you are at in your career. To get started, it is best to limit this list to a geographic zone that you can tour through a couple of times a year.

Step 2/ Know who to contact

To increase your chances to draw attention to your music, it is important to contact directly the right person: a DJ, the station’s producer, program director or music director. You should find the contact details of this person who can get your song played. To get these info, look on the station’s website or social media or give them a call.

Step 3/ Do some research to know how to submit your music

Each station may have its own rules when it comes to submissions. Make some research to make sure you’re doing things the right way before doing anything.

If you don’t find any clear information, use the common way to approach radio stations by sending an Electronic Press Kit (EPK) or a One-Sheet or press release which includes links to 1 to 3 of your best songs.

Most of the time, submissions and demos are sent in digital format. But some people may ask for physical copies.

Step 4/ Create or update your EPK

An Electronic Press Kit contains links to your songs from SoundCloud, YouTube, Spotify or anywhere else; high-resolution and professional pictures of you; your website and social media links; your biography; press quotes & testimonials with links to the source if you have some; a promo video or links to your YouTube videos and of course, contact details.

Once your EPK is completed or updated, create a DropBox link you can easily share or make it downloadable from your website.

Step 5/ Follow up a couple of weeks later…

…to make sure they received it. If they choose to play your music then, this is great and if they choose not to, ask for a feedback. Please don’t take it too personally and keep in mind that they could be interested in your future projects.

Step 6/ Keep in touch

If a station has added your music to their playlist, don’t forget to contact them to say thank you and ask if you could do something for them like a bumper or send them free cd’s or merch to give away for instance.

Apart from sending your new music, you can also send them an email every three months to keep them up-to-date with your music career.

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If you need help for your EPK or anything else, don’t hesitate to contact me by e-mail using the form of the Contact page, I’ll be happy to help 🙂