Music Marketing & Radio Promotion Essentials
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If you are like most artists and musicians, getting your music on the radio is the driving force behind everything you do in your promotional efforts. I have discussed at length why this is the wrong approach to music marketing so will not cover it again here, however, I will say that if you feel radio promotion or airplay is the “end game” of your music marketing efforts, please take the time to read “The Road to Radio Intro” by clicking on the link. Radio airplay and promotion is only one tool in your complete marketing and promotional strategy, but it is a very important tool indeed! This article will detail the tools and promotional material you will need for a successful radio promotion and airplay marketing strategy.
Over the past 20 years I have seen very disastrous, “something went horribly wrong,” radio promotions that may have cost artists their entire career. I have read stories of artists sending food along with their marketing material to program directors trying to be creative to only find out the guy was on vacation and the food spoiled, smelled up the entire station, and resulted in the entire package being thrown out without anyone ever reading it’s contents. I have personally seen artists, not my clients, hiring actors, mimes, or singing messengers to deliver packages to hopefully grab the attention of radio station personnel to only find out that the money was wasted as the “gatekeeper,” better known as the receptionists, simply ushered them out the front door as fast as they “danced” in without even alerting the Program Director that another artists was trying to get his/her attention. The worst thing I have witnessed has been huge boxes sitting in the corner of Program Directors offices, unopened, that were sent by artists thinking “more = attention.” These unopened boxes contained t-shirts, hats, and other “freebies” that artists spent hard earned cash to create and ship blindly thinking that was what was needed to get their music in regular radio rotation. It is not!
The most successful radio promotion strategies for airplay are simple, pretty inexpensive, and require little more than time, effort, and consistency. The marketing material needed is minimal, gets to the point, and offers all the information a Program Director needs to make a decision in a single piece of paper accompanied by a single CD. The real “nuts and bolts” of your strategy are a phone, the internet, email, and a spreadsheet to keep track of your efforts. Yes, once you get your music into regular rotation at a desired radio station, you will need S.W.A.G. (Stuff We Always Get) that includes t-shirts, copies of your CD, hats, stickers, and other promotional items, but for the push, the marketing strategy, and the promotion involved in actually getting your music on the radio you really only need a CD, an artist one sheet, your computer, and a phone.
Radio Program Directors receive hundreds of packages a week from hopeful artists wanting airplay. They do not have the time nor the desire to wade through a bunch of crap... trust me, in their eyes all your t-shirts, lighters, hats, etc. are crap.... to find out who you are, what your music sounds like, and weather or not they want to give you a shot on the radio. What they want is a single envelope with an artist one sheet, a copy of the single on CD, and maybe a promotional flat/flyer. Anything else gets tossed to the side or in the trash with little more than a glance.
Artist One Sheet
An artist one sheet is a single piece of paper that contains everything about an artist in a condensed format. The information includes CD title, song listings, brief bio, brief marketing outline, music highlights, a picture of the artist, and contact information for management and record label offices.
Here is an example Artist One Sheet:
Over the past 20 years I have seen very disastrous, “something went horribly wrong,” radio promotions that may have cost artists their entire career. I have read stories of artists sending food along with their marketing material to program directors trying to be creative to only find out the guy was on vacation and the food spoiled, smelled up the entire station, and resulted in the entire package being thrown out without anyone ever reading it’s contents. I have personally seen artists, not my clients, hiring actors, mimes, or singing messengers to deliver packages to hopefully grab the attention of radio station personnel to only find out that the money was wasted as the “gatekeeper,” better known as the receptionists, simply ushered them out the front door as fast as they “danced” in without even alerting the Program Director that another artists was trying to get his/her attention. The worst thing I have witnessed has been huge boxes sitting in the corner of Program Directors offices, unopened, that were sent by artists thinking “more = attention.” These unopened boxes contained t-shirts, hats, and other “freebies” that artists spent hard earned cash to create and ship blindly thinking that was what was needed to get their music in regular radio rotation. It is not!
The most successful radio promotion strategies for airplay are simple, pretty inexpensive, and require little more than time, effort, and consistency. The marketing material needed is minimal, gets to the point, and offers all the information a Program Director needs to make a decision in a single piece of paper accompanied by a single CD. The real “nuts and bolts” of your strategy are a phone, the internet, email, and a spreadsheet to keep track of your efforts. Yes, once you get your music into regular rotation at a desired radio station, you will need S.W.A.G. (Stuff We Always Get) that includes t-shirts, copies of your CD, hats, stickers, and other promotional items, but for the push, the marketing strategy, and the promotion involved in actually getting your music on the radio you really only need a CD, an artist one sheet, your computer, and a phone.
Radio Program Directors receive hundreds of packages a week from hopeful artists wanting airplay. They do not have the time nor the desire to wade through a bunch of crap... trust me, in their eyes all your t-shirts, lighters, hats, etc. are crap.... to find out who you are, what your music sounds like, and weather or not they want to give you a shot on the radio. What they want is a single envelope with an artist one sheet, a copy of the single on CD, and maybe a promotional flat/flyer. Anything else gets tossed to the side or in the trash with little more than a glance.
Artist One Sheet
An artist one sheet is a single piece of paper that contains everything about an artist in a condensed format. The information includes CD title, song listings, brief bio, brief marketing outline, music highlights, a picture of the artist, and contact information for management and record label offices.
Here is an example Artist One Sheet:
CD Single
Radio Program Directors prefer a CD single over a full CD. Many up and coming artists feel that sending a full CD offers more of an opportunity for Program Directors to “feel” their music and maybe get a better shot at getting on the radio. This is simply not the case. Again, PD’s simply receive too many packages to listen to all the songs of each artist that submits music for possible “adds” into regular radio rotation. Sending an entire CD means the PD must now figure out which song the artist wants considered for rotation. Remember, Program Directors are not in the business of picking what song you should use as your single. Simply sending a CD and saying “Please listen to my CD and pick a song you think your listeners will like...” does not work. It gets your CD put to the side or worse, thrown in the trash.
A CD single contains the song you want to push as your first single. It should have a radio version, street version, instrumental version, acapella version, and a remix of the song if the genre of music calls for it. You can also place one or two additional snipits, thirty to sixty second clips, of songs you feel will be future singles on the CD. Your CD single needs to be professionally presentable. Meaning, do not send a CD you burned on your home computer and wrote the name of the song with a sharpie. If you do not have the ability to print on the CD yourself then you need to get copies of your CD professionally duplicated at a studio or CD duplication house. Be sure to include artist name, contact information, website, and names of songs and track numbers in your printing. You do not need a fancy cover, CD case, or anything else you may want to include. A simple white CD sleeve works great and will save you money in shipping.
Promotional Flat
A flat is a two sided, color, postcard sized flyer. I have found that inserting a promotional flat within your radio package does help. It offers the Program Director a quick view of marketing professionalism, a few more pictures, and if the flat has been created correctly a little more information about the CD release, accomplishments, and where to find additional information about the artist or group.
Radio Program Directors prefer a CD single over a full CD. Many up and coming artists feel that sending a full CD offers more of an opportunity for Program Directors to “feel” their music and maybe get a better shot at getting on the radio. This is simply not the case. Again, PD’s simply receive too many packages to listen to all the songs of each artist that submits music for possible “adds” into regular radio rotation. Sending an entire CD means the PD must now figure out which song the artist wants considered for rotation. Remember, Program Directors are not in the business of picking what song you should use as your single. Simply sending a CD and saying “Please listen to my CD and pick a song you think your listeners will like...” does not work. It gets your CD put to the side or worse, thrown in the trash.
A CD single contains the song you want to push as your first single. It should have a radio version, street version, instrumental version, acapella version, and a remix of the song if the genre of music calls for it. You can also place one or two additional snipits, thirty to sixty second clips, of songs you feel will be future singles on the CD. Your CD single needs to be professionally presentable. Meaning, do not send a CD you burned on your home computer and wrote the name of the song with a sharpie. If you do not have the ability to print on the CD yourself then you need to get copies of your CD professionally duplicated at a studio or CD duplication house. Be sure to include artist name, contact information, website, and names of songs and track numbers in your printing. You do not need a fancy cover, CD case, or anything else you may want to include. A simple white CD sleeve works great and will save you money in shipping.
Promotional Flat
A flat is a two sided, color, postcard sized flyer. I have found that inserting a promotional flat within your radio package does help. It offers the Program Director a quick view of marketing professionalism, a few more pictures, and if the flat has been created correctly a little more information about the CD release, accomplishments, and where to find additional information about the artist or group.
Promotional Flat Example:
Spreadsheet
Promoting your music to radio station Program Directors for airplay consideration takes a lot of phone calls, emails, and follow up in order for a successful “add.” You will need to keep track of any information you receive, when you call, what was said, who you talked to, what time of day you called, etc. etc. etc.. Trying to simply remember or thinking you will just keep calling until you are successful is a sure plan for failure. PD’s do not want to hear you ask the same questions or worse, not follow through with what your last conversation dictated. If you do not keep track of everything, and I do mean everything that is or was said during your conversation with a PD, you run the risk of “wasting” a PD’s time. This may be the worst thing you can do during your promotional efforts. Like packages, they receive hundreds of calls each week from hopeful artists and musicians trying to get their music airplay. Their time is very important and they do not like repeating themselves or dealing with artists that do not care enough to keep good records.
If you do not own Microsoft Office you can go to www.openoffice.org and download their version of office for free. Anything you create in the software will work with Microsoft products and it even opens Microsoft documents. Within the suite of software you will find a spreadsheet program. I highly suggest you set up a spreadsheet to keep track of all your efforts.
Conclusion
That is all the marketing material and tools you need for a successful radio promotional push for rotation consideration and airplay. There is not much, but the proper execution and action of each of these items is essential. As the saying goes... “The Devil is in the details.” How you present yourself, your music, and your business is what will get your music on the radio assuming you have great music. You must remember that there is a lot of great music out there. What separates you from the pack is your business, follow through, and presentation. In future articles I will discuss specific strategies to use your marketing material and music to get into regular rotation and get your music on the air!
Learn more about music marketing and radio promotion: The Music Business Bible - A Complete Music Marketing System
Peace,
Jai
www.JaiHutcherson.com
“Love the Music in Yourself, Not Yourself in the Music!”
