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5 Sure Fire Ways to Get Radio Play for Your “Independent” Music!
By Ty Cohen
You have to find radio airplay time if you’re going to be heard and we’re not just
talking the local college campus. The trick is called promotion. Now that doesn’t mean
you just put your press kit in an envelope with a demo and hope they take pity on you.
Perhaps you call a station and they give you the standard pitch of, “Send it and if we
like it we’ll put you in rotation.” After a few months of never hearing your music,
you automatically think you’re not worthy.
First, don’t buy that. You’re one of hundreds, maybe even thousands depending on your
city. Your disc will probably end up in the trash or, for more enterprising DJ's, on
Ebay in a one-cent CD sale. If you want to be heard and make potential sales, you have
to stand out from the crowd, and in this jewel of an article, I’ll show you Five(5)
Knock ‘em Dead Ways to Do Just That!:
1 - Get your CD into the right hands. The intern that’s too busy to getting coffee or
typing up a report for the station manager isn’t going to be the one making the airplay
decision. So find out who the head honcho is in that department and touch base with them.
If the club you’re playing at charges an admission or you have a show coming up offer to
send the stations tickets to give away to listeners. Now keep in mind you can’t give the
tickets to the staff, since that’s illegal and called payola, but you can offer free
giveaway items to your potential audience.
2 - If you’ve got one station in your pocket, then drop names. Let them know that WABC
is playing your music and it’s getting a great response.
3 - Make genuine friends in the business. If you’ve got a disc jockey that’s got you
in rotation and really likes your sound, get to know them. Find out why they enjoy it
and see if they’ve gotten any responses from listeners. If they haven’t, ask if perhaps
they might Q & A their callers about your music so you get a feel for your target
audience. It’s not a bad idea to ask them for a testimonial or quote if they’re well
known in your area if you know them personally. People help people. That’s a fact so if
you treat your area disc jockeys like a living and breathing human and not dollar signs,
that’s a foot in the door. Another good source is club owners. If they play your music
and the fans go nuts ask them to say a few words about your sound that you can pass
along to prospective stations, but be sure to sit down for a drink with them. Ask them
about the picture of him and the woman and two kids behind the Magic Kingdom. Don’t be
fake, but be genuinely interested.
4 - Network. Find out if someone you know (or someone they know) has connections to the
music stations. Remember six degrees of separation - you’re only six people away from
knowing anyone on the planet and yes that includes station managers, concert promoters
and record execs. The trick is it takes a great deal of work and time, but if you’re
serious, it’s well worth it.
5 - Go local, state, national. Don’t think you’re going to skip your local and state
stations and be the next Matchbox Twenty. It doesn’t work that way. Start small and then
get big.
Making contacts and getting names can be tough, that’s why you should start with a
tested and proven music industry resource like The Industry Yellow Pages - Music
Industry Contact Directory at
http://www.TheIndustryYellowPages.com
The TIYP is helpful and loaded with contacts you can start using immediately without
doing all the legwork yourself.
About the author:
This article was written by Ty Cohen, the music industry's most recognizable voice!
Ty is the C.E.O of Platinum Millennium Publishing, Platinum Millennium Records as
well as owner of http://www.MusicContracts101.com
http://www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com
Some of his work includes: books, directories, mini-courses and software programs
including the titles: "How to Make a Fortune in the Music Industry by Doing it
Yourself" and "How to Make $500,000.00 "or More" A Year in the Music Industry by
Doing it Yourself".
For nearly a decade, Ty Cohen's Get Amplified! Newsletter and series of Free Music
Industry Success “Mini Courses” has helped over 40,000 independent musicians, singers,
rappers, composers, record label owners, producers, managers, agents and others reach
their music business goals. Using a unique combination of tested and proven music
business success resources, which includes a series of books, directories, software
programs, videos, seminars and newsletters, our goal is to educate and empower musical
individuals just like you with the tools needed to succeed!
To find out more about Ty Cohen, his services, products and how he may be able to help you
succeed in the music industry go to
http://www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com
and sign up for his free limited edition music industry
success 10-part “Mini-Course”, it will work wonders for you and best of all, it’s FREE,
but EXTREMELY VALUABLE!
Article Source:http://www.Article Emporium .com
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