Getting your first radio play is a really exciting moment for any emerging artist. Your Local Radio Stations are a really good place to start!
Having experienced submissions as both artists and as a radio station we know how to do it properly to ensure maximum exposure and to not upset the people you’re trying to impress!
These are our TOP 5 TIPS for submitting music!
TIP 1 - RESEARCH - Do your research! Is the station or show you’re contacting the right one for you? Do they play your genre of music? Do they even take submissions from artists directly. This is the single most important bit of advice we can give. There is nothing more lazy than sending a dance track to a rock show when its very easy to see that is not the type of show that would play it.
TIP 2 - READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES - Checked all of the above? Fantastic. Just make sure that you are fully aware of submission guidelines if there are any. Some stations have forms that do this on their websites, others may have a post on their social media giving you all the important information for a successful submission and requirements that they need.
TIP 3 - FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES - If a station or show has specific instructions, FOLLOW THEM! Does it state to email them an MP3, then do that! Don’t email them and ask how to submit music. It will show that you’re not researching and you’re just sending a million emails to stations without making sure they are the correct ones for you.
TIP 4 - SEND A PROPER UP TO DATE BIO - One of the things with submissions that really annoys me the most is when there is no information on the act at all. Literally just a ‘here’s our track, please play it’. Who are you? What is the band about? Where are you from? Give them something to talk about when the track is played. Make the most of the airtime that you can have. Do you have shows coming up? Put it in the bio, give them something to plug when they play your song!
TIP 5 - DON'T PESTER - Haven’t had a response to your email? Do remember that there could be 100s of people sending music and a response may take a little time. By all means send a follow up a few weeks later to check they have it or to just jog their memory but consistent daily messages on social media or consistent badgering does get irritating and makes you look unprofessional and may mean they won’t listen at all. If a station likes your track they WILL get in touch with you when they are ready.
If you follow those guidelines then you have a good chance of being heard and getting some good results.
This is all time consuming for you so of course the quickest way to get some positive results is to use a radio plugging service like us to do it for you.
We've already done all the research so we know how to submit to each outlet, we know what music they will like and we know which ones would be the best fit for you. We have established relationships with the stations and the presenters which means a little bit of a fast track to at least getting your track listened to.
If you would like to chat to us about our services please do get in touch, email jodie@crazypugmusic.co.uk