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Looper's Delight
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Kris Hartung wrote: > How about how to get on radio stations. I think I spent a whole > weekend a year ago sending out press packs to about 20 radio stations. > It probably worked on two of them...not much return on investment, and > I'm reluctant to try it again. Hi Kris, I'm sorry for your less than satisfactory experience at sending out promos. Perhaps this will help. As a radio show host of three programs, I'd like to tackle that one. Please view my tips page at <http://wdiy.org/programs/gt/tips.html>. The Indie Bible refers to this page since it's applicable across all music genres. Believe it or not, everything on that page is secondary to this: Do your homework. Don't send a CD anywhere just because it's a radio station or DJ. Make PERSONAL CONTACT first and TALK to people. Find out: * Is your style of music is played? * What is the policy and proper procedure for submitting music? * Do they accept music from unsigned artists? It might seem like common sense and I shouldn't have to say this, but experience tells me that I can't say this enough times or with enough vehemence: DON'T SEND YOUR MUSIC WHERE IT DOESN'T MATCH THE STYLE OF MUSIC PLAYED BY A STATION OR DJ. I can't tell you how much music is sent to me in hopes of airplay that just doesn't fall anywhere close to the music genres I play. As a result, I started a second and third program in 2002 to allow me to play a little bit of this out-of-genre music I received. However, most DJs won't do this. Your resources will be wasted if YOU don't place your music properly. Sending thrash or rap music to a host of an ambient program makes NO SENSE but it happens almost too regularly!!! For me, I try to get artists to contact me BEFORE they send anything so I can send them a form letter, included below. I think that you'll find it enlightening. Most artists are so sharply focused on making music that they have no idea about the BUSINESS part of music. BTW, it's the music BUSINESS, not the MUSIC business. Sad, but true. My form letter is an attempt to convey some of my realities to artists to try and avoid them wasting their resources on me if I can't help them. BTW, since looping is not a genre of music, please don't assume that you can get airplay on my programs. But I have and do play music from list members because some of it is appropriate to my shows. That's where the advice "Do your homework" pays off. Cheers, Bill ========= All submissions are welcomed and will be seriously considered for inclusion on future shows. Nothing can be returned. Due to the large volume of materials received, confirmation of receipt of materials and confirmation of airplay cannot be made. I also cannot provide comments or an analysis of your music. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time in the day for me to listen to everybody's mp3 files. I already have stacks of CDs waiting to be heard. You'll have to decide for yourself if your music fits the format of any of my shows. These are the cruel realities I've had to face. To learn if your submission has been aired, you should periodically check the Playlists or request to have them emailed to you if you don't already see them on one of the mailing lists where I post such things. Remember, BEFORE YOU SEND ANYTHING, please examine my playlists to see what I tend to play. I don't want you to waste your precious resources, so please don't send something that I don't play (thrash, rap, or dance music, for example). ALWAYS match what you send to a show's format or ethos. Send your package to WDIY and/or WMUH and/or me. Please be sure to tell me which address you use. Anything sent to a station will go into that station's library for use only at that station. You must tell me if you send to a station so I know where to look for your package. Anything sent to me will go into my personal library for use only on my appropriate shows at either station. Your best bet to get on the air the fastest is to send your CDs directly to me. They get into my hands *MUCH* faster and it gives me plenty of time to preview your music. === Bill Fox P.O. Box 632 Nazareth, Pennsylvania 18064-0632 USA === WDIY FM 301 Broadway Bethlehem PA 18015 === WMUH Box 2806 Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA 18104 === Please be aware that CD and CD-R in regular sized jewel cases are considered to be the most radio-friendly formats at this time. CD players are much easier to use than any other format. Anything that doesn't fit into my CD travel case, which holds standard sized jewel cases, is difficult to bring to the station. Jewel cases also provide a spine that is large enough to see the CD artist and title when I'm trying to find something stored with hundreds of other CDs. Any other packaging style is likely to receive less airplay than something in a jewel case. The most important items to include on the artwork include: A numbered track listing that shows the running time of each track. A clear indication of the release's artist. A clear indication of the release's title. Contact information. Want to maximize your CD's airplay? A few more tips you might want to follow are at: http://soundscapes.us/afterglow/tips.html Long tracks are not easy to excerpt unless you subdivide them into more than one index number. A CD that has one 50 minute track is not going to get as much airplay as multiple tracks that total 50 minutes. The tracks can run together with continuous sound but now DJs have *easy* access to more than just the beginning of the piece. All submissions are always greatly appreciated. But please do yourself a favor and study the various sections of all my radio web sites first, then decide if your music really fits in with the show's format. I play prog on two shows, eclectic mix on two shows, and EM on two shows, spread across three shows on two radio stations in the Lehigh Valley. Please be sure to specify in the package you send which show(s) where you want to target your music. Your support is most appreciated. Cheers, Bill - http://soundscapes.us/bill ========================================================================================================== Host of Afterglow every Thursday at 8:00 am EST (GMT-5) on WMUH Allentown 91.7 FM. Phase 1: Mixed bag of acoustic, electric, pop, New Age, or whatever strikes my fancy. Phase 2: Progressive rock from past masters to contemporary releases. Web Site - http://soundscapes.us/afterglow ========================================================================================================== Host of the AM/FM Show every other Saturday at 6:00 am EST (GMT-5) on WMUH Allentown 91.7 FM. Phase 1: Electronic, ambient, and space music to bring you back from "Beyond the Barriers." Phase 2: Mixed bag of acoustic, electric, pop, New Age, or whatever strikes my fancy. Phase 3: Progressive rock from past masters to contemporary releases. Web Site - http://soundscapes.us/amfm ========================================================================================================== Host of Galactic Travels, an electronic, ambient, and space music show, Thursdays at 11:04 pm EST (GMT-5) on WDIY 88.1 FM in Allentown and Bethlehem and 93.9 FM in Easton and Phillipsburg, 93.7 FM in Trexlertown and Fogelsville, and on 92.9 FM on Service Electric Cable. Galactic Travels web site - http://wdiy.org/programs/gt RSS News Feed: http://wdiy.org/programs/gt/rss/enews.xml Podcasts: http://wdiy.org/programs/gt/rss/gt.xml ========================================================================================================== Listen on-line to WDIY at http://wdiy.org and click LISTEN or go directly to: http://rm1.refugemedia.com/ramgen/encoder/wdiy.rm ========================================================================================================== Listen on-line to WMUH at http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh and click the REAL AUDIO link or go directly to: rtsp://helix.muhlenberg.edu:554/broadcast/live.rm ========================================================================================================== The progdj list is the central clearing house for radio playlists of Progressive Rock programs. Tired of joining dozens of mailing lists to post playlists or track airplay? The progdj list solves that problem. The progdj list is the place to go in order to see playlists and CD and concert reviews by DJs of progressive rock-friendly radio programs. Anyone interested in seeing playlists can join. There is NO SPAM because I keep the spammers out before the members ever see any hint of it. The progdj list is for DJs (obviously!) and band members, record label personnel, promoters, managers, and anyone else interested in seeing what gets played on the air. Need to find who is playing prog on the radio? Go to the progdj list. To join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/progdj and click on the [Join This Group!] link. ==========================================================================================================