Radio | New Industry Tips

Interview | Music Business 101 with Paul Porter (@industryears)

May 25, 2011 By Nick 1 Comment

Great interview with my friend Paul Porter, long time radio vet, who spoke at our last Coast 2 Coast Convention 2010 and provided some great insight! View the full article on The Rap Up Here!

Paul Porter has been around long enough to watch the music business grow, evolve, and gradually approach its inevitable implosion. The erstwhile BET program director backs up his enviable resume with a deep knowledge of the music business. We caught up with Mr. Porter (no relations to Denaun) and asked him to help us navigate the murky waters of the music industry. How pervasive is payola? Is the mixtape dead? What does the future hold for indie labels? Porter peers into the crystal ball and provides some answers. Dig in.

The Rap Up: For those who’ve never heard of you, tell us a bit about your experience in the music industry so far, where you’ve been an what you’ve done.

Paul Porter: Long story. I got my start in college radio in Boston during the perfect time, the late 70′s. Music was alive and well from P-Funk, Commodores and the early stages of Rap with King Tim the 3rd and the Fatback Band, Prince, James Brown and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. Northeastern’s WRBB carved out my early stages which developed the careers of Wendy Williams and Jay Dixon the head of Urban Programming for Cox Radio and Darius Walker the NY Bureau Chief for CNN.

WILD, Boston’s only Black Commercial outlet, hired me away during my junior year and I doubled as a student, college hoop player and worked as AMD on-air personality. Two years later, Donnie Simpson called and offered me a gig at the then legendary NBC-owned WKYS in DC.

KYS led to my first television gig “Fresh” at WRC-TV. The weekend public affairs show gave me a chance to interview acts like Stacy Lattisaw, Johnny Gill and Mtume. That led to Music Video Connection the Gannett-owned local Friday night video show which I programmed and hosted in the late 80′s.

On to BET. Started subbing for Donnie Simpson hosting Video Soul. That soon morphed into a music consulting role picking videos and implementing the radio software system Selector for video at BET. I hosted Video Vibrations, Midnight Love, Video Soul and a host of on and off camera gigs. Did all the voice work and eventually became Program Director when the network climbed into 66 million homes.

Radio in NY, DC, Boston and Miami. Worked for AOL Music, The NBA and got into publishing and management going way back with the Whispers and hip-hop management with Two Kings in a Cipher who evolved into D-Dot and Ron Lawrence who went on to produce B.I.G and a numerous platinum records in the 90′s.

View the full article on The Rap Up Here!

Filed Under: Artist Tips, Ask An Expert, Featured, Interviews, Keys to Success, major labels, Marketing Tagged With: ask an expert, bet, bet network, bet program director, indie labels, industry ears, mixtapes, music business, paul porter, payola, program director, radio, radio expert, the rap up

7 GREAT SOLUTIONS FOR TURNING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AROUND

April 10, 2011 By urbanthreshold 2 Comments

The Music Industry is not dead! People just want to hear good music instead of the one dimensional form of music they’re being force fed..

Presently The American Real Estate industry is in dire straits. The Real estate industry has been flooded with an inferior product namely sub prime loans, which has resulted into a myriad of foreclosures and declining home values.

The phenomenon with in the Real Estate industry can be paralleled with the Music industry. The music industry is also in dire straits. This is especially the case for Rap music sales. Like the real estate industry, the music industry is being flooded with sub par product. Unfortunately for the music-buying public, the level of artistic quality inherent in the overall group of artists signed to major labels appears to be in a steep decline.

The major music companies have become publicly-owned mega-corporations that have abandoned artist development for bottom line, short-term financial results. The major labels are no longer in the business of producing music; Selling CDs is the primary mission. The hit driven majors have put quantity over quality. Nowadays, you don’t necessarily have to be a talented artist or musician to be successful. Hype or promotion can make a marginal artist appear to be talented. “The artist” has become a brand that is owned and operated by the label. The corporate labels have formulated a bland, one-dimensional form of Hip-hop to control and streamline their products and services.

The end result is consumer attrition or a declining consumer base. Music consumers have come to expect 1 or maybe 2 good songs on an album. Hence, they would rather illegally download a song or buy a bootleg of the album. In the past, rap music was something you heard and experienced – it was as much a social event as a purely musical one. Many Hip Hop fans are tired of the disposability of modern rap music . They want music with some substance and a product, which is free from the shackles of blind commercialism.The majority of today’s rap music lacks any social commentary.

(Moreover, If record sales continue to decline, the new paradigm will involve giving away music for free & revenue will be derived from sponsorships.)

In 2008, More than 115,000 albums were released, but only 110 sold more than 250,000 copies, a mere 1,500 topped 10,000 sales, and fewer than 6,000 cracked the 1,000 barrier -It increasingly appears that recordings will be more like advertisements for opportunities that actually do make money: live performances, merchandise, licensing to movies, commercials and video games, ring tones, etc.

What must be done to turn the music industry around:

1. Better Customer Service

In just about every other industry, the customer comes first. It is imperative that the major labels focus on customer service and give music consumers more options. In the case of urban music, there is a lot of quality Hip hop & R&B that is not being heard.The majors must let the consumers determine what is a “hit” song. This can be accomplished via contests, give aways, and marketing surveys. .The Music Industry is not dead! People just want to hear good music instead of the one dimensional form of music they’re being force fed..

2. Institute Creative Quality Control Measures as it relates to music releases.

There is a lost art of true musicianship and feeling for the music. The heart felt lyrics which were common place in the 50′s and 60′s are largely absent in today’s music market. Creative quality control is missing. There must be an emphasis on creating better crafted songs. The creative control must even extend to record stores and distributors. Record stores rarely listen to music placed there. They don’t care what the album sounds like; they only care if it sells.

3. Hire True Music Lovers:

Currently, the record labels are saturated with number crunchers who hide behind computers. The music industry is being ran by accountants and lawyers. The record labels must go back to hiring true music lovers and creative thinkers who are willing to take calculated risks.

4. Break the Radio Monopoly

The music industry is too radio driven. In the past radio stations were staffed with actual human DJs who played music they believed in. However, over the years the “true Dj’s” were replaced by personality jocks who push a button to start some Clear Channel playlist. The majors must abandon the payola system and work with grass roots organizations to bring diversity to the airwaves.

5. Embrace Technology

There is no doubt that the music industry must now embrace technology, because this is the only way that the existing industry leaders can stay competitive in the future. The rest of the world has changed and adapted – and the music industry must now step up and do the same.

6. Emphasize fair Dealing with Artists they Sign

The major record labels appear to be more interested in complete cost recoupment rather than fair dealing. And in an act of desperation, the majors have implemented 360 deals, whereby they will receive a cut of the artist’s merchandise, tours, CD sales, endorsements, etc.

The record company bankrolls the recording and handles the manufacturing, distribution, press, and promotion. The artist gets a royalty percentage after all those other costs are repaid. The label, in this scenario, owns the copyright to the recording.
Since artists share the costs of making the album, because these costs are recoupable from their royalties, they should also have joint ownership of the masters at some point.

7. Change Business Structure

The Record labels should move away from the CD format. The labels should move to an 80% digital distribution format, which will eliminate manufacturing costs. And as a result, they can pass the savings on to the consumers in terms of lower prices.

Obviously, the cost of these services, along with the record company’s overhead, accounts for a big part of CD prices. You, the buyer, are paying for all those trucks, those CD plants, those warehouses, and all that plastic. Theoretically, as many of these costs go away, they should no longer be charged to the consumer – or the artist.

The labels should only manufacture a limited number of special edition CD’s/DVD to be sold at concerts only. These special edition CD’s/DVD’s will contain bonus songs and behind the scenes footage of the artists. The price of the concert should include the cost of the CD/DVD, to ensure that each concert goer receives the special edition CD/DVD

Written By Jesse Atkinson. CEO of Urban Threshold Enterprises Inc. and Founder of The A&R Power Summit (www.TheARPowerSummit.com) and The Annual Underground Music Awards (www.UndergroundMusicAwards.com)

Filed Under: Artist Tips, Industry News Tagged With: albums, bootleg, cd sales, customer service, download, merchandise, music, music industry, music quality, quality music, radio, real estate industry, record sales, revenue

Artists: Relationships 101

April 8, 2011 By katie 3 Comments

There’s always been a saying, “Its not what you say, but how you say it.” In this business, relationships are the most important element, period. Without relationships, nothing would get done. I personally feel that artists sometimes think that just because they have a record on the radio, or have a sold units in the past, it means they do not have to go out and continue to build. The life cycle of an artist is very short, and if you do not continue to be your own politician, then your level of success may not be as great as you anticipate.

Artists, no matter if you are signed to a label or not, you are a brand. Let’s break that down: you are a product, good or service that is attempting to appeal to a consumer. Now your product, or brand, has to have all of the necessary ingredients to capture or generate a level of interest. What you say, how it’s said, the message and image you are delivering—what type of picture does it all paint? Will a consumer be turned on or off by your sound? But most importantly, can this product be sold to produce a profit? If so, will you garnish enough attention to spark the interests of investors (major labels and distributors)?

Now you have caught the attention of the majors, you’re on the radio, have a good viral campaign, however your downloads and sales do not reflect those efforts. What could I possibly be doing wrong that’s not generating the level of excitement necessary? In the markets you are trying to break into, do you have the relationships with the DJs? That will give you a lane to the club circuit. How about the local schools and community centers? What type of branding have you done for yourself in the markets that are giving you radio and club support? Do you expect the majors to do this for you? Not in this new music industry. Your business model must be solid and you must be able to show that your brand is marketable and that your company and you the artist can market your own brand.

At the end of the day, the relationships that you build by going to DJ retreats, conferences, record pool meetings, club visits, community centers, even your local bus or train station, are a factor. You would be surprised how your relationships can get you further than you can even imagine. You have contacts in your phone, business cards in pockets and backpacks, literature with other important information, websites that have contact information, and so forth. Now the REAL work begins—the follow up. Follow up with emails, phone calls etc. Even if your contact does not return your calls or emails, do not get discouraged. If your song or movement is on the level it should be, they will return all of your messages. Now the journey begins.

Derek “The Bigg DM” Jurand

dmjmusic@gmail.com

@thebiggdm

Filed Under: Artist Tips, DJs, Featured, Keys to Success, Networking Tagged With: Artist Tips, Bigg DM, branding, derek jurand, dj retreats, major labels, music conference, music distributors, music sales, Networking, new music industry, radio, song placement, viral campaign

Find your niche and exploit it!

March 26, 2011 By industryworks 1 Comment

Today’s market is wide open for the indie artist and label. Majors are no longer interested in spins and social media numbers for a deal. They no longer rely on BDS, Mediabase, Soundscan to make a deal sweeter. They must see real numbers that translate to sales. If your hype is built on false pretense, then your career will only be full of hot air.

Be your focus DJing, rapping, singing, spoken word or even comedy, your brand awareness is the key. Are you exploiting your brand to the fullest in order to generate sales? Artists and labels must learn this part of the business and not just focus on the creative and performance side. Understanding your brand and that your music has a value is the foundation of your business. This is what the focus must be, the bottom line!

Latest numbers are showing that 1% of all records released are generating 82% of the revenue in the industry (digitalmusicnews.com). This is a multi-billion dollar industry, so that means there is plenty of money out there for the EARNING. Indies today must use various avenues to generate multiple revenue streams. Your brand can sell anything from T-shirts to lighters to condoms, bottle openers, memory sticks, and key chains. No just downloads and CDs. The more outlets you have to build a brand, the more money and business you are able to generate. Unfortunately in our genre, we look at the money as a way out verses a way to build.

Each of you has a focus or gimmick to your brand and an image that must be promoted to the masses. You will spend time and money creating, producing, developing, marketing and advertising your products. You must promote hard for others to learn, associate and like what you do. You believe in your niche enough that when others attempt to knock you down, you get back up and keep moving forward. Believing in your Niche allows you to push harder in the exploitation process. If you use social media, google ads, websites, posters, flyers, radio, and strong consumer marketing, you have created a plan and purpose. All of it must make sense and generate revenue. In today’s market, we do not have to wait for product to be available to consumers as we did in the past. Back in “those days” we would have a four to six month set up of a CD release so that product was sitting on the shelves at retail. Today we MUST still take the same preparations. And those preparations still take a minimum of 120 days.

Taking the time to set a plan to exploit your niche is of the utmost importance. Below are items that should be included in your plan. This is not a guide or a checklist, but only an introduction.

Graphics – Photos, image, clothing, hair, makeup, ect – Must look professional and unique to you.
Bio – make sure your biography sells you. Tell your story and make it interesting.
Grass roots marketing – flyers, posters, stickers, T-shirts, ect
Viral Marketing – Social Networks, viral videos, blogs, website and online magazines
Publicity – Print, radio interviews, T.V. interviews
Tour – Promo runs – schools, lifestyle, car washes, rim shops. Beauty/barber shops, ect
DJ’s /Coalitions/Pools– email blasts, meet and greets, mp3 servicing, retreats, conventions
Mixtapes – physic al and digital placement

As you can see, NO WHERE in this list does radio play exists. During your set up stages, you do not need radio you need a story. To create and build your story it will take you no less than six months of grind and hard work. But in the end you will have created your niche and people will begin to look for it. Don’t get frustrated when you have to come back again with a second or third record. Keep up the work and you will find it will consistently build a fan base. Fans buy brands and music. All you have to do is give them something worth their time and money. Make them believe your Brand is worth their …time and money!

Janie Jennings

industryworks@gmail.com

@industryworks

Filed Under: Artist Tips, Ask An Expert, Basics, Featured, IndustryWorks, Keys to Success, Marketing Tagged With: bio, brand, DJs, graphics, grass roots, grass roots marketing, image, indie artists, market, mds, mediabase, mixtapes, niche, publicity, radio, record pools, revenue streams, sales, social media, soundscan, spings, t shirs, tour, viral, viral marketing

The Science of Radio: Understanding the Format

March 14, 2011 By katie Leave a Comment

When listening to the radio, what are the first thoughts that come into your mind? Maybe it’s the artist, the melody, or even the lyrics. To the average person, it’s their favorite song. How does one who is doing business with the radio station view it? That’s the view we want to approach when creating music and approaching radio stations for airplay consideration.

The questions you should be considering are:

Whenever anyone hears my record, will I be able generate sales/downloads, and will advertisers want to support my music?

Which artists are playing on the radio and why are they playing at different times?

Which time of the day do I hear any new music on the air, if any?

Does the station have mix shows? If so, who are the DJs and what time do they air?

Are the DJs in or out of the market?

Why is it necessary that a song is no longer than four minutes?

How long do average listeners actually listen to the station?

So many questions, too many answers. However if you’re smart in your approach and have the right team around you, finding out the answers to these questions will make your job easier. It may cost you some on the front end, but the benefits will be great in the end. The goal is to get your song into rotation because the people want to hear it. In 2011 there is no room for records that will not become classics in 30 years. Some of the music we hear now will be forgotten about and just fade away. If you want to be on the radio and have staying power, you need to make classics.

Derek “The Bigg DM” Jurand

VP/Core DJs Worldwide, LLC

CEO-DMJ Music Group, LLC

Filed Under: Artist Tips, DJ Coalitions, DJs, radio Tagged With: airplay, Bigg DM, core djs, derek jurand, dj, DJs, dmj music group, mix shows, radio, radio format, radio play, radio station, science of radio

DJs: Are We REALLY Breaking Records?

March 8, 2011 By katie 3 Comments

What’s good everyone? I want to address a topic that has garnered a number of questions and concerns over the years. Are DJs REALLY breaking records? You will be surprised at some of the responses.

Over the years, our role as DJs has changed, allowing our craft to be in the forefront of the industry—however there are still a few of us that have become lazy and stale in our approach. With digital technology and the Internet, DJs in my opinion have lost some of the edge that is required. Back in the day, artists servicing records to DJs, getting on the phone, and traveling to their cities were ways for us to build relationships and effectively work records. Now with the Internet, the servicing of records to DJs, different DJ coalitions, etc. the personal touch has been lost. It now comes down to a few of us that actually reach DJs with our brand and music. What can we do to help break these records? Here are a few things that if used effectively, will give artists an edge in music distribution and radio/club play.

First, artists need to support the various DJ coalitions (Core DJs, Coast 2 Coast DJs, Hittmen DJs, Cool Runnings DJs, etc.) and their movements. Go to their sites, see what type of traffic they are generating, come up with a business model, and do some real business. These organizations are here to help artists grow and distribute their music. Once you have participated in a meet and greet or industry mixer, it’s up to you—the artist—to follow up with the DJ via email, Twitter, and Facebook. Keep building your relationships with the DJs and find out how they are playing the record. Now, there are a few DJs unfortunately that get lost in the shuffle and have forgotten the art of breaking music. Those individuals may need to find a different career.

Second, set a budget aside to do a serious Internet/viral campaign. The Internet is the new “Street Team” approach to breaking records. All of the various e-blast services should be used to service your record. Do not hesitate—set aside about $2500 and make it happen. McDonald’s spends close to $2 million a week to brand and market its product. As an artist, you have to do the same. Generate as much buzz as you can, and Internet hits via tags and blog placements. If I can Bing or Google you and see pictures of your performances, videos, song placements, etc., there are real tangible numbers and stats that can be used to get you that deal you’re looking for. Also take advantage of websites like DJDataLinc.com, which is a site that DJs use to track their club spins (like a BDS for the club DJ). Find out if your DJ in your market is involved with that site, or any other that can give you some tracking information.

Lastly, get in your car, van, truck, or bus and travel to these markets and visit the DJs, the clubs, and the radio stations. This still works! Go to the beauty/barber shops, malls, schools, train stations—anywhere that there’s traffic and work. You will be surprised at the results. Do not be afraid to try something different; that can be the difference between your record jumping off or not. As DJs, we have a lot of tools that we can use to help artists be successful. Look at what you do as a business and not a hobby. Set it up that way, and the results will be what you expect.

Derek “The Bigg DM” Jurand

VP/Core DJs Worldwide, LLC

CEO-DMJ Music Group, LLC

Filed Under: Artist Tips, DJ Coalitions, DJs, radio Tagged With: Bigg DM, break records, breaking records, core djs, dj, dj coalition, DJs, dmj music group, e-blast, music, radio, singles, song placements, street team

Top 5 Urban DJ Coalitions

July 5, 2010 By Nick 7 Comments

dj-turntable-1024x768 DJ Coalitions have always been a staple of the music industry, mostly for behind the scenes. A record literally can NOT be broken to major airplay without the assistance of the DJs and by association, the DJ coalitions. In today’s industry, the DJ is ever more important as a fragmented industry has to be unified by the DJs and major tastemakers to bring records to the masses like they once were. The DJ represents all that is left of the traditional music industry, as power has shifted to the consumers from major labels, radio and distributors.

Core DJs – The Core DJs are probably the most widely known DJ coalition in the world headed by national mixshow director Tony Neal. The Core DJ Retreat also represents an annual industry event that is a must attend.
Coast 2 Coast DJs – Represent over 750 DJs that do mixtapes as well as the Coast 2 Coast All Star Radio DJs
Hittmenn DJs – Highly influential group of DJs, mostly located in the south region now just expanded to Hittmenn West
Bumsquad DJs – Large group of Radio DJs headed by Latin Prince
Shadyville DJs – Shadyville DJs have a short but highly effective list of top DJ talent, the group is headed by DJ Whoo Kid of 50 Cent fame.

Also See:

Fleet DJs - The FLEET DJS are an amazing mix of on air radio talent and mixtape gritty djs ready to break the next best artist in their city or in their hood. DJ Klassik and DJ Profulent started building their organization in early 2006 without any thought of it being a DJ crew.
RocHarder DJs – ROCHARDER DJ’S HEADED BY DJ T-ROC! http://www.rocharderdjs.com BROKE ALL THE SNAP RECORD’S.
Hood Hard DJs - Headed by DJ Aaries with the slogan “TEAMWORK Makes The DREAM WORK..!!”
Southern Style DJs
Slip N Slide DJs

Filed Under: Artist Tips, DJ Coalitions, DJs, Featured, Industry Events, Publishing, Radio Marketing, Uncategorized Tagged With: bumsquad, bumsquad djs, bumsquad djz, club, club djs, core djs, distributors, dj, dj coalition, DJ Coalitions, DJs, fleet djs, get played on radio, internet radio djs, kaspa, major labels, major tastemakers, mixshow, mixshow radio, music industry, radio, radio djs, record, record labels, shadyville, shadyville djs, song, tastemaker, tony neal, whoo kid

Start Your Own Internet Radio Station!

June 4, 2010 By Nick 2 Comments

For all those out there that have always dreamed of having their own radio station we have found the easiest solution, Live365. The internet radio service has over 6000 stations run by independent programmers like yourselves, not preprogrammed commercial garbage. The ease of access allows real people to play real music 24/7 to a worldwide audience. Best of all it is completely legal and decently priced for most solutions. They even have an option to pay your own royalties through BMI, ASCAP and SESAC so you can actually make money selling ads on your station!

We here at Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes have just recently launched Coast 2 Coast Radio using the Live 365 platform, with full royalties included and listing on iTunes radio. This is a great outlet for our music, mixtapes and most importantly our DJs! We will use the station as an internal tool to add to every aspect of what we are doing as the Coast 2 Coast brand. Please check out Coast 2 Coast Radio to see what Live 365 has done for us! Then consider what they could do for you!

To sign up as a VIP listener and get all the 6000+ channels commercial free please go click the banner!

Filed Under: Artist Tips, DJs, Featured, Marketing, Monetize Music, radio, Radio Marketing Tagged With: ascap, bmi, coast 2 coast radio, itunes, itunes radio, live 365, live365, mixtape radio, online radio, programmers, radio, radio ads, radio programming, radio service, sesac, streaming radio

ASK AN EXPERT – Going For Radio Adds

April 12, 2010 By Nick 2 Comments

Radio Unless you have worked for the radio department of a label, or else you have worked for an independent promoter or radio magazine, you probably have never heard of an “add date”. But the “add date” is probably the most basic building block of both commercial and college airplay, and it is used in every successful airplay charting campaign there is, so we better cover how it works.

The closest analogy there is to an add date is the “street date”. A street date is when a CD is “available” to the public. It is supposed to tell retailers when to “make available” the release to customers. That is where the similarity ends, however; radio goes on to be far more complicated.

A radio “add date” is supposed to tell stations when to add a record to its playlist. It is completely separate from, and has little else to do with, the street date. The add date can be before, the same as, or after the street date. Regardless, an add date simply MUST be used with any serious airplay attempt. A negative side effect, however, surfaces: You have one chance… and one chance ONLY… to make a particular song or album go at radio. After all, the date is printed right there on the package. You cannot come back next year and ask a station to reconsider it (and, we are talking here about new artists/labels.)

Everything a radio promoter does when talking to stations centers on the add date…

Four weeks before the add date, the promoter is describing the package to the stations (and for commercial stations… the consultants are handled too,) giving the stations a rough idea of what to expect musically. Also, a fax goes out, showing the release.

Three weeks before the add date, the promoter is describing the artist and the music in more detail, describing the spine of the CD, and scheduling resends for stations with changed personnel/addresses.

Two weeks before the date, the promoter solicits PDs/MDs for their initial interest/non-interest, and continues resends. Also, the details of any pertinent tour dates, press articles, or retail events/carriage are presented. It is also at this time that the first trade ads (advertisements, not “adds”) will run… scheduled and worded by the promoter.

Finally, one week before the add date, the promoter fishes for commitments from the most-interested stations; re-words the next trade ads; sends a second round of faxes; re-affirms to each station that they know the correct add date; does a final round of re-sending; scans for possible early adds; and finally, makes one last contact/message with each PD/MD in hopes that the station can be swayed at the last minute… while stations are deciding on which record to add. This is done with 25 to 2000 stations every week, depending on the campaign.

That’s the easy part. Now the real work starts… getting spins to occur after the add date; being “added” does not necessarily mean you are being “played”. Being added simply is the step you have to go through, “officially”, before spins occur. That’s why the “add charts” are separate from the “spin charts” in radio magazines. Your goal for the first charting week of every radio campaign is to get on the “most added” chart first, and you have only one week to do it. Thereafter, your focus becomes the main spin chart. And one by one, every week, the promoter contacts/messages each PD/MD, and attempts to get more and more of them on the bandwagon. Artists with bad music, or with no support, will struggle to get new stations, and probably won’t be “most added”. Releases with great music and good support will easily make the most added chart, and will then jump onto the main chart, with several new stations coming on each week (again, assuming we are working a new artist/label.)

The promoter’s work then continues: A non-commercial campaign may go 5-10 more weeks; A commercial campaign (for a single song) may go 3 to 12 more MONTHS, depending on results.

Thanks for taking a minute to read my Blog, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me anytime at expert@newindustrytips.com

Filed Under: Artist Tips, Ask An Expert, Featured, Keys to Success, major labels, Marketing, radio, Radio Marketing Tagged With: add date, airplay, album, cd, charting, college radio, commercial radio, independent promoter, major label, md, music director, pd, playlist, program director, promoter, radio, radio add, radio adds, radio playlist, radio promoter, record label, recrod promoter, schedule, single, street date

ASK AN EXPERT – Timing Your Radio Release

April 4, 2010 By Nick Leave a Comment

Radio Station Many people, when planning the date that their radio campaign will start, think that starting the campaign at a certain time of the year will make a huge difference in the outcome of the project. It won’t. There are many other factors which are far more important, and these factors will determine what happens with your release… Things like sequentially pushing a second and third release from the same artist; not abandoning a campaign until awareness has been built; providing the proper packaging; and properly choosing “album vs. single”.

That being said, there are some good things which can be had from different times of the year, which will give slight improvements in campaign performance, BUT, this technique will backfire if any ONE of the above mentioned points are not already taken care of. The following are the points to consider for the different calendar times:

JANUARY THROUGH APRIL: Many folks think that this is the best time for indie releases. Advertising on commercial radio certainly is cheapest, and most major labels are taking a short break before starting heavy promotion again (but you won’t be able to tell this by listening to the radio… you’ll just hear the same number of songs. What you don’t hear is how many releases are being PUSHED to radio.) Advertising in most trades is also cheapest at this time. So commercial regular rotation, or commercial specialty/mixshow, is a favorite at this time.

For college radio, obviously, most stations are in session during this period. Don’t worry about spring break; there is no national “one week” that every school is closed. Instead, spring break varies from school to school, with some doing it in mid February, and others doing it as late as mid May.

MAY THROUGH AUGUST: For both commercial and college radio, this is a good time to use your radio campaign to help you set up a tour.

For college radio, this the easiest time to chart, since college stations are getting the fewest number of releases. Many people think you can’t work a record to college during the summer… not true. You do lose about 150 stations during the summer, but about 650 of them stay on (many of them the bigger ones which broadcast to the whole town), and thus a favor is almost being done for you since many of the smaller ones have been removed.

Also with college, when the kids go home for summer, they still want to hear non-commercial radio; so they simply tune into the college station that is in their hometown.

The biggest advantage of summer college radio is that the CMJ charting is easiest here, due to the lower amount of competition from real labels.

SEPTEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER: For commercial radio, this is the time to work radio in order to sell lots of records. (That is, provided you are set-up and experienced enough, and have enough of a sales staff, to sell twenty or thirty thousand records.) This is the technique used by larger labels to sell most of their product.

For college, they are of course back in session, so for many artists that is all that needs to be said… college it’s going to be! Even though college radio receives many times more CDs in the fall than it does during the summer, many folks are going to push here nevertheless.

The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is actually a great time to start your college project, because the bulk of CDs have already arrived and passed, and for about three weeks there is very little competition again. You simply carry your project through the holiday, and start back up after the new year.

Bottom line: You can find something good about any time of the year to start your project.

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