While I’ve been emailing 358 radio stations one by one in the US over the last few days I’ve had plenty of time to think about how radio has changed over the years, how it’s stayed the same, and certainly how much time, money, and effort has gone into getting airplay over the years. Now emailing over 300 stations individually can only be compared to taking a pair of dull scissors and stabbing my eyes but who else is going to do it?
“Are we strangers now like rock n’ roll and the radio?” Ray LaMontagne
Radio has had a huge influence on me over the years and I love the format. I remember waiting wildly with my tape deck to record my new favorite song off my local station as a kid. I remember the special moments and seasons when I was introduced to some of my favorite bands via fantastic radio programming. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed really. There are still a lot of great stations, shows and DJ’s out there turning us all on to new tunes. Another thing that hasn’t changed is that it is very expensive to get music to decision makers at stations and even harder to get them to add a song to their playlists.
“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.” Marilyn Monroe
It’s hard to comprehend how many CD’s I have delivered of the years to radio world-wide. Certainly thousands have gone out my door with a large percentage headed straight for the trash can. Not until I hired successful radio promoters in the US and UK did my music really have a fighting chance. This year I’ve gone 100% digital with my music and I no longer press my albums physically. With the help my label, Blue Pie Records, I am testing the new world format by sending my AirPlay Direct page where stations can download my tracks for airplay. Check it out here.
“Radio is a bag of mediocrity where little men with carbon minds wallow in sluice of their own making.” Fred Allen
Over the past few years I’ve had some really great airplay in formats including College, Triple-A, BBC Radio in the UK, and Hot AC in the US. I’ve been lucky to work with some brilliant radio promoters including Tinderbox Music, Serious Bob Promotion, Jeff Chegwin Promotion, and Kyle Meredith Promotion. These relationships allowed me to chart in the top 200 at Triple A radio in the US, get titles added at over 230 College stations, as well as getting major features and on-air performances on BBC Radio 2 in the UK.
“It’s so sweet, I feel like my teeth are rotting when I listen to the radio.” Bono
I’ve also gotten screwed a few times by shady promoters, who will not be named for good reason. I’ve had radio reports doctored, been fed misinformation and lost thousands of dollars in the process. This all in the name of believing in my songs as well as being naive to the dirty business that is radio in the US. As far as I can tell Payola is still very much alive, and there is still a great divide between quality music and it’s ability to have even a slim chance to competing with major label releases. Radio playlists are in large part created by independent radio consultants who are paid off, stroked off and wined and dinned to make a single happen at radio.
“Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today?” Billy Joel
I know a lot of people use YouTube as their radio these days and I’m guilty of it too. Others enjoy sites like Pandora that give the impression that they are an open format to all available music. The fact is that they exclude huge amounts of quality music that has charted at conventional radio and been reviewed my major print magazines. I’ve been asked by fans of my music on numerous occasions why they can’t find me on Pandora. We’ll folks it’s because they have decided for you what you’ll like. Period. There are some great sites like blip.fm and The Sixty One that allow music listeners to choose for themselves and share what they like and what they’re listening to. It’s sites like these that are leveling the playing field for the future.
“The whole country was tied together by radio. We all experienced the same heroes and comedians and singers. They were giants.” Woody Allen
Getting paid for airplay in the US is worth another whole post but I won’t bore you. I’ll just say that the systems are broken and something needs to happen on a large scale to ensure that writers get paid for each and every spin at both conventional and satellite radio. How else can artists afford to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars promoting their music to radio in the first place?
“When buying a used car, punch the buttons on the radio. If all the stations are rock and roll, there’s a good chance the transmission is shot.” Larry Lujack
So the next time you’re listening to your favorite radio station take a moment and think about the immense effort that it takes to get a song on air, and the considerable amount of bullshit that continues to keep a lot of great music from your ears.
