How do I get my song on the radio – Is pay for radio play effective?
Radio, getting airplay and the ever popular question asked all the time “how do I get my song on the radio?” are being discussed to death these days with people praising radio and others slamming it. There are a lot of opinions when it comes to new online radio stations as well as the old terrestrial ones and all the satellite stations as well.
From those asking the exacts on how can I get my song on the radio to those asking if they should pay for radio play, it is a big argument with many in the music industry from record labels to music producers, music consultants to artists and everyone in between.
I am one of the people that is no longer a fan of radio. I find that most of the radio hype is based around a market that has died and barring a massive budget for airplay, these small crumbs that are sold to artists about getting this position or that spot are rarely if ever converting in to sales, revenue or assisting hype for getting signed or moving onward and upward in the music business.
While I would not cut radio entirely out of any launch budget for an artist that had the funds or the backing to do a full and proper release, I absolutely believe and have seen much more productive and profitable results from artists investing more in to social media than radio at this point.
Now you can show numbers and the hype of this hitting this spot or that spot on some chart. And right now, there are thousands and thousands of charts out there but show me the conversion.
I am tired of hearing about the hype of radio, the hype of paying for spots, the hype that charting on this chart or positioning here is all that. I am tired of seeing examples that are showcasing either higher echelon artists or using numbers from over a decade ago.
I want the proof and I want the numbers. To date I haven’t seen them and for those that have found radio to be effective, they are working on much much larger budgets with much more marketing than the average independent musician out there.
Be careful what you buy in to and what you pay for. Make sure it is worth your while, your time and your investment in the end. If it is not translating, converting to sales or larger exposure with some kind of proof, it is not worth it!
Talk is cheap while radio is not. Make sure you invest in proof for radio or anything else.
L
Loren Weisman is an accomplished music producer, author and music consultant. He is the author of “The Artist’s Guide to Success in the Music Business”, a book to help independent artists, musicians, bands, labels and managers achieve self sufficient and sustainable success. For more info on Loren and music consulting services, visit: http://www.lorenweisman.com
