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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Sites Where You Can Get Your Music Reviewed
3. Radio Shows that will Play Your Music
4. Online Services that will Help to Sell Your Music
5. Sites Where You Can Upload Your Band's MP3s or Videos
6. Helpful Music Resources
7. How to Make the Most Out of a Music Conference PART II by Valerie DeLaCruz
8. Independent Radio Promoter Checklist PART I by Bryan Farrish
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NYRock.com...
Featuring services for indie musicians such
as gig listings, cd reviews, concert reviews, more.
While you're there, check out the latest music news
on artists such as Eminem, Missy Elliott, Courtney Love,
and David Bowie. Plus interviews with Andrew WK,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, more. http://nyrock.com
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SIGN UP A FRIEND TO RECEIVE THE INDIE CONTACT NEWSLETTER
and qualify to win a Sennheiser E835 microphone or a pair of
Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones! You will receive ONE ballot for
EVERY person that you refer.
To sign someone up, e-mail indiecontactnewsletter@rogers.com
with the word "news" in the subject heading. Put all addresses
you are referring in the body of the e-mail. Once entered, your
ballots will remain in for ALL future draws
This month's winner of the Sennheiser E835 microphone
(visit http://www.sennheiserusa.com)
- Steve Hood, Marcellus, NY
This month's winner of a pair of Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones
(visit http://www.sennheiserusa.com)
- Tim Groves, North Gower, ON
This month's winners of 1 year subscriptions to OnStage
Magazine (visit http://www.onstagemag.com)
- Artemis Robison, Oakland, CA
- Anthony LaFerrera, Gainesville, FL
The winner of "The Songwriter's Guide to Demo Submission"
e-book by Brian Cook (for more information on this book, visit
http://www.songwritersguide.com)
- Samy Elgazzar, Athens Greece
The winner of "How To Successfully Promote Your Music on the
Internet" e-book by David Nevue (for more information on this
book, visit http://www.musicbizacademy.com)
- Rob Davidson, Braidwood, Australia
The winner of the book/CD set "Inside The Music Business: The
Power Players (for more info visit about this set visit
http://www.insidethemusicbusiness.com)
- Eric Silverman, Easton, MA
The winner of A 3-month subscription to the Monthly Audio Series
(for more info visit http://www.insidethemusicbusiness.com)
- Wendee, Santa Clarita, CA
The winner of "The Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" e-book by
Bob Baker (for more information on this book,
visit http://www.thebuzzfactor.com)
- Marley Cook, Winston Hills, Australia
The winner of the 3 month subscription to the Bandit Newsletter
(for more information on this newsletter, visit
http://www.banditnewsletter.com)
- Juan Cabrer, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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2. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the October Edition of The Indie Contact Newsletter.
This month's newsletter features PART 2 of Valerie DeLaCruz's
helpful article on how to get the most out of music conferences.
Our second article is one that I have been hoping to present to you
for quite awhile now. I finally found the article that I've been
looking for! It deals with that often shady area of the music
business....radio promotion.
I met Radio Promoter Bryan Farrish last month on a couple of occasions.
I have corresponded with Bryan many times, and was happy to finally
meet him in person. I respect his insight into the mysterious world of
radio promotion. I asked if he had any articles that could help the artist
that is as confused as the rest of us, as to what exactly a Radio Promoter
does, and what should one expect. Brian was kind enough to allow me to use
a very insightful 2 PART article/checklist that will help you to get an idea
of what you should expect (and what you should try to avoid) when it comes
to the overall process of radio promotion.
In other news, I have decided to end the "Music Review" segment of this
newsletter. This newsletter is now dedicated in its entirety to listing
resources and services that will help you and your career. Special thanks
to Keith "the Muzikman" Hannaleck for taking the time to do all those great
reviews over the past two years.
One last piece of business. I mentioned last month about a rogue
company that was ripping off Independent artists.
I feel what the Independent Music World needs is some sort
of watchdog site to make these businesses accountable for their
actions. It could be a website where those with issues could bring
them forth, and the services in question would be allowed to respond
...allowing artists from around the world to check both sides of the
story, and decide for themselves if they want to risk dealing with that
particular company.
I have a volunteer to do the webwork, and it looks like someone has
donated a site to use. I thought a good name for the Organization/Site
would be "Face the Music". I don't have the time to head this
organization....I just thought it was a good idea. If you would like
to donate a bit of your time to this cause, please get in touch. It's
something that will help every musician and songwriter in the world, if
it does eventually get up and running.
And as is the case every month, there is a sizable group of new
contacts listed that can help you to gain more exposure for your music.
So dig in, and enjoy the October issue of The Indie Contact Newsletter!
David Wimble
Editor
indiecontactnewsletter@rogers.com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Below are the contacts that were submitted to me in September.
The contacts listed are sorted into FIVE sections.
1. Publications that will review your music
2. Radio stations/shows that will play your music
3. Online services that will help to sell your music
4. Sites where you can upload your band's MP3s or videos
5. Resources and promotional sites for Independent bands
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2. SITES/PUBLICATIONS WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED
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The Creative Line Great Songs Chart and Reviews
Glenn TheArtistsLine@cs.com
http://www.TheCreativeLine.us
http://www.ArtistsHelpingArtists.org
A grassroots arts and music oriented magazine in the Southern
California area that is geared to songwriters, fine artists,
poets, musicians, actors, writers, etc. as well as general art
and music lovers. Send your CDs for review to The Creative Line,
PO Box 8323, La Crescenta, CA 91224, USA.
Underground Society
Undersociety@aol.com
http://undersociety.free.fr
A french e-zine dedicated to all metal styles!! Bands, labels,
zines and others send your promo packages for reviews / interviews
/ articles to: Underground Society, 13 Rue John Kennedy,
Lotissement Du Lac, 40990 Saint Paul Les Dax, France
Fleabomb.com
Stanley sholditch@yahoo.com
http://www.fleabomb.com
An indie website that promotes local bands in Birmingham, AL, as
well as any bands that we deem original or worthy that may come
through the Birmingham or Southeast area. We have done interviews
with local hip-hop acts, and numerous local indie-bands. We are
looking to expand beyond just the Southeast as far as bands we cover,
and we would very much like to be listed as bands that can upload
MP3s and provide exposure to independent music. I would love to
help out any talented bands.
The Bluegrass Page
Graylen Cook cgraylen@hotmail.com
http://groups.msn.com/TheBluegrassPage
Will review cds for indie artists. My core group is dedicated
bluegrass fans.
The Rock Quarry.net
Devin O'Bryan quarrymaster@devinobryan.com
http://www.therockquarry.net
American rock reviews along the I-20 strip between Texas and
Mississippi!! We bring it!
Independentsounds
Se?n sean@independentsounds.net
http://www.independentsounds.net
Galway's (ireland) finest online music publication where positive
people give positive feedback!
Energy Castle Record Co. and Zine
Caleb Dermyer skyinarug@juno.com
http://www.energycastle.com
Indie/Pop record label and zine. Non-exclusive contracts, singles
club and reviews.
2 Walls Webzine
Michael Walls mwalls@2walls.com
http://www.2walls.com
Commentary for the socially misguided - music reviews, book reviews,
social commentary, rants and blogs.
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YOU NEED BETTER SALES AND DISTRIBUTION FOR YOUR CD.
If your CD isn't for sale in CD Baby, you're losing sales!
ALL CD SALES FROM mp3.com, garageband.com, iuma.com go through CD Baby.
CD Baby has been featured in the NY Times, MSNBC, Wired, CNET and more.
10,000 CUSTOMERS A DAY go through cdbaby.com looking for CDs like yours.
Such a popular online store, you HAVE to make sure your CD is there.
They pay $20,000 a week to musicians like you (over $1 million so far!)
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO START SELLING is go to http://www.cdbaby.net
Takes 5 minutes. Send them a box of CDs. They'll sell them and pay you.
Real cool people. Total first-class treatment. Great CD distribution.
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3. RADIO SHOWS THAT WILL PLAY YOUR MUSIC
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You Pick the Hits Radio
Blaque starbaze1@sbcglobal.net
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/starbaze1
You can purchase radio time that guarantees your CD is played on our
radio show for exposure, promotion and sales.
Costa Rica Radio Airplay Project seeking submissions
Bruce mundodehockey@yahoo.com
A chain of 12 regional radio stations in Costa Rica is seeking
submissions of ALL styles of music for airplay on their network.
The network is run under the I.C.E.R {Costa Rican Radiographic
Institute }which is funded by Radio Netherlands and Leichenstein.
All decent sounding submissions will be programmed into the
stations playlists and will be gratefully received. These stations
are not serviced by record labels and are hungry for music sung
in english and radio program submissions of all types. All artists
that are distributed to the stations will have their airplay
progress monitored and reference material will be provided to them
to document their progress. Opportunities exist for performing in
Costa Rica as well.
The Ska Parade Radio Show
SKAPARADE@aol.com
http://www.skaparade.com
Since its inception, the show has built a reputation for showcasing
cutting-edge new artists. All genres of music are welcome!
Garage Radio
John Foxworthy roadrash@garageradio.com
http://www.garageradio.com
A site dedicated to promoting independent artists via 24/7/365
Internet radio stream.
BLUEPRINT ENTERTAINMENT, LLC.
K Shorter blueprintent@comcast.net
http://www.Blueprintent.com
I have a new radio show on KABF 88.3 Little Rock, AR Tuesdays
from 1pm to 3pm. I am looking to play R&B and some forms of rock
music. I would like to offer the opportunity for artist to send
me material to the station. Support indie music!!!
BoomboxRadio
Lawrence Littrell info@boomboxradio.com
http://boomboxradio.com
Everything about independent bands and artists...cds.band
bookings...newsletters and music...talk radio shows.
eindie records - eindie radio
Jacob Bouchard kickitonetime@hotmail.com
http://www.eindie.com/NewFiles/eindieRadio.html
eindie radio playing the bands of eindie, other local NY
bands, influeneces of... Selection of Punk,New Wave/, CLassic
rock , Rap filling in the gaps in radio. MP3 stream.
TraceLength Radio
Aaron Fisher shaggy@tracelength.com
http://tlradio.tracelength.com
An Internet radio station that plays indie music of all genres.
More info at our site.
BJ THE DJ
Bjarne C. Hesselbjerggaard bj-the-dj@adslhome.dk
http://www.dj.1go.dk
Radio DJ in Denmark, Country-Action Show since 1989, play mostly
independent artists from all over the world.
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BOOSWEET RECORDS ONLINE
"The independent label label for career minded artist"
Expose your music to over 1,000,000 visitors a month
http://www.boosweet.com
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ADD YOUR LISTING TO THE GALARIS MUSICIANS DIRECTORY!!
http://galaris.com/musiciansdirectory/submit.php
This summer Galaris is publishing a new resource for musicians!!
This all inclusive musicians directory will include the following categories:
Booking Agents, Clubs, Disc Manufacturers, Distributors, Legal Services,
Magazines, Managers, Music Retailers, Photographers, Promoters, Publicists,
Publishers, Radio Stations, Record Labels, Music Schools, Studios,
Video/Sound Production, Engineers and Producers.
Those who fit into any of these categories are encouraged To submit
their listing at: http://galaris.com/musiciansdirectory/submit.php
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4. ONLINE SERVICES/LABELS THAT WILL HELP SELL YOUR MUSIC
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Mage Promotions Mathieu
Soucy mage_design@hotmail.com
http://www.magepromotions.cjb.net
Promotion services on the internet for bands & musicians.
CDbarn.com
IndieLaunch.com cdstore@stationMP3.com
http://www.cdbarn.com
Sell your CD through IndieLaunch.com, CDbarn.com, and Yahoo Shopping.
Reach millions of new customers worldwide! Setup is easy!
RhythmNet.com
Craig Cooke craig@rhythmnet.com
http://www.rhythmnet.com
A website for independent musicians. Viewers can read about artists,
listen to their music and purchase their CDs.
GenerationAudio.Com
Mark Skelton mail@generationaudio.com
http://www.generationaudio.com
UK based store selling only releases from independent bands and
labels on a sale or return basis.
TE'NAJ RECORD COMPANY
Rasheeda Denning MilMilPro@fiam.net
http://www.tenajrecordcompany.com
We're a one stop does it all corporation. We specialize in
production, songwriting, recording, manufacturing, distribution,
marketing, publishing and management.
Zorch Productions
Tobba Andersson info@zorchproductions.com
http://www.zorchproductions.com
Label that release the best unsigned stuff from Scandinavia.
We do NOT trap bands with contracts, just one release of stuff we
LIKE A LOT!
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The Orchard (www.theorchard.com) is one of a kind! We are
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dominant provider of independent and global content to all
of the major on-line stores including, Amazon.com, Barnes
and Noble.com, CDNow etc... as well as traditional retail.
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GET YOUR CD REVIEWED. GUARANTEED...
Indiemusicreview.com is a new website that empowers
independent artists by offering them CD REVIEWS as well as in-
depth CRITIQUES of their works by an award winning producer.
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emailed directly to you. For more info, click over to
http://www.indiemusicreview.com/indiebible
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5. SITES WHERE YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR BAND'S MP3s
OR VIDEOS
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Cube-music
Mick Hilton Mick@cube-music.com
http://www.cube-music.com
Video & audio programmes for retail entertainment. I can promote
your video or audio tracks to UK audiences in excess of 10M each
month, via our instore music programmes.
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NEW FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF ONSTAGE MAGAZINE!
Aux Send is the new monthly e-newsletter from Onstage magazine. It offers
news about the latest gear, a calendar of upcoming events of interest to
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Picks," a section where we spotlight several indie and unsigned artists.
Click the link below to subscribe to this FREE newsletter!
http://www.mailcubed.com/news/primedia/?x=l.l.E.l.10.93.l.l
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ARE YOU A BIBLE THUMPER?
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To learn more about the Indie Bible visit https://www.indiebible.com/icb
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6. HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR YOUR BAND
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Great American Song Contest
Steve moontunes@linkport.com
http://www.GreatAmericanSong.com
Nov. 7 is the deadline for our contest. This annual songwriting
event is open to songwriters everywhere.
The Kids Are Bored - Live Electronic Music Listings
Corey H Maass mail@thekidsarebored.com
http://www.thekidsarebored.com
Electronic music artists and promoters create a basic profile
and list their live events.
Traditional Country Music in Florida
Steve L. Butts cwosteve50@hotmail.com
http://books.dreambook.com/radiocountry/markbeard.html
Our goal is to promote all "NEW" and existing artists who
strive to keep "Traditional Country Music" alive.
The PAN Network
Perry Leopold pan@pan.com
http://www.pan.com
A free tracking system is now available for independent music
sites. It automatically collects and compiles song download data
from sites like yours on a daily basis and ranks the artists on
a chart showing the most popular (i.e. most downloaded) artists
and songs. The charts will be freely available to anyone on
the net, along with links to all the artists and the songs
listed on the chart.
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SONICBIDS is an online service that connects musicians and music
promoters. Instead of mailing out traditional, bulky press kits,
Sonicbids' members email Sonicbids Electronic Press Kits (EPKs).
Soncbids EPKs - which contain the MP3 files, pictures, press
reviews and contact information - can be easily emailed to anyone,
anywhere! In addition, members can directly submit their EPKs
to some of the world's biggest festivals, clubs, and conferences
for free. Members are also eligible for exclusive Sonicbids spots
at some of the hottest conferences around the world. Promote your
band in a powerful new way, for only $39.95 a year.
Go to www.sonicbids.com/default.asp?pID=1435 today!
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LAST TANGO PRODUCTIONS
Building Careers and Breaking Artists Since 1989
FULL SERVICE PROMOTIONS in Canada including:
National Publicity & Commercial Radio Tracking, Campus Press and
Campus Radio, Video & Record Pool Promotions, Tour Support and Special
Events. Check out our website for full details including samples of
our work and testimony from our clients.
Contact: Yvonne Valnea/LAST TANGO PRODUCTIONS
94 Marion St.Toronto, Ont. M6R 1E7
Phone: 416-538-1838 Email: lastango@pathcom.com
www.lasttangoproductions.com
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7. HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF A MUSIC CONFERENCE - PART II by Valerie DeLaCruz
? 2002 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
10. Networking is the name of the game. You will meet so many people that
you won't remember them all when you leave, and the same of them remembering
you. The single most important thing you can do is exchange and collect
business cards. Write a note to yourself about what you talked about, or if
you told the person you would like to follow up. I refrain sometimes from
giving packages out with the throng that accosts the panelists after their
presentation, and instead collect their card and ask if I can send it along
in a week or two. This again separates out your stuff from the crowd. But
use your judgment; seize the moment. If you have the opportunity to hand
deliver a package to the producer you never thought you'd be lucky enough to
meet, take it!
11. Practice remembering names; it will go a long way to be able to address
someone you met by their name. Everyone wants to feel valued.
12. Find out where everyone is hanging out after the sessions. Definitely go
to the "mixers" to talk to people in a more casual atmosphere. Sometimes
there are informal "jams" or guitar-pulls late into the night where you hear
some of the most compelling music. I ended up booking someone to share a
bill with me after being astonished at her beautiful song during one of these
sessions.
13. In the question-and-answer session that normally follows a presentation,
be conscious of not wasting the time of the panelists or other attendees with
your personal request. (I heard recently and saw many eyes roll when a
participant used his chance at the microphone to go into microscopic detail
about the steps he had taken to get his demo played on radio, naming deejays,
etc.!). Ask yourself if the question you have would benefit everyone, such
as clarifying a point, or if it would be better to get to the speaker later
privately.
14. Take advantage of signing up for one-on-one critique sessions. These are
invaluable and educational, not to mention making a personal connection with
someone in the industry that may be able to help you. Even if there is an
extra charge for this, sign up for at least one. Here is where you can pick
the brains of the experts. And if you ask for a critique, take it
graciously; don't challenge the reviewer's advice or become defensive. This
is how we learn and progress. You may not agree entirely with them (it is,
after all, one person's opinion), but there is probably a grain of truth in
there.
15. If you showcase, prepare a great and tight set list that shows what you
have that is different than everyone else. I always prefer to do a fantastic
five-song set than two hours in a bar where no one pays attention. If they
can't get a flavor of your style, performance and sound in five songs, then
you have not focused on a genre, and you will have a lot of problems anyway.
It's good to start with a strong, driving, uptempo song. Plan your segues
for a smooth transition. Don't stand around onstage while you and the band
are trying to decide the next song; this looks unprofessional. However, if
you judge the crowd and think a different song would maintain your momentum,
say that?speaking candidly to the audience makes them feel involved. Just be
well-rehearsed and prepared for this possibility if you do it. Plan your
appearance to maximize your shot at getting noticed or having a style
identification. No more than one ballad, which should be a pleasant change of
pace, then close with another fantastic uptempo song.
16. Have your cards and demo CDs at the stage readily available for people to
take. You never know when Miles Copeland will be in the audience!
17. OK, it's over and you are overwhelmed, but in a good way. When you get
home, the real work begins, unless you were signed to a recording contract
right on the spot.
a. follow up with thank you notes to the organizers and panelists of the
conference.
b. Organize the business cards you collected and assign action steps to them.
c. Put the packages together and send them to the people you said that you
would (within a week or ten days while it is still fresh). Tailor them now
that you know what they are looking for.
d. Keep a log of your contacts, what you did to follow up, and then call in
about two weeks to follow up on the packages you sent out.
e. Schedule those co-writing or demo sessions you connected with.
f. Order the publications and/or resources that you discovered.
Good luck and enjoy the experience!
=============================================
Valerie DeLaCruz's passionate career pursuit and professionalism has been
a model for other grassroots artists. Through hard work and persistence
(and talent!) she's continued to make headway in the rough and tumble music
industry. To learn more about Valerie, visit her website at
www.valeriedelacruz.com.
(This article first appeared in the July 3rd "Just Plain Notes" newsletter).
============================================
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BONUS: Early bird entrants receive a FREE gift.
Hurry, visit: http://www.songwriting.net
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8. INDEPENDENT RADIO PROMOTER CHECKLIST - PART I by Bryan Farrish
? 2002 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
If you are hiring a promoter to push your artist to radio, here are
a few things you can consider which will help you have the greatest
chance of success. (And when I say promoter, I mean an airplay
promoter, not a club or booking promoter.) The big concern with this
process is, if you choose the wrong person(s) to promote your artist...
and end up with bad results... you can't just go back and do it over
again. That's it for that CD (at those stations). That CD is now
"an old project" at those stations, and you can't go back to them
until you have a new release.
USING A FRIEND: Non-experienced friends sometimes offer to work
artists to radio for free or "for a few dollars". This is fine as
long as you use them for the right tasks... like helping with the
mailing, etc. If you are working college radio... say, no more than
20-30 stations... then they could make some calls too. But if they
try to call any more stations than this, or if they try to call
commercial radio, they will probably stumble after just a couple of
weeks. And forget any capacity of doing reports or trade charts.
SOMEONE FROM THE MAJORS: Staff promoters at major labels
sometimes offer to "help you out on the side" for a fee. On their days
off, or on the weekend, they say they will "make some calls for you".
What happens is that their company finds out and disallows it, or,
the person gets tied up on their days off and can't do it. You
are then stuck. Either way, it is a conflict of interest for them.
PR PEOPLE: Public Relations (or "publicity") people sometimes
offer to work an artist to radio for airplay. But don't, however,
confuse PR with airplay. A real radio campaign has nothing to do
with publicity. They are two separate techniques, with different
contacts, lead times, terminology, call frequency, and so on. A
person who is good at one is usually terrible at the other. This
is why they are always separate departments at labels.
STATION PEOPLE: Station employees are sometimes recruited
to work an artist, and will tell you that "they know what stations
want." This sounds convincing, but in reality, taking the calls
(which they do/did at the station), and making the calls, are
very different animals. Until station people are trained (at a
label or indie), they make poor promoters.
OWN CHART: When you do hire a real promoter, make sure
he/she is not affiliated with the chart that they say they are
going to promote you to. Some promoters actually publish their
own chart, and they can put you on it wherever they want to. And
they can take you off just as quick. Worse, any advertising
money you place with the publication actually just goes straight
to them. They won't make any of this clear to you... you'll have
to ask around.
BIG CLIENTS: The most-often used sales technique of promoters
is to tell you they have worked "some big artist", and that
this would benefit you. Ask them what they mean by "worked".
Were they solely responsible for charting that artist? Probably
not (you will have to ask the artist to verify this... the
promoter is just not going to tell you the truth.) More than
likely, the promoter was probably just partnered with a label
or another promoter, or worse, was just an assistant or
sidekick. Again, they WILL NOT tell you they were not the
only promoter. You will HAVE to ask the artist or the artist's
management directly.
Promoters who really do work major label projects just do
not like to work with entry-level projects. With major label
projects, the indie promoter ALWAYS has staff promoters at the
label doing a ton of the work, in addition to heavy retail (the
CD is on the shelf at most bookstores), touring (20-200 cities
in major venues), and press (10-100 articles in major publications
like Spin or Billboard, along with 50-500 articles in small
publications.) And all this is on top of TV appearances. So if
you think that the indie promoter is the one person who made the
artist chart, think again. He will not be able to do the same for
you.
- PART II of this article will appear next month -
=============================================
Bryan Farrish is an independent radio airplay promoter. He can
be reached at 818-905-8038 or www.radio-media.com. Want to
be informed of any events, seminars or parties we do in Los
Angeles?... send an email to meet@radio-media.com
============================================
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