5 Sure Fire Ways to Get Radio Play for Your ?Independent? Music!

You have to find radio airplay time if you're going to be heard and we're not just talking the local college campus. The trick is called promotion. Now that doesn't mean you just put your press kit in an envelope with a demo and hope they take pity on you. Perhaps you call a station and they give you the standard pitch of, "Send it and if we like it we'll put you in rotation." After a few months of never hearing your music, you automatically think you're not worthy.

First, don't buy that. You're one of hundreds, maybe even thousands depending on your city. Your disc will probably end up in the trash or, for more enterprising DJ's, on Ebay in a one-cent CD sale. If you want to be heard and make potential sales, you have to stand out from the crowd, and in this jewel of an article, I'll show you Five(5) Knock 'em Dead Ways to Do Just That!:

#1 - Get your CD into the right hands. The intern that's too busy to getting coffee or typing up a report for the station manager isn't going to be the one making the airplay decision. So find out who the head honcho is in that department and touch base with them. If the club you're playing at charges an admission or you have a show coming up offer to send the stations tickets to give away to listeners. Now keep in mind you can't give the tickets to the staff, since that's illegal and called payola, but you can offer free giveaway items to your potential audience.

#2 - If you've got one station in your pocket, then drop names. Let them know that WABC is playing your music and it's getting a great response.

#3 - Make genuine friends in the business. If you've got a disc jockey that's got you in rotation and really likes your sound, get to know them. Find out why they enjoy it and see if they've gotten any responses from listeners. If they haven't, ask if perhaps they might Q & A their callers about your music so you get a feel for your target audience. It's not a bad idea to ask them for a testimonial or quote if they're well known in your area if you know them personally. People help people. That's a fact so if you treat your area disc jockeys like a living and breathing human and not dollar signs, that's a foot in the door. Another good source is club owners. If they play your music and the fans go nuts ask them to say a few words about your sound that you can pass along to prospective stations, but be sure to sit down for a drink with them. Ask them about the picture of him and the woman and two kids behind the Magic Kingdom. Don't be fake, but be genuinely interested.

#4 - Network. Find out if someone you know (or someone they know) has connections to the music stations. Remember six degrees of separation - you're only six people away from knowing anyone on the planet and yes that includes station managers, concert promoters and record execs. The trick is it takes a great deal of work and time, but if you're serious, it's well worth it.

#5 - Go local, state, national. Don't think you're going to skip your local and state stations and be the next Matchbox Twenty. It doesn't work that way. Start small and then get big.

Making contacts and getting names can be tough, that's why you should start with a tested and proven music industry resource like The Industry Yellow Pages - Music Industry Contact Directory at http://www.TheIndustryYellowPages.com

The TIYP is helpful and loaded with contacts you can start using immediately without doing all the legwork yourself.

This article was written by Ty Cohen, the music industry's most recognizable voice! Ty is the C.E.O of Platinum Millennium Publishing, Platinum Millennium Records as well as owner of http://www.MusicContracts101.com and http://www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com .

Some of his work includes: books, directories, mini-courses and software programs including the titles: "How to Make a Fortune in the Music Industry by Doing it Yourself" and "How to Make $500,000.00 "or More" A Year in the Music Industry by Doing it Yourself".

To find out more about Ty Cohen, his services, products and how he may be able to help you succeed in the music industry go to http://www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com and sign up for his free limited edition music industry success 10-part "Mini-Course", it will work wonders for you and best of all, it's FREE, but EXTREMELY VALUABLE!

---

Interested in Improving the Sound of Your Stereo? Consider Records

Introduced in 1982, the compact disc was intended to provide better sound than the 40-year-old long-play record album, popularly known as the LP. Using a laser rather than a diamond needle for playback... Read More

The Secrets of Correctly Stringing Your Guitar

Why do you care about stringing your guitar you may ask. Well the reason is simple. It will make you sound better because if your guitar is properly strung, you will get longer... Read More

Is it Possible to Download Music Legally Anymore?

Throughout the past few years downloading music on the internet has increased in popularity. At the same time though, it has become illegal through many companies to download music as musicians and artists... Read More

Spectral Muses Revisited: The Channeled Melodies of Rosemary Brown

Rosemary Brown (1916-2001) was a middle-aged South London widow, making ends meet as a grade school kitchen assistant, who rocketed to international fame in 1968 through a BBC broadcast recounting her purported collaborations... Read More

Building Your Digital Music Collection

The previous two Tech Tips took a look at eight basic features of portable MP3 players worth considering before laying down some serious money on one of these devices. Once you have a... Read More

Vintage Guitar Collectors Can Still Find Deals

If you're a recent vintage guitar collector, the stories you've heard are true. You once could step into pawn shops or flea markets and find vintage Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Stratocasters for... Read More

Play Piano in the New Age Style

It's not what you play, it's how you play it. These words summarize the art of piano playing in general and New Age piano playing in particular. You could take 2 chords, and,... Read More

The British Invasion

The Kasabian concert at the Kool Haus seemed like a concert somewhere in England (even though I haven't been there). This band out of Leicester pumped out amazing electronic, rock beats with an... Read More

Origin of Erik Saties Gnossiennes

The 'trois Gnossiennes' (1890) is a set of dance-like pieces of similar character, like the earlier composed 'trois Sarabandes' (1887) and 'trois Gymnop?dies' (1888). The 'trois Gnossiennes' were first published by Satie as... Read More

Legal Free Music Downloads - Songs You Want at No Cost

It's all over the news these days. Download music from the Internet and you could be sued, fined, and/or go to jail. The truth is free music downloads, done correctly, are completely legal.The... Read More

These MIDI Tools Are Music To My Ears

Curious about MIDI? Want to find out what tools are out there and what they do? Here are a few pointers.MIDI Maestro is music software designed for use by amateur and professional music... Read More

Piano Playing For Adults: More Fun Than Sex And Not Nearly As Dangerous!

OK, so I lied about the fun part.Maybe piano playing is the just 2nd most fun thing adults can do. But 2nd place isn't bad when you consider the popularity of the competition.But... Read More

The Acoustic Guitar

The steel-stringed acoustic guitar is usually credited with being developed by C.F. Martin and Company sometime during the 1830s. Although other "gut-stringed" acoustics were around at that time, it was the Martin Company... Read More

Killer Piano Playing Secrets of a Chord Addict!

I wish you could have seen me play the piano when I was just learning. I was the nearest thing to "hopeless" that you could imagine. I was into baseball, not music ?... Read More

Play Piano As Fast As Possible!

One of the rules of practicing we all hear over and over is "Be sure to practice slowly." (I'm guilty of this too!) Often the result of this is a feeling of inhibition,... Read More

Paint Your Own Musical Landscapes!

I don't know why, but I find the idea of interpreting nature musically to be very appealing. Maybe it's because I'm attracted to nature's beauty, but the notion of communicating that beauty musically... Read More

10 Ways for Unknown Musicians to Get the Word Out

When Clear Channel controls the radio and the monopoly newspaper doesn't like you, how do you win over new audiences?The good news: there are many, many ways. Here are ten of my favorites.1.... Read More

Polychords and the Jazz Improviser: How to Practice & Apply Polychords to Improv

In the world of music, many Jazz improvisers and Classical composers eventually venture into exploring poly-harmony within their respective art form. Poly harmony is the simultaneous sounding of more than one harmonic concept.... Read More

How to Construct Chords and Improvise

How To Construct Basic Chords on the PianoThe easiest way to start learning how to build chords is to practice their constructions in the key of C Major. You're just playing all white... Read More

Performance and Gigs

"For optimum amp tone onstage, plug your amp into your own AC outlet.." - Eric Johnson DOING GIGS In my opinion, there are two kinds of performers: 1 - Concert performers -- who... Read More

Common Thoughts That Kill Inspiration

Do you sit down at the piano and feel anxiety or peace? Are you anxious to begin creating or does the thought of being at your instrument bring you a sense of well... Read More

Flaming Guitars! Minarik Fuels The Excitement of a New Generation of Musicians

From the Telecaster to the Flying V to the Iceman to the Warlock, some guitar designs are forever branded on our consciousness, and now there's a new one: the Minarik Inferno X-treme. The... Read More

What is Piano GHD Syndrome?

Do you remember the movie, Groundhog Day? In this wonderful movie, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) relives the same day - Groundhog Day, over and over and over again. No matter what... Read More

Review: The Bled - Pass the Flask

Released in 2003, Pass the Flask turned this little quintet from Tucson, into a mainstream success overnight. Classifying this band as 'metalcore' or 'indie' or 'hardcore' is quite futile, because for every genre... Read More

Things To Know When Shopping For A Guitar Amplifier

Guitar amplifiers are a major part of your tone. Some amps can do many things well, while others excel at producing specific tonal qualities. When shopping for a guitar amplifier, you will have... Read More

A Quick and Easy Composition Method

Here's the method I use every time I want to capture an idea. I draw out 8-bars (or measures) first. Why 8 bars? Because it is an ideal framework to work in. Eight... Read More

George Winston and New Age Piano Playing

The first time I heard George Winston play back in the early 1980's I was blown away. I didn't know why I liked this music. All I knew was that it made me... Read More

Suzuki Violin Vs Traditional Violin

The Suzuki violin method has come to dominate the way violin is taught in America and throughout much of the world. Mention the Suzuki violin method to music educators, and you will get... Read More

Facts about MC Big Proof

Facts about MC Big Proof"If I was you, suicide would be a way of life. If you was me , you'd kill you." (Proof)Before I start talking about D12's gifted Mc Proof, I... Read More