Radio airplay has never been harder to get than it is these days. When I was releasing records in the 70’s and 80’s you could get 90 to 150 stations with one mailing. Today, that’s impossible. I have tried to track my own records, hired a radio promoter to track my records, and I’ve owned a radio promotion company. However, I am by no means a radio airplay expert! ... But these people are. Below are four questions I get asked all the time. I’ve gone to the experts for the answers. I have known all of these people for longer than I’d like to admit. All of them have my respect. If you are looking for representation at radio these are the best in the country!
Do I need to hire a tracker or can I just to do it myself?

Radio promotion, or tracking, is a lobbying working on behalf of clients to obtain radio airplay. Experienced promo people utilize connections they have built over the years with radio, usually with the station’s music director. A decade ago, it might have been possible for an artist to represent himself or herself at radio. That’s impossible today. Unless a person is familiar with the politics and the formalities of radio as well as individual stations, and has a relationship with music directors, phone calls are not usually returned. Any feedback received may not be accurate. Some music directors listen alone, and some with a group of station personnel; others use consultants. Music meeting range from being weekly to monthly to non-existent. An artist needs someone who knows the inside story at each station. By strategizing a sales pitch, a professional promoter can quickly identify if someone at the station has really listened, what he or she really thinks and what will interest each particular person about the artist.

Anya Wilson, President,
Anya Wilson Promotion and Publicity
401 Richmond Street West, Suite 220,
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1X3
Tel: 416-977-7704 • Fax: 416-977-7719
email: awilson@netsurf.net •
www.daughterofmine.com/aw


Does hiring a radio tracking firm guarantee my record gets airplay?

In a nut shell, NO. There is never a guarantee. What you are hiring a tracker for is their knowledge and experience in dealing within the various radio formats and also, the professional relationships which they have developed over the years with music programmers nationally. Radio knows who we all are and they are aware of our individual ability to pick singles that could possibly work with their playlists. This, at the very minimum, should guarantee your record is given a fair listen in the station’s weekly music meeting. From there it will depend, amongst other factors, how your song stood up against other new material that came in that week.

Could I do it myself?
There is really no reason why you couldn’t. Here’s what you have to do.
1. Get an appropriate radio list for your format complete with station call letters, contact names, mailing addresses, telephone and fax numbers and email addresses.
2. Mail out your cd single to all the selected stations
3. Get a good long distance carrier
4. Quit your day job
It can take anywhere from 2-8 months to complete a successful radio campaign with one single. 90% of programmers have set days and times in which they deal with trackers. You could be trying to adjust your schedule to approximately 200 programmers and you need to call them all every week. All in different time zones. Some you will get at their designated times. Others will need to be rescheduled and rescheduled until your face falls off, and then slotted back into their original day and time.
“I’ll just email them” you say. Yes ... definitley you should, but to supplement your telephone tracking campaign. Technology is a wonderful thing but unfortunately it is impersonal and too easy to ignore with a click of the curser. Especially when programmers don’t know who you are.
You are lucky enough to get a few adds at radio and now you’ve just picked up your first reporting add? Great!!! Now you are really going to get busy.
Dulce Barbosa, dB Promotions & Publicity Inc
1365 Yonge Street, Ste. 204, Toronto, Ontario M4T 2P7
Tel: 416-928-3550 • Fax:416-928-3401
email: info@dbpromotions.ca • www.dbpromotions.ca
How do I get my CD played on the radio?

This is one of the toughest tasks going. First, and most obvious, is that you must create a record that sounds, at the same time, fresh and original while not being so far removed from the dominating trends at the time of release as to be a poor fit. Having said that, everybody can, of course, come up with examples of tracks that became hits at radio that didn’t sound anything like the predictable trends. The key thing is, if you do have a good sound, do your best to capture it in your recording. This means a good studio, good engineer, good producer and a good mix. There are many bands that play live but can’t transfer the excitement of their live performance to record. Remember, too, that the songs you enjoy playing the most, and that elicit the best response from your fans at live shows, may not be the best track to promote to radio. When you hook up with a radio consultant / promo person, ask him or her about what should be the single from your project. They are in constant contact with broadcasters and they can do a better, or, at least, a more objective job, of selecting your single.

Greg Simpson, Mindbenders Music
504-470 Dundas Street,
London, Ontario N6B 1W3
Tel: 519-432-5317 • email: gregsimpson2001@rogers.com