Bridging The Gap between Artists & Radio - A MUST READ for all Upcoming Artists

Bridging The Gap

Up until 4 years ago, I thought there was a huge rift between music artists and radio but after working in both spheres, I’ve come to realise that there is just a huge miscommunication.

There is this perception that there is an ongoing war between radio and artists – more so, upcoming artists. It’s sort of a “frienemy” situation where an attitude of “I need you but don’t necessarily like you” exists.

To a certain extent, I could say that this is true but there are many things that can be done to reduce the wound a little! However, scar tissue will still exist.

Enough with the medical analogies!

As I’ve mentioned earlier, there’s also a big misunderstanding from both parties that could also have attributed to the divide. And I’ve come to this realisation after working as both a recording artist and broadcaster for quite some time now.

Firstly, let’s look at radio. There are some who work in radio who would like to make it about the music that is played and the content that is spoken about and that it is meant to inspire, stimulate conversation and provide the soundtrack to your everyday life. Maybe that can still be said about certain community radio stations, where that is what is expected and where you have more of a niche market.

However, when it comes to commercial radio, we have to take it for what it is, commercial radio and the operative word being, COMMERCIAL. Which essentially means that it is a business. It exists to generate a profit. So the whole aim is to generate content either by the presenters or the music that will increase listenership. The higher the listenership, the more money it can make through advertising.

It might sound cold BUT that is the main objective of a business…to generate a PROFIT!

Now allow me to use an example from the perspective of an artist. Your passion is music. You make music because you love it, right? Well that’s the reason why most people in radio do it too. Yes there are some who do it solely for the money but you also get artists who do it purely for the fame and the “possibility” of fortune.

Having said that, the people in commercial radio have other people that they need to answer to. You can be as creative as possible in radio with regards to concepts and features as well as playing a wide variety of music and supporting SA music BUT if that does not translate into a higher listenership, it bodes a problem for a commercial station and they would have to research what will attract more numbers and will execute a new plan.

For artists, you can do music because you love it sure but you will also become dejected and negative when you can’t successfully make a living from your music. You’d love to do what you love to do and make money from it! Well, so does everyone else. And your plan might not always fit in with someone else’s.

So where do we go from here?

So far, it seems like I’ve been a bit biased towards the radio side so let me vouch for my fellow musicians.

Yes there are many talented artists in SA. Are all of them getting the exposure they deserve? No! Are there mediocre artists getting the exposure that you think they don’t deserve? Probably, yes!

I’ve also encountered that there are some music compilers that can be “difficult” BUT that shouldn’t stop you from getting to do what you love.

If you are the type of artist chasing a hit, where you are changing your sound to what’s current, hoping you’ll get more radio airplay, then you need to really evaluate why you’re doing music. Then maybe you’re lying to yourself about why you’re really doing it. Maybe you’re not doing it for the love. Maybe you are doing it for the fame. Maybe you are being commercial yourself! And if you are doing the music that you love and radio stations aren’t playing it because it doesn’t “fit” their “format”,  and you’re still upset about that, then maybe you still are not doing it for the right reasons.

If you are truly doing music for the love of music, then you wouldn’t care whether or not certain radio stations are playing your stuff and others are not.

So then let’s look at what you can control as an artist and how you can stand a better chance of having your music playlisted and understand the radio game the way record labels do.

Firstly, don’t let a radio station dictate what kind of music you should make! Make the music that you love to make and that best showcases your own abilities. Write songs or perform songs that feel right to you and not that’ll make a hit!

Because what is a hit anyway? I’ve been to many workshops where they say that there are many great songs that were never hits and many hits that were never great songs. The hype surrounding Gangnam Style has already died and it WAS a hit but was it a “great” song? And the opinion of a great song is subjective anyway.

Also, if you look at all the number 1 hits out there. They don’t always sound the same. So there isn’t one formula for a hit song.

Some songs are hits because it’s catchy and sing along (Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO). Others are hits because you can relate to the story (Somebody That I used to Know – Gotye). Some hits have a new school sound (Gangnam Style – Psy) and others have a classic feel (Someone Like You – Adele).

And of those four songs, how many were hits and “great” songs?

WOW this blog is turning out to be really long and I haven’t even gotten to what I needed to really say but please bare with me.

So now you’ve established the kind of music that you want to do now it’s finding the right people to work with to develop your song. Basically, finding the right producer (and/or songwriter if you cannot write yourself).

With social media, the world has become considerably small, which means your city has become even smaller, so trying to find a producer should not be that difficult. I’ve said this before on Twitter and still some were complaining, “Yeah it was easy for you to find people…not everyone’s so lucky”. BLAH BLAH BLAH! If you put in the effort, you will find someone. And when I say find someone, I don’t mean the first person you meet. It’s no use working with an EDM producer if your style is jazz…although stranger things have happened.

If you find someone who does fit your style and you find that there’s some sort of chemistry and they are slightly out of your price range then once again ask yourself how important this is to you! Then you gotta put in the extra hours to save up the money you need to fund your project. Of course you can work out certain deals with producers but bottom line is they need to get paid. You can’t always get freebies. And I think because there’s this culture of not paying for anything, the Cape Town scene isn’t thriving. And believe me, so many of the Cape Town talent have moved to Joburg because the gripe is that we are slow here and we don’t pay. And they have a point and we need to stop this freebie culture. If we expect to get paid for what we do then we need to be prepared to pay for the work others do for us.

I digress once again and I apologise. That is a subject for another time.

So now you’ve recorded a few tracks with some good producers! I cannot stress this enough but quality at EVERY stage in the project is ESSENTIAL! SO the quality of your recording has to be up to standard as it makes the mix and master engineers work a lot easier. SO make sure you work with the right people again. Rather pay extra for the quality as opposed to cutting corners and risking your “great” song not being played because the quality is poor!

Please DO NOT submit the first song you’ve recorded to radio. I would urge you to record up to four or five songs so that you have options. Once you’ve decided on a lead single, another crucial step is packaging and preparing it for submission.

Let’s focus on the packing for a second. Some radio stations prefer physical CD’s being submitted and others now allow digital submissions. You can attach an mp3 of your song to an email OR include a link in the email for them to download. This is all dependent on the station’s protocol regarding Internet usage. So have all options at your disposal.

Let’s look at the physical CD submission. You don’t need to have a fancy cover unless you can afford it! All you need is that all the relevant info is PRINTED on the cover as well as on the CD itself. PLEASE DO NOT – I REPEAT – DO NOT have handwritten notes or CD’s with the details written with a permanent marker! The presentation is key here. Sometimes the presentation of a disk could already put a music compiler off. It does not have to be fancy; it just has to look professional.

Here is a basic example:

  

Here’s another example that’s a bit “fancier”

  

What is important is that you include the song title, the artist name, the writers and composers details and any other relevant publishing information, if there are any.

It is also good to include a press kit. This includes a short press release regarding the song and a short bio about the artist.

All of this counts in your favour as far as presentation. If compilers see that you haven’t put effort into your work, why should they listen?

Let’s look at the digital submissions quickly. Your press kit will be included in the body of the email and you can either attached the song or include a link where they can download a high quality mp3.

I don’t really need to tell you this next part but I have heard radio submissions that are not radio friendly. FILLED with expletives. Please submit a radio edit or clean version of your song.

So now your have your physical and digital submissions prepared. The next step is to do your research as to which radio stations play your style of music. It’s no use submitting a rock track to a station that plays predominantly hip-hop and R&B music.

In some cases there are stations that play your style of music but they don’t want the rap part of it (if there is one) so you might have to have a version without a rap.

Once you’ve compiled your list of radio stations and have made contact with them to discuss how they prefer their submissions then you can submit to your heart’s content. Here I have to say that you should NOT limit yourself to South African radio stations. It is possible to submit your music to radio stations across the globe. Who knows? Your song might be rejected at EVERY station in SA but you could be “BIG IN JAPAN” to quote a song. The Internet has made the world a lot smaller remember?

If a radio station in SA has rejected your song, you have every right to resubmit that track. If it is rejected a second time then leave it be. It makes no sense calling the station up and arguing with them. Your second single being released in 2 months could be better suited to that station but now you’ve burnt bridges by fighting about something you have no control over. You also have the right to call the station up to make sure they’ve received it and you also have the right to know whether it was accepted or not.

The main objective that artists need to realise is that you need to make the music you want to make. We can’t all be Justin Bieber or Beyonce. Some of us might make music that is generally popular and some might be more niche orientated. The important thing to realise is that you should not try to convince people to like your music. Rather take it to the people who will appreciate it without coaxing from you. How many Internet sensations haven’t we seen emerge because they put their music out there and it was spread across the world via word of mouth. There is a market out there for your music. It might not be as big as you want it but it is out there. You just need to find it! Rather perform for 50 people who absolutely love your music as opposed to 1000 strong bored audience.

All I want is for artists and radio to understand each other a bit better so I hope this helps everyone concerned somewhat and I hope we can strengthen the Cape Town music industry!