As an Indie Artist, when you submit your music to stations, who is getting played more, your music or you?
When it comes to selling music, radio still seems to determine the hits from the strike-outs. It’s a dark and seedy world and who better to embrace it, then the Major Record Labels themselves. In the world of major labels getting played on the radio is still the key to the holy-grail when it comes to “breaking” an act. Even though the labels keep getting lawsuits thrown against them every decade or so for payola, the process never seems to change much, there’s always a lie, followed by a bribe.
How does the process of getting played on the radio work? Getting a song added to a station’s play list and receiving a certain number of “spins” per week involves a rather under-the-table systematic approach that brings in various parties, called independent promoters, also referred to as “indies.” To keep the “indies” clear of “Payola” they are paid first by the labels. The indies then use this “cash” to pay the radio station money for various listener give-aways, bumper stickers and so on. The highlight of this arrangement is these indies are often compensated a second time by the stations themselves as a consultant to advise the stations on what songs they should play. The cycle continues and the wonderful world of crappy radio still remains intact.
This is the main reason why major labels absolutely dominate radio airplay and dictate to consumers the new “it” band. As an Independent, You could follow the same process as the Major Labels to sell your music, but you will not receive the same attention. Here’s what will happen: Let’s say you, as an Independent Musician or Producer wants to get your music out there on radio to increase your sales online, give yourself a boost in media exposure and attract thousands of new fans inspired by your music. You find the promoters aka: “indies” that can make these type of deals. They ask for an upfront fee, you agree, and they may get you played once or twice during the times, “no one” is listening. But you’re most likely very happy. Your music was played. You now have a taste of what it’s like to be on radio and you want more. The ‘indies’ get back to you, knowing you’re excited and eager to comply they give you an even better offer: “We just need a little more juice and we can get you played during peak hours.” You give them the juice and in the end you get little-to-no media exposure, zero albums sold online or off and you’re batting zero when it comes to cash-flow. You gave them the juice, and in the end you were the one who got juiced. Why were you unsuccessful when you followed the same pattern as Major Labels?
1. You’re not a Major Label so your cashflow is limited.
2. Because your cashflow is limited, you’ll probably be only doing this once. Major Labels provide consistent business/pay for the “indie” promoters. This streamlines into a very profitable working relationship between both the radio stations, the “indies” and the Major Label.
3. Indie Promoters are more likely to work with their “Top Clients.” In some circles, an Indie Promoter who takes on you as their client could be considered a breach of contract. Going against their top clients and working with an Independent, might get them black-listed from working with Major Record Labels. The Indie Promoter is not willing to take that risk from a top client that puts a house over their head and food on the table.
How long can a system like this sustain itself? Selling music online has already opened doors to a wider variety of opportunities, besides main-stream radio. This is why popular music blogs that carry music widgets and support internet radio, are being shut down weekly by Major Labels who are threatened by this grassroots direct-to-consumer approach. Popular Hip Hop Blogs like hiphopbillboard.com are becoming “the new radio” for creating hits for the younger generation. Rather then depending on main-stream radio, these blogs are capturing their audiences with strong written content and a listener-friendly music experience to back it up. Unlike the dark world of radio and major labels, these blogs earn their consumers trust, one at a time. The once loyal customer of radio is now shifting over to something a little more pure, true and most importantly free of dictatorship.
Major labels can’t control these blogs in the way they control radio. Forcing blogs offline and/or trying to significantly limit them is a pure power play by the labels going against hip-hop sites. When it comes down to brass tax: It is not an issue of copyright infringement or the new-release of a song yet to be heard by the general public and it’s exactly why the RIAA is out there demanding take-downs on music that a Universal Music employee purposely put online for free. Next time you hear that hit single on the radio, you might ask yourself, how many people were paid to get that piece of music played?
So do you, as an Independent need main-stream radio to get what you want out of your music career?
Radio, like Major Labels is being directly affected by the online world today. Thousands of listeners daily, switch from radio to streaming services like Pandora and Spotify. Listeners are not complying with the rules of “Payola” and have a variety of options to choose from in regards to where and how they can listen to their music. As Independent Musicians and Producers, this is a key factor in gaining exposure and finding selective audiences across the globe. Now, more than ever before, Independent Music is becoming a huge player to millions of listeners around the world who are tired of being “played” by the corporate media. With a blog, easy-to-use interface for your fans and a tight group of tracks, you can easily find your niche group of listeners, sell them your music and attract thousands of new fans without the assistance of main-stream radio. Who is getting played now?
Courtesy Article written by DW – dwmusicmarketing
Information source provided by Techdirt.com
