The way Tate Music Group is structured we happen to talk to musicians at different stage of the game. Undoubtedly the same misconceptions about radio airplay are apparent to anyone who hasn’t received tons of commercial radio play. I want to clarify that I am talking about Commercial Radio, not the mom and pop station that hasn’t updated their equipment in 20 years. If you have to send a physical CD to the radio station for them to play your music, more than likely they are not a large commercial station. Therefore they are probably not a reporting station and besides the fact that you can get easy spins there it doesn’t really matter.
One Myth is the DJ’s choose what songs are in their rotation. Again we are talking about Commercial Radio. The majority of people in the
Myth – Good songs spread to other stations – Tons of research and money goes into every song you hear on these stations. The DJ’s just make it sound like they picked the record out of a hat, but in turn that is not the case.
Myth – College or Specialty Mix Shows will expand to Commercial – Just because you receive regular spins on a show like this doesn’t mean it will transfer over. Again this is usually just a testing ground and very few make the transfer.
Myth – Request calls will help – Having all of your friends call and request your song really doesn’t help. Your time will be better spent inviting people to your gigs. Stations know which calls are real and which are bands and their friends calling in.
These are just a few of the myths you can find out more by checking out the article on Music Biz Academy.com “Commercial Radio Myths” by Bryan Farrish.
