When it comes to promoting new music, radio promotion companies are the industry’s go-to partners.
Radio is one of the most effective ways to introduce new songs to the masses.
It’s also one of the most overlooked, which is why radio promotion companies are so important.
Want to get your music on active & relevant playlists that actually get results?
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Radio promotion companies specialize in working with radio stations to develop artists on a mass scale.
Here are the 10 best radio promotion companies:
Use these platforms today and get some radio airplay!
We’re here to share some essential information about working with radio promotion companies.
Hopefully, it will help you set your expectations, understand their needs, and ultimately save you time and money in your radio promotion company partnership.
RAPVILLE is a tool that helps artist monetize and market their music through the power of radio play.
RAPVILLE allows artists to get their music in front of over 60 radio stations worldwide.
No more emails being ghosted by busy radio DJs, no more waiting weeks for a reply.
At the time of writing this review, their network allows you to read approximately 2 million listeners worldwide.
And the best part is, it’s risk-free.
If you don’t get a response from radio stations in 7 days, they give you your money back, guaranteed.
A successful radio promotion campaign will run for 4 weeks.
The first week will consist of gathering a list of potential stations to work with.
The second will be filled with networking and building rapport with everybody involved in the process.
The third week is submissions and when you get your music in the right hands.
Finally, the fourth week is letting your fans know about the radio airplay, and getting them to listen.
This is not cut in stone, some campaigns can last 2 weeks and others 2 months.
This can depend on the size and budget of the campaign, but the overall steps remain the same.
Radios loves to work with a wide arrangement of professionals in the industry.
List of music industry professionals radio promoter works with.
Press
DJ’s
Labels
Managers
Agencies
A&R
Indie artists
These people connect with the music director and make sure the right stations will see relevant digital submissions.
The best Music can only get on the right stations with the help of a music director.
So long as you can connect with these people you’ll have a shoe-in for music promotion!
New York is one of the largest cities in the world, and has a huge plug!
You don’t want to miss it.
Here are the Top 5 New York Radio stations to submit to:
Still don't know EXACTLY how to submit?
In that case, keep reading this epic-ass blog!
Radio stations across the country are hungry for fresh music and unique spins on popular songs.
But how do you go about this?
I got you covered!
4 easy steps to get radio airplay as an artist!
Research radio stations
Find contact info for radio DJ’s
Put together a press release
Submit your song directly to radio stations
Submit your song to radio directories
The right stations will accept submissions only if you do the right digital submissions.
If you’re able to record your own music or have a friend who does, you can submit recordings to radio stations.
Here’s a guide to getting your music to radio stations, from researching stations to choosing an email to submit your music and more!
The first step when submitting your music to radio stations is research.
You need to ensure that your music fits their special programming.
You should know which stations are open to music and which ones are a good fit for what you have to offer.
Smaller stations may be better for your song than a larger station.
If you’re looking for exposure, you may be able to get some by submitting to a station that’s open to new music or one that plays hip-hop in particular.
But if you’re looking for airplay or some type of deal, you’ll want to find a station that’s open to considering unsigned artists.
You can find this information by looking up the station’s website and/or visiting their social media accounts.
This will help you identify stations that are open to music and which ones you may want to avoid if you have specific goals in mind.
While you can choose any radio station to submit your song to, certain stations are more open to accepting new songs than others.
Knowing which stations are open to music is the first step toward success.
Once you have a few radio stations in mind, you can narrow your choices down by looking at their social media accounts and websites.
This will help you identify stations that are open to new music and which ones you may want to avoid if you have specific goals in mind.
Next, it’s important to note that radio stations are constantly looking for new music.
They’re always looking for fresh spins on popular songs, so you’ll have a better chance of being accepted if you submit songs that are current and fresh.
One of the first things you’ll want to do when submitting your music to radio stations is to get consistent email addresses.
This will help you stay organized and make the submission process go smoother.
You can use services like Mailchimp or SendinBlue to keep all of your email addresses in one place.
This will make it easy to keep track of which email to send music submissions to as well as which ones to ignore if your music is not accepted.
If you have an artist's website/domain you will look more professional and this can lead to more airplay.
Before you start submitting your music to radio stations, you may want to write up a press release to send to radio outlets.
This will help you get some exposure while you’re still working on your music.
It's important to start building press releases to land quality placements.
You should only design your press kit based on the genre.
Just look at Drake's original press kit. 👇
Most radio stations are happy to list would-be artists, and some may even consider a press release to be a submission.
So even if your songs aren’t accepted, you might still get some exposure and learn a bit about how the radio station operates.
After you’ve researched radio stations, written up a press release, and started sending music submissions to stations...
You may want to do some more research on the radio stations you’ve chosen to submit your music to.
This will help you learn more about the stations and identify any potential red flags.
You can find out more about radio stations by researching their social media accounts and/or visiting their website.
If you're in a band, you can each submit to different stations.
This will help you identify stations that are open to new songs and which ones you may want to avoid if you have specific goals in mind.
You should submit your song to radio directories to get bonus airplay!
What is a radio directory?
A radio directory is a database that helps users find radio stations broadcasting in their local area. The radio station can be independent or a station owned by a company.
With a radio directory, the fans can find the radio stations broadcasting in their local area and listen to their programming without having to look up the station’s address and other information.
By putting together a press price and sharing it with them directly, you can potentially land radio placements this way.
The radio directory also allows users to listen to other radio stations that may be broadcasting in the same city or nearby cities.
There are various radio directories available online.
The most popular radio directory services include TuneIn Radio and Radio Paradise.
While these radio directory services are free to use, they offer different features and services.
You must reach out to radio stations correctly.
This allows you to increase the odds of success!
Not only that, but by building rapport you're setting yourself up for the future.
Check out Rap Ville as a tool to contact radios directly!
Online stations have a specific demographic in mind when they play music.
They can target an assortment (boomers, teenage girls, gamers, farmers, etc.)
Some of these stations are also looking to build long-term listenership with artists, so you’re more likely to get airplay on these stations for the long term than others.
Networking is essential for online stations.
These stations are looking for artists who have a mass appeal - but still fit within the profile of their station.
These stations are looking to get their fans interested in a certain topic or type of artist.
You can call it the “what’s trending?” kind of radio.
Radio royalties are based on the amount of airplay that a song receives.
How does radio royalties work?
The radio royalty rate is the amount that radio stations pay to play a song. Radio stations make money when running audio ads, but they need to pay a royalty to the songwriter and publisher to do so.
Most media businesses have agreements with radio stations that specify how often songs can be played.
Royalty rates are adjusted every couple of years so this is due to change.
Radio is one of the oldest forms of mass media.
Almost everyone is listening to the radio at some point in their lives!
Even though radio shows are available online, most people still tune in to their favorite radio stations for their favorite shows.
The first thing to keep in mind when thinking about radio promotion is that radio advertising is very expensive.
What is the cost of a radio campaign?
Radio is a great way to reach a wide audience and build brand awareness, but that doesn’t mean radio advertising is a bargain. On average, radio advertising costs $2000-$5000 per campaign.
At times, you can get it for a lower cost but at that point, the return on investment isn’t assured.
While this seems like a bargain compared to a lot of other advertising methods, it’s still not a cheap option.
Many factors determine radio advertising costs, including the size of your market, the total number of fans in your area, the competition, and more.
Getting radio play is not at all as simple as just plugging in a couple of new songs and seeing what happens…
With the amount of stations and playlist editors, it’s easy to feel like you’ll get airplay at any moment.
Is radio airplay worth it for musicians in 2024?
The truth is, getting radio play takes a lot of time, energy, and resources to make that happen. Radio airplay is only valuable if the returns are more than the costs involved.
It all starts with knowing what kind of radio you want to get your songs played on.
There are so many different stations and labels out there, and not every single one is going to be a match for you.
Take a moment to think about what kind of radio you want to get your songs played on.
4 questions to ask yourself before seeking radio airplay:
Do you want to be heard by a certain type of fan?
Do you want to be played on a certain type of playlist?
Do you want to be played on a certain radio station?
Do you want to be played by DJs who already love your music?
The clearer you can state your vision, the easier it will be to land radio airplay.
Not all radios accept submissions, but the ones that do will really help!
College radio is a form of student radio broadcasting that is done on college campuses.
What is college radio?
College radio is a radio station run by students or faculty at colleges or universities. Student radio stations broadcast on campuses to educate students about media, music, and broadcasting and have become a significant music outlet.
They are run by students and support the educational mission of colleges and universities.
3 best ways to get airplay on College radio:
Network with station hosts on LinkedIn
Read up on local radio rules per college station
Be active in the community to be recognized
It’s only been in the last few decades that college radio stations have been able to get their own signals.
It’s relatively new, so there are lots of growth opportunities for you as an artist!
Make sure you’re building rapport with the DJs at the stations.
It’s not enough to simply submit, you should take the time to cultivate business relations.
Looking for a good college station to submit music to?
I got you covered!
10 best college radio stations in the USA
San Diego University California - KCR
San Jose University - CAli - KSJR
Colorado State University - Colorado KCSU-FM
Cornell University New York - WVBR-FM
New York University - WNYU
Syracuse University - WAER
University of Houston - Texas KUHF
Vanderbilt University Tennessee - WRVU
Ithaca College - WICB
Portland State University, Oregon KPSU 98.1
These are the top 10 stations!
They are just a few of MANY so don’t be scared to branch out to universities that aren’t included on this list.
You'll be surprised how many college radio stations there are!
There are more than 400 college radio stations in the United States, according to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
College radio broadcasting stations focus on a variety of topics, from news and sports to music and talk shows.
If you get your music played here
They are usually free-form radio stations, which means they aren’t controlled by a specific station manager or program director.
Instead, programming is usually decided by the station’s DJs.
This makes college radio broadcasting unique compared to commercial radio stations.
Hip-hop radios are prolific for sharing new music!
Knowing which stations are open to new music is the first step toward success.
Once you have a few radio stations in mind, you can narrow your choices down by looking at their social media accounts and websites.
This will help you identify stations that are open to new music and which ones you may want to avoid if you have specific goals in mind.
If you’re looking for airplay or some type of deal, you’ll want to find a station that’s open to considering unsigned artists.
You can find this information by looking up the station’s website and/or visiting their social media accounts.
This will help you identify stations that are open to new music and which ones you may want to avoid if you have specific goals in mind.
There are several steps involved in entering a radio contest.
If you're new to the process, you'll want to review them carefully.
What is a hip-hop radio competition?
The concept of a hip-hop radio contest is fairly simple. You sign up to have your music judged by a large number of listeners and then you hope they like it.
It's that simple.
It’s really easy to join a radio contest!
Joining a radio contest is much easier than you may think!
3 easy steps to join a hip hip radio contest:
Create a track specifically for the content
Share the track
Submit the track to the radio station
The most common type of contest is a DJ competition, which pits a DJ against other DJs in a battle to see who can get the most votes from the people downloading their song.
Don’t let this discourage you!
There are plenty of artist radio contests as well.
The first step in entering a radio contest is to create a track.
You'll need something to send the music director.
This can be done in a number of ways, but the most common method is by recording your vocals and layering them on top of a beat.
Once you have the finished track, you'll want to share it with your fans and let them know you're doing a contest.
You’ll be surprised by how supportive random people on TikTok are when they see you’re dedicated to your craft.
This is primarily done through social media and by email.
You'll want to post a few times with the link in each post and let your fans know that they can download the track and vote for it.
Submit The Track: After you've shared the track, you're ready to submit it.
This is done through an online portal or by sending an email with the submission details to the address provided.
Radio is a key medium for informing, entertaining, and connecting people across the globe.
What kinds of radio stations are there?
The two kinds of radio starts are commercial and non-commercial. Commercial radio aims to generate profit, but non-commercial is for hobby or public good.
It has played a crucial role in the history of communication and continues to be one of the most accessible and affordable communication methods today.
Commercial radio is radio that is run as a business, and not just as a hobby or also as a way to stay in touch with the outside world.
Commercial radio has four main factors.
Commercial radio stations are oriented towards making money, not serving the public good.
Commercial radio stations are often owned by large corporations or large organizations, rather than individuals.
Commercial radio stations do not generally operate to inform, educate, or entertain the general public
Commercial radio charges to promote on their stations
These stations are operated for the sole good of the owners or station operators.
They are usually connected to a larger company or organization and are run to make a profit for the owners, shareholders, or station operators.
Since commercial radio charges advertisers, you can expect higher compensation by getting airplay.
Advertising on commercial radio stations is usually aimed at a specific demographic, rather than the general public.
For example, there might be an ad campaign aimed at baby boomers, another aimed at young adults, and still another aimed at parents.
Instead of airing programming that appeals to all demographics, a commercial radio station might instead air content that appeals only to the demographic that the station is aiming to reach.
Broadcasting content that appeals to a general demographic, rather than to a specific one, is called “ targeting.”
What is a non-commercial radio?
Non-commercial radio stations are stations that broadcast content for free. Some stations are organized as non-profit organizations and receive donations and grants that help support the station.
That doesn’t mean that they don’t make money from their broadcasts.
They simply don’t have to make money from the broadcasts.
These stations are often community-based and operate without the interference and interruption of ads.
These stations vary in content and format, but their common trait is in their listeners.
They serve a specific audience and are there for people who share their values and interests.
They are especially good at targeting niche markets and are often home to local, indie musicians and artists.
Non-commercial radio stations are a great alternative for listeners who want to support their local radio station but don’t want to have to deal with annoying advertising.
Some stations are dedicated to specific topics, while others broadcast everything, from politics to local sports.
Which radio is better for you?
As an artist, I believe that non-commercial radio is a better avenue to get discovered.
5 benefits of non-commercial radio airplay for artists
Reach local fans
Connect with your community
Build relations with the radio industry
Target Niche markets
Support local stations
By getting your music played here, you'll see your tracks start to scale.
Non-commercial radio station provides local fans with the opportunity to hear local artists and hear them on their own terms.
They may not know you personally, but they can support their work by tuning into the local radio station.
People tune into the radio to hear what’s happening in their city, state, or country and get to know the people in their area who are contributing to the community.
Unlike commercial radio stations that broadcast content to appeal to a wide audience, non-commercial radio stations can target niche markets.
You may find that your station appeals to an extremely specific group, such as nurses or practicing Muslims.
Depending on your type of music - your audience can easily fall in love with your music.
Let’s get you heard on a good commercial radio station!
Top 10 non-commercial radio stations in the USA:
| Location | Station | Frequency |
| Jacksonville | WLJS0FM | 91.9 FM |
| New York City | WFUV | 90.7 FM |
| Detroit | WDET-FM | 101.9 FM |
| Portland | KOPB-FM | 91.5 FM |
| Philadelphia | WHYY-FM | 90.9FM |
| Memphis | WKNO-FM | 91.1 FM |
| Nashville | WPLN | 90.3 FM |
| Houston | KUHF | 88.7 FM |
| Las Vegas | KCNV | 89.7 FM |
| Raleigh | WCPE | 89.7 FM |
Go, and network with workers at these stations.
If you want your band to get heard then you must put in the work!
Otherwise, you'll never get your music played on the radio!
Who knows where it can go?
Now, to submit to US radio… You have to be in the US.
Here are some good UK stations!
10 Best Online Radio Stations in the UK
Submit to these stations and crush it!
Get your music on these top stations today and generate new fans!
they are open to taking demos.
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