Many a legend tells of the big breakout that came as the result of an early pickup by a college radio station, and while radio may not have the grip it once did, college radio stations remain an extremely desirable place for emerging artists, and are much more likely to take on chance on an artist than their massive commercial counterparts.
Guest post by Angela Mastrogiacomo from Soundfly's Flypaper
You’ve heard the breakout storiesbands who get picked up early by a college radio station, get syndicated nationally, start selling out colleges and then breaking into the Top 100. One of the reasons that college radio stations are such desirable spaces for emerging artists is because they’re much more accessible, and a lot more likely to play your songs. They’re sort of like the smaller blogs of the radio world; they’re not driven by monetary gains like the commercial giants are (oftentimes running little to no ads), so they’re more likely to take chances on emerging and, especially, local artists.
This means you actually have a real shot at getting radio play.
And if you’re sitting there thinking, “yeah, but radio? Come on, it’s 2018…”, then you should take a few minutes to read through D. Grant Smith’s “Why Radio Still Matters” guide to indie radio promotion.
The major benefit to college radio is that almost across the board, the DJs are actually in charge of what music they play, unlike on commercial radio which operates with corporate-approved playlists and is not concerned with local talent. Not only is that kind of emotional curation good for the industry, but it means even if one DJ isn’t super into your music, the one that comes on a few hours later might be. It’s also much easier to perform live in studio at college radio stations — so take a look at which stations service areas you might be touring through, and send a few pitches out next time you plan to go on the road.
With all of this in mind, it’s not unimaginable that your band could be the next to break out as a result of some well-earned radio play. Here’s our list of 10 of some of the most influential stations for indie artists, and now that students are back in class for a new semester, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your latest release!
Guest post by Angela Mastrogiacomo from Soundfly's Flypaper
You’ve heard the breakout storiesbands who get picked up early by a college radio station, get syndicated nationally, start selling out colleges and then breaking into the Top 100. One of the reasons that college radio stations are such desirable spaces for emerging artists is because they’re much more accessible, and a lot more likely to play your songs. They’re sort of like the smaller blogs of the radio world; they’re not driven by monetary gains like the commercial giants are (oftentimes running little to no ads), so they’re more likely to take chances on emerging and, especially, local artists.
This means you actually have a real shot at getting radio play.
And if you’re sitting there thinking, “yeah, but radio? Come on, it’s 2018…”, then you should take a few minutes to read through D. Grant Smith’s “Why Radio Still Matters” guide to indie radio promotion.
The major benefit to college radio is that almost across the board, the DJs are actually in charge of what music they play, unlike on commercial radio which operates with corporate-approved playlists and is not concerned with local talent. Not only is that kind of emotional curation good for the industry, but it means even if one DJ isn’t super into your music, the one that comes on a few hours later might be. It’s also much easier to perform live in studio at college radio stations — so take a look at which stations service areas you might be touring through, and send a few pitches out next time you plan to go on the road.
With all of this in mind, it’s not unimaginable that your band could be the next to break out as a result of some well-earned radio play. Here’s our list of 10 of some of the most influential stations for indie artists, and now that students are back in class for a new semester, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your latest release!