Part Three: Downloading, Pirating, And Streaming, Oh My! A Four Part Discussion Series on Music Distribution

By Aaron Binder and Vanessa Markov

Part 3: Digital Did NOT Kill The Radio Star (Yet)

Who still listens to the radio? While radio’s digital competitors bury the airwaves in terms of value (personalization, targeting, range of selection, interaction, etc), radio continues to dominate the distribution game with its as yet unparalleled ability to embed a song so deeply into a market that a star is born. Just because radio is no longer the only major player in distribution, doesn’t mean it doesn’t still work.

But it seems that ever since musicians were jailbroken from major labels, they’ve become willfully estranged from the labels best friend and better half — radio. This has created a mega gap between a wide range of phenomenal independent artists and the masses for no good reason other than general lack of know-how. Labels aren’t the sole gatekeeper to the airwaves, but if the labels are the only ones feeding radio with new music, that’s all radio is going to play.

While blogs and podcasts are great promotional tools, radio continues to dominate both geographically and within certain demographic groups that still rely on the medium for discovery. In Toronto, Indie88 was launched by a number of radio vets that desired to highlight these new bands alongside larger indie and rock mainstays — take a look at their ratings and you’ll see that a growing number of radio listeners prefer this format instead of the 3rd song from 2004 in an hour. However, the fact remains that radio has a system in place that requires effort on your part if you want them to know you exist.

Aaron: Nothing is worse than turning on the radio and hearing a Finger Eleven or Pumped-Up Kicks song. With the sheer amount of great modern music to choose from, it’s crazy that some stations will play their tunes and wonder why their market share continues to decline. Whenever I head back to Windsor and turn on 89X (Windsor-Detroit’s New Rock Alternative) it perplexes me to constantly hear songs that were new when I was barely a teenager, followed by their “Windsor-Detroit’s New Rock Alternative” slogan. Third Eye Blind is not new rock.

That said, bands need to 100% be putting emphasis on radio play once they are mature enough to support touring. At one point not long ago, stations like 89X and Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge were true trailblazers that highlighted some of the best new artists on the globe. Unfortunately, many stations joined the digital era with a Justin Trudeau like stair fall — it was more show than substance and they’ve been left to catch up. Corporate takeovers and risk averse strategies have further turned many former glorious radio stations into has-beens. Regardless, so long as people are tuning in, you shouldn’t dismiss it. There is still an opportunity to expose yourself to a huge market that may not use online avenues of exploration for new music.

Vanessa: Radio is the shot-of-whiskey-a-day granddaddy of the distribution ecosystem — he ain’t dead yet and knows a hell of a lot of people. The literal sole purpose of a radio single on high rotation is to create a buzz, and that buzz inevitably trickles down into the cracks of other platforms and discovery tools.

Just because I may not listen to the radio often enough to discover my new favourite band more than once every few years, doesn’t mean that radio hasn’t played its part in introducing me to new music in a roundabout way. I’m also one person fitting into one demographic, and my personal preference for discovery should not be the most important factor when deciding where to distribute my music (Read: Part One).

The main point is that radio is still a valid candidate in the distribution game and, while the stakes and costs are high, the payoff is unparalleled when it comes to building a foundation in the industry.

College Radio

Aaron: I don’t know if Vanessa and I will agree on every college radio point as I think many more bands will not understand how to use this type of platform properly. It can be complex and it certainly is time consuming to promote on college radio. Digital distribution has made it easier to sell yourself, but you still have to deal with the whims of each individual station manager and their usually large roster of DJs.

Vanessa: You’re right, Aaron. It is complex and time consuming and my response to that is: tough shit — do the work! I view college radio as something like an internship training program for artists, in that you get real hands on experience working the radio circuit and, if you do a good job, are rewarded with recommendations in the form of chart placements and relationships with tomorrow’s influencers.

I’ll be the first to say that listenership in these markets is typically on the low end, so landing the top spot on college radio charts is not going to send your record on a first class flight to the Billboard Top 100. But, as I said, it’s valuable fodder for recognition and distribution in these ways:

1. You’ll learn the inner workings of radio stations in its most traditional sense, including how to solicit a pitch to radio, the roles within the organizational hierarchy, and see where your music stands in the breakdown of radio genres and geographical location (hello, touring research).
2. Relationships, baby, it’s all about relationships. You never know where that student DJ or music director might end up in a few years time. That kid who spun your hardcore record nonstop on his 2am show all semester could be the next Alan Cross or Mary Anne Hobbs and, like any industry relationship, should be treated with as much care and respect.
3. And while a chart placement on college radio may not result in more than a minor blip in sales or listenership, it’s definitely an achievement that stands out on a pitch to agencies, managers, publicists, media, indie labels, and even FACTOR applications. It proves you successfully follow instructions, which is a fucking unicorn characteristic among you lovely creatives.

Again, if you are at a place in your music career where you want to build a professional team, take your show on the road, or even just see what the country thinks of your latest record, putting in the hours to pitch your album to college radio will result in nothing less than a foundation of where you stand professionally and what you need to do next. Even if that next step is realizing that radio just isn’t where your techno bluegrass tunes belongs. It’s worth the effort.

Aaron: My personal recommendation is to focus on other promotion tools first. When your band starts flirting with success and has some buzz, then send out the press kits and make sure you follow the fuck up. Where commercial radio was the buzzmaker at one time, college radio charts have become a great way to promote concerts in numerous markets. It’s important, however, to be aware that every station will have its own ecosystem, technology limitations, and way of doing business. If you can work your way into college radio it will be immensely helpful, but make sure your band is at the right stage to even make the approach before doing so or you can burn your credibility and require a name change.

Commercial Radio

Aaron: You know what, Vanessa — I know nothing about the inner workings of commercial radio, so school ’em. And while you’re at it, call up Alan Cross.

Vanessa: …which takes me to commercial radio. If you compare the old school mailing process of soliciting college radio to commercial radio directly, your first impression would be that commercial radio offers a slick, streamlined method via DMDS versus college radio’s decentralized old school mailing methods. Well shit, that’s easy! Except no — a quick peek behind the curtain reveals a complex and expensive two-tier system of first adding the song to the system and then paying a tracker to pitch you to the top of the list.

Is this even worth it? Why don’t indie artists cut the cost in half, add their songs to DMDS and wait for a music director to discover it? I asked the current Music Director at 102.1 The Edge and one of the most well known and loved radio personalities in the country, Alan Cross, to provide his input:

“It’s tough for any artist to find a spot on radio. Because more people are making and releasing music that at any time in human history, the competition is more intense than ever before. This is why it’s essential that every artist — indie and major — have someone who can push through all the clutter and the noise. It can be a label, a radio tracker or even someone on staff at the radio station who champions a particular artist to the people in charge of programming.”

Well, since everyone else is DMDSing it, what about going out on a limb and sending a fancy mailer in hopes that it will stand out? Alan explains why this isn’t ideal:

“DMDS is the most efficient way to deliver material to radio stations. It makes it easy for anyone (including indie artists) to have their name and song title displayed to program directors and music directors. It’s certainly better than email links or MP3s — and these days, CDs are just a bother.”

He adds:

“It’s very rare — and it always has been — for an unknown artist to be discovered by just blindly sending out a song and hoping for the best.”

Excepting the small segment of artists that truly make music that has never found a place on commercial radio and deliberately choose to seek a small like-minded audience, commercial radio is the bar against which to measure where you’re at as an artist. So many bands believe they have something big. But what happens to that confidence when the cost of marketing your music lands in the thousands? If you really knew you had a hit product and all you had to do was hire the big guns to put it in rotation, what’s stopping you from doing it? This is where putting your money where your mouth/music is comes into play.

I won’t sugarcoat it. Radio is where shit gets real. It’s easier to accept the failure of an online release because it’s just easier to release something online, period. But when you put budget behind pitching to radio, you’ve got real people deciding if they like you enough to put you in front of a massive, hard earned audience. And if that doesn’t work, it’s because your song just wasn’t good enough to join the big leagues. That hurts. I get it.

If you accept that you don’t want to spend thousands to learn whether or not you’ve struck creative gold, take it as a cue that you know you’re still developing yourself into a career artist. That’s a noble and necessary bridge to cross, and one that unfortunately so much talent runs from when the time comes — this is what separates the career artists from the pros.

Pro-tip for touring bands: Regardless of whether or not you’ve attempted to tap the radio markets, it is never a bad idea to contact every single genre-relevant radio station on your tour circuit to see if you can drop in and meet the staff while you’re in town. Stations are constantly flooded with press kits and emails, so a little bit of face time can do wonders in terms of making an impression with decision makers. If you’re not a natural networker or socializer, this is where a good manager or publicist can be your absolute best asset.

(A sidenote to the more passionate (read: aggressive) artists: I strongly advise against storming stations with album in hand demanding to speak to the music director and assuming your presence warrants a last minute on-air interview. Always, always contact the station well in advance with details of your trip to see if a drop-in is viable for their schedules and/or programming. Diplomacy is your friend. If you don’t get a return email or phone call, the last resort is to drop in for a literal 30 seconds, armed with a smile, a box of donuts, and a gracious understanding that the MD isn’t available, which will show a level of maturity and commitment that can pay dividends in the future.)

Go Back To Part Two: The Ongoing Evolution of Digital Distribution
Go Even Further Back To Part One: Why Isn’t Your Music Everywhere?
(Part Four Coming Soon)

About the Authors:

Aaron Binder and Vanessa Markov met in 2009 while writing music reviews for Lithium Magazine. In 2013 they launched TrashTalk AV, an uncensored YouTube show featuring candid music reviews and conversations. Since then they’ve both found individual success in various fields and industries — Aaron continues to grow Go Tours, one of Canada’s favourite tour companies, and has recently launched a VR based production company. Vanessa is currently handling digital operations for Mediazoic, a digital music solutions provider, while independently managing developing artists. The pair recently reunited to discuss music distribution.