Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio added new
stations to its selection. Here is what’s
so big about this addition; the stations that they added are all college campus
stations.
14 of some of the countries well known universities
will take their local radio appeal to the entire nation. Clear Channel’s CEO John Hogan told Billboard
that those 14 universities are just the first selection and that they will be
looking for more colleges to participate in the near future
For those who may not know, iHeartRadio is an Internet radio company that
gives access to stations around the nation, including a variety of genres to
its subscribers for free.
What does this mean for the unknown artist or the little guy trying to
make it to the big leagues?
It simply means you have another door that is
possible for you walk in. College and university radio stations are government
funded. They usually are not reliant on the need to run commercials. Therefore,
they are not subject to the need to mainly give play to mainstream marketed
acts to make sure that they get an audience advertisers would pay for.
One of the greatest milestones of any artist is to get their first radio
play on a mainstream radio station. However, that can be difficult without the
right connections or status, as radio stations are bombarded with demos to sift
through regularly. Since school radio stations are not relying on selling businesses
time to advertise on their stations they tend to be more liberal in their song
selection and their willingness to work with locals.
Here are the statistics from the iHeartRadio website.
They have a National Reach of:
·
237M monthly listeners in the U.S.
·
55M listening hours a month
·
30M unique digital visitors
·
41M iHR app downloads
A strategy to get
your songs played on your local university’s radio station could mean tens of
thousands or even hundreds of thousands more people around the country listening
to your best song.
The following are
some steps that you could take to possibly get acquainted with a university
station.
Step one: Be Ready. In other words, have radio
ready tracks ready for listening. Do everything in your power to make sure that
your recording is as professional as possible. Go in with your best foot
forward.
Step two: Start Listening. If your
school has a radio station, or if you’re in a college town, start listening to
their shows. Find out who the music
people are. Who are the hosts, what type
of shows do they run? Find out what they are doing in the community and make
plans to attend some events. Network and become familiar.
Step three: Make Contact. Once you find out who the music people are, find
out ways to contact them. They may mention their contact information on their
shows or via websites. Contact by email, phone, text, or through some one that
knows them. Face to face is also an option if possible, especially if you
attend a community event where the people that you want to meet are.
In fact, many college stations are ran by the students who are being
groomed in communications or any profession connected to the radio medium,
including music. You never know, the person your contacting may need you as
apart of an assignment or project. You might find that they would be glad to
get you in the studio for a 10min interview and agree to put your songs on the
list for a week.
Finally: Be
willing to give back. The key is to build ongoing healthy relationships. You may be called
upon. Be ready for yes answers when you can. Chances are your going to need
more than one radio play to get to where you want to be.
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