Info for Totally Indie Musicians and Artists

[ms_m]

Requesting Your Song on the Radio [[Could Disappoint You)

by Joe Taylor Jr. on January 7, 2011 •


There’s nothing like hearing your song on the radio for the first time.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be around artists who’ve experienced the rush of hearing their beautiful recordings compressed like crazy and popped in-between station “stinger” IDs.

But, radio’s a dying medium. At least for music. Radio has a bright future in traffic reports and extremist talk. The few exceptions to the rule are already figuring out how to translate their success to the web, lest they suffer the fate of once-great institutions like WOXY. Fewer listeners count on over-the-air radio every year to entertain them with music, unless they’re the type of listener who enjoys “all kinds of music.”

Read Full Article Here [[http://spinme.com/2011/01/requesting-your-song-on-the-radio-could-disappoint-you/)


A link and very informative site for totally indie musicians can be found here.
I tend to stick to the “opinion page” but the entire site is worth checking out.
Click Here [[http://musicindustryreport.org/?cat=14)

[tsull1]

Good links and info, Ms. M, for the very important Indie scene.

Radio is dead, CD's are dead, vinyl is dead, concerts don't sell ... but hey, we have a bunch of downloads and people stealing music!

Sorry to be nostalgic, but I miss popular top 40 radio, huge concerts and great intimate club concerts, too. I miss guys like Michael Jackson selling 30 gazillion albums where everyone and his and her dog has "Thriller." It was a conversation piece as well as a community listening album. EVERYONE at my small college had the LP and I went to a rural, state school in the NW with not a very diverse student body.

But I appreciate Ms. M's efforts for the Indie artist. I'm not sure, but today's music landscape might be better for the Indie musician as they can get their music out there better via the internet.

But I do hate the downfall of the music industry, no matter how slimey it could be. I actually liked Berry Gordy and Gamble & Huff pushing music in my direction.

Maybe the Indies will eventually rule?

[ms_m]

You're welcome Tsull.

I hope it can be of help to anyone interested in trying to navigate the waters of the industry today, which has changed dramatically but not dead yet.:)

I understand your feelings though but music will always be with us. Good, bad and great music will always be with us as well but in order to be heard you have to learn new ways of doing things.

What artists need to know and understand these days,some people you will reach , some you will not, but throw enough "effort" against the wall and it will stick. How much effort is up to the artist.

[smark21]

Good links and info, Ms. M, for the very important Indie scene.

Radio is dead, CD's are dead, vinyl is dead, concerts don't sell ... but hey, we have a bunch of downloads and people stealing music!

Sorry to be nostalgic, but I miss popular top 40 radio, huge concerts and great intimate club concerts, too. I miss guys like Michael Jackson selling 30 gazillion albums where everyone and his and her dog has "Thriller." It was a conversation piece as well as a community listening album. EVERYONE at my small college had the LP and I went to a rural, state school in the NW with not a very diverse student body.

But I appreciate Ms. M's efforts for the Indie artist. I'm not sure, but today's music landscape might be better for the Indie musician as they can get their music out there better via the internet.

But I do hate the downfall of the music industry, no matter how slimey it could be. I actually liked Berry Gordy and Gamble & Huff pushing music in my direction.

Maybe the Indies will eventually rule?

Well, some concerts sell. Depends on the act and the audience the music is appealing to. I go to a number of concerts in smaller venues in NYC, mainly to see indie rock acts and the venues are filled. While these acts may not sell out MSG or Radio City, they do well in places like Hammerstein ballroom or Music Hall of Williamsburg. These act don't get much airplay on radio, except on college radio and alternate stations, but their music spreads through word of mouth and the internet and streaming sources. They do alright for themselves.

I rarely listen to the radio anymore. A couple of weeks ago I had to unexpectantly drive back to NYC so I rented a car and listened to the radio. I tend to roll my eyes at the hard core audiophiles when they complain about sound quality today, but I understand what they mean about how compressed songs sound on some of the radio stations, it was laughable at times. I was relieved that I finally found a good alternative/indie rock station in Eastern Pennsylvania so I could get off the top 40 stations with their compressed sound, cheesy contests and very limited playlists [[I think I heard Train's Hey There Soul Sister played 30 times on various stations on my 8 hour drive.

[ms_m]

smark21 I agree with you. Gigs and merchandising.....that's where the money is these days unless you are at the top of the heap at a major labor and can get into endorsements, fragrances and that sort of thing. Although, as quiet as it's kept it's always been that way.

Can't remember if it was in one of the links I provided or somewhere else but I saw a very interesting comment from Ciara that I thought was pretty smart on her part, and I'm not a Ciara fan.

I guess there were people dogging her out because her last CD didn't do well. They had pretty much written her off yet, she was touring and making money from it and getting the last laugh so to speak.

It's expensive to take a show on the road but it can also be lucrative if managed, marketed and promoted well. It's why you have so many artist [[more so the kids) jumping on Twitter and all the other networking sites. They keep in touch with their fans even though they may not have an physical product out. I'm not particularly thrilled with networking but it works for the demographic they cater to.

Back in the day an artist would keep core fans for life, a perfect example are many of the older rock bands who can still fill a stadium or C&W acts. You can also see it on a much smaller scale with Classic Soul Artists as well and none of them have been on the charts or recorded a new record in years, yet they sell tickets as a general rule. [[with exceptions)

Now a days, kids will drop you in a heart beat for the next new thing that comes along, networking is the way to hold on to them and get them in the seats of your show.

BUT....with all that said, you still have to be heard and what this article is trying to impress upon artist, if you're waiting around for major airplay, you're wasting valuable time. Unless, you're a major label artist or have a personal truck full of money to advertise with large stations. That means you have to think outside the box to be heard, even if it means giving away music [[up to a point)

You can be the greatest singer in the world with the best song ever but if no one hears you, so what?

There is a reason you hear the same record played over and over again. The record company pays major advertising bucks. As part of the package they are gtd x amount of plays. The PD must play the record. [[legal payola) although execs hate hearing the term used.:rolleyes:

Now in all fairness, I can understand the practice up to a point because it happens on small stations as well as indie internet stations. You want to stay in biz and pay your bills, you have to make money. Kind of a catch 22 that has gotten rather crazy on some levels and manageable on others.

Sorry to be so long winded but the biz end of the industry is one of my fave topics. [[also one of my biggest headaches) :eek:

[chidrummer]

Midem.com is very inspiring to those of us who want to try new ideas and try to get ahead of the curve. Great post ms. m.

[ms_m]

Midem.com is very inspiring to those of us who want to try new ideas and try to get ahead of the curve. Great post ms. m.

Agree Chi and it's a great way to network with people in person and thanks for the compliment.