Analytics, Metrics and Music for the Radio Industry
An Indie Artist Pipeline to Internet Radio
Radio Industry ROI Strategy
A New Breed of Indie Artists
Friday, February 3, 2012
 
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Internet Radio: Pick Artists, Make Stars
There are a number of web sites devoted to exposing indie artists. Some offer these acts the world; claiming to place music in front of everyone from people in the broadcast radio industry to television producers. A few are stylish, with deep pockets that produced wonderful looking web sites. Are they effective? Don't know.
Besides YouTube and Justin Bieber, we simply don't have facts to backup a statement that talent has risen to stardom based only on exposure through independent artist web sites. How long before that changes is anybody's guess.
| "The one area where internet radio falls way behind broadcasters is in making stars." |
There are a number of problems surrounding an indie artist who's looking to get noticed online. In no particular order they are:
getting word out about your music
getting radio programmers to take time and listen
motivating station programmers to add your song
tracking an individual station's audience responseto your music
having word spread that your song is generating
listener response
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You might say social media is changing that, but I'd argue that there's no proof to back up the claim. Radio still holds the lead when it comes to introducing new music to a large swath of the country, which leads to a great seque relating to a major difference between internet and broadcast radio: The one area where internet radio falls way behind broadcasters is in making stars.
Where the radio industry has a long list of stars who started as unknown names before getting airplay, internet radio - to my knowledge - can't report so much as a single talent that rose to stardom based on exposure through internet radio stations.
The problem is bigger than one might think. It revolves around a loosely-knit internet radio community. For the station owner, the focus never leaves their radio station. There are no trade publications reporting online radio's indie artist airplay. (You might see "spin reports," but a widely read report on weekly adds or audience response doesn't exist.)
Having attempted to coordinate a reporting process for internet radio multiple times, I don't believe creating such a system is possible. The reason has been stated here on more than a few occasions: "Organizing the online radio community is like herding cats."
This doesn't mean I've given up on getting word out about outstanding independent artists. I'm just taking a non-traditional route.
First came RRadioMusic.com - a web site I launched in 2003. It features a short list of quality acts, so programmers don't have to plow through piles of poor sounding songs. (The artist submission page is here.)
What I consider to be the most effective form of indie artist music distribution, though, comes from Audio Graphics' "Intro to Indie Artists" series of programs. This concept feeds the needs of internet radio for programming. It presents only the best RRadio Music submissions for airplay. Radio stations receive these programs in Country, Dance, Hip Hop & Rap, Jazz, Pop, or, Rock.
To give radio programmers a choice, "Intro to Indie Artists" is offered in 5, 3, and 2 song lengths for each genre, and the programs are free!
402 "Intro to Indie Artists" programs have been requested by 162 internet radio stations. New programs are produced as soon as five quality artists are submitted to RRadio Music, in any of the program genres. I just finished producing the latest "Intro" series last week.
Sample these "Intro to Indie Artists" programs below, at your leisure. If you'd like more information, just click any of these links: Country, Dance, Hip Hop & Rap, Jazz, Pop, and Rock.
These indie artists produce some really great music, and you won't have to waste a lot of time going from one web site to the next in search of a song to add to your playlist. (All "Intro" artists can be downloaded individually, and free, at RRadioMusic.
Sooner or later we're going to have a musical star rise from the ranks of internet radio. I'm not sure they will come from what Audio Graphics offers, but I do know that I'm having a lot of fun listening to some very good musicians. And I'm helping the online radio industry be more than just a jukebox on steroids.
Sample - and order - any of the programs here.
Choose from hundreds of quality individuals songs here.
The point is, as an internet radio operator, or someone from the radio industry who's looking for something different to put on your stream, you now have choice - and it's free!
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