If you’ve ever thought that getting your music played on the radio was the end-all be-all of the music business, you would have been right several years ago. When radio was at its peak, it meant absolutely everything to be on the radio. In today’s industry, we’ve seen the radio’s presence diminish, but this does not mean that it can’t be a helpful tool for getting your music out there. Yes, it may still be difficult to get your tunes on one of the major radio stations in your area, but college radio is a great way to make your first appearance on the airwaves.
Many college radio stations are always eager to add emerging artists, especially if you’re from the area. Almost all major colleges and universities have radio stations at this point, and each station is filled with shows spanning almost every genre imaginable. College students are always eager to help out a local band, and when there isn’t a specific show playing, you can always just get added to their regular rotation. Try getting in touch with your local college radio stations to see if they would be interested in featuring your music. Here’s a site that I found after some quick browsing that might help you get started.
Just these past few weeks, I’ve seen several local artists gain quite a bit of recognition around their respective areas (in this case, Boston) because they have been featured on college radio. One artist reached out to a friend of mine, who has a show on Northeastern University’s station, 104.9 WRBB-FM. They had never met before, but he expressed interest in coming in to the studio and playing live on-air, and in a week, they had everything planned out. The show has had several local acts pass through, simply because they asked to be on the show. Also, new bands are constantly being added to their list of recommendations to play. So go ahead and put yourself out there – get on the phone or email your EPK over to local college radio stations. The people who are listening are the ones that are particularly interested in finding new undiscovered music, and it’s always great to find a new way to get yourself out in the open.
