[UPDATED: 11/4/2019]
Did you know that you can get royalties when you get your music on internet radio stations?
Yeppers!
And there are a bunch of ways to to get your music on internet radio (more on that here).
But in this post, we will focus on just one.
The site we will be using is Live365 (get info on how Live365 pays Royalties here).
They've been around for awhile and they host thousands of amateur, semi-pro and pro broadcasters who are in many cases looking for music to play.
And if royalties weren't enough to convince you, you could end up on a chart somewhere because in their words…
“Live365 reports weekly airplay charts in all major genres to CMJ, Radio & Records Magazine, Billboard On-Line and syndicates charts with 3rd party affiliates like Broadjam.com.” – Live365
Cool huh?
Epiphany
After learning about the royalty thing, I remembered a conversation I had with a friend of mine a couple years ago. He told me that after starting a Thrash Metal station on Live365 that tons of bands were reaching out to him to and sending him music.
Could it be that easy?
So I dusted off my Live365 account and started reaching out to DJ's. Next thing you know, I had responses from 16 DJ's and a wide variety of my tunes were in rotation on some pretty cool stations.
Here what I did.
Note, before you do anything, you need to register with Soundexchange, so someone is tracking your Royalties.
1) Find stations
Once you have the registration stuff out of the way, go looking for stations. Start by search by genre and keep an eye on the “similar station” box on the bottom right.
Look in more than one genre. If you have a bunch of songs that could fall into different genres, consider all of them.
I have almost 20 songs. Some could be considered straight country, some would fit in playlists featuring Jack Johnson type stuff, some are straight folk and some could be played on classic rock stations featuring bands like The Eagles or Gram Parsons.
Also, I did stumble across a few eclectic/mixed stations that played a fairly large variety based on a theme like “success” or “religion.”
That said, don't get nuts and send your Taylor Swift styled pop country to a Metal station. Know your demographics and use your judgment.
2) Reach out
Now that you found a station, locate their website or social profile on the station page and send a message like this:
I would like to know the best way to submit my music for consideration on your station.
Thank you for your time.
I suppose you could put links to your music right in the message but, and it could just be me, it sort of feels spammy. This at gives them a choice to reach out on their own terms. It also lets you know they are actively monitoring their station as well as giving you the opportunity to start building a relationship.
3) Be ready
When the DJ's reply you want to be ready with your music. Most were cool with getting mp3's or being directed to a page where they could listen and download if they liked it. But some do require that you mail them CD's.
Also, when they reached out I went back to their station page to looked over their playlist and station description to determine which of my songs had the best chance of resonating with them. In some cases, I sent up to 4 songs and was able to get a few songs in rotation on the same station.
4) Follow up
Follow up a week or so after you sent them your tunes. Also, keep track of these DJ's in a contact file and then next time you have a song or album to release, you have an easy way to get your music reviewed and maybe even played.
Disclaimer: save your angry emails or comments if you do not get any replies. You either picked stations that do not match your music style OR your music sucks (just being honest).
Bonus
If you have time and a little extra jing (aka money), start your own Radio Station. Play your tunes and all your favorites and you just might attract listeners who like your style of music. You can learn how to start your own station here.
There you have it, spend some time reaching to DJ's. Eventually, you will have some royalties coming in AND a contact list of people familiar with your stuff to send your new music to.
One last thing before you go, make sure you grab my music submission checklist. You'll discover a thousand more places where you can submit your music and get your music heard.
( To get a free music submission checklist that shows you where to find thousands of more places to submit your music, click here or the image below)
