| ©Indietude.com 2008 |
Radio Play: Will Topping
The Charts Make You
Bigger Than Elvis?
By Sheena Metal
Every true life rock ‘n’ roll television melodrama
has the same scene: the unknown artist /band
gives their freshly cut 45rpm single to the local
disc jockey. He spins it on his top 40 radio
show…and a star is born. This legend has
been passed down through the generations of
wannabe pop stars like an ancient family recipe.
The ingredients may differ, but in the end you
get the same glorious results: radio play equals
fame and fortune.
But does this Top of the Charts fairy tale still
apply today in the sardonic post new millennium
world we call “today”? Can a band in our current
music scene walk into a radio station with a CD
single in their hot little hands, impress and wow
the DJ with their enthusiasm and chutzpa, obtain
the magic and golden FM radio spins and then
ride the wave of success all the way to Grace-
land? Well, then, I guess the real question
would be, “Do you believe in fairy tales?”
Unfortunately, the music industry, like the entire
Earth, has become so overpopulated and so
over-saturated with artists, music, CDs, and
radio stations/shows of all kinds, that the chance
of your own personal radio fairy tale coming true
is probably slim to none. But, don’t give up on
your favorite audio media outlet. Radio may
not catapult you to instant super stardom but it
certainly can help to push you down the path
to success.
The following are a few tips that will help you
to make your own music fairy tale and get your
music heard throughout the airwaves:
1.) Get Out Of Major Market The Top 40
Station Mentality -There was a day when
getting played on a big city Top 40 radio
station was like winning a gold medal at the
Olympics. Bands that were chosen for play
were handpicked by the voices of the air
waves whose ears were finely tuned to pick
out the next new rising star. Today, things
are a little different. Radio has become a
huge corporation with three major
conglomerates owning most of the stations
in the United States. Sadly, Disc jockeys
are no longer the innovators their
predecessors were. Station management
hands down a play list (made exclusively of
artists signed to mostly major labels) and
the voices you hear on your radio are just
that…talking heads animating a script. It’s
nearly impossible for an unknown band to
break into mainstream large metropolis
radio and a waste of your time and money
to send packages blindly to a medium that
will more than likely reject you again and
again.
2.) The Specialty Show Is Your Ticket In -
Still determined to get played on that hot
radio station with 10 million listeners and a
celebrity DJ? Well, there is a back door
that you may be able to slip through. It’s
the specialty show. Many huge stations
feature a weekly show structured just to
highlight the little guy…to showcase
unsigned artists from that station’s area
and sometimes beyond. These shows are
always worth sending your press package
to, as they tend to base their play list on
your music and your credentials on not on
the typical corporate artist roster. This is
where you just might wow that innovative
disc jockey and garner play on some of
America’s biggest stations.
3.) College Radio Still Rocks - One area of
radio that has stayed unaffected by the
huge corporate retooling is the college
/university station. Unlike companies
/labels deciding what the listening
audience thinks is cool or hip, college
radio DJ's and program directors are still
setting their own cutting edges, breaking
new artists, and finding the hot fresh stars
of tomorrow hiding in their local clubs,
coffee houses and garages. It’s always
beneficial for unsigned artists to send as
many CDs (or email as many MP3s, if the
station will accept that medium) to as many
college stations as you can find. You will
find stations to play you and people will be
listening. This could lead to new fans, tour
possibilities, and will definitely look fantastic
on the radio page of your website or EPK.
Whether or not it will actually make you a
rock star, it will sure make you feel like one.
4.) The Unlimited World Of Independent
Radio -Back in the early days of radio,
indie stations were limited to audio pirates
in their basements stealing airwaves from
unsuspecting Top 40 giants. Now, thanks
to the internet, satellites, cell phones,
i-Pods and cable TV, independent stations
outnumber their AM/FM constituents in the
thousands and new ones are created every
day. Since doing a search of indie radio
stations online has been known to cause a
brain embolism in some, know that you will
probably never be able to solicit them all in
one lifetime and just relax and enjoy sending
music to whomever you can, as you will
probably garner hoards of airplay. Further
more, your wallet will grow to love you as
most of these stations will allow you to
submit MP3s online.
It’s true that the legendary story of the unknown
band that got one single played on the radio and
became superstars within a month is probably as
outdated as the 8-Track tape. But that doesn’t
mean that the process of artists soliciting music
for radio play has become archaic. Radio remains,
to this day, one of the best ways for musicians to
promote their music and their projects in their
area…and now, thanks to terrific technological
advancements, nationally and worldwide. The
repetition of your single in the ears of even the
most jaded radio listener, may lead to: CD and
merchandise sales, gigging opportunities in your
city and others, visits to your website, posts to
your fan club forums, potential press and even
maybe industry attention. So, don’t stop sending
those CDs, and e-mailing those MP3s because
the next person who hears your song on the radio
might just be the one who leads, either directly or
indirectly, to your much sought record deal. And
who knows? You might just wind up becoming
bigger than Elvis.
The Charts Make You
Bigger Than Elvis?
By Sheena Metal
Every true life rock ‘n’ roll television melodrama
has the same scene: the unknown artist /band
gives their freshly cut 45rpm single to the local
disc jockey. He spins it on his top 40 radio
show…and a star is born. This legend has
been passed down through the generations of
wannabe pop stars like an ancient family recipe.
The ingredients may differ, but in the end you
get the same glorious results: radio play equals
fame and fortune.
But does this Top of the Charts fairy tale still
apply today in the sardonic post new millennium
world we call “today”? Can a band in our current
music scene walk into a radio station with a CD
single in their hot little hands, impress and wow
the DJ with their enthusiasm and chutzpa, obtain
the magic and golden FM radio spins and then
ride the wave of success all the way to Grace-
land? Well, then, I guess the real question
would be, “Do you believe in fairy tales?”
Unfortunately, the music industry, like the entire
Earth, has become so overpopulated and so
over-saturated with artists, music, CDs, and
radio stations/shows of all kinds, that the chance
of your own personal radio fairy tale coming true
is probably slim to none. But, don’t give up on
your favorite audio media outlet. Radio may
not catapult you to instant super stardom but it
certainly can help to push you down the path
to success.
The following are a few tips that will help you
to make your own music fairy tale and get your
music heard throughout the airwaves:
1.) Get Out Of Major Market The Top 40
Station Mentality -There was a day when
getting played on a big city Top 40 radio
station was like winning a gold medal at the
Olympics. Bands that were chosen for play
were handpicked by the voices of the air
waves whose ears were finely tuned to pick
out the next new rising star. Today, things
are a little different. Radio has become a
huge corporation with three major
conglomerates owning most of the stations
in the United States. Sadly, Disc jockeys
are no longer the innovators their
predecessors were. Station management
hands down a play list (made exclusively of
artists signed to mostly major labels) and
the voices you hear on your radio are just
that…talking heads animating a script. It’s
nearly impossible for an unknown band to
break into mainstream large metropolis
radio and a waste of your time and money
to send packages blindly to a medium that
will more than likely reject you again and
again.
2.) The Specialty Show Is Your Ticket In -
Still determined to get played on that hot
radio station with 10 million listeners and a
celebrity DJ? Well, there is a back door
that you may be able to slip through. It’s
the specialty show. Many huge stations
feature a weekly show structured just to
highlight the little guy…to showcase
unsigned artists from that station’s area
and sometimes beyond. These shows are
always worth sending your press package
to, as they tend to base their play list on
your music and your credentials on not on
the typical corporate artist roster. This is
where you just might wow that innovative
disc jockey and garner play on some of
America’s biggest stations.
3.) College Radio Still Rocks - One area of
radio that has stayed unaffected by the
huge corporate retooling is the college
/university station. Unlike companies
/labels deciding what the listening
audience thinks is cool or hip, college
radio DJ's and program directors are still
setting their own cutting edges, breaking
new artists, and finding the hot fresh stars
of tomorrow hiding in their local clubs,
coffee houses and garages. It’s always
beneficial for unsigned artists to send as
many CDs (or email as many MP3s, if the
station will accept that medium) to as many
college stations as you can find. You will
find stations to play you and people will be
listening. This could lead to new fans, tour
possibilities, and will definitely look fantastic
on the radio page of your website or EPK.
Whether or not it will actually make you a
rock star, it will sure make you feel like one.
4.) The Unlimited World Of Independent
Radio -Back in the early days of radio,
indie stations were limited to audio pirates
in their basements stealing airwaves from
unsuspecting Top 40 giants. Now, thanks
to the internet, satellites, cell phones,
i-Pods and cable TV, independent stations
outnumber their AM/FM constituents in the
thousands and new ones are created every
day. Since doing a search of indie radio
stations online has been known to cause a
brain embolism in some, know that you will
probably never be able to solicit them all in
one lifetime and just relax and enjoy sending
music to whomever you can, as you will
probably garner hoards of airplay. Further
more, your wallet will grow to love you as
most of these stations will allow you to
submit MP3s online.
It’s true that the legendary story of the unknown
band that got one single played on the radio and
became superstars within a month is probably as
outdated as the 8-Track tape. But that doesn’t
mean that the process of artists soliciting music
for radio play has become archaic. Radio remains,
to this day, one of the best ways for musicians to
promote their music and their projects in their
area…and now, thanks to terrific technological
advancements, nationally and worldwide. The
repetition of your single in the ears of even the
most jaded radio listener, may lead to: CD and
merchandise sales, gigging opportunities in your
city and others, visits to your website, posts to
your fan club forums, potential press and even
maybe industry attention. So, don’t stop sending
those CDs, and e-mailing those MP3s because
the next person who hears your song on the radio
might just be the one who leads, either directly or
indirectly, to your much sought record deal. And
who knows? You might just wind up becoming
bigger than Elvis.
Managers: Can’t Live With Them . . .
But Can You Live Without Them?
By Sheena Metal
You can’t throw a rock in any metropolis on Earth with
out hitting someone claiming to be a manager. Where
musicians go, managers follow. It’s as accepted and
expected in the entertainment industry as an out-of-
control cocaine habit or a failure to pay taxes. When
you tell people you’re a musician, one of the first things
they’re going to ask you is: Do you have a manager?
However, those in the throws of the music business
know to ask an even more accurate question: Do you
have a good manager?
“What’s the difference?” you may ask. Isn’t any
manager better than no manager at all? While it would
seem that the answer to that question is unequivocally,
“Yes”, in reality it’s a bit like asking, “Isn’t having a
herpes-ridden prostitute for a girlfriend better than
being single?” In truth, bad representation is far worse
than a lack of representation. While, it’s a fact, that
there are things your band will probably never achieve
without the aid of a manager, agent, entertainment
attorney, etc., bad representation can stagnate a
career…stop it dead in its hurling climb to the ranks of
super stardom or even worse…undo some of the hard
work the band has already done.
Sad but true, a bad manager can take a perfectly
good band and turn them into a thing so foul that old
gypsy women covering their faces with rags will spit and
give your band the evil eye as you pass. Ok, that may
be a bit dramatic, but seriously…all your band really has
is its name and its reputation, so why would take a
chance on either of those by putting the whole of your
band into the hands of someone that you’re not 100%
sure has your best interests at stake?
The following are a few tips that will help you to decipher
whether or not your manager can take you to the top or
turn your band into a flop:
1.) The Drummer’s Girlfriend Is Not A Manager -
Sure, she may get names for your mailing list, invite
her girl’s beach volleyball team to all of your gigs and
post your latest pictures on your website photo gallery,
but she’s not really your manager. She’s a helper,
she can be the president of your fan club, the head
of your street team and the world’s sexiest roadie but
she probably doesn’t know how to put together a press
package and make the calls that will get you into an
A&R rep’s office for a meeting. This also applies to:
boyfriends, wives, husbands, booty calls, one night
stands, moms, dads, cousins, aunts, uncles,
neighbors, nieces, nephews, grandparents,
grandchildren, pets and the homeless guy who roots
through your trash at midnight. These people may
all be well-meaning and you can accept their aid in
dozens of ways (it takes a village to build a popular
unsigned band) but don’t give them the label or the
powers of a manager.
2.) Treasure Your Fans But Don’t Let Them Manage
You - This should be a given but you’d be surprised
how many over-eager, slightly-obsessed fans move
from semi-stalker to mega-manager in a few simple
weeks. I cannot stress how simply wrong this entire
concept is for two dozen major reasons the most
important of which is: fans need to be kept at a
distance. There is a reason why that same person
comes to all of your shows no matter how many you
play, gets there early, sits up front seemingly
paralyzed starring at you enraptured. Either they’re
in love with someone in the band or they’re insane.
These may be reasons to get a restraining order
but certainly not reasons to make someone your
manager. A band’s manager knows every secret
of each musician, every person in each member’s
personal life, where you keep your money, where
you live, and who’s in your fan/contact database.
This is not information that you want someone who
has 450 cut-out pictures of you on their bedroom
ceiling having at his/her disposal. Enough said?
3.) Don’t Sign A Contract Unless It’s Worth It -
Manager’s like control. That why they choose to
be managers and not people who macramé wall
hangings with the mane hair of ponies. Thus, most
managers will try and evoke you into signing a
contract. In the entertainment industry, contracts
are like marriage certificates…before you sign one
be sure your band wants to be tied to the same
person for long time (a year, two years, five years,
etc.) because they’re much easier to get into than
to get out of. For example, if you sign a contract
with an efficient, but somewhat green manager,
who is helping all he/she can to get you everything
possible from what little resources he/she has and
then Gwen Stefani’s management team approaches
you after a big gig and wants to put you on tour with
John Mayer. Do you think if you tell them, “We love
to take your tour but we’re under contract with some
one else for the next five years, can you hit us up
then?” the offer will still stand? Not so much. So, if
you must sign contracts, keep them short and make
sure they give you room to act, think, play and
communicate with others without getting clearance
from your band warden (manager). And make it
includes an exit clause. Read up on it.
4.) Sometimes Bigger Is Not Better - Although it’s a
huge ego stroke to brag to all of the other musicians
backstage at the Whiskey A Go-Go that your
manager works with Grammy award-winners and
stadium sell-outs, sometimes an unsigned band can
get lost in a huge management firm. While Mr. Big
Stud Manager is busy picking out Madonna’s dress
for the American Music Awards, he may forget to
ask Quincy Jones to attend your bass player’s birth-
day gig at Billy-Bob Wang’s Tofu BBQ Shack. The
problem with huge managers is that their focus often
goes the acts that are making them 15% of 100
million dollars a year. Your 15% of $45.75 a year
after expenses is probably not his highest priority
now or ever, and what good are his super amazing
industry contacts if he never remembers to invite
them to your gigs?
Having a manager is great but only if they provide
more benefit to the band than the sum total of your band
members and band helpers can do for yourselves. If
you find someone who can open doors, take your music
places it cannot go on its on and has your best intentions
at heart, then grab that contract, sign it and enjoy the
benefits. If not, you may find yourself: conned, stalked,
ignored and /or legally bound to someone that puts their
own agenda (well-meaning or otherwise) and their own
ego above what’s right for you band. And whatever you
do, don’t sit around waiting for Mr./Ms. Right to wisk your
band off its feet and carry it off on his /her white horse to
the Fairyland where everyone gets a record deal. You,
as its members, know more than anyone, how to do
what’s right for your band and nothing will attract the
perfect manager faster than seeing musicians who are
out there, doing their thing, and making headway in a
very difficult business with a great attitude and terrific
music.
But Can You Live Without Them?
By Sheena Metal
You can’t throw a rock in any metropolis on Earth with
out hitting someone claiming to be a manager. Where
musicians go, managers follow. It’s as accepted and
expected in the entertainment industry as an out-of-
control cocaine habit or a failure to pay taxes. When
you tell people you’re a musician, one of the first things
they’re going to ask you is: Do you have a manager?
However, those in the throws of the music business
know to ask an even more accurate question: Do you
have a good manager?
“What’s the difference?” you may ask. Isn’t any
manager better than no manager at all? While it would
seem that the answer to that question is unequivocally,
“Yes”, in reality it’s a bit like asking, “Isn’t having a
herpes-ridden prostitute for a girlfriend better than
being single?” In truth, bad representation is far worse
than a lack of representation. While, it’s a fact, that
there are things your band will probably never achieve
without the aid of a manager, agent, entertainment
attorney, etc., bad representation can stagnate a
career…stop it dead in its hurling climb to the ranks of
super stardom or even worse…undo some of the hard
work the band has already done.
Sad but true, a bad manager can take a perfectly
good band and turn them into a thing so foul that old
gypsy women covering their faces with rags will spit and
give your band the evil eye as you pass. Ok, that may
be a bit dramatic, but seriously…all your band really has
is its name and its reputation, so why would take a
chance on either of those by putting the whole of your
band into the hands of someone that you’re not 100%
sure has your best interests at stake?
The following are a few tips that will help you to decipher
whether or not your manager can take you to the top or
turn your band into a flop:
1.) The Drummer’s Girlfriend Is Not A Manager -
Sure, she may get names for your mailing list, invite
her girl’s beach volleyball team to all of your gigs and
post your latest pictures on your website photo gallery,
but she’s not really your manager. She’s a helper,
she can be the president of your fan club, the head
of your street team and the world’s sexiest roadie but
she probably doesn’t know how to put together a press
package and make the calls that will get you into an
A&R rep’s office for a meeting. This also applies to:
boyfriends, wives, husbands, booty calls, one night
stands, moms, dads, cousins, aunts, uncles,
neighbors, nieces, nephews, grandparents,
grandchildren, pets and the homeless guy who roots
through your trash at midnight. These people may
all be well-meaning and you can accept their aid in
dozens of ways (it takes a village to build a popular
unsigned band) but don’t give them the label or the
powers of a manager.
2.) Treasure Your Fans But Don’t Let Them Manage
You - This should be a given but you’d be surprised
how many over-eager, slightly-obsessed fans move
from semi-stalker to mega-manager in a few simple
weeks. I cannot stress how simply wrong this entire
concept is for two dozen major reasons the most
important of which is: fans need to be kept at a
distance. There is a reason why that same person
comes to all of your shows no matter how many you
play, gets there early, sits up front seemingly
paralyzed starring at you enraptured. Either they’re
in love with someone in the band or they’re insane.
These may be reasons to get a restraining order
but certainly not reasons to make someone your
manager. A band’s manager knows every secret
of each musician, every person in each member’s
personal life, where you keep your money, where
you live, and who’s in your fan/contact database.
This is not information that you want someone who
has 450 cut-out pictures of you on their bedroom
ceiling having at his/her disposal. Enough said?
3.) Don’t Sign A Contract Unless It’s Worth It -
Manager’s like control. That why they choose to
be managers and not people who macramé wall
hangings with the mane hair of ponies. Thus, most
managers will try and evoke you into signing a
contract. In the entertainment industry, contracts
are like marriage certificates…before you sign one
be sure your band wants to be tied to the same
person for long time (a year, two years, five years,
etc.) because they’re much easier to get into than
to get out of. For example, if you sign a contract
with an efficient, but somewhat green manager,
who is helping all he/she can to get you everything
possible from what little resources he/she has and
then Gwen Stefani’s management team approaches
you after a big gig and wants to put you on tour with
John Mayer. Do you think if you tell them, “We love
to take your tour but we’re under contract with some
one else for the next five years, can you hit us up
then?” the offer will still stand? Not so much. So, if
you must sign contracts, keep them short and make
sure they give you room to act, think, play and
communicate with others without getting clearance
from your band warden (manager). And make it
includes an exit clause. Read up on it.
4.) Sometimes Bigger Is Not Better - Although it’s a
huge ego stroke to brag to all of the other musicians
backstage at the Whiskey A Go-Go that your
manager works with Grammy award-winners and
stadium sell-outs, sometimes an unsigned band can
get lost in a huge management firm. While Mr. Big
Stud Manager is busy picking out Madonna’s dress
for the American Music Awards, he may forget to
ask Quincy Jones to attend your bass player’s birth-
day gig at Billy-Bob Wang’s Tofu BBQ Shack. The
problem with huge managers is that their focus often
goes the acts that are making them 15% of 100
million dollars a year. Your 15% of $45.75 a year
after expenses is probably not his highest priority
now or ever, and what good are his super amazing
industry contacts if he never remembers to invite
them to your gigs?
Having a manager is great but only if they provide
more benefit to the band than the sum total of your band
members and band helpers can do for yourselves. If
you find someone who can open doors, take your music
places it cannot go on its on and has your best intentions
at heart, then grab that contract, sign it and enjoy the
benefits. If not, you may find yourself: conned, stalked,
ignored and /or legally bound to someone that puts their
own agenda (well-meaning or otherwise) and their own
ego above what’s right for you band. And whatever you
do, don’t sit around waiting for Mr./Ms. Right to wisk your
band off its feet and carry it off on his /her white horse to
the Fairyland where everyone gets a record deal. You,
as its members, know more than anyone, how to do
what’s right for your band and nothing will attract the
perfect manager faster than seeing musicians who are
out there, doing their thing, and making headway in a
very difficult business with a great attitude and terrific
music.
| More Insightful Advice & Information from Sheena Metal |
Sheena Metal is a radio host, producer, promoter, music supervisor, consultant, columnist, journalist and musician.
Her syndicated radio program, Music Highway Radio, airs on over 2,400 affiliates to more than 126 million listeners.
Her musicians’ assistance program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000 members. She currently promotes numerous
live shows weekly in the Los Angeles Area, where she resides. For more info: http://www.sheena-metal.com
Her syndicated radio program, Music Highway Radio, airs on over 2,400 affiliates to more than 126 million listeners.
Her musicians’ assistance program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000 members. She currently promotes numerous
live shows weekly in the Los Angeles Area, where she resides. For more info: http://www.sheena-metal.com
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