Since streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music rule the world of music, radio stations have become less relevant. However, hearing your music being played on the radio is a whole new feeling. And for example to reach the top Billboard spots, you definitely need radio support. In this blog you will learn how to do it! First of all, I need to mention that there is no go-to formula to get played. But there are some strategies that could help.

Table of Contents:
1 - Types of radio stations
Most people don't know, but there are two types of radio stations. There is commercial radio, which is the most consumed version. The other variant is non-commercial radio.
Commercial radio
Commercial radio includes all the huge radio stations you get in your car for example. Commercial radio is 13 times bigger than all streaming platforms combined. This might seem unrealistic, but with this knowledge you might realize that a radio placement on commercial stations will be groundbreaking for your career! In the beginning it will be super hard to get on these stations. It's best to start looking for non-commercial radio stations at first.

Non-commercial radio
You might wonder what a non-commercial station is, but if you think about it more it definitely makes sense. This category includes college radio, small independent radio, and a lot of online radios. This is definitely a good place to start. It's easier to get on these stations because they don't have to follow the mainstream, and often they're very friendly to starting artists. Another reason why you should start here is that a lot of commercial radio stations and A&Rs are looking around in these smaller stations to find the next big artist.

2 - How to get your music on the radio
In this section you will learn about the different strategies to follow.
Building an audience
As you know, building an audience of followers or Spotify listeners is important, as well as for your career as for getting your music on radio stations. The radio-based music industry is super competitive and you really have to be an outstanding artist to get featured. So try building an audience on streaming platforms first! Radio stations are businesses that need to make money, so you have to be able to show that you have potential to increase their revenue.

Who to contact
It's important to know who to reach out to. At bigger stations, it's often a specific DJ or a music director. For smaller and non-commercial stations it will be easier to find a general contact email or contact form on their website. A few internet radio stations that you can easily submit to are Amazing Radio and Pandora
How to submit
The most common ways of submitting your music to radio are creating an Electronic Press Kit and writing a music press release, including links to your track(s), website, social media and press pictures. Make sure to keep it organized, name your tracks properly and don't send your tracks as attachments. However, it could be beneficial to add a short personal message to start building a relationship.

Make connections
A lot of radio DJs, tastemakers and radio stations have social media accounts. Make use of this by following them, interacting with their content and building a relationship. This way, they will already know you when you submit your music & you can personalize your message to them.
Paid promotion
The last option is to pay for radio placements. You could hire a plugger that does the work for you. Radio pluggers are mediators with an extensive list of contacts that they've gathered throughout their career. This can be expensive, but a lot of big labels will do this for you. You can find radio stations and pluggers on Fiverr and on iPluggers.

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