Over the years I have met thousands of aspiring artists, all green and perhaps rather desperate to be heard on radio, television or both. This is because it's in the DNA of all artists to love radio stations and to listen to their favourite deejays. But this love is unrequited. The game is rigged. The music is shelved or at least appears to be in limbo, the artists don't think they will ever hear their music played on radio. What was at first pure adoration transforms into something ugly. Anger.
Many times in discussions with aspiring artists I hear the same message. Artists want feedback, they want acknowledgement. When they submit their music they want a response from the radio stations, something to assure them that their music will be considered for playlisting. But is this really the issue? Do artists really crave a robo response to their emails "Thank you for contacting us, the radio station values your correspondence?" Is this all of it? Is this really the thorn buried deep in the side of every artist? A mechanical preset response. I don't think this is the full picture. Artists are not angry because they want a superficial discourse with stakeholders. Artists are pissed because they are not getting airplay.
The Elephant in the Room
I have always imagined that this must be quite a frightful creature. Few can talk about it freely without emotions being raised. When one starts to talk about the issue of airplay one quickly realises that this is the most polarising issue among artists and service providers alike. There is a real sense of the haves and the have nots on this one. Artists getting rotation on radio proclaim that all is well and the system is working and those that don't resent the music submission process and insinuate that dubious activities surround the issue. There are even accusations of payola but no single case has ever been proven let alone brought before the courts. These are clearly muddied waters. The path of accusation and counter accusation leads us nowhere. Unless you have been a victim of a crime that you can prove, it's a waste of time to discuss whether or not there are artists paying for airplay or not.
It's important instead to focus on what you can do. What is in your control? Your attitude, the way you feel, the way you think -you decide. Blaming others for challenges you may be facing is a very natural human response. It cannot be your fault, obviously. Honesty is a great place to start to tame the anger monster that has been fed for years.
The chapters in this book will attempt to examine the process required for anyartist to be taken seriously. The different aspects that can determine how professional your profile looks to stakeholders like radio stations. Look at every aspect covered here objectively - no one is blame worthy. Let's look at where we got it wrong and quickly get back on track.