Submit Your Music
Somebody once asked me why I have so many non-
Zimbabwean artists on my show flyers and at first my answer
was simply the fact that some of our local favourites just do not
have HD pics. But now I realise that the issue is much bigger
than that. It's not just about HD pics because some of these guys
have really good ones but it's the music. It's not easy to get music
from our local artists because believe it or not most of them just
don't bother to submit the music to radio. I know that sounds
unbelievable that an artist can deliberately withhold their music
but trust me, there are artists who consciously keep music away
from radio deejays. Apparently to first push it on the "streets". I
had first-hand experience of this when I reached out to one of
my favourite femcees. Yes, full disclosure "there are favourites"
– guilty as charged. This young lady is incredibly talented and I
said to her point blank "do you have anything that you are going
to release this year so that it can be played on Power FM". She
advised me to listen to the music that is in rotation on the
"streets" because that is the place where the music would be
released first. She told me she had teams who would push her
music well before radio. It became clear to me that I was the
outsider. The Hip-hop Bassment Top Ten was not a part of the
equation, Power FM was not included in her plans. I wanted to
say to her "how can I join your team of music pushers, how can
Power FM be included in your plans" then I realised how
desperate and a little suspect that might sound. So I gathered
my composure and left it at that. I accepted that her new music wasn't coming and worked with the music that had been
submitted.
What is needed for Music Submission?
Radio stations in Zimbabwe do not play music with explicit lyrics.
Therefore your music must be clean i.e. without any explicit
lyrics. In order to submit your music, you will need your clean
music, CD artwork and an EPK.
How to Belong on the Playlist
Every time a song is played on radio, the radio station
immediately gets feedback from listeners via the official
platforms – Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp. Listeners respond
to the playlist either in a positive or negative way. There is
technically nothing wrong with an artist getting a positive or
negative reaction to their music because broadcasters know that
music is subjective (one man's meat can be another man's
poison). The problem for an artist seeking to remain on the
playlist does not occur when listeners criticise the music but
when listeners say absolutely NOTHING. If your song creates a
void, an empty space in programming then deejays are tempted
to play something else. That said, it becomes absolutely clear
that artists have a stake in generating genuine interest in their
music, so that when it is played on radio there is a reaction from
listeners. Post updates about your music on the radio station's
official platforms and on your own online spaces. Encourage
your fans to tune in to radio and insist that they interact with radio
on the official platforms so that the best music continues to
occupy the playlist. It's not enough to just submit your music and
hope for the best. You must continue to be vigilant in order to
BELONG on the playlist.