NATIONAL OR LOCAL, RADIO IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO GET YOUR MUSIC INTO THE MARKET AND INTO PEOPLE’S HEADS. BY ALSO TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE HUNDREDS OF DIGITAL RADIO STATIONS AROUND, YOU’VE GOT A GOOD CHANCE OF GETTING YOUR LATEST TRACK ON AIR, OR ONLINE.

THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Unfortunately, most of the big national broadcasters are still dedicated to their established artists and, as they’re constantly swamped with demos, save yourself a stamp and focus your energy elsewhere. Digital radio is a good bet, offering stacks of stations who are more likely to give you some air time.

As always (yeah, we know, broken record), you need to do your research and find the stations that suit your sound. They’re often pretty specific about the genre they play, so if you’re all about the blues, there’s not much point contacting the hardcore rock station. Digital radio might not get you a fat record deal, but air time anywhere is a good start.


PLAYING WITH THE BIG SHOTS

If you still want to try your luck with the big broadcasters, your demo has to be ready to compete with tracks from established artists. These stations receive, quite literally, thousands of demos and emails, so don’t bank on an immediate response. Just make your demo is as good as you can and hope for the best.


GO LOCAL

There's sure to be a community radio station in your area who usually run on a pretty lean budget and often with help from volunteers. Don't be afraid to call one up and offer your services to run a weekly programming where you just might get the opportunity to play your own tunes. This experience will also give some experience behind the mic in a completely different capacity.

DO IT YOURSELF

While you're waiting for Triple J to call you back, think about setting up a podcast.

Basically, podcasts are radio shows that have been saved as MP3 files; the internet is home to loads of them and many promote unsigned artists.

It’s not hard to make your own, and the benefit is that you control production and can promote your music however you want. But don’t be selfish: you need to give your audience variety, so tap into the music community and provide gig advice, info about your local scene and make sure you feature other artists.

A blog backs up the content of your podcast and gives your audience a forum for comments and feedback. You’ll need an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, which sends updates to your computer and lets you distribute content. Check podcast websites to find an RSS feed you can download (they’re readily available); the same site can usually host your podcast and give you space to advertise.

To make the thing, you’ll need a basic music editing program to set up content and add voiceover to the show. Think carefully about your voiceover: though podcasts aren’t expected to sound like professional broadcasts, they still need to be pretty solid to compete.

The clear appeal of a podcast is its’ local, candid approach. So, while your first few shows may be a bit rough,  if your topics and music are varied and entertaining, you can bring new material to a new audience.