Are you a musician who wants to get your music played on the radio? If so, we are going to give you a comprehensive look into submitting your music to radio. In this blog post, we will discuss how to submit your music to radio stations, how royalties are paid to you, the limitations on your earnings, how to get your music to the right people, and finally how to increase your chances of getting airplay.

We will cover everything from creating a submission package to following up with stations once your music has been submitted. So whether you're just starting or have been submitting your music for years, this blog post is just enough to get you on the right track.

Are Radio Stations Still Worth Your Time?

According to a recent report, there are over 50,000 radio stations in the world. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of radio stations that are currently in operation around the world. According to one estimate, there are roughly 20,000 AM and FM radio stations in the United States alone.

However, this number does not take into account the many online and satellite radio stations that are also broadcasting. In addition, the number of radio stations is constantly changing as new stations are launched and old ones are taken off the air. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that there are thousands of radio stations broadcasting around the globe at any given time.

According to estimates, more than 90% of the world's population tunes in to the radio (online or offline) at least once a week. That's an audience that any broadcaster would love to have. So to wonder if the radio is still worthwhile to submit your music to, there's still a massive audience available for you.

How Radio Spins are Tracked

In the radio industry, several different companies track radio spins. The most well-known of these is Nielsen BDS (now called MRC Data), which provides data to both commercial and non-commercial radio stations. MRC Data uses a combination of terrestrial and internet monitoring to track which songs are being played on the radio.

In addition to BDS, many other companies track radio spins, including Mediabase and Radio tracked by Alpha Data. Each of these companies uses slightly different methods to collect data, but all of them provide valuable information to the radio industry.

How Do I Get Paid By Radio Stations?

This is the million-dollar question. Different answers are depending on who you ask, however, we do know that The Harry Fox Agency (HFA) is a United States copyright organization that licenses and collects royalties for the use of copyrighted musical works on behalf of music publishers. As some radio stations are online and provide music streaming, The Harry Fox Agency would be able to collect on your behalf. You can check out their payout rates here: Click to View

Services provided by HFA include royalty administration, licensing, and audits. One service that HFA does not provide is the collection of royalties from radio stations for artists. Radio stations are required to pay performance royalties to musicians and songwriters for the use of their music on the air.

However, radio station royalties are collected by different organizations, such as ASCAP or BMI. For more information on performance royalties and which organization collects them, always check with the performing rights organizations or the radio stations when needed.

"BMI uses performance monitoring data, continuously collected on a large percentage of all licensed commercial radio stations, to determine payable performances. This census information is factored to create a statistically reliable and highly accurate representation of feature performances on all commercial music format radio stations throughout the country." - According to BMI Performing Rights Organization

"ASCAP pays on a “follow the dollar� basis. The money we receive from radio stations is paid out for radio performances, the money we receive from TV networks is paid out for TV network performances, etc. Performances on stations that pay the highest license fees will earn more royalties than performances on stations that pay lower license fees." - According to ASCAP

Learn more about your radio royalties

How BMI collects radio royalties: Read More

How ASCAP collects radio royalties: Read More

How The Harry Fox Agency collects digital royalties: Read More

 

Make sure you do your research about the radio stations you are going to submit to. Make sure your music is a good fit for their radio station.

How You Can Submit Music To Radio Stations

 

1. Make sure your music is radio-ready.

This means that your music should be of high quality and free of any profanity or offensive content. Additionally, your song should be the appropriate length for radio play (usually 3-5 minutes).

2. Create a press kit.

A press kit is a document that contains information about you and your music. It should include things like a bio, photos, press clippings, and your contact information. Having a press kit will make it easier for radio stations to learn more about you and your music.

3. Find a radio station that plays music similar to yours.

If you want your music to be played on the radio, it's important to find a station that plays music similar to yours. There's no point in submitting your music to a country music station if you're a heavy metal band. Do some research and find a station that's a good fit for your genre.

4. Submit your music online.

Many radio stations now accept submissions via their website or through an online submission service such as SharePro, TuneCore, or ReverbNation. Simply follow the instructions on the website to submit your music.

5. Send a physical copy of your music.

If you prefer, you can also send a physical copy of your music to radio stations. Be sure to include a press kit along with your CD or vinyl record. You can find the mailing address for most radio stations on their website or by calling them directly.

6. Call the radio station and ask for the music director.

Once you've found a suitable radio station, give them a call and ask to speak to the music director. This is the person who is responsible for choosing which songs get played on the radio, so you must get in touch with them directly.

Some people still believe it's the DJ who's in charge of the music selection, however, that is incorrect. The music director picks the station's daily playlist (which is passed down to them by their corporate office). The DJ usually only gets to pick their on-air playlist during their mix shows or drive-time playlists.

7. Ask if they accept unsolicited submissions.

Before you go any further, it's important to find out if the radio station accepts unsolicited submissions from artists. Some stations only accept submissions from record labels, while others are open to submissions from anyone. If the station doesn't accept unsolicited submissions, there's no point in sending them your music.

8. Find out what format they prefer.

Some radio stations prefer to receive digital submissions, while others prefer physical copies (CDs or vinyl). Find out what format the station prefers and submit your music accordingly.

9. Include all relevant information.

When you submit your music to the radio station, be sure to include all relevant information about your band or artist (name, contact information, website, etc.). This will make it easier for the music director to get in touch with you if they're interested in playing your music on the air.

10. Follow up with a phone call or email.

After you've submitted your music, follow up with a phone call or email a week or two later just to check that it was received and confirm that the music director is aware of its existence. Sending a polite email or making a quick phone call can go a long way in getting your foot in the door with radio stations.

Radio Station Submission Websites

If you want to fast-track your submission process without having to jump through many of the hurdles we've outlined, you might want to consider a radio submission website. These websites bring together radio stations from across the world (both online and offline) to make it easy for you to sort radio stations by genre, as well as easily reach out to hundreds of stations with just a click of a button.

SharePro Tastemaker offers radio station submissions where you can reach out directly to pitch your song. They screen the radio stations so that you know which stations are worthwhile submitting to. They cover nearly a dozen categories you can submit music to across the music industry from record labels, music managers, A&Rs, playlists, and more. Give it a try and see if it's worth trying out.

Radio airplay is still an important metric for record labels to determine who they are going to sign.

Songwriters are Paid For Airplay but Performers Are Not

Music licensing is a complex process, and different countries have different rules when it comes to payment for radio play. In general, songwriters are paid royalties each time their song is played on the radio, while performers are not. There are several reasons for this.

For one thing, songwriters almost always own the copyright to their work, so they are entitled to compensation whenever it is used. In contrast, performers generally do not own the rights to the songs they sing; instead, those rights are held by the record label, songwriters, and music producer. As a result, performers typically receive a one-time payment for their performance, rather than ongoing royalties (hence why performing is the performers' main source of income!).

Additionally, radio stations typically pay music licensing fees to performing rights organizations such as ASCAP or BMI, which then distribute those funds to the song's songwriters and publishers. Because of this system, it can be difficult for individual performers to collect royalties from radio plays.

Ultimately, then, songwriters are paid for radio play because they hold the writing credits to the song which performing rights organizations collect fees on only the writer's and publisher's behalf. So make sure you get yourself your writer's credit at all costs.

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