What Radio Programmers Secretly Wish Artists Knew (and How to Get Radio Airplay That Lasts)

Every artist dreams of hearing their music played on the radio, whether they’re just starting out, or firmly established in the music industry. We’ve already talked about how radio airplay is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful forms of exposure for indie artists. If you haven't read it, check out 6 Reasons Local Radio Still Matters for Indie Artists. But behind your dreams of hearing your track on your favourite radio station, are the radio programmers: the passionate professionals who decide which songs will and will not make it onto the air.

There’s a common misconception that music directors and programmers don’t want to hear from new acts, but that’s not the case at all. The real issue is that programmers get buried under unsolicited music submissions that aren’t broadcast quality, include explicit lyrics (so aren’t suitable for airplay in many countries), or just don’t fit the station’s style or format.

It’s a collaborative relationship! At their core, artists and radio programmers share exactly the same goal: to connect listeners and audiences with new music that they’ll love. When artists understand what programmers are looking for, and programmers can see the effort and professionalism behind the music, it creates a space for genuine discovery of great new music.

When your track is polished, presented properly, and is sent to the right stations, programmers are genuinely excited to hear it. That’s exactly where iPluggers helps: we make sure your music arrives broadcast-ready and in all the right inboxes. At iPluggers, we specialise in radio promotion for artists, connecting independent and established musicians with radio stations all over the world. We know what radio programmers are looking for, and how to help your track stand out in today’s crowded landscape.

So, to help you avoid your music being filed in the pile of songs that won’t make it onto the air, here’s a few of the things that music directors and radio programmers have told us they wish artists knew...

“We’re excited about your music, BUT it needs to be ready for radio airplay”

Music directors and radio programmers are generally people who are really passionate about music, and love discovering new music to introduce to their audiences. But, no matter how amazing you are as an artist, if your track sounds like it has been recorded in your Nan’s basement, is full of swearing or other explicit content, or hasn’t been mixed, and mastered to meet industry standards, it’s not going to get played on the radio.

These days, everyone is using what I like to call ‘naughty words’ in their songs. Apparently, it’s trendy right now. If you are going to have explicit lyrics in your song, you’ve got to make sure that you also have a clean version. The act of removing or covering swearing and other explicit content from songs for radio airplay is really important. This process, which results in a ‘clean’ or ‘radio edit’ of a song, is essential to make the music suitable for a mainstream audience and to comply with broadcast licensing laws.

As an artist, you need to focus on your sound, producing a professionally-recorded, well-mixed, and mastered track that is ready for radio airplay. Once your music is ready, iPluggers can handle your radio promotion, making sure your track reaches the right stations, playing the right genres, and reaching the right audiences, so your song will reach the programmers who are most likely to love it and play it. That’s the beauty of a professional radio promotion service like iPluggers, your track is perfectly matched with radio stations worldwide that are waiting to give your music a platform.

“When we receive new songs we want to have all the right metadata”

Radio programmers don’t want to spend their time searching for the composer(s), ISRC, publisher(s), correct cover art, or even the exact title of a track. This information is essential before a song can be added into playlist rotation, as broadcasting systems rely on accurate metadata to air songs correctly and ensure royalties are distributed to the right people. Because music directors and programmers are often managing hundreds of tracks, they simply don’t have time to track down missing details for every submission. Incomplete or inaccurate metadata can easily result in a great song being overlooked.

With iPluggers, every song submission through the platform is delivered with complete and verified metadata, so when a radio programmer decides to play a track, all the necessary details are already available in the system. The process is seamless, efficient, and professional, removing a major obstacle in getting your music played on the radio. By ensuring every submission is broadcast-ready, iPluggers provides each station / music director with the correct metadata when they download your track.

“A personal connection goes a long way.”

These days, more than ever before, to be successful in the music industry, it is about who you know, not what you know. When it comes to radio, every new music submission is reviewed by a human being who genuinely loves and wants to play great new music. Personal relationships and mutual respect often determine which songs will get that crucial airplay. When a music director recognises a trusted source or name behind a submission, they’re far more likely to listen and take note.

Since 2010, iPluggers has been building and maintaining trusted relationships with radio stations worldwide. All the radio stations that use our platform have signed up for an account and indicated which genres of music fit their station best. This means that radio programmers aren’t receiving cold or unsolicited emails from us. We’re trusted to introduce radio programmers to great new music, which gives your track a real advantage over unsolicited music submissions. In an industry built on relationships, that trust and familiarity can make all the difference between your music being ignored and being heard.

“We hear hundreds of great songs, but it is great stories that stand out”

You have got to put together an Artist Profile / Biography / professional press kit that stands out. Information about yourself, your song, or even your writing process, that is compelling and adds another dimension to your music, gives radio presenters and DJs something to tell their audience about you.

At iPluggers, we've been supporting artists to get radio airplay for over 15 years, so we’ve seen an awful lot of bios and Artist Profiles in that time. Sometimes a surprising or unique paragraph about yourself and your music can gain the interest of a radio programmer or music director. If you think about your song being submitted alongside hundreds of others, what you say about yourself, allows you to try to stand out from the rest.

Here’s some advice about putting together your artist profile or bio:

1. It needs to be short and to the point. Please don’t write War and Peace, it won’t get read.
2. Identify something that sets you apart from other artists or musicians and write about that.
3. Get it proofread or edited by someone who can spot any spelling/grammar issues and make sure it reads well.
4. Don’t oversell yourself or write things that aren’t true. Being your authentic self is very important in the music industry.
5. Update it regularly. Your bio should evolve as and when your career does.

“Getting Radio Airplay isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon”

Don’t get down on yourself, it can take time to build traction and get radio airplay. Sometimes, your track might take a while to be picked up for radio airplay because it is a sound that their audience isn’t quite ready for yet. This means that your song might not be right for their mainstream daytime playlists, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be picked up and played on specialist shows. Even better, if you can be added into regular rotation on a specialist show, or specialist radio station, you are consistently reaching audiences that actively choose to listen to the kind of music that you‘re making. Is there a better way to showcase your music to the listeners who will love it most?

iPluggers can support you through this marathon. On our platform, radio programmers, music directors, presenters and DJs can provide their real-time feedback, request interviews with you, and you can see download reports, all of which will keep your momentum growing.