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Looper's Delight
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Kris wrote: "How about how to get on radio stations. I think I spent a whole weekend a year ago sending out press packs to about 20 radio stations. It probably worked on two of them...not much return on investment, and I'm reluctant to try it again." I hear your reluctance but also have a couple of things to say about being more effective in your connection with the DJs. I've been the publicist, promoter, what have you for every music project I've been in (except for a few commercial projects) and what I've come to believe is this: The music business and all of it's branches are just fairly small tribes of people. We tend to view them as rather monolithic when, in fact, they are just composed of individual human beings who all have their own respective agendas about things. Like any small community, their are personalities in it who are idiosyncratic and you have to cater to those individual personalities. Sending material out is important but think about the myriad of unsolicited pieces of mail you get daily by people trying to sell you something. Unless someone has mentioned something to you in advance, you will have a tendency to chuck stuff, especially if you are inundated the way most print journalists and on air disc jockeys are. Consequently, it is important to make a human connection with someone who you want to play and promote your CD. I find that calling someone first and asking them if you can send them (or better yet, bring them) your recording is so much more effective than just sending out packets. I have also found that if you can attach that connection with an event that you are associated with can really increase the interest of the journalist or DJ. I try to associate my record releases with Events (CD release parties) or Festivals to maximize the interest of the DJ or Journalist. They are much more inclined to grant you an interview which inevitably leaves to the playing of several tunes on the CD or, better yet, a live on the air performance. Additionally, I have discovered that DJs love to help out, especially if they believe that they are on the cusp of a happening event or movement. I've found it very effective to specifically let DJs know that you (and your movement or style of music) can really use their help. I've had incredible success with the DJs at KUSP, KKUP, KAZU and, especially, KZSC the local college radio station. Time of the year is important, too. This year the new DJs at UCSC were in the first week of their programs when we had Y2K5. They were discombobulated, not set in their routines and consequently, I didn't get an ounce of publicity for the show on that the station...........the first time in several years. It makes me want to communicate with the RPM director at the station to seek his or her advice about when to best have such an event in the future. In the case of this particular station, there are luckily several shows a week who might play our stuff (the Live Looping community) and that's a lot of energy because you might have to talk to four or five DJs before you find that one gem of a person who wants to help out. It's all worth it, however. In the last two years two DJs at that station have aided and helped my career and the Looping events immeasurably..................now, of course, they have graduated and I have to do it all over again..........lol.