RadioAirplay.com Blog

And it might even generate 1000 fans if it's done well. It used to be that a picture of an artist was your first and maybe only clue as to what their music would sound like once you got that record home and onto the turntable. You would walk into a record store, dig through the bins, look at posters on the wall and buy what looked the coolest to you. There were no online previews, Youtube, Amazon etc. Artists had to look right and have the music to back up the look...and you know what, it's still the same today. Let's take this photo of Johnny Cash for instance. This image endeared him to a whole new generation of Punk Rockers who identified with him as a rockabilly rebel. His management even used it for an ad in Billboard Magazine in 1996 after he won a Grammy for 'Best Country Album' to say 'thank you' to the Nashville establishment who had all but forgotten him. And what about this guy, is that Urkel from 'Family Matters' all grown up? No, wait a ...

One of the most common questions we get here at Airplay HQ is... 'How do I get more fans?' The answer to that question, more often than not, can be found in the 'Targeting' tab in your Jango Airplay artist dashboard but it's not always staring you in the face. It's obvious to most that if you're a heavy metal act then targeting fans of ABBA isn't going to do you any favors. But did you ever think that if you're a metal act that targeting Metallica might not do you any favors either? Probably not, that just doesn't make sense...or does it? Think about it this way; Metallica has tons of fans, many of which aren't even heavy metal fans. Maybe for these fans Metallica is the ONLY metal act that they like at all. Then you look at the 'Realtime Listener Feed' in your dashboard and see that 75% of your Airplays are going to Metallica fans because they are that HUGE...Ooops...time to re-target. Another perfect example could be targeting The...

Here's this week's top 10 artists on Jango Airplay. An amazing group with some new faces popping in to play. Check them out!!! #1: Aron Seals Aron Seals is a rock/fusion guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. His music is heavily influenced by film scoring, and makes use of midi guitar to play various stings sounds while accompanying the solo guitar. Click to hear Aron Seals: Fearless #2: The Alter Kakers The Alter Kakers (pronounced Alta Kuckers) are one of Toronto's most popular roots rock bands. Their sound...

A great little article over on Digital Music News got my attention this week. It highlights how things always go in cycles and everyone crying about 'the sky is falling' never helps things move forward. From the invention of sheet music, to player pianos, the gramophone, radio and even the 8-track cassette we're just moving forward and there's nothing you can do but jump on that train. The article quotes George Gershwin in 1930 naively saying...'Never, in all our history of popular music, has there been such a plethora of composers - professional, amateur, alleged - as we have today. Responsible, of course, are those two fresh hotbeds, the coniferous cinema and the radio.' You can read the rest of the quote HERE , it's quite thought provoking

And now for the Jango Airplay Top 10 from last week. Great stuff here coming in from all over the world in all kinds of musical styles. Check them out and show your support in the comments section below. #1: SIDS New Mexico's SIDS, short for "Same Image Different Soul," is an emcee & producer making modern music with a traditional purpose, to spread the Gospel. Click to hear SIDS: Victory #2: Charley Pride Becoming a country music superstar was an improbable destiny for Charley Pride, considering his humble beginnings as a sharecro...

I recently came across an article about a South African artist, DJ Mujava , who, frustrated with the fact that South African radio was only playing international artists decided to take things into his own hands. He burned CDs and distributed them to as many taxi and mini van drivers as he could so they would play his music which would then be heard by the passengers. After a couple weeks the drivers we're asking him for copies of the CDs so they could sell them to their passengers. DJ Mujava generated enough buzz for himself and was signed to UK label Warp Records , home to Grizzly Bear, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Flying Lotus & More. The story made me think how Jango Airplay is similar to this in that we break the mainstream radio lockdown and give artists a chance to break through the noise. But it also made me wonder how many other ways there are to reach listeners where they listen to music the most. So, Airplayers, what's the best 'outside the box' promotion sch...

Here's the Jango Airplay Top 10 Artists from last week. As a reminder, the top 10 each week get 1000 bonus play credits to continue their Airplay campaign...who's next ? #1: Kev Rowe Kev Rowe is a folk-pop artist who's been writing, recording & touring for more than a decade. He recently released his third album, recorded with producer Danny Kadar (Trey Anastasio, My Morning Jacket). Click to hear Kev Rowe: Walk Through Town With Me #2: The Avant-Garde Metallic Orchestra Minnesota's Avant-Garde Met...