28/08/2017
Before you even consider submitting your music to Radio Stations!
1) Ensure you’re a member of performance rights organisation SAMRO
…and register every song you publish with SAMRO. Among other benefits, it ensures you earn royalties on radio spins of your music. More info on registration here.
2) Make sure the music you submit has an ISRC code.
An ISRC code is a unique code given to every piece of music published. It makes it easy to track radio plays as well as sales. You can get an ISRC code from RISA or from aggregators like TuneCore and CDBaby when uploading your music to digital retailers.
3) Remember the clean versions!
While it would be great to live in a country like Germany where music is heard as intended – swear words and all in tact – South Africa is not that. Submit only clean versions of your music to commercial stations. If you don’t have clean masters, get clean masters made, and remember to register those songs as standalone records with SAMRO and get unique ISRC codes too.
Bonus tip: It is crucial to already have some buzz with your music before going to radio. If you’ve previously uploaded the song to services like Soundcloud and its racking up decent plays or if you have a community of fans backing you and some decent press behind your work, it’s a good story to go to the radio stations with. Remember, big stations don’t want to take risks, they want to make money, and they make money from engaged listeners. Whatever you can do to prove your record is a sure thing that’s already resonating with the target market only serves your case.
Preparing for submission
With all the ‘legal’ admin in place, it’s time to prepare for submission.
1) Make a list of all the stations whose format suits your style of music.
Radio is not a free for all. Stations have specific formats – a catch all term for ‘genres and styles of music played’ – they adhere to. It’s unlikely SAFM will ever play AKA and Yanga’s ‘Dreamwork‘, and equally unlikely Ukhozi will play James Blake’s latest bangers.
Establish which stations your songs are appropriate for, which radio hosts your songs may resonate with, and make a list of them.
2) Establish the station’s submission procedure
Every major station will have specific instructions for music submission. This will include submission addresses, file formats they accept, submission deadlines, and when to expect feedback (if at all). This info is usually a Google search away. Most SABC radio stations have a FAQ page with this info.
You’ll find the info, but here are the main ones:
Metro FM
5FM
Ukhozi
Good Hope FM
Bonus tip: Look beyond the major stations when preparing your list! Campus radio, community radio and online radio (even though it’s painfully nascent) are all viable.
The submission process
1) Submit your music in time for your desired week’s deadline.
At most stations music submitted one week will be on the playlist the following week. If you have a strategy around radio releasing your music at a specific time, keep this in mind, but don’t bank on the radio playlisting your song as the main hype.
2) Follow the submission protocol the station advises… and sell yourself
4kas
