Radio pushing singles

[popsummit]

Hi .im new here and i love how much you guys know about the industry.
I have 2 questions.
When a label pushes a single to radio..what exactly does it mean? Does it mean the label calls the radio programer every day to make sure the song is played? What about if the station doesnt want to play it..does the label give up?
Thanks for the answers.

[iHype.]

A song is selected as a single, and thus it is 'sent' to radio. This is just where the label notifies all radio programmers that the song is a current single.

Radio stations can then choose to add it to their playlist of songs they have in rotation. Singles usually get pushed at radio over months but if they are receiving bad callouts (radio listeners are giving the song bad reviews through survey processes) or radio programmers aren't playing the song much they will then move on & stop pushing a song.

Promotion is also done by labels while a single is at radio (artists doing radio interviews, concert ticket giveaways for stations, and other ways of trying to kiss radio programmer's ass privately).

[frenchuser]

There are several biases for promotion. This can sometimes translate into goodies. The Taylor Swift team, for example, has already offered mugs (I can't remember for which song) as well as "snow balls" to radio stations staff for 'Lover.'

Another way to be in the spotlight of programmers, especially for high-profile artists, is to take part in promotional concerts (concert tour series organized by iHeartMedia) or to give short interviews in the mornings shows in the main markets.

[𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤]

May 13, 2020 7:20:13 GMT -5 frenchuser said:

The Taylor Swift team, for example, has already offered mugs (I can't remember for which song)

The Archer?

[frenchuser]

May 14, 2020 3:06:22 GMT -5 𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤 said:

May 13, 2020 7:20:13 GMT -5 frenchuser said:

The Taylor Swift team, for example, has already offered mugs (I can't remember for which song)

The Archer?

Apparently it was for "Delicate."



I don't know if that strategy really works. The press (print or web), for example, gets a lot of goodies every time a TV series is launched. The practice is so common, that it doesn't have much impact on media returns.
 I don't know if radio stations are at this stage...

[nickd]

I remember reading that Taylor did a 6 month radio promo tour when Tim McGraw was released instead of the usual 6 week tour that artists apparently do. She's visit all the radio stations to do interviews and live performances, bring home-made cookies, etc.

[nickd]

May 15, 2020 4:33:13 GMT -5 frenchuser said:

May 14, 2020 3:06:22 GMT -5 𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤 said:

The Archer?

Apparently it was for "Delicate."



I don't know if that strategy really works. The press (print or web), for example, gets a lot of goodies every time a TV series is launched. The practice is so common, that it doesn't have much impact on media returns.
 I don't know if radio stations are at this stage...

The mug was for Delicate, and the rug was for one of the Lover singles (I forget which).


By the way... when did sending physical copies of the single to radio stations stop being a thing?

[frenchuser]

May 19, 2020 16:52:23 GMT -5 nickd said:

I remember reading that Taylor did a 6 month radio promo tour when Tim McGraw was released instead of the usual 6 week tour that artists apparently do. She's visit all the radio stations to do interviews and live performances, bring home-made cookies, etc.

In France, during the radio promo tour, some artists record new versions of their track by including the name of the station in the lyrics. The result is often disappointing. I don't know if this kind of thing is done in the States ? Is that something Taylor did at the beggining of her career ?

[nickd]

May 20, 2020 4:20:59 GMT -5 frenchuser said:

May 19, 2020 16:52:23 GMT -5 nickd said:

I remember reading that Taylor did a 6 month radio promo tour when Tim McGraw was released instead of the usual 6 week tour that artists apparently do. She's visit all the radio stations to do interviews and live performances, bring home-made cookies, etc.

In France, during the radio promo tour, some artists record new versions of their track by including the name of the station in the lyrics. The result is often disappointing. I don't know if this kind of thing is done in the States ? Is that something Taylor did at the beggining of her career ?

Yeah she did, especially since the lyrics for her first song include


Someday you'll turn your radio on

I hope it takes you back to that place

She'd replace "your radio" with the name of the station.