BEING A POSITIVE MUSIC ACTIVIST

As music fans, we're all here for one reason, to be activists for music and those that create it. Here are some great tips to be a great activist and get your voice heard. Be loud, stand up and start talking.

1.) Start small. You don't have to go all out, just start.
2.) Act locally, go listen to local bands, give local artists a chance.
3.) Be open minded. 
4.) Listen to those you're trying to help. They know what they need, you may not.
5.) Be willing to change your opinion through listening to those of others.
6.) Acknowledge that your way isn't always the best way.
7.) See the big picture and pay attention to the details.
8.) See something bigger than yourself.
9.) Look at the situation through a child's eyes, as someone coming in for the first time, look for things that you know something about.
10.) Pay attention to what's not only being said, but what isn't being said.
11.) Don't be afraid to try new avenues, new ways of doing things, update your thinking.
12.) There is a box, think outside of it, outside of your comfort zone.
13.) Gain experience and learn from it.
14.) Know what you're talking about before you say something and think before you put it out there. Educate yourself.
15.) Surround yourself with people interested in the same cause.
16.) You're not going to be right 100% of the time, no one is. Admit it ahead of time, accept it and live with it.
17.) Don't take yourself so seriously. Lighten up.
18.) Don't feel like you're not doing enough, caring enough to do something is more than enough.
19.) Make the effort, not excuses.
20.) Focus on why what you're fighting for will work, not the reasons it might not.
21.) Do what you feel is right and what YOU truly believe in.
22.) If you can't put your heart into it, take yourself out of it.
23.) Be genuine, be authentic, be yourself. There are enough people out there trying to be like someone else, just be you. There is only one of those.
24.) Don't be afraid to question something if you feel it's wrong.
25.) Stand up, even if you're the only one standing.
26.) Speak up, no one will hear if you don't say anything.
27.) Speak your own voice, don't be someone else's echo.
28.) Get off your ass and do something about it, don't just talk about it.
29.) Believe that you make a difference.
30.) Be proud of what you do and don't give up doing it, even when that's the only thing you want to do.
31.) Keep it kind.
32.) BE HONEST. People know the difference and if they don't, they will find out the truth. Don't say you're an "experienced radio promoter" if you're just a fan reaching out to radio on your artist's behalf. They know what an experienced radio promoter is. Just be as honest in your endeavors as you would want people to be with you. Honesty goes a lot further with people.

TRYING TO GET YOUR FAVORITE SONG ADDED TO A RADIO STATION? HERE ARE A FEW HELPFUL HINTS

If you're trying to get your favorite artists or songs heard on the radio, here are a few helpful tips. We interact with many radio stations and hear a lot of helpful feedback on just what is involved in getting a song played. We also hear the down side of taking requests. I thought I'd share with you what we've heard around the industry from radio personnel. Just things to be mindful of and a way to do it the right way and help your favorite artist and their fans maintain a positive relationship and image with radio. One person doing things the wrong way or being overzealous can and does reflect badly on the entire fan base unfortunately and also on the artist. You don't want to associate terms like "rude", "pushy" or "demanding" with your artist or their fans and trust me, it does get associated if one or two fans are rude or "overly helpful" (and I use that term lightly). It's great that you want to help and that you believe in these artists and their music but it's important to know what the line is and how not to cross it in your efforts. In reality, one overzealous fan with the best intentions can hurt the effort more than help.

1.) START WITH SMALL MARKET OR INDEPENDENT, LOCALLY OWNED STATIONS - 

The best way to approach radio is to start with stations who are appropriate for your career level - college stations, locally owned small market stations, internet stations, etc. If you start with large market or even medium market corporate owned stations, chances are very high that you're gonna get a "no" from the get go. Most big name stations are corporate owned and are told who and what they can play, how often they can play and when to play a song They cannot and will not play independent, unsigned artists. It's just the name of the game unfortunately. Start small right out of the gate. The more smaller stations that catch on will kickstart a buzz. The rest will catch on as the buzz builds. Once an artist is signed to a bigger label with more financial backing, the bigger stations will start to take note and that's when your chances increase for being added to their playlists. The smaller stations are your best chance at getting a foot in the door. I know, it's a frustrating, often maddening thing, but as for now, it's what it is and as much as listeners and actual radio employees hate the policies, it is going to be your biggest obstacle.

2.) BE PATIENT - Not all stations have the same music at the same time and not all will necessarily have it at all. They also may have it but haven't added it to the library yet.  Stations also do what's called a "test market". They have surveys and target specific local areas and groups to listen to the new music they receive. If a song doesn't do well in a test market, it may unfortunately never even be played. Just be patient and keep checking periodically but know when to move on. Even getting your song heard by the right people at radio is incredibly competitive and difficult in itself. Put yourself in the music director's and station manager's shoes, think about how many songs they have thrown at them every day. 

2.) BE KIND - When requesting, if you're told no or "we don't have it", please don't take out frustrations on the DJ. They are told what they can and can't play and if a new song is being requested, they haven't been given the thumbs up yet from management or they don't have the song yet. Thank them and move on. The years of local dj's playing whatever they want to play is pretty much over with the takeover of corporation radio. If you live in an area where your station is locally owned or independent, you are lucky!

3.) Please DO NOT contact program directors directly unless you know them personally or have been given permission from the artist or their management. Program directors and general managers should ONLY be contacted by the artist or an official representative of that artist. They only set aside a few hours a day to discuss new music with official representatives (A&R people, promotions, management, etc). If they are on the phone with an overzealous fan, this ties up their time that they could be using to speak with the people they should be talking to. Once you get on a PD or GM's bad side, that can definitely negatively affect the outcome of what you are trying to do.

4.) Only use designated listener and request avenues such as posted request phone lines, email addresses, Twitter or Facebook pages, etc. These are there for YOU, the listener, to make your voice heard. Use them, but don't OVERUSE them or OVERSATURATE the station with requests for the same song/artist all day long. You don't want to make the station tired of the song before they even get it. Request the song regularly, but don't over saturate the station with requests, especially by the same people over and over. They do catch on and trust me, they will let you know if you're overdoing it. That has the opposite effect of what you are trying to achieve. (Hint, they also have technology to see how many times a day the same phone number calls, how many emails come from the same IP address, etc. It doesn't matter if you have 40 email accounts and use them all to request, if they're tied to the same IP address, they can tell it's you. - just something to be wary of.) One more thing, put your focus into your particular area and local stations. Most stations are only interested in their local listening base, not those listening online or those that used to be listeners who no longer actually listen to their station but still request airplay just to help their artist. Most of the time, those requests are gonna be looked right over so focus on your area and recruit others in your area to help. Do NOT go over the top while trying to be helpful. Do it the right way and consider how it makes your artist look. I deal with several radio stations and their PD's and DJ's and this is personal feedback directly from them. You don't want to piss them off before they even have a chance to get to know you or the artist you're requesting.

5.) If a station does play it, either from your request, or you happen to hear it being played, SAY THANK YOU and TAKE NOTE OF THE STATION and let the artist or their management know where you heard it so they can thank them and fans can also let them know they appreciate it by promoting that station on social media. Always be sure to give back if a station plays your request or adds your song to it's rotation. Thank you goes a long way. Pay it forward.

6.) And most of all, TALK ABOUT IT. Promote it on your social media pages, tweet about it, Facebook about it, YouTube about it, Linked In about it,  Instagram about it it. If you have a blog, blog about it. Don't be afraid to tell people why you love the song and why you think someone is a great artist who deserves the attention. Don't go on and on ad-nauseam about it though, that can be a huge turn off for potential fans. Come across as a dedicated fan, not a borderline obsessive crazy fan. Remember, not everyone is going to love the song and that's fine. We're all entitled to our opinions. Always show respect to other fans, even when you disagree. Remember, in a way, you are representing your artist in an "unofficial" manner and the way you deal with other fans reflects on the artist. Most well known fan bases are known for their dedication, kindness, respect and strength in numbers. So speak up, stand up and make a difference!

Show what the power of people who stand behind and believe in an artist can do. Your voice can and does make a difference if used the right way.

Below is a helpful tool to help you with your promotion campaign:

Radio Locator : Radio Locator is where you can find the most up to date contact information for country stations in your area.

Thank you for all you do to support new music and get this music heard! Now let's get to requesting! Have fun and build relationships while doing it!

- Jenn

Follow Jenn on Twitter at @Lovinlyrics

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS NEEDED TO MAINTAIN A SUCCESSFUL FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

Everyone wants to run a fan page these days on Facebook, but are you running your fan page to it's fullest potential? Noticing you aren't getting many "likes" or that your fan numbers are dropping? Here are a few tips to help you run an amazing page. A successful and popular page requires time, patience, the ability to get along with various types of personalities and the ability to  think outside the box. Do you have those 4 things? If you answered yes, then you can run a successful Facebook fan page.

1. Create an awesome cover page that draws people's attention, same with the profile picture. 

Visual is everything. Don't just use a standard picture, create one that will wow visitors to your page. Do some research, check out other fan pages, google Facebook covers. Create a collage of fan photos from your artist's concerts. Here's where your creativity kicks in.

2. Network with other social media pages and websites for your artist. 

Your content doesn't need to be exclusive to you. Share articles, photos, videos and contests that mention your artist and be sure to credit your source, link to them if they have a website or social media site. Credit photographers and videographers. If you post something original about your artist, share it on other pages as well using the link for your post so it will direct back to your page and bring in more fans.

3. Be a valuable resource for information, not just pictures and videos. 

Make sure you are a central place for ALL things related to your artist, not just photos and videos. Include show dates. links to ticket purchase sites and venue sites, special events, news and giveaways.

Page admins can add multiple tabs. Tabs can be added to the left side of the page just like on your
personal profile.

Keep your content updated regularly. There is nothing more aggravating than going to an artist's page and not seeing the most current info and posts.

Share posts from your artist's official social media pages, but don't over post. Fans don't need to see every single post from every page. Share the stuff that's gonna get feedback and make an impact.

4. Work Positively with Pre-Existing Pages.

It's not necessary for there to only be ONE fan page if those already established can co-exist peacefully and work together. The more properly and positively run fan pages there are, the more traffic you draw to your artist and that's the goal, not competition. You can also share information among yourselves which creates more of a "community" feel than just another "fan page".

5. Target the right audience.

Know the audience your artist will appeal to. Posting about your favorite country artist on a rock and roll radio station's page is a waste of time as is sending out posts on your personal page. Chances are not everyone on your personal page is as into your favorite artist as you are. Choose who you promote to and make sure they'll be interested in what you're saying and the music you're trying to "sell" them on. Don't waste your time on just anyone and everyone. You want to foster relationships with those you common interests with and the main common interest is the artist and their music.

6. Keep the negativity to a minimum, a zero actually. 

Nothing turns potential fans off than bitching and moaning, criticizing and negative posting. Keep a positive arrow pointed at your target, your artist. Everything you post on your fan page directly reflects on the artist you're promoting.

7. Page admins need to be accessible and friendly. 

You may run the page but you don't own the artist. If you work directly with an artist, be sure to run things by them regularly instead of just running with something. You're representing them and how you handle things can help or hurt them. If you have an issue with a fan, take it behind closed doors and don't argue on the public wall. Be there to answer questions in a timely manner. If you have an app on your phone, turn on notifications and have your message section turned on. Respond timely, don't let messages or posts sit for days unanswered. Don't say that you officially represent an artist unless the artist has given you permission to do so and knows that you're telling people you are "official." That can be very misleading to readers.

8. If you're gonna start a page, keep it going.

If you are going to take the time to build a following, you have to take the time to keep things moving. Posting once or twice a week isn't going to keep interest, but neither is posting a gazillion times a day. Plan your posts, plan what you want to say and the content you want to use. We're all busy but if you start it, you need to keep it going. If you find that it's too time consuming, either turn the page over to someone else and step aside or close the page completely.

Start doing your favorite artist a favor and represent them professionally and make it enjoyable for everyone. Get people talking!

- Jenn

Follow Jenn on Twitter at @Lovinlyrics