What to send, who to send it to, and what to say. Written for independent artists with no label and no radio promoter behind them.
Stations play finished music. That means a mastered file, clean levels, and a clean version if there is language in it. Send a WAV or a 320kbps MP3 named Artist Name - Song Title. A rough mix gets skipped no matter how good the song is.
Have a short artist bio, a good photo, your release date, your genre, and links to the song on streaming ready to paste. Most submission forms ask for the same handful of things, so keeping them in one document saves you hours.
College radio, community stations, and online shows built for unsigned music are where independent artists actually get played. Big commercial stations work from label lists and radio promoters, so starting there is usually a dead end. Look for shows that already play your genre and artists at your level.
Almost every station lists a submissions page, a music director email, or a form. Use that one. Sending your song to a general contact address or a DM is the fastest way to get ignored, and some stations will not consider you again if you skip their process.
Three or four sentences: who you are, where you are from, what the song is, and when it comes out. Put the streaming link and a downloadable file link in the email. No long story, no hype words. Music directors read hundreds of these a week.
One polite follow up after about two weeks is fine. More than that hurts you. Spend the extra time sending to five more shows instead.
Keep a simple sheet with the station, the show, the date you sent it, and the reply. After a few months you will know which kinds of shows actually respond to your music, and you can stop guessing.
When a show plays you, screenshot it, post it, thank the host, and add it to your press page. Airplay credits make the next submission easier because you are no longer an unknown name.
Find the station's submissions page or music director email, send a mastered WAV or 320kbps MP3 named Artist Name - Song Title, and include a short bio, your release date, your genre, and a streaming link. Use the station's own submission route rather than a general contact address.
Many college, community, and online stations accept submissions for free. Paid services and radio promoters charge anywhere from a small fee per submission to thousands of dollars per single, and none of them can promise a station will play you.
A mastered WAV is the safest, with a 320kbps MP3 as a backup. Provide a clean version if the song has explicit language, since many stations cannot air the original.
Two to four weeks is normal, and plenty of stations never reply at all. Send your song to several shows at once instead of waiting on any single one.
Independent Radio FM is a $49 per month membership where every member submits one song a week and every song is played on the Saturday show, the Hot Artists and Upcoming Artists portions of the Saturday show starting at 3 PM Eastern / 12 PM Pacific. Every song also gets a personal DJ review. There is no approval process. Everyone is accepted.