Below we’ve included info for 10 great radio stations you can reach out to in order to submit your music for airplay. But if you’d like to reach even more, check out our Online Radio Directory where you can get direct access to over 400 online radio stations.
Internet radio offers a bright world of opportunity for independent artists. Terrestrial radio is not the only cool kid on the block anymore. Since it’s inception in the early 90s, online radio has made significant contributions to the landscape of broadcast radio. For independent singer/songwriters, musicians, and artists, online radio has become an ally for exposure in many ways.
One major change online radio has contributed to broadcasting is that location is unrestricted except for self-imposed restrictions created by DJs. The internet can reach places all over the world which means anyone can listen from anywhere. So an artist in Florida can submit his music to an online radio station in Kansas and people all over the world can potentially listen. What’s more, online radio stations are often run by average people simply for the love of music so you’ll have a much easier time pitching your music to them.
So get your pitches ready, because I found 10 online radio stations that support independent music and would love to hear good independent music.
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Before we get started, download our free Radio Pitch Guide for help crafting a captivating intro to pitch your songs to radio stations. Download it here.
Amazing Radio | It’s a new kind of radio, playing 100% new music sourced entirely from amazingtunes.com. It’s the first interactive radio station in the world where all the music comes from new and emerging artists.
How to Submit: Follow this link to learn how to submit your music.
Radio Paradise | Radio Paradise is Old Fashioned Radio for the 21st Century. Each hour of music is carefully blended together to flow smoothly between different musical styles & genres – just like real DJs used to do on FM. We don’t use the computer-generated playlists or “carefully researched music libraries” that have sucked the soul out of FM radio – and we never just throw songs together at random the way many web stations do.
How to Submit: To submit music, you must first create an account, then go to this page: https://www.radioparadise.com/music/submissions/submit. All music must be submitted as links via Youtube, Soundcloud, Spotify, etc.
KALX Radio | KALX 90.7 FM broadcasts freeform radio 24 hours a day to a large portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. You can catch all stripes of underground music accented with news, sports and alternative informational programming. KALX has a wonderfully dedicated staff of student and community volunteers who are willing to explore with and educate their listeners. KALX is regular folks doing wild, unpredictable, extraordinary radio. All of our programs are homespun, we don’t depend on satellite feeds. Rather we create programs from, and for our community (a community that includes both the University of California, Berkeley student population AND the surrounding area). As part of our mission to educate, every KALX DJ is encouraged to play a variety of musical styles and genres. Rather than segregating music into limited boxes, this philosophy is an attempt to entertain the listener while broadening their musical experience. A pretty fun way to be educated, don’t ya think!
How to Submit: Instructions for sending music is on their FAQ page: https://www.kalx.berkeley.edu/faq-page.
GotRadio | GotRadio is a free online internet radio station network with 48 channels of professionally programmed music. GotRadio features MP3 music downloads via Amazon.com. They are looking for artists who perform rock, alternative, AAA or pop.
How to Submit: Submit via contact form listed on the website.
Want to see a sample Radio Pitch? Check out our template here. Also, we recommend including a ONE SHEET flyer along with your email that provides all of your information at a glance, like this one in a PDF format.
AndHow.FM | andHow.FM is a grassroots, not-for-profit, fully licensed, independent radio station featuring hand curated collections of international new indie rock, alternative, modern & vintage rock.
How to Submit: Submit music via contact form listed on their website.
KINT98 Online Network | KINT98 is a free internet radio station that has a WIDE variety of music for everyone to enjoy. Covering everything from Classic Rock, ’70s Disco, Alternative Rock, Soul/Motown, The Big ’80s, ’50s & ’60s Oldies, Country, Contemporary Pop & Latin Rock, R&B Hip Hop, ’70s Soft Rock, Techno Dance, there’s something for everyone’s taste in music. Kint98.com is based in El Paso, TX.
How to Submit: Send MP3s as an e-mail attachment and in the subject line type “SONG SUBMISSION”. Send any links and other information you want mentioned in the broadcast. In the music file name, include the artist & song title. They will contact you when they have received your music. E-mail your submission to kint98@aol.com. Instructions are listed on their website. Double-check their website to make sure these instructions are up to date.
3Wk | Freeform Indie, 80’s/90’s, and Classic Rock Radio
How to Submit: Special instructions for submissions are listed on their website.
TMV Cafe Radio | With a mission is to tell the world about great independent artists, what’s not to love. TMV Cafe Radio features a wide variety of independent music from all genres. They offer different types of shows hosted by different DJs all week long.
How to Submit: Artists can send MP3’s to tmvcafe@gmail.com. The staff listens to every song. If they like what they hear they will ask the artist to send a letter granting TMV Cafe Radio permission to play their music. Their only other requirement is that their artists to tell the world their music can be heard on TMV Cafe Radio.
96.9 The Oasis | “96.9 The Oasis” is free form Smooth Jazz Radio that plays the perfect blend of Smooth Jazz and some Adult Contemporary Music with NO COMMERCIALS and is an outlet for Indie Artists! You’ll hear all the usual artists like Boney, Benoit, Kenny G, and Euge Groove in addition to artists like Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and more! Plus Indie Artists like Chuck Eaton, Joe Yander, James Colah, Kiki Love and Frank Piombo, and more!
How to Submit: 96.9 The Oasis welcomes fresh new Indie. Just send samples of your work either by Dropbox or email to connect@969theoasis.com. MP3s are accepted but must include tags such as: Artist – Song Title. No wav files! Also please include an artist bio so they know who you are. Submitting your music for airplay is always free! NO PAY TO PLAY! Fill out the contact form listed on their website.
KEOS 89.1 FM | KEOS is committed to the creation of radio broadcasting by and for a public of diverse cultures, ages, income levels, and backgrounds, under-served and under-represented by other area media.
KEOS provides musical, cultural, and informational programming that celebrates and expresses the diversity of the community. It shall provide a voice for groups in the community that may otherwise go unheard, sustaining a forum for alternative points of view on local, national, and international issues, with particular awareness to women, students, labor, minorities, and other public interest constituencies. KEOS will promote understandings between cultures and serve as a catalyst for positive social change within the community.
To submit your music see information here: http://keos.org/wp/contact-us/music-questions/.
Are you interested in getting your music played all over the internet? Have you looked into getting the radio station contacts you need to start a radio campaign? If you have, then you most likely had the same frustration I had when looking for stations. You know they are out there, but finding them and submitting your music successfully is often an unfruitful, time consuming, disheartening mess. While there are a bunch of radio directories available, by the time you finish filtering through them all, you’ve already spent over half your day to only come out with 1 or 2 solid stations that you can submit your music to.
This article gives you a good start, but there are so many more stations out there that can help you achieve your airplay goals! What if there was a complete database offering tons of online radio stations created with the independent musician in mind that does all the filtering for you? All you have to do is log in, get access to these radio stations in your genre, get the info and submit your music.
We’ve created an Online Radio Directory for Musicians that can do just that! It completely eliminates the time investment allowing you to get your music submitted more quickly and more efficiently. It covers most genres and it’s a stress-free, affordable alternative to hiring a firm to do this work. Check out The Crafty Musician’s Online Radio Directory here. It’s a resource that gives you access to over 300 radio stations all over the world that are currently accepting music submissions for independent artists like you. Expand your reach with our convenient Online Radio Directory and launch your radio airplay campaign like a boss!
More Resources…
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Hello, Anitra. I hope you’re doing well and thanks for this article. In regard to radio, what sort of percentage of replies do you think one should expect from contacting them? My only ‘fear’ is that there is a veritable tsunami of indie artists out there swamping these people with tons of submissions!
All the very best,
Astra.
Hi Astra! I’m doing very well! You’re right and I typically don’t expect to get replies from everyone. But you will get some replies. If you’re pitch is good and you’re contacting the stations that are a good fit for your music, then you should expect to get 20 – 30% response. And that’s shooting low. These radio stations are looking for new music though. It’s not like they don’t want to hear from us. That’s why they’re doing what they do – to share new music with their constituents. All you can do is contact them and highlight the things about your music that makes it stand out from the others.
Hello, Anitra! Thanks very much for your reply – I’ve only just seen it although I did subscribe to replies to this post and clicked on the e-mail to confirm.
20 to 30% replies from radio stations wouldn’t be bad at all. Yes, it’s a case of “don’t ask and you won’t get!” isn’t it? So, the best thing is to try one’s best shot!
Bonne nuit! as they say over here!
Right on Astra! Good luck! I think you’ll do great.
Very nice pictures Of you I am also a singer songwriter Thank you very much for the information you sharing with us wish you big success with your music career God bless
Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you reading the blog! I’m wishing you much success as well.
Kindly try my music see link
http://www.soundcloud.com/buffalosoldier
Hello Anitra. Impressive resume. Thank you for sharing this article. Best of luck in all of your future endeavors.
Thanks Donna! Appreciate you stopping by and good luck to you as well.
Hello Anitra. Impressive resume. Thank you for sharing this article. Best of luck in all of your future endeavors. 😊
Thanks Donna. And to you as well!!!
Hi Trecie! Thanks for sharing your information with us! Congrats on your new endeavor. Best wishes to you!!!
Thanks for the informative piece of work up here. I did write to most of them and the submission process seemed smooth. Now will just wait for the response. Dedicating this song to you 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNL84lT1M58
Thanks for reading Nikhil and I hope it goes well.
Thanks Anitra for providing this info. I’m a non-performing songwriter (voting member of Recording Academy/Grammys and member of SongwritersGuild of America) so it’s even more of a challenge to promote my music when the artists, musicians & producers are Work for Hires, especially since I write in a variety of genres. (soundcloud.com/joyceonthekeys).
Hi Joyce. My pleasure. It sounds like you’ll be able to find a variety of station formats that accept your music. Thanks for reading.
Thank you for the information provided in this article!
Take a listen to our triple-album release:
https://noserialkiller.bandcamp.com/releases
Hi.
I am a singer /songwriter. My new song is getting local radio play, but I would like to see if it will do so in the wider world. In the absence of any gigs now, due to Covid, Royayties are the hope of any income. Do all these radio stations generate royalties?/ I.e. do they all log the metadat/isrc codes etc , or are they “too small” to have that infrastructure? I must sound mercenary, but am really struggling with limited time and dwindling finances. It therefore makese sense to target 10 stations that do collect royalties rather than 1000 that do not. Is there any such list of those most likely to actually help pay the bills?
Hi Steve. Congrats on getting local airplay! That’s a huge deal. 🙂 Radio programmers are obligated to report their broadcast logs to PROs. Most online stations do, but it’s possible that some do not. You’ll have to call or email each to confirm whether they do or not. I’m so sorry to hear that you’re struggling with finances. The situation is very worrisome for a lot of us. Wishing you best success and health especially during these trying times.
Thank Anitra for your kind and sympatethic reply. Amazingly I had an email about 3 minutes before yours came to me, and it was the BBC (!) saying how much they liked the song I submitted, and that they will be playing it tomorrow evening! Thanks for your reply; these things mean a lot to the many of us “in the wilderness”; thank YOU for the time you take to reach out this way. x I sent it to a few other station shere in the UK too; amyeb I will try your neck of the woods too:) Best wishes Steve O’Kane
Oh wow! That’s incredible! I’m so glad to hear that. Way to go! It’s my pleasure to be a part of the music community and I’m happy to hear and converse with fellow artists who are in the trenches. It’s not easy, but it’s so worthwhile! 🙂
This is a very great opportunity for up and coming artist. I wish this platform was available a long time ago.
Thanks Mel and thanks for stopping by!