Radio Airplay, or Jango Airplay

Have you heard of Jango Radio, recently rebranded as Radio Airplay? Do you use internet radio? What is Radio Airplay and how does it help musicians? This is about Jango Radio and Radio Airplay. For listeners, Radio Airplay is a wonderful way to discover new music and old favourites and combine them into a unique and free listening station. For musicians it provides an opportunity to be heard worldwide, whether Airplay helps sales is another question but it helps get you heard.

As an independent musician, the hundreds of fans Radio Airplay has made for my music is encouraging. The comments even more so! At this point I have over 1500 fans on Jango, which adds to its feelgood factor :) I would strongly recommend Radio Airplay to independent musicians starting out! You can be played against some great artists and reach new listeners. New additions to Radio Airplay include the amazing voice of Scotland's own Susan Boyle and Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Chad Smith is better known for his role in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but from what I have heard his new jazzy venture should prove just as popular!

Radio is certainly not dead in 2010 - but it is changing beyond recognition!

Intro image is my own photo of my PRS Sanata SE and should not be copied

Unique and Individual Radio Stations

The beauty of Radio Airplay for the listener is that you can sign up for free, listen to great music legally for absolutely nothing and design a station completely around your own tastes. So if you like Madonna, Bach, Frank Zappa and Dolly Parton you can add your favourite songs to that station. Totally free, totally unrestricted.... Your station is your territory! The greatest bonus is that Radio Airplay also helps you to discover new music similar to those you have chosen. It does this by playing unknown artists after your favourite songs. You can then vote if you like them or not, whether you want to hear them again from time to time and become a fan which enables you to hear bulletins about events and possibly receive emails too.

I have only a few things that puzzle me. This is to do with how general rotation actually works. Once someone is your fan, does that mean they get to hear your song frequently without you stacking up more paid plays? If your fans hear the same thing over and over, does that come out of paid plays or are they for new audiences? Does general rotation mean you get played to everybody?

A music promotion must! Radio Airplay

Radio Airplay provides a tool musicians and producers can use to gain exposure for their music worldwide. It is a way of promoting many of the outstanding albums and songs that come on line every day. However good a song is and however well-produced, it is a waste unless it is heard. Radio Airplay extends the audience for good music, provides publicity and other opportunities for the best of the best and helps musicians target an audience.

If you are lucky enough to be resident in the USA, you can enjoy Free Napster. Now it can be great fun trying to find music by lesser known bands, but Napster does provide this service. Whereas Jango streams new music similar to your chosen artists, Napster is all about choosing what you know already. Two different ways to be heard, a world of difference and listeners worldwide for both! What could be better!

Napster, LLC

Please note, these links may take you through to an affilliate sign up page (not mine, sadly) if you are not already signed up to Napster. Trying the last link might be better for Free Napster users or those who already have an account.

A New Idea for Emerging Bands

Whenever someone likes your song, makes a comment or becomes a fan this is recorded. Negatives are also recorded. Using a complicated formula the best are picked up each week for free plays. You have to use 50 paid plays in the week to qualify, but you can't buy your way to the top as the score is averaged out and negatives count against you....

Yes, you do have to purchase plays to stand a chance of wider exposure but these can cost as little as 1.7 cents a play. Only you can decide if that is worth signing up to....

These MP3s are released on iTunes, eMusic, Napster and others as well, but Amazon is great for the US and Britain. For Canada or Mexico I recommend iTunes as Amazon.ca does not seem to sell downloads yet and iTunes Mexico has a Latin focus.

Vetting, Placement and Payment

To be played on Radio Airplay, your music must be of a good enough standard to stand alongside regular professional artists. The audience is one of fanatical musicians who expect the best. Poor quality files or bad songs will fail the vetting process. This protects the interests of listeners and advertisers.

If your song is popular enough to receive general rotation, the number of plays it receives will depend entirely on its popularity with listeners. So what is in it for the band? Well, if you really make it to the top on jango you may receive sync deals, gig offers and much more. If you belong to the BMI or ASCAP or the PRS and register your copyrights (as of course you should!) you will be paid for plays. The amount is small, but listeners have the opportunity to buy your music on Amazon and iTunes as well as listen for free!

You don't need a huge studio these days, just a computer, a mixer and a little ingenuity. Use this search engine to browse mixers, microphones, software, instruments.... Just type what you need in the litle box!

For years it has been the case that bands do not make it from nowhere or for nothing, however talented! It is common to have "pay to play gigs" where music industry representatives go. Even if BGT or Idol shows appear to give artists a "free ride to fame" their sponsors pay to hype their music. CDs are bought back, air time is bought. Even Jango Airplay requires a small investment to get into general rotation quickly.

Do you

Have you tried Jango as an artist? Have you signed up to a radio station of your own? What was your experience of Jango?