Want to play your music to the masses all week long? Adding a radio show to your DJing itinerary can help you to pull away from the competition.
DJing on radio is a great way to get your name out there, and can develop into a career in itself. Many a club DJ has “gone to seed” on the radio, and conversely many radio DJs end up having successful club careers.
More than that, a radio show is a great way to practise both programming, music discovery, and holding a regular audience – all things that can directly improve your real-life DJing.
So we thought we’d round up the five main types of station, with strategies for getting your foot in the door at all of them. Roughly in order of how easy they are to get a DJ set on, here they are:
- Internet radio / podcasts – Some stations broadcast 24/7, others are accessible more like podcasts (via iTunes etc). Getting sets on such stations or even shows is reasonably easy by comparison to some of the other formats: Just listen in, spot a gap, and ask. It is perfectly possible to set up your own station or podcast too, and indeed this is how many people get started in broadcasting nowadays
- College/non-profit radio – Generally these are independent small concerns, where the DJs pick their own playlists entirely – great if you fancy yourself as a tastemaker DJ and want somewhere to flex your musical muscles. Reliability is key here – prove you’ll turn up for your show regularly and get things done without a fuss and you’ll win friends. Make sure to develop personal relationships with the other DJs and the owners before asking
- Community radio – Related to the above, community stations tend to be intensely local in flavour, and have a wide mix of programming apart from just music. Again, having a name for yourself in your community helps (a club night locally is ideal) and living in the vicinity obviously qualifies you more than an out-of-towner when you’re pitching for a show
- Satellite radio – Multiplexes like Sirius and XM in the States work similarly to cable TV, in that there are many different stations with their own unique programming. The chances of bagging a show on one of these specialist channels is low unless you’ve got a track record (typically from 1 to 3 above) to wave in front of their noses, and even then is going to take persistence. But if there’s a specialist show you like, you could try and befriend the presenter and land a “guest mix” to get your foot in the door
- Commercial/national radio – The big stations on your radio dial and increasingly on digital multiplexes. Apart for the unique BBC in the UK, these are owned by media conglomerates and subject to imposed playlist restrictions and other commercial-focuses directives. A show on one of these is a career, not a whim, and takes years of work to attain. However, the night/weekend programming can be specialist, in which case the rules from 4 above may just get you a mix – if you’re very, very lucky
Have a plan…
The key with radio is persistence and having a game plan, and increasingly, taking the DIY approach to hone your skills first.
The key with radio is persistence and having a game plan,
As part of your strategy for success in DJing, landing something regular on the radio can be a godsend, but you need to know why you’re putting the effort in and have the staying power to see it through.
Get it right, though, and it can be a great way to stand apart from other DJs.
Do you run a podcast or have a show, guest mix or other slot on a terrestrial or broadcast station? Can you add any advice to help readers to do the same thing? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Now go to:
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Tags: broadcasting, podcasting, radio djing
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I’d also include the much-maligned area of Hospital Radio under the non-profit area too. You wont get much chance to play the latest underground anthems, however it does broaden your musical perspectives and talking coherently between tracks is expected. I spent about 10 years doing hospital radio as well as playing out in clubs & events. During this time I got very involved in the music library management and eventually led the station onto a digital system. Hospital Radio doesn’t always mean you’re stuck in a tiny studio tucked away in a ward somewhere…often stations would get asked to do outside broadcasts at events (like firework displays and other local community features) – a decent way of raising funds for the station.
[ link ]I actualy landed a weekly show onlinr just by asking. Then they told me to send them a mix and now I got my own show on radiofrequencyonline. com every Monday’s at 8 till 11 pst check it out they are always looking for new talent so am I and I started bringing guest Djs to play, to can’t always hug the spot light. And last year I played on mydjspace. com but they changed there site and no longer let me play unless I pay or something. Also I have done a Lil of community radio but there is not that many people that tune in since I Live in such a small town.
[ link ]I can’t do some of these spots. I cuss too much.
[ link ]Yeah, i dont know how it is in the UK, but stateside, the FCC is pretty particular about things, and the fines for cussing or not keeping proper records, etc, are massive.
[ link ]In Mississippi we simply buy our air time…and whatever goes…
[ link ]This is kind of a noob question but… let’s say you were to get a podcast or weekly radio show. Obviously you advertise yourself to get people to listen to it. But how would you know if and how many people are tuning in? Or that you’re getting known?
Thanks and another cool article by the way!!
[ link ]Web radio, podcasting etc has stats so you can log # of listeners.
[ link ]Hey guys! Great article!! Love this webite. Just wanted to say that I sometimes do a livestream on Ustream. Simple to set up, and I promote it on my Facebook. And its at home on my free time. Hope this gives people some new ideas!
Best of wishes to all from Puerto Rico
-Joshua (Dj Kronix)
[ link ]Nice article. I’ve been doing my own radio show for a few months on killradio.org, an internet/community/non-profit radio station. Starting on one of these types of stations isn’t difficult. Usually they are looking for more people to do shows and are pretty open. The hardest part really is being consistent, doing your show regularly as scheduled. Your audience will be small to start with, but will grow as you keep with it. When you combine live listeners with podcast downloads, you really do wind up reaching a significant audience even on a small station. Whether it leads to DJ gigs depends on how you format the show and present yourself.
And the station is uncensored as we are not broadcasting over the air.
[ link ]For internet radio, I second what already another guy said:
Just ask! It worked for me, for two of the major “players” in my country!
[ link ]Mainstream/Commercial radio is the hardest to break into but it can be very beneficial in many aspects. My radio career began in 2008 when a local radio program had a show called “The Thursday Night Spotlight” which at the time was showcasing up & coming and proven DJ talent in my area. I made a call and was given a slot to play. Did good, Got invited back, a few months later, I was a regular mixshow addition. Been doing mixes for several stations ever since.
Not only do you have to be a good DJ but you have to prove your worth. You have to show them that you are hungry and are worthy of your spot. I cannot stress enough that hardcore networking with other DJ’s, specially in radio and clubs helps out a lot. It did for me, as a lot of people co-signed me.
Currently, I do Top 40/Rap/Pop/Dance mixes for several stations in California and Western US states + weekly Dubstep and Top 40 sets in the CBS stations in my area (997NOW – Biggest Top 40 station in Norcal + LIVE105 – Biggest Alt. Rock station in Norcal). I cant even begin to tell you how much its helped my name out here. Branding, Marketing, Name recognition, Club gigs, Opening at local shows and concerts.
[ link ]I’ve done mixshows for commercial FM stations here in the US since 1998. Getting a proverbial foot in the door wasn’t easy at first. It took months of persistence and follow-up followed by months of doing miscellaneous work for the station before getting tapped to mix on air. It was a really good experience though as it gave me the opportunity to see how all of the various parts of a commercial station worked together towards common goals.
That understanding is a real bonus in finding (and keeping) commercial radio work. Any previous experience is a plus and knowing what a station’s target audience are really into goes a long way in helping you craft mixes that are best suited to the station. No room for sloppy mixing or lackluster programming; it’s a competitive field and everything really needs to be spot on.
Audio1′s point to networking can’t be stressed enough. My first mixshow for a station in Phoenix years back led to a slot producing a syndicated show for a company called Superadio, which in turn led to another weekly show for BPM, one of XM Satellite Radio’s dance-oriented channels. 15 years later and I still do a weekly mixshow for a syndication company called JamTraxx (www.radiomixes.com) along with guest spots here and there. None of that would have been possible were it not for the friendships and contacts I’ve made and kept over the years. The peripheral benefits (booking club gigs, name recognition, etc) are the icing on the cake. It’s taken me places I never thought possible and even now still presents new opportunities that I may not have had otherwise.
Tough road to get started on but once you get there it’s well worth the effort. Persistence, a knowledge of the craft and solid networking can make it happen though!
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