College Radio: The Most Important Radio Level for Independents

For the self-promoting independent artist, the ideaNow, even the least popular music genres are
of taking on a radio promotion campaign can, incertain to find a financial comfort zone with a
itself, become overwhelming. But, this idea ismarket of almost 16 million unique principals.
usually based on such artists attempting to obtainSo, what results could really popular commercial
worldwide airplay on a local budget.music genres experience, simply by working the
And, in doing so, self-promoting independentvarious entities of the college market, i.e., campus
artists quickly discover another factor not usuallyradio, campus press, campus bookstores, campus
considered previously...that engaging in a worldwidemusic stores, campus live performances? Quite
radio promotion campaign translates to hundredspleasant ones, I would suspect.
and, possibly, thousands of CD units for mediaBut, remember! The above statistics only
contacts alone.reference the United States college/university
As you can see, this can also quickly become apotential listenership. College radio also has a
nightmare for indie artists, particularly, if therespectable portion of listeners who are *not*
promotion budget only allows for the purchase ofstudents.
1,000-CD packages at a time.Add to that, listeners of college radio who strictly
Starting in the 1980's, college radio became alisten to the streaming portion of college radio
dominant force in not only discovering independentonline, and who may, or may not, be in the
recording artists, but also in introducing new artistscollege's geographical area, i.e., military service
to the general public. Hundreds of these particularmembers.
artists have gone on to become establishedPlus, there is lot more of the college market
'household' names.abroad, of which U. S.-based artists would do well
Likewise, the college radio level has a continuedto approach English-speaking nations first, i.e.,
history of presenting, practically, all forms ofUnited Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, subsequently,
music, much of which would never see themoving into additional nations.
proverbial light of day at the commercial radioWhile it may (or may not) be true that it is
level and, in many cases, neither at the nonpossible for commercial radio stations to be the
commercial level.primary driving force behind most retail sales, that
Therefore, if an artist has limited funds for radiotheory may not be so valid today, given the fact
promotion, it is highly advisable that the he beginthat:
exclusively with college radio for the following* With the Internet, artists are no longer required
reasons:to sell millions of CDs to make a great living
* Far easier and faster access to airwavesfinancially
* Far more plentiful specialty and mix shows and* Artists have greater and easier access to far
programsmore radio stations (broadcast, satellite, internet,
* Greater chances for both in-studio andcollege)
telephone interviews to promote music releases* With the college community, and all of its
* More possibilities for station ID checks forcombined promotion and sales aspects (radio,
further publicitybookstores, music stores, live performances), if
* Corresponding college campus newspapers thatconducted correctly, the college market campaign
will more readily accept and support music airedcan equalize and, in some cases, even supersede
on their campus stations for creating acommercial radio results.
campus-wide buzz_____________
* A ready and built-in market in the campus[---Additional Statistics---]
community for repeated live performances toTop 10 College Enrollment:
further support and supplement campus airplayMiami-Dade College (51,717) University of Texas
and campus press coverageat Austin (50,616) Ohio State University (48,477)
* An opportunity for grassroots distributionUniversity of Minnesota—Twin Cities (46,597)
through supplying both campus bookstores andUniversity of Florida (46,516) Arizona State
campus music stores with music releasesUniversity (45,693) Texas A&M University
Is the college market a viable market for your(44,618) Michigan State University (44,227)
music sales?University of Wisconsin Madison (40,912)
Though the question is rhetorical in nature, pleasePennsylvania State University at University Park
review the below U. S. college population statistics:(40,828)
* There are 631 public 4-year colleges and(The above figures were reported in Almanac
universities that have a combined student2004-2005, published by the Chronicle of Higher
population of 6,236,455.Education, August 27, 2004.)
* There are also 1,835 private 4-year colleges and_____
universities with a combined student population ofWhat College Students Spend on Music:
3,440,953.According to a recent Harris Interactive survey,
* Additionally, there exists 1,081 public 2-yearcollege students spend $200 billion...that's
colleges with a combined student population ofright...BILLION dollars per year, with 76% of the
5,996,701.students having spent $2,746,000 on music alone.
* Even further, 621 private 2-year colleges hostNote: As an added advantage, the self-promoting
another 253,878 students.independent artist should also create an Internet
This brings the average U. S. student populationradio promotion campaign simultaneously, since
total to a whopping 15,927,987 minimum everymost 'net stations are accepting of MP3 files for
year. And, more people are attending some formairplay, thus, reducing packaging and shipping costs
of higher education than ever before.of CDs to stations.