An interview with Mike Andrews, radio station owner, San Antonio, TX
How instrumental is radio in a new artist's, or even an existing artist's career?
Well, the main thing about it is that's how they get exposure. All an artist is looking for is exposure. The more he's heard, the more people will want to buy it. For a new artist even more than an old artist because a lot of people will say, "You know what? That last album was good, so I'll go ahead and get this album," but for a new artist, it's imperative to have exposure because people don't know who he or she is. So the exposure is what they're looking for.
How does an artist who isn't represented by a record company get their songs played?
Three ways that I see is, don't hound the PD (program director), hound the music director, hound the DJ. The number one way is to go to the club, make the song hot in the club. Once a song is hot in the club, even if it's not playing on radio, people will start calling in the request line [requesting the song]. And [the radio station] will try to figure out [what song it is] because for people to call and start requesting it, it's something to it. The hardest place to break a song is in the club. The club DJ doesn't want his dance floor cleared because then the owner says, "You can't spin, everybody's leaving the dance floor. Play a hit!" So if that song will make it in the club, it's fairly certain it'll make it on radio. I always tell new artists what you have to do is break your song in the club or in the street. [Many successful artists] sold records off the back of their trucks, and they could move 100,000 units. And then, when you go to the record label you say, "Look, I've already done 100,00 units on my own, without dealing with you guys." So you're less likely to get a raw deal because you've already proven yourself.
How important is sound quality for anything that an artist presents to a station?
Sound quality is very important. I can't tell you how many times [I get] pieces of work of an artist, and whoever engineered it, that the vocals were too high or vice versa, the drum line would be so high that you couldn't hear the vocals. If it doesn't sound right, it's not even a chance of making it on the air. Our equipment will increase base, it may increase high-end, but it won't increase the actual physical level.
Should an artist already have a "radio-friendly" version of their work?
It depends on the content. [In the past] a lot of stuff that's on the air wouldn't have even had a chance to come on the air. Times have changed so much…you hear all kinds of stuff now on the air. It's different times, whether it's good or bad. There's always an edited version. [Whether an unedited song airs] depends on the PD and the market.
Is there anything that you want to add?
The main thing people want to know is "how do I get played." The main way that you get played is make your song a hit in the club, talk to a music director, or talk to a DJ. If a DJ really likes your song, he can walk in to a PD and say, "I really like this song. I want to play it on my kiss-it-or-dis-it." And they play it on kiss-it-or-dis-it, and it's on. A lot of people don't know if they want to do that, just go a head and take a chance. Just tell all of your friends to call!
Michael Andrews worked in radio for over 14 years as the owner of a radio station based in San Antonio, TX, and currently works in television. He has contributed to shows such as Showtime at the Apollo, and is affiliated with Capitol City Broadcasting.
