Hello, it's Tom Robinson with the BBC Introducing Mixtape from 6 Music - 60 minutes of music from under the mainstream radar, uploaded direct to our network of local BBC Introducing shows by independent UK artists. This week we present:
AIMING, GINNY LOON, HENS BENS, RESTLESS YOUTH, TOMMY BLU, MALIN ANDERSSON, GNAWA STATE 7, AURORA ENGINE, MAN THE ECHO, MARLOWE, SERIOUS ADULTS, ELY BETH, NAKED BRUNCH, LYVES, HOT LEFT POLE, HOLLY TAYMAR, BLUEMELT, and FA KODE FT. MANASSEHWOD
This is the episode released on Monday 19th February 2024 and available via BBC Sounds for 30 days until Wednesday 20 March 2024. Between those dates you can download & keep the show permanently as an audio file from our podcast page or by searching "BBC Introducing Mixtape" on any podcast app. Featuring:
AIMING - Calculations
https://aiming.bandcamp.com
GINNY LOON - Getting There
https://linktr.ee/ginnyloon
HENS BENS - Chief
https://linktr.ee/HENSBENS
RESTLESS YOUTH - I Forgive Us All Bro
https://linktr.ee/restlessyouth
TOMMY BLU - Call It As I See It
https://www.tommyblu.site
MALIN ANDERSSON - How It's Supposed To Feel
https://www.malinanderssonmusic.com/hello
GNAWA STATE 7 - Sossadi Manayo
https://ffm.to/wg8obrq
AURORA ENGINE - Keenia
https://linktr.ee/Auroraengine
MAN THE ECHO - Application to Play at the Festival of Good Ideas
https://www.manandtheecho.net
MARLOWE - Give It Up
https://linktr.ee/fairymarlowe
SERIOUS ADULTS - Jump On
https://linktr.ee/seriousadults
AMETHYSTS - Lunation
https://www.weareamethysts.co.uk
NAKED BRUNCH - Moon Walk
https://www.nakedbrunch.uk
LYVES - Wondering
http://www.lyvesmusic.com
HOT LEFT POLE - Hard Goodbye
http://www.hotleftpole.bandcamp.com
HOLLY TAYMAR - Backbone
https://linktr.ee/hollytaymar
BLUEMELT - Embracing Imperfection
https://bluemelt.co.uk
FA KODE ft. MANASSEHWOD - Old Skool
https://bio.to/FAKode
PS FOR ARTISTS:
What happens next? Radio airplay is a great affirmation of your work. It's great to be able to mention it on your CV and social media. But radio play won't make as much longterm difference as you may think - it comes, and then it goes. The trouble is that radio can accellerate a career that's already got momentum - but it can't kickstart a career from scratch.
Bulding an audience for your music (and continuing to write great songs) takes time and effort. The good news is that, unlike radio play, it's entirely within your own power to achieve and costs next to nothing. And although this only one man's opinion, you'll find a few suggestions about how to do this this in my closing talk for BBC Introducing Live 2019.
Hiring a radio plugger in the hope of getting more airplay is an expensive gamble - and only worth considering when there's already a buzz about your latest song and a growing audience for your music. But early on in their career, most emerging artists get MUCH better results themselves than by hiring a plugger. For suggestions on how to do your own music promotion see the free advice section at my Fresh On The Net blog (freshonthenet.co.uk).
Once an artist's career does start building momentumn - with views, plays and comments growing measurably each week - that's when an expertly run radio campaign can be a great way of putting a foot on the accelerator. Once you do choose to go down that route, the next problem is how to find a trustworthy promo company? One possibility might be to copy and keep the weekly playlists published by your target radio stations every week, and look up which small labels are regularly getting featured. Then google those labels, drop them an email, and ask which radio pluggers they use. [NB bigger labels tend to have their own in-house promo teams.]
And however things pan out, don't forget to carry on uploading your new releases to BBC Introducing so that we can carry on supporting you as your career unfolds.
AND FINALLY...
We only get enough airtime on this show to feature artists - even our absolute favourites - about four times a year, however much we love their work. So after you've been been on the Mixtape, please wait 12 weeks before sending me your next brilliant track. This leaves us time to help a load of other deserving artists meanwhile.
The best way of getting a tune direct to me is via Fresh On The Net using Soundcloud. From 10m on Monday mornings anybody is welcome to send us a track and we keep the inbox open until 200 submissions have arrived - so it's best to get in early. We publish all 200 tunes on our Soundcloud each week, and a dozen of us then listen to every single track. And be sure to also upload your tune to BBC Introducing, to make it eligible for Introducing airplay...
Tom Robinson
