Hello, it's Tom Robinson with another episode of 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:
THE STRANDS, ERIN K, SKINNY PELEMBE, CLT DRP, ANTONY SZMIEREK, PAIGE KENNEDY, THE FASHION WEAK, RAINBOW FROG BISCUITS, THE FEENS, MADDIE ASHMAN, THE ALLERGIES, HOT MILK, PHOENIX JONES, BROKEN BEAR, THE EARLY PURPLE, DREAM PHONE, JACK DAVID, ABI OCIA, and COSMO SHELDRAKE
With warm thanks to all the BBC Introducing colleagues who sent these tunes:
Abbie McCarthy from BBC Introducing in Kent
Adam Walton from BBC Introducing in Wales
Alex West from BBC Introducing in Berkshire
Christian Carlisle from BBC Introducing in Sheffield
Dave Gilyeat at BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire
Dean Jackson from BBC Introducing in the East Midlands
James Threlfall from BBC Introducing in the West
Jericho Keys from BBC Introducing in York and North Yorkshire
Jess Iszatt from BBC Introducing in London
Melita Dennett from BBC Introducing in Sussex & Surrey
Nick Roberts from BBC Introducing in the North East
Roesh Poyser who hosts BBC Introducing in Manchester
Daisy Adams from the team at BBC Introducing in Manchester
This is the episode released on Monday 24th April 2023 and available via BBC Sounds for 30 days until Wednesday 24 May 2023. After the show drops you can also download & keep the audio permanently using any podcast app, or direct from our podcast page:
THE STRANDS - Ed Sullivan
https://linktr.ee/thestrands_
ERIN K - Keep Her
https://erink.uk/
SKINNY PELEMBE - Don't Be Another
https://linktr.ee/SkinnyPelembe
CLT DRP - New Boy
https://linktr.ee/cltdrp
ANTONY SZMIEREK - Heaven Is Other People
https://linktr.ee/antonyszmierek
PAIGE KENNEDY - Whitstable Harbour
https://linktr.ee/paigekennedy
THE FASHION WEAK - Eighteen Percent of Swansea
https://johnmouse.bandcamp.com
RAINBOW FROG BISCUITS - Hide Behind
https://linktr.ee/rainbowfrogbiscuits
THE FEENS - Eternal Sunshine
https://linktr.ee/feensband
MADDIE ASHMAN - I'd Rather Fall
https://linktr.ee/maddieashman
THE ALLERGIES ft BOOTIE BROWN - Stanky Funk
https://linktr.ee/theallergies
HOT MILK - Horror Show
https://mylinks.ai/hotmilk
https://www.hotmilk.co.uk
PHOENIX JONES - Familiar Faces
https://linktr.ee/phoen1xjones
https://youtu.be/aHTgrFZCAKQ
BROKEN BEAR - Follow My Leader
https://brokenbearmusic.com
THE EARLY PURPLE - Summer Hide
https://linktr.ee/theearlypurple
DREAM PHONE - Bad Girls
https://linktr.ee/wearedreamphone
CUCAMARAS - Cotton Wool
https://linktr.ee/cucamaras
ABI OCIA - 30 Underwater
https://linktr.ee/abiocia
COSMO SHELDRAKE - Bathed in Sound
https://linktr.ee/cosmosheldrake
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
