Hello, it's Tom Robinson with this week's BBC Introducing Mixtape - broadcast on Monday 3 May 2021 on BBC Radio 6 Music. It features an hour of handpicked tunes uploaded to the BBC Introducing website, consisting this week of:
VERSECHORUSVERSE, STARRGAZY, YSTYR, RHONA STEVENS, CONOR HOUSTON, SIX FOUR ZERO TWO, TEN HANDS HIGH, YOVA, SEADOG, THE RABBITTS, CONGI FT. JAH DIGGA, GRACIESOUZ, KAIROS, JAY MOUSSA-MAN, JIM MCATEER, and POLLENA
Why Subscribe?
This show drops every Monday morning across all podcast platforms. If you subscribe on BBC Sounds via this link (or by searching "BBC Introducing Mixtape" on any podcast app). The show will download automatically and be waiting on your phone at the start of each week.
Why buy?
If you do love any of these tunes as much as I do, please consider lashing out a pound and buying them from the artist pages below. The pandemic has been devastating for everyone working in music: income from gigs has dried up and bills still have to be paid. For grassroots artists operating on a shoestring, literally every quid you can spare will make a difference.
Start times below are for the podcast version of the show...
VERSECHORUSVERSE - Be Proud [starts 00:12]
https://soundcloud.com/vcvtony
STARRGAZY - Flying [starts 04:34]
https://starrgazy.bandcamp.com
YSTYR feat MR PHORMULA - Noson Arall Yn Y Ffair [starts 07:46]
https://ystyr.bandcamp.com
RHONA STEVENS - Lay It Down [starts 11:23]
https://rhonastevens.bandcamp.com
CONOR HOUSTON - If I'd Known [starts 14:13]
https://conorhoustonmusic.bandcamp.com
SIX FOUR ZERO TWO - Social Me Me Media [starts 18:10]
https://www.6402.co.uk
TEN HANDS HIGH - Nevermind [starts 22:07]
https://www.tenhandshigh.com
YOVA - Togetherness [starts 25:41]
https://yovamusic.com
SEADOG - Tidal Wave [starts 30:01]
https://seadogmusic.com
THE RABBITTS - Pull Me Close [starts 33:44]
https://www.therabbitts.com
CONGI feat JAH DIGGA - Therapy [starts 37:53]
https://hockleyhustle.bandcamp.com
GRACIESOUZ - Bound [starts 41:17]
https://graciesouz.bandcamp.com
KAIROS - Self Control [starts 45:43]
https://soundcloud.com/okkairos/self-control
JAY MOUSSA-MANN - What Makes You Think (The Midnight Remix) [starts 49:03]
https://jaymoussamann.bandcamp.com
JIM McATEER - My Antique Ladies' Bicycle [starts 52:33]
https://jimmcateer.bandcamp.com
POLLENA - Glitter [starts 55:50]
https://soundcloud.com/pollena
Rhona Stevens
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
