Melita Dennett at BBC Introducing: The SOuth is this week's guest curator on the Introducing Mixtape - with a handpicked playlist of his favourite local artists. This is the episode broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music at 2am on Monday 7 December 2019 - and in this edition you can hear:
JETSTREAM PONY, SOMNIANS, LESITOXCHELSEA, ANNABELLE ALLUM, WILL BADDELEY, BEACH DAYS, SUNS UP, CLT DRP, TWIVEE, ALIEN BLAZE, THE DAYLIGHT, MIRO feat AURI & ISABEL HIGUERO, FUZZWALKER, GEORGIA MEEK, 2MICS, LA LUNE, ELF & STACY and PINKPIRATE
How to Listen...
You can listen again for 30 days after broadcast on our programme page via this link, using the BBC iPlayer Radio App on your mobile device, or as a podcast.
To receive it automatically every week subscribe via iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts from - just search "BBC Music Introducing Mixtape". And if you enjoy the show please consider giving us a five star review - which will help other new music fans discover the fine new artists we support on this show every week.
All music has been sourced from BBC Music's Introducing Uploader and start times below are for the podcast version of the show...
JETSTREAM PONY - I Close My Eyes [starts 00.09]
https://www.facebook.com/jetstreamponyband
SOMNIANS - White Noise Itch [starts 3.12]
http://facebook.com/somnians420
LESITOxCHELSEA - Diamonds Like A Drug [starts 6.21]
https://soundcloud.com/lesito-x-chelsea
ANNABEL ALLUM - Not Where You Pretend You Are [starts 9.57]
http://www.aannabel.com
WILL BADDELEY - Beach Days [starts 13.40]
https://www.willbaddeley.com
SUNS UP - Just Because [starts 14.52]
http://sunsupband.com
CLT DRP - Any Man [starts 19.25]
https://www.facebook.com/CLTDRP
TWIVEE - King [starts 22.24]
http://www.twivee.com
ALIEN BLAZE - Youmademefeelsomething [starts 26.06]
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1dfo0oNUqMJYFKEzIfPxkw
THE DAYLIGHT - Department Of Dreams [starts 29.24]
https://www.facebook.com/th3daylight
MIRO w/ AURAI & ISABEL HIGUERO - Missing Piece [starts 32.46]
http://www.montyhancock.com
FUZZWALKER - Door To Hell [starts 37.58]
https://www.facebook.com/FuzzwalkerBand
GEORGIA MEEK - Bones [starts 41.00]
https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaMeekOfficial
2MICS - 2mics [starts 44.35]
LA LUNE - Holding Onto U [starts 49.34]
https://www.facebook.com/listentolalune
ELF & STACY - Make It True [starts 52.20]
http://elfandstacy.bandcamp.com
PINKPIRATE - Nowhere [starts 55.38]
https://instagram.com/p.inkpirate
PS for artists from Tom Robinson...
(1) WARNING: After getting airplay on BBC Introducing, you may get emails out of the blue from radio pluggers who have an impressive list of former clients. They'll say how much they like your record and offer their services. Typically something like:
"Hi - I'm a national radio plugger... I came across 'YOURTRACKNAME' today, I'm a big fan of the single and wanted to find out if you have anyone looking after national radio yet?"
Be warned: they don't actually think your music is special. They just hope you're inexperienced enough - and desperate enough - to give them your money in the hope of getting more airplay. Paying a complete stranger to try and get your music on Radio 1 - just because they happened to send you an email - is NOT a good use of your hard earned cash.
There are over a hundred music PR firms in the UK and they all have impressive client lists. Obviously some pluggers are really good and (equally obviously) some of them aren't. But trust me on this: the really good ones are too busy to spend their time emailing BBC Introducing artists to ask them for money.
In any case emerging artists usually get MUCH better results themselves than a plugger - just by targeting radio shows and DJs direct via social media. 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).
And in any case radio probably isn't even the best goal to be chasing. One or two extra plays simply won't make much difference to the size of your fanbase, until that fanbase is up in the thousands. This early in your career, building a direct relationship with your audience is far, far more important than airplay. And unlike getting on Radio 1, building a fanbase for your music through Youtube and Instagram is something you can achieve yourself without spending any money at all.
The time to seek professional PR services is when the live crowds you can draw at every gig are in the hundreds, and when your genuine online 'likes' are in the thousands. With that kind of traction, a major investment becomes worth risking to help take the next step up.
The best pluggers and PRs will charge a lot of money because they're good at their job. But (again) just because somebody charges a lot of money doesn't mean they're any good. Tip: check out which indie labels regularly get their releases played on your favourite radio station. Then contact those record companies to find out which PR firm they use.
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.
(2) 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
