The BBC Introducing Mixtape is a podcast and radio show hosted by Tom Robinson every Monday from 2-3am on BBC Radio 6 Music. This week, guest presenter Abbie McCarthy, shares some of her most exciting new music discoveries from BBC Introducing In Kent:
THE BAY RAYS, APRE, YOUTH SECTOR, THANDII, LADY BIRD, ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND, BRIJS, AMAPOLA, EASTERN BARBERS, JC PALMER, MATHS TIME JOY, DAN LYONS, BLACK GOLD BUFFALO, RUEN, SPORTS TEAM and CHRISTOPHER JOHN
How to Listen...
This is the episode broadcast on Monday 9th April 2018. You can listen again for 30 days (until Wed 25 April 2018) on our programme page via this link, or using the BBC iPlayer Radio App on your mobile device.
Podcast
To get the show automatically every week, search and subscribe to "BBC Music Introducing Mixtape" wherever you get your podcasts from. And if you enjoy our podcast please consider giving us a five star rating on iTunes - or wherever you get your podcast from - which will help other new music fans find the show.
THE BAY RAYS - Begin Again
https://www.facebook.com/thebayrays
APRE - All Yours
https://www.facebook.com/apreband
YOUTH SECTOR - No Adventure
https://www.facebook.com/youthsectorband
THANDII - Alkaline
https://www.facebook.com/thandiitwice
LADY BIRD - Spoons
https://www.facebook.com/thisisladybird
ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND - Moon
https://www.facebook.com/artschoolgirlfriend
BRIJS - Jasmine
https://www.facebook.com/hugobrijs
AMAPOLA - Giving It Up
https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsAmapola
EASTERN BARBERS - Topless Youth
https://www.facebook.com/easternbarbers1
JC PALMER - Shake The Hand
https://www.instagram.com/jcpalmerband
MATHS TIME JOY feat TOULOUSE & ZAIA - Count On Me
https://www.facebook.com/MathsTimeJoy
DAN LYONS - 22nd Century Boy
https://www.facebook.com/danlyonsmusic
BLACK GOLD BUFFALO - Magnets
https://www.facebook.com/blackgoldbuffalo
RUEN - Bad Behaviour
https://www.facebook.com/ruenmusic
CHRISTOPHER JOHN - Be Honest
https://www.facebook.com/christopherjohnofficial
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
