Tom Robinson presents his favourite new tunes by emerging and independent artists on The BBC Introducing Mixtape. This curated playlist goes out on BBC Radio 6 Music in the small hours of every Monday morning between 2-3am, and is also available via the BBC Music website and as a BBC podcast. These are the listings for the episode broadcast on Monday 16 Jan at 2.00am...
FOCUS! FOCUS! - Concrete [starts 00:17]
http://www.focusfocusband.com
JOSH SAVAGE - Whisper In The Snow [starts 04:12]
http://www.joshsavagemusic.com
RUINZ ASON - Qurious (Ft. Karoo Chanti) [starts 07:01]
http://www.ruinzason.com
GAVIN MARTIN - The Revolutionary [starts 11:21]
http://www.talkingmusicalrevolutions.com
REDFACES - Kerosene [starts 14:31]
https://www.facebook.com/redfacesmusic
JOHN GELLERSEN - Pale [starts 18:22]
https://www.facebook.com/john.gellersen
THE FISHERY COMMISSION - 2and4and6and8 [starts 20:17]
http://www.thefisherycommission.com
LUNGLEY - Slow Down [starts 25:36]
http://www.lungley.xyz
SWEET DEALS ON SURGERY - Take My Hand, Punch Me In The Face [starts 29:19]
https://www.facebook.com/sweetdealsonsurgery
TEN FÉ - Twist Your Arm [starts 32:05]
http://www.facebook.com/tenfemusic
CATGOD - Blood (feat. EVIE TARR) [starts 36:24]
https://www.facebook.com/Catgodmusic
FAUVES - Wither Away [starts 40:17]
https://soundcloud.com/fauves
HALF DECENT - Still Getting Mine [starts 43:41]
http://www.halfdecentmusic.com
WE WERE STRANGERS - In The Inbetween [starts 47:15]
http://www.wewerestrangers.co.uk
MEGA EMOTION - OK Maybe OK [starts 52:57]
http://www.megaemotion.co.uk
RACHEL CHINOURIRI - So, My Darling [starts 56:57]
https://soundcloud.com/rachel-chinouriri
ARTISTS…
After being featured by BBC Introducing you may receive emails from PR companies with impressive client lists, saying they like your music and want to help you get further radio airplay. Please be aware this doesn't make you unique or special - lots of artists receive these emails from companies who are trying to sell their paid services. And hiring a professional radio promotion team - just because they happen to send you an email - isn't neccessarily the best use of your money.
In our experience emerging artists often achieve the same results as a plugger - sometimes very much better - by simply contacting radio shows and DJs themselves via social media. For information and advice on how to do this see my free seminars on Sending CDs to Radio (freshonthenet.co.uk)
If you do plan to go ahead and engage a PR firm regardless, there are over a hundred to choose from in the UK - all with impressive client lists - but not all of them deliver good value for money. Before paying anybody for promotional services of any kind, it's always best to contact a couple of their clients first to ask if they'd recommend that particular company. You can find the management, record company or booking agent for most artists using Google.
Further down the line as your career gathers momentum you may need to spend serious money on a professional PR campaign. A good way to start is with some serious homework: check out which indie labels regularly get their artists played on national radio - then phone their offices to ask which PR company they recommend.
And whatever route you choose, don't forget to carry on uploading your new releases to BBC Introducing so that we can carry on supporting you as your future career unfolds.
Tom Robinson
