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Hot Tips: promote your music beyond the border

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Your song on the radio outside your hometown

Let’s say you’re from Canada – maybe Toronto? You visit your cousin who lives in Portugal – maybe Lisbon? You turn on the radio when you get in your cousin’s car and what do you hear? Your song!! YOUR SONG! What kind of global music promotion magic made that happen? Are you ready to promote your music beyond the border? There are countless examples of artists popping off outside their own market.

Many artists first break in other music markets

Music careers don’t always take off in the country an artist is from. Australia’s The Kid Laroi had his first taste of success in the USA. Lady Gaga, who grew up in New York City, gained traction in Canada first. The Backstreet Boys broke in Germany before America. The UK loves Kings of Leon, but their hometown of Nashville took longer to catch on to their magic. People forget Rick Springfield grew up in Australia, but it was America who embraced his music and made him a huge star in the 80s. Morrissey has an enormous following in Mexico even though he’s British. What’s the special sauce that allowed them to build an international fanbase without spending time there? Radio.

Here’s a hot tip: many artists build their fanbase outside of the country they live in. If a musician has some success, it could open a touring window, and, if that happens, there’s a ‘story’ to take back to radio/press/social media. This is exactly how and why US Radio started to pay attention to Backstreet Boys – their undeniable success in Europe made them hard to ignore.   

See where your release is getting engagement

Luckily, you’re in the right place (hear it from those in the know) – Play MPE’s Caster can get your music to verified industry curators across 6 continents! Their International Bundles allow artists, promoters, and labels to distribute music promotion campaigns in an efficient, and cost-effective way. Musicians who take advantage of this method look at reporting to see where there is engagement and capitalize on it. A country artist could score some airwave points in the UK and find themselves on a multi-artist bill if their track is being played on radio. 

Yes, indie artists can get radio play

Play MPE’s International Bundles cover all music formats, including Active/Mainstream Rock, College, Top 40, Metal and more. For up and coming indie artists, Play MPE’s NonComm/Community Bundle is a great entryway to radio play. Non-Commercial, Community and College stations are typically more open to indie artists. Curators who are drawn to discover newer artists are often more open to music from a different country since playing an unknown international act on radio has extra intrigue and hype.

Radio pays proper royalties

It’s a win-win. Break in a new market and an artist can play shows there, sell merch there, do press and promo there, release MORE music there, and even sign to a label there. Oh, and don’t forget – radio pays proper royalties (sorry streaming), so go ahead and dip your toe into an international market… and don’t forget to send us a postcard from the amazing new countries you visit because they’re playing your music!

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