KALX day/time
Tue. 11:04 PM PST

Submitting Music for Airplay

our Music Directors give you some gentle advice

Here's some general advice for people looking to submit music for on-air play here at KALX:

1. Make sure you're sending a full-press CD or LP. We don't accept CD-R's, so unless a DJ asks for a demo, expect that if you send a demo, it won't get much air play. This is just because there's a lot of music coming into our station, and that often means a slimline CD-R won't get noticed amidst other CD's that have artwork or other indications of what the CD inside actually sounds like. Furthermore, we don't accept CD singles, pre-recorded radio shows, so please wait til you have an EP, a 12" or 7" single, or a full-length album to send us some music, unless we request otherwise.

2. Wait 2-3 weeks after sending your package to call up the Music Director, and don't be surprised if it takes longer than that to process your record. The best thing to do is to drop us a line to make sure the CD is at the station, then call every other week to check on its progress. We don't mind hearing from you as long as you're polite and understand that we can't play everything that's sent to us, even if it's good—remember, we're getting hundreds of CD's per week.

3. Definitely send an email before you call—either we'll have the chance to tell you what's up early, or we'll find it's easier to communicate with you via email. Phone calls are a great way to connect with a music director, but sometimes an email can be just as effective in getting your name in an MD's ears. This doesn't mean spam the music email address, or send us live pictures from your last show: just say hello, ask if we've received your CD, and let us know you'll be calling soon.

4. PLEASE don't don't don't send us unsolicited MP3's via email. We have a relatively small inbox (MP3's = clogged mailbox), and we pretty much don't accept any unsolicited MP3's. The same goes for linking myspace pages—your best bet is putting your wonderful CD into our hands. Think of it this way: only the Music Directors get to see an mp3 in our Music inbox before it's deleted. A CD in our "to be reviewed" bin is seen by 50+ volunteers per week until someone reviews it. The chances that someone will take interest in your CD are much higher when you make your music available to the entire station.

    KALX Music
    University of California 
    26 Barrows Hall #5650
    Berkeley, CA 94720-5650