U & I Radio – Where Discovery is Listening

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Really great radio station for Emerging & Independent artists looking to share their music, far and wide. U & I are also fantastic at helping to connect the world of music, enabling musicians the best opportunity to succeed! As much as anything else, the U & I team are all great people too!

"Big Scott’s is a true gem. I was lucky enough to perform at The Brewhouse a few weeks ago and it was a true honour. It’s rare to come across such genuine, welcoming, passionate individuals running a night of music. A great crowd, gorgeous video/photography, and wonderful host – what more could you want?"

Love and respect to Big Scott for his unrelenting pursuit to showcase the very best of local unsigned talent. The Brewhouse live nights are a fantastic pedestal on which such talent stands. It’s a great venue with a great atmosphere. Thanks again for your support Scott, you are a true hero of this industry 🙂

The Brewhouse Live stage brings fresh, original music back to the City center for free and promotes unsigned bands with a live broadcast experience which is laid back, encouraging and very professional. A testament to all involved

They play POSITIVE music that uplifts the world . The interviews are always informative yet has a great sense of humour. I recommend the station to my friends worldwide and those who live in England... One of England's better radio stations.

A great bunch of people who really go the extra mile to promote the local music scene rather than just playing the same old songs you hear everywhere else.

The work these guys put into helping Emerging & Independent musicians is incredible! Always super helpful, understanding and accommodating too!! For top class grass roots music, look no further!!

A fantastic organisation, with incredibly helpful and friendly team members. Had the pleasure of performing with my band Modern Neutrals for U & I Radio at one of their live events and we were impressed with both the professionalism of the sound, and the friendly nature of Big Scott and co. Passionate people, with an ear for good music!

A great bunch of people who really go the extra mile to promote the local music scene rather than just playing the same old songs you hear everywhere else.

I had a fantastic experience performing at the Brewhouse in Cardiff with many other new acts from the local area. Big Scott and his team put on a great show and its brilliant and unique to see a venue that supports up and coming talent and not just your usual covers bands and so on. These people are the future of the music industry. Owen Paul (Mike & The Mechanics)

The reason we were so keen to get back involved with U & I Radio is the strong emphasis on supporting original music, and the totally un-exploitative nature of the setup. It is a textbook exhibit of perhaps the most vital rung in the original music ladder.

Big Scott and the unsigned shows he puts on really helps to push original artists to a wider audience. It gives the artist a platform to display their new music and songs that they want to test with different audiences. The fact that it’s filmed and broadcast is also awesome, it gives people a chance to experience their first live Air Play and to be able to look and listen back on themselves to better themselves for the next live showcase.

It was an utter joy to be asked to play for Big Scott, both on the show and for the follow-up events. A huge number of our fellow bands have been featured on the programme in some way, so it feels like something of a rite of passage for Cardiff-based musicians. Thank you for inviting us and please let us know if there’s ever another chance to work together!

Big Scott is a great guy! He’s like the new John Peel! Within moments of speaking with him you can feel the passion he has for anything Unsigned. Not only does he give local musicians a forum to put out their work on the radio, the guy hosts a few nights putting on only Unsigned acts. Give him time, Big Scott is a legend in the making

Nowadays with iTunes and alike it’s easy to be a music lover and surround yourself in song. Gone are the days of the true music lover who not only listens to music they actually support the artists and seek out new sounds at every opportunity, or are they?

U & I Radio are the perfect example of exactly what the music industry needs! A true return to the love of music, not industry marketing. A true love of the discovery and sharing of art, instead of the unthinking digestion of whatever is thrust on our musical plates.

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Correctly Label Your Music

U & I Radio Love To Receive New Music!

We have a very eclectic database of music from across the globe. From Harp playing Rappers in the USA to Downright dirty Rock and Blues from the Valleys. We’ll listen to it all. If it makes us think, feel something, or entices us to bounce around the room for no apparent reason, we will play it. From the raw bedroom recording to the polished and seasoned article! We have room for you all.

Whether Brand New, Emerging & Independent or signed, we will listen to your creations, providing they are labelled correctly and have all the necessary metatag data within them to display on or station player. We love good quality music that’s labelled correctly and radio-friendly!

We take the time and effort to share your awesome music and make it as easy as possible for our global audience to link to you. All we ask in return is for you to follow these simple steps before you send your tracks to us or anyone else. Meet us half-way and we can help you go all the way!

All of the following can be done using mp3tag or similar metatag software.

Watch the video to see how we like you to submit your hard work…

Ensure there are no silences at the beginning or end of your track.

Embed the following Data ensuring you Capitalize Each Word. DONT USE CAPITALS, _Underscore_ or punctuation.between.word.or.letters

Filename – Artist(s) Name – Track Title – Album Title (Demo, Single, Album, EP etc…) – Year of Release

Genre(s) – Please put Emerging & Independent as your first genre, followed by Main Genre of each track (Pick one that best describes each track) followed by the Country you live in

Embed Artwork – Make sure this is 512 x 512px

Remember to change the track Filename. This is VERY IMPORTANT as that shows when you attach to emails etc

If your music has any swearing please send a clean Radio edit for daytime play. Explicit material will only be played at selected times on specialist shows

Send only correctly labelled tracks as an MP3 (320kbs). Please do not send WAV, MP4 or any other format

Once you have done the above, here is how it should look –

The reason we ask you to do this is to help you gain maximum exposure in a world where most information is displayed and digested electronically. Be it on your phone, computer, Tablet or via our station, they display almost everything for the listeners to know who they are listening to.

We can do all the above for you (for a small fee)

Social Media & Online Presence

Social media’s a key factor when trying to get your music heard and create a fanbase these days. So many Emerging Artists still do not have a proper ‘home’ online. Artists still tend to use their personal accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Mixcloud etc, which makes it hard for promoters to link you in their posts and marketing campaigns. These days you need a digital ‘home’ to invite your fanbase!

It is worth taking the time to create your online ‘home’ for your music and stage persona. Separating your personal and musical life will make things a lot easier to manage. A little of preparation goes a long, long way!

Don’t try and make your Artist page name tricky or hard to find. Use a name as true to your Artist name as possible. If your name is taken, try putting different words like ‘Original’, ‘The Only’, ‘The Real’ or something similar at the beginning or end of your name. Be unique and easy to find. It may be worth taking some time to search and see if the name you choose is available on all three accounts before creating them.

You don’t need hundreds of accounts on different sites, just concentrate on the 3 main areas you will be promoting and putting online for the world. That is how do they read about you, hear your music & watch your videos. The final area is how do they interact with and contact you.

For fans to read about you, create –

A Facebook Artist/Band Page – basically you can treat this as your website to start with as it has many features to help you grow online.

An Instagram Artist Account – Use the same name as your Facebook Artist Page. You can link posts and pictures etc with relative ease.

A Twitter Account – Use the same name as your Facebook Artist Page & Instagram Account.

To Listen to your Music & Watch Videos, create –

Create an Artist account with a music platform that allows you to upload, share and sell your music, for free to start with. Something like Soundcloud/iTunes etc. No need for multiple music sites doing the same thing

Create a YouTube/Vimeo or similar video Channel for your Act/Band – This will be the home for all your video creations.

Add your music to a distribution site that gives you the best share of any revenue your music may create when selling online. Something like CD Baby, Tunecore or Ditto Music to name a few. Do your research!

For your fans to interact with you, create –

Create a dedicated email account for your Act/Band, so you can create business cards etc without having to share your personal details to the world. Keep your two lives separate.

Use an online Merch store that allows your fans to buy your goods and you get a small fee from each sale. Something like Spreadshirt or similar When you grow you can expand to bulk buying. But for now, every little helps in the beginning!

Once you have these all set up, make sure they are all linking to each other and try to keep the same images on each profile you create, so fans know it is your page instantly. That way it doesn’t matter how the visitor lands on your various pages, they can easily link to all the others with ease.

This is only the start. There’s plenty of advice online to help you expand 😉 x

Basic Press Pack

What Is A Press Pack (EPK)

A Press Pack or Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is one central place for you to collate all material that someone interested in your music would need. It’s a sure-fire way of looking professional when it comes to dealing with the music industry. Once you’ve gone to the effort of creating you press kit, it will save you plenty of time in the long run.

These days most press packs are electronic and online, so with one click you can direct the intended recipient to a page/folder containing all the information they need to learn about you and your music.

What Should A Professional Press Pack (EPK) Include

Friendly, punchy, and personal intro/brief Bio

Make this informative, brief, and direct them to a fuller Bio that you may have online. The secret it to whet the appetite of the receiver. Make sure you specify your main genre, don’t overthink or make up a new genre as this may hinder you being added to station playlists

Latest Music

Make sure that the music you are sending is correctly labelled with all metatag details and artwork embedded. Most stations and music services prefer mp3’s in 320kbs format. Always good to do your research and see what format each recipient prefers.

Current Artwork & Promo Pictures

Ensure you have the latest artwork for the tracks you are sending as well as the most recent pics that reflect you and your act as they are today. Don’t send old and low-res pics

Links to online Music & Videos

If you have online music stores or videos be sure to add links only to your latest ones.

Links to Events/Upcoming Shows

Provide links and information for where they can see you perform or share with their audience

Social Media, Website links & Contact Details

These need to be up-to-date and ready for the world to look at and share. Be prepared for the Viral hit we all aim for! Plus, the recipient can check out your follower stats etc

A few quotes or writeups about you and your music

Add a few quotes from professional or reputable people who have commented on your music. Maybe add links to them if they are long and detailed

What Not To Put Into Your Press Pack (EPK)

Old releases of your music, old pictures, and videos. These can be left on your website or social media channels for them to research later if they so wish.

No more than 3 Hi Resolution photos. So, make sure they reflect your image and brand perfectly.

Unconfirmed events and plans. Keep them quiet until they are 100% guaranteed.

Try not to be too cocky/funny or self-aggrandizing, as you risk not being taken seriously!

Sending Promo Emails

Emails are usually your first chance to impress the recipient. Be it a Radio Station. Record Label, Manager or similar it is imperative that you do a bit of research before sending any information. Make sure they play or listen to your genre of music. There’s no point sending your Folk music to a Heavy Metal Station/Show!

In the subject line of your email –

Make sure you make it short and straight to the point. Most of the time, you will be promoting Albums or Singles, so your subject line may look something like [BAND] – [Title] – [RELEASE DATE]. If you’re looking for press coverage for a tour, the subject line should say “On Tour Now” or “On Tour [DATES]”.

In the body of the email –

Briefly introduce yourself and outline what you would like the recipient to do with included information. All other information should be on your Press Pack (EPK) which you should either attach or provide link to download online. Do not send longwinded emails as they will usually not be read to the end.

Add links to your music so they can listen before they decide to take the time to download or maybe attach your latest song to the email.

At the bottom of your emails –

Include your social media & Website links and direct contact details to make it easier for the to follow up on the email.

Attachments –

If you are sending attachments make sure that they too are labelled correctly so that they know exactly what the attachment is and who is it from. For example, an EPK attachment could be labelled thus… U & I Radio – ‘New Song’ – EPK.doc so that when downloaded they know exactly what it is and who it is from.

The key secret when emailing is to keep it short and simple. If you have lots of information to share, point them to your EPK or Website. Try and grab their attention within the first paragraph. Make the music as simple as possible to hear and make sure they can contact you easily on whatever social platforms you use

A few other things to consider –

Do a bit of research about who you are sending music to and see what format they prefer, as every station has their own ‘House Rules’ and procedures.

Make sure any tracks you attach to the email are labelled correctly. This will put you in the good books and put you one step ahead of the competition.

If you get replies and/or they play your music, create a database, and add their emails for you to use in the future. Nurture the relationship. Don’t just take their support for granted. Touch base and say hi, even when you are not hitting them up for promotion.