There are numerous ideas far and wide about how to get your music heard and we are just now finding out about another outlet called MALCOLM. We think its a clever idea in that it's on KCRW, Los Angeles public radio, but will there be enough bandwidth from their end to even listen to all the music? Surely they will be flooded with responses, but for a business that is funded by public donation, do they have enough resources?. Hopefully if KCRW's DJs can become taste makers to a much broader online audience, MALCOLM could really have a shot at working.
Here is your challenge large corporate FM stations, take a clue from KCRW and give the listening audience what they want to hear instead of the same old programs day in and day out. Also, two great bands first submitted their music to KCRW and played to audience reaching half a million listeners. Beck and Fitz & The Tantrums are proof positive it works.
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| Malcolm from KCRW - NPR Los Angeles, California. A new program to solicit music to a public radio station |
"KCRW, an NPR affiliate station and Los Angeles indie music mainstay,
introduced on Tuesday a new digital music submission system that will
help independent artists make their way onto public radio.
The new-and-improved MALCOLM,
as the station affectionately calls its internal record filing system,
offers artists the chance to create profiles that include a bio, photo,
social media links and three of their best tracks. Artists can then
designate which DJs and/or shows their tracks are best suited for and
receive notifications when a KCRW DJ has commented or rated their music.
KCRW prides itself on
being one of the few radio stations that still accepts and listens to
demos and unsolicited music. It’s what has long rendered the station a
tastemaking hub for up-and-coming musicians and their fans. KCRW’s
flagship program Morning Becomes Eclectic has been on the air
for over 30 years. KCRW DJs have introduced listeners to such artists as
Florence + the Machine, Coldplay, Massive Attack and Norah Jones.
As a gracious and ardent supporter of independent musicians in Los
Angeles and beyond, KCRW hopes that MALCOLM will just make it easier to
get great new music out to its listeners.
“Independent artists are more important than ever and we want to
champion as many as we can, yet the volume of submissions we receive has
grown exponentially, said Anne Litt, Music Program Director. “We were
asking ourselves how we can better serve these musicians and we came up
with MALCOLM. It’s fast, easy and allows KCRW to do what we do best —
support and share artist’s work.”
Currently in beta mode, the digital system is going to be a major
asset to DJs just as it will be to independent artists. Instead of
passing physical CDs down the hallway, MALCOLM will function as an
internal network for sharing music in a way that is both more efficient
and environmentally friendly.
“[MALCOLM] will help us discover great new music faster,” said KCRW
DJ and Music Librarian Eric J Lawrence. “KCRW has been instrumental in
helping start the careers of a wide range of musicians, from Beck to
more recent bands such as Fitz and the Tantrums and Quadron. In many
cases, the music was sent to us out of the blue and we pledge to
continue this tradition by listening to as many submissions as
possible.”
Los Angeles-based readers can check out KCRW on 89.9FM. The station broadcasts internationally at KCRW.com. Both music and news programs are also available on the station’s smartphone apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry."
