Campus and community radio has long been a great way for indie artists to get played and be heard. Artists would release material and send it to stations on a CD along with a written bio and other information. Most recently they have been sending electronic media kits which include songs, bio and other promotional material.
Now the process has become even more modern and streamlined. Artists can upload their songs and information to a central distribution website and stations can access their material saving the artists time and money. “It is more convenient for artists and also easier for stations”, says Barry Rooke, executive director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA). “Now local DJ’s can browse the type of music they are looking to play on their shows by artist, genre or style”.
This new website (earshot-distro.ca) is the brain child of Rooke who sees it as the future of community radio. Earshot Daily is a 30 minute daily radio show hosted by multiple hosts from across the country and features songs downloaded from the new website. This show is designed to promote artists and the distribution site.
So far the !earshot Daily is on multiple stations across the nation. The show has a standard format but each host brings a unique perspective and flavour to the show. You can listen to !eashot Daily on your local community radio station. If you would like to hear the show but it is not carried by your local station, you can listen to archived shows on the website (earshot-daily.ca).