As an independent artist, you are going to have to do a little research. First, you will have to find radio stations play music from independent artists. A great resource for Indie artists looking for this info is the Industry Yellow Pages Volume I. In here you will find contact information for about 2000 radio stations and is a fantastic musician resource.

Depending on your goals, you need to decide whether you are just going to start locally or if you want to go national as well. The best music promotional idea I can give is to establish yourself locally and then move on to bigger and better things. Once you are ready to go national, you will have to prepare yourself for the chance of charting, which is every musician's dream.

You need to have a publicity kit ready to be sent to each station. In this kit, you will include all of the obvious materials, a CD and all of the little goodies that go along with it. Make sure you include something such as a resume stating who you are because these are great music promotional ideas. Always give the station a call first and acquire permission before sending these materials. Keep a record of who you speak with and who you send information to.

A great place to start is with college radio stations which are a great musician resource. This is an even better idea if you are just starting out. They are more likely to play new music and it is great exposure for any up and coming band or artist. Once you hit is off in the college arena, you are more likely to see airplay on other stations.

If you are just looking for some exposure, then by all means send it to every radio station you get permission from. But in the beginning, try to stay in one local/regional area so it's saturated with your music. Saturating the local area will give you better chance at lining up a distributor as well as selling more CD's.

Lastly, when it comes to music promotional ideas or tips, make sure you are contacting radio stations within your genre of music. Don't waste your time or theirs by sending them something you know they won't play. Always get someone's name and mark the box to them saying "material requested." Include a cover letter and you will be well on your way in your quest of figuring out how to promote your CD.