Continuing our series of interviews with key music industry figures, discussing their role and how they can enhance campaigns, this month we speak to radio plugger Joe Bennett, owner of JBPR.
What does your role contribute to a release campaign/artist career ?
As part of a bigger team, quite simply, it’s my job as the radio plugger to get a client’s song played on the radio to the biggest audience possible.
What does a typical day look like in your job?
My day can range from canvassing Heads Of Music and producers for airplay, to pitching promotional appearances on radio networks, to advising on songs for radio and possible mixes and edits, to supplying radio strategies for clients’ album campaigns.
What’s the biggest misconception about what you do?
That pluggers talk bulls**t when plugging a record. Actually, the relationship between radio and plugger has to be based on trust, not lies. I hope contacts feel that I am honest and only bring them records that are right for their networks. They might not like everything I take to them, but they should always be relevant and worthy of being considered for radio playlists.
If I’m an artist or manager, what can I do to get the most out of your area of work ?
Listen to the advice of your plugger. If edits or mixes need to be done to make a song work better for radio, that is what should be done if you actually want to get your record played.
