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So you want to be internationally known?
By DJ Ames
I’m always getting asked how to get correctly exposed in the UK and I always give everyone the same answer, so I decided why not write an article giving artists my knowledge on getting international exposure, because knowledge is power when it comes down to it!
The first thing you have to realise which a lot of people don’t is that the UK is not the same country as Germany, France & Spain etc… Now I don’t mean to insult anyone’s intelligence but a lot of people are not aware of this.
The UK is a country made up of Great Britain, Wales & Scotland. Another thing people don’t realise is that just because im from the UK it doesn’t mean im from London. London is the capitol city of the UK but there are other big cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol and Newcastle etc and they all have there different genres of music, for example Manchester is perfect if you’re a band and more northern towns such as Sheffield have a good urban genre following.
Also another thing to be aware of is that the UK & US markets are not going to be the same as the UK market is mainly more commercial established artists. Now this doesn’t mean that you can’t do something In the UK and I live by this ‘nothing is impossible’ it just takes a lot of hard work and networking with the correct people.
The first bit of advice I would give is study the UK market. We have genres of music over here which you don’t have in the US. For example we have the genres of music called GRIME and BASSLINE which are much faster paced beats. Grime for example is a fast bassier beat which is usually followed by an aggressive style flow by the MC. To see and hear more of this Google Grime or check out the videos of YouTube. Also search for UK radio stations and hear which artists are getting rotation on a regular basis. The main station you should pay attention too is 1xtra which can be found at the following www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra.
1xtra is the biggest UK digital station and can be viewed listened too both on and offline.
Also look at who the main radio DJ’s are and what the main radio stations are in the UK. Now in London is BBC Radio 1 / 1xtra, Kiss & Choice as these can be heard all over the UK and most of them can be also listened too via online streaming.
Just check the time difference before you listen to these shows as the UK and US don’t share the same time zones.
I can also recommended a good book called the unsigned guide and this lists everything from record shops, distribution companies, pr companies, radio stations and venues based all over the UK, this book has so much content and I would recommended that you purchase this book as It will be very helpful if you are trying to break into the UK market. Here is the link http://www.theunsignedguide.com/index.asp the booked is priced around $20 - $30 and they do offer a free trial of the book first, but im unsure if this is an offer only for UK residents but it is very much worth your money, just check out the website to see what the book offers.
A lot of people also approach me wanting to get paid shows in the UK, well ill be 100% honest this isn’t going to happen if you have no physical buzz because how is the promoter going to draw in a crowd and make money from an event?
You may have a 50 / 50 chance of getting to perform but not get paid as your getting the exposure from a different country.
What some artists do is just book a flight and a hotel and come out to the UK and make moves, I myself have done that with the US. I’m based in the UK and I wanted to make my name more in the US so I got on MySpace did some hard networking in certain cities and the rest is history and I can go to most US cities and get bookings all due to me doing stuff off my own back and not waiting for people to book me. That’s how artists did things a few years ago before MySpace was even around as it was near impossible to make connections overseas but now the opportunities are endless with how the internet has developed things.
There’s also the networking with Djs in the UK which can add to you getting bookings and creating a buzz. In the US the mixtape scene is a way of life but in the UK it isn’t as established as it in the US, lets just say in a way we are behind with how the US works as I’ve heard many tracks whilst ive been out in the US and I eventually hear them about 6 months later being played in the UK. Another fact is that US labels do not promote there artists in the UK, I know a lot of artists that have huge US buzz’s but when it comes to asking about them in the UK no one has heard of them.
But this doesn’t rule out now working with UK DJ’s as a lot of people do listen to mixtapes out here for example when you pay to do a mixtape with me I do make sure they get into all the correct peoples hands such as radio DJ’s, magazine’s and general music fans. And when I do events or gigs in the UK you’re always guaranteed to leave with a DJ Ames mixtape.
I hope what I have written above is beneficial to you all, I feel that knowledge is power and I like to be able to support people where I can. It’s tough to make it in this industry and can be even tougher for any artist when trying to reach an overseas market.
Now I can help you the UK and I can even help you in the certain areas of Europe as I do know a lot of DJ’s in France, Germany & Spain etc… but each country’s market is different so study there markets and see what songs are getting the club spins and radio rotation.
Remember ‘Nothing Is Impossible’
DJ Ames (UK)
Myspace.com/djamesuk
ukmixtapeking@gmail.com
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