RDU 98.5 FM has been a strong supporter of Christchurch music for over 30 years and is airing more local music than ever before.
Christchurch choons get played on RDUs New Zealand music shows The Sheep Technique (rock/guitar/pop) and The Green Room (dance/electronic); Nu Noyzzzze – a new Christchurch music feature on RDU Drive; anyone of our many specialist shows and throughout the weekdays and early morning on the general RDU playlist.
Some tips for music submissions:
None of these are hard and fast rules but if you take on these pointers you’re more likely to get your music on the airwaves.
- Length: Being a radio station we do like songs that are “radio” length, roughly around 3 minutes. If your song this length and it gets on RDU it is likely to be played more often. Longer songs e.g. dance/electronic tracks, burn much faster i.e. people get sick of them quicker.
- Format: The current format that we prefer is 320k MP3s. We still like getting vinyl/records and CDs but for ease of use it’s hard to beat 320k MP3s. It’s also recommended that you submit a 1 page PDF that includes a link to an official web site, MySpace address or any other publicly accessible social network profile page. These can be sent to benet@rdu.org.nz
- How many songs should I submit at once? I recommend submitting 2-3 songs at a time. 2-3 songs per submission gives the Programme/Music Director a bit to choose from and gives your sound a better showcase. If you send through an entire album usually no more than 2 songs off that album are likely to be playlisted.
- Have a good listen to RDU and see how your music might fit into what we do. Is there a band or musician that gets played on RDU that your sound is similar to? Is there a show that your music might sound good on? If so, this is worth mentioning when you submit your choons. If not, tell us why you should be getting played on RDU!
- The Personal Touch / Standing Out From the Crowd: When we get music addressed to “Dear Programme / Music Director” or an old Programme Director it usually gets put at the bottom of the pile and you don’t want your music there. RDU receives around 50 CDs and 20 MP3s a week, if you’ve made an effort to find out who is potentially putting your songs on the radio you’re more likely to get heard. Making your submission something special always helps, e.g. hand written notes, nicely decorated, easy to read and honestly written bios. And now I’m not encouraging bribes but in the past we’ve received submissions which included Instant Kiwis, Lollipops and a bottle of beer wrapped in the album cover art. Now I know that it should be “all about the music” but from all the releases we’ve had through RDU in the last year I can tell you exactly what releases came with the above mentioned extras. Try something creative, fun and different!
- Where do I submit my music to? To submit your music visit RDU.org.nz, find where it says “Want your music played on RDU 98.5 FM?” and follow the simple instructions J
Mad props to NZ On Air for all their support!
For more information please contact:
Benet Hitchcock, Programme / Music Director, RDU 98.5 FM
benet@rdu.org.nz – 03 364 2983 ext. 4
PO Box 31-244, Christchurch 8444, New Zealand.
RDU Drive 
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