How to get played on podcasts

1. Prepare great recordings of your music.

Your songs will be the first impression a podcaster has of your band and music. You will want to have professional quality recordings that sound great. We recommend having both MP3 and WAV copies of the songs you want to send.

2. Make sure your song files are properly labeled with ID3 tags.

ID3 tags will prevent your MP3s from getting lost in giant song collections. It takes only a minute to label each song and is really worth the effort. Learn how to tag MP3s here.

3. Add yourself to podsafe collectives so podcasters can find you.

Podsafe collectives are associations created by podcasters to help them find podsafe music. This means you can upload your songs to these collectives and podcasters will know that they are safe to use in their shows for free. It is an easy way to make your music available to shows with many listeners. Check out our list of podsafe collectives and make your music available on them.

4. Browse podcast directories for podcasts that play your genre of music.

Instead of waiting for podcasts to come to you, you can search for some on your own. Check out our list of music podcasts here to begin looking for podcasts that play your type of music. Also search iTunes' large listing of podcasts. Make sure to look for podcasts that are still active and posting regularly.

5. Think outside of music podcasts and explore topic podcasts.

Music podcasts are saturated with song submissions on a daily basis. If you have songs dealing with specific subject matter look for podcasts on those topics. For example, we got a podcast for coffee drinkers to play our song Coffee. Podcasts like this do not receive music often and might be on the lookout for songs.

6. Send an email to selected podcasters with your best song attached.

When you find podcasts that are likely to play your music you will want to reach out and offer your music. Before sending the email, check out each podcaster's submission guidelines and follow them exactly. These people get lots of emails and lots of submissions, so any mistake could lead to your email being deleted immediately. Attach your best or newest song to the email and make sure to include contact information. Also include the fact that your music is podsafe for them to use. Also be sure to offer them something in return for playing your song. Tell them you will blog and tweet about them to send them your fans.

7. Follow up to see if the podcaster has reviewed your song and email.

Make sure to send a follow up email a week later to see if the podcaster has had a chance to consider your music. Offer to send some extra songs or more information. You might feel like you are being annoying, but just remain polite and persistent until you receive an answer.

8. If you get played on a podcast, promote it and link to it on your website and web presences.

Getting played on a podcast is a big deal! Make sure to show your appreciation by linking to the episode on your site and mentioning it on your blog and all of your web presences.