I found this handy list of radio request tips on-line, which I think could apply to any artist and station out there. I've taken the liberty of substituting Elliott's name as necessary:

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IMPORTANT REQUESTING TIPS

1. When requesting a song on radio, remember these important tips: Most Important: Stick to the stations in your LOCAL LISTENING AREA, YOUR STATE OR REGION, or the stations that BROADCAST ONLINE. If you can "Listen Online" they expect to get requests from all over the world so it's ok, just be careful that you really listen to them if you are going to request there (see below). We want to keep it honest. Visit the station's website to learn about the station, the call letters, the type of music selection, etc.

The rise of cell phones with nationwide numbers, Vonage, etc. has made requesting songs at stations outside of your immediate area extremely easy.
HOWEVER, the emphasis *should* be on LOCAL & REGIONAL stations.
Radio stations CAN trace where you are calling from.

2. PHONE CALLS are so much more important than email requests. When at all possible, use the phone to call your local stations to request songs. Email Requests or use the Online Requesting Forms ONLY if you can't phone them in.

3. "LISTEN ONLINE"stations are clearly marked on their sites so you can also request at those. But please REALLY LISTEN to the stations for a few minutes before you request. Find out what type of music they are playing at the time. There might be special programming going on that would make your request of a current song inappropriate (such as a 70's hour). Find out which DJ is online at the time and request directly to them.

4. Personalize all email requests by mentioning the DJ's name, something that happened at their station or in you community or something you heard the DJ say. Make sure they know you are a real listener!

5. If you are part of a street team or any other kind of organized fan effort, do NOT tell them that. These requests are coming from you as a real listener so don't give them an excuse to think you are not sincere or that you were put up to it. Your requests come from the heart and are honest requests to a station you really listen to and that is all they need to know.

6. Don't email the same DJ more than twice a week. Don't email the same station more than once a day.

7. Try not to use fan related email accounts. It's better to send requests from your real name or a generic email address so that you don't sound like you are part of a fanclub.

8. Keep your requests friendly, fun, and upbeat.

9. When requesting a NEW song, understand that it might take a few weeks for your station to add it to their playlist. Try to be patient and polite at all times and eventually your positive input will help encourage them to play the song.

10. When you request, don't just say..."I love Elliott Yamin". Focus only on the particular song you are requesting and tell them why it's a great song that you want to hear. In their mind, the artist is secondary. The song itself is what they are interested in hearing feedback about.

11. Do not mass mail your requests to more than one station at a time.

12. If you hear an Elliott Yamin song played on your local station, call or e-mail them up to thank them. They love positive feedback and that will actually help more than the request itself because it shows you were listening.

Very helpful! Thanks ohioguy :glomp:

I find this to be really useful info.

I think it's a good idea to go ahead and start making requests now. I'm planning to e-mail some program directors in my area since I'm not sure they have the single yet. I'll be using all the wonderful info in the radio station contact info thread. If you haven't checked it out, please go there ASAP and start thinking about whom to contact.

And personally, I'd love to know who's been contacting which stations and in which parts of the country. Official feedback and verified spins should go into the radio airplay thread, but I'm also curious about what all everyone's doing.

We know we have Richmond requesters. But do we have anyone in the San Diego and L.A. areas? We know for certain he's getting spins in those markets, so we should get some requesters there.

Almost forgot . . .

If I'm contacting directors, should I include a link to his myspace page so they can hear the song? Or is that too "fanbase-y"?

I'm going to join in the chorus to start requesting now. Based on the comments of the Richmond DJ who introduced the song last week - it is IMPORTANT right now to request, request, request - by phone or email. (Of course don't make a pest of yourself, but do it) He said it's critical to the song getting played and since he's on a Top 40 Clear Channel station - I guess he's giving good advice.

DON'T BE DISCOURAGED if it takes a couple of weeks to actually get it on the air. I think that's common, but letting them know you want to hear it cannot be a bad thing. You might mention that it was debuted on Ryan's show to rave reviews - I think his show carries big credibility in the top 40 markets.

I've been requesting to Siruis on-line. Here's how:
1. go to www.sirius.com
2. click on "all channels" that appears at the top right of the screen.
3. a list of all sirius channels appears, click on the channel you want to make your request to then on the right side of the screen click on "request a song"

I've been requesting to The Pulse, Sirius Hits and Heart & Soul. I usually just comment that it may be radio single recently released and that Elliott is a new artist.

Just so we're clear, we've modified the strategy for this week:

http://etrainstation.com/index.php?showtopic=9369

We should go into broad requesting to all radio stations ONLY ON AND AFTER MARCH 13.

In the meantime, if you are in San Diego, Richmond, or L.A., WE NEED YOU TO REQUEST AT YOUR LOCAL TOP 40 STATIONS NOW. Details are available in a variety of threads here. If you have friends in these areas that would be willing to make requests, please ask them to do so.

Intersting - thought I would post here -

Stations agree on anti-payola settlement

By JOHN DUNBAR, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 5, 3:51 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Radio listeners weary of hearing the same songs over and over may have something to cheer about: Broadcasters have tentatively agreed to anti-payola settlements that could shake up music playlists at some of the nation’s largest radio chains.

Four major broadcast companies would pay the government $12.5 million and provide 8,400 half-hour segments of free airtime for independent record labels and local artists, The Associated Press has learned.

The agreement is aimed at curbing payola — generally defined as radio stations accepting cash or other consideration from record companies in exchange for airplay. The practice has been around as long as the radio industry and was made illegal after scandals in the late 1950s.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070305/ap_on_...yola_settlement

Well all I can say is...Hallelujah! It's about time...May this really make a difference and open up radio from the clutches of big money and little some music in.

I don't know if this is the place to post this - but Hot 99.5 in Washington DC had Elliott on tonight at 6:30 pm as part of their "Hot or Not" segment. Elliott introduced the song and the DJ asked callers to rate it hot or not. After the interview when the DJ was introducing the song - he said what a great guy Elliott was and wished him much success! Unfortunately, I didn't hear what the results of the hot or not vote were, but the song sounded fantastic on the radio.

When I called in to request the song again around 8:30 the guy that answered the phone said "Great song - we'll be sure to play it"!!!! :cheerleader:

Was the song Wait for You? Was Elliott interviewed or did he just introduce the song?

OMG, that's the station I normally listen too. Way cool! I think I heard that Elliott had recorded an introduction for the radio, don't remember where.

well, if the people in DC didn't rate it hot, then they must be deaf and stupid.

Also, deny them statehood.


:-)


That they said they would play it IS a good sign that it was labeled "HOT".

Watch it OG. :lol: I'm trying to find out from the webcite right now but haven't found anything.

I'm going to go around saying "Deny them statehood!" all day long tomorrow! Yeah, I'm easily amused. :rotfl:

Okay, Hot995 in DC, Elliott's "Wait for You" Hot - 91.67%, Not - 8.33%

Here's the link:


http://www.hot995.com/pages/tk_hotornot.html

The song was Wait for You. The DJ interviewed Elliott - asked him if he was thinking about Katherine McPhee when he wrote the song - he said "no" and as a matter of fact the he didn't write the song. It was written by Patrick(?) of Stargate and Elliott just made the sound his own. DJ also asked about Kellie Pickler - wanted to know if Elliott thought her "newest assets" were her own - Elliott said he thought so, but didn't want to find out or something to that effect.

It seemed as though the DJ really enjoyed talking with Elliott and you could tell by his shout out when the song started playing that he liked the song.....

As the song was playing, my car stereo was flashing on the name of the artist, and song title - how cool was it to see Elliott Yamin - Wait for You......I almost drove off the road looking at the stereo to see his name!

That is so neat! What an experience! Thanks for sharing!

That's what I get for working earlier hours. Missed it. How cool is that!

They may now have statehood.


:-)

I started calling 99.5, 97.1, and 92.5 this morning and asked them to play Wait for you. I also asked for Movin On - I would ask for You are the One if I thought it was already out.

:rocker:

I am not having any luck getting the stations around me(midwest area of the US)to play "One Word". I'm still trying though :elliottelliott:

This is JMO, but I don't think many stations will play One Word anymore (except for possibly Wilmington during its daily request hour).

My advice is to wait to see if one of your stations plays "Real Love." Once they play it, it's definitely effective to call in and request it. (In fact, they often want to hear from listeners when they play a new song.)

Alternatively, since Wait for You still has legs, you can request it at an AC station or a pop station.

Let us know how things go!

I don't think it is going to hurt to ask to play Elliott Yamin's music once in a while. The dj's will notice a demand for his voice. But we can 't overdo it with a bunch of requests at once to one station and say we are from a fanbase. We must request as an individual .

The dj's will take notice that there are fans out here that want to hear Elliott and not just the song Wait For You. We have to let the radio stations know that Elliott's voice is loved .