Hey there, who am I talking to and what’s your role in the music industry?
I’m Frank Varrasso, Director of Varrasso PR. Varrasso PR is an integrated media promotions and publicity company. We offer plugging and promotional services to record companies, independent labels, or signed and unsigned artists who require an experienced partner to promote their music to Australian radio and TV stations in order to increase airplay and exposure.
Can you tell us a little about Melbourne Music Bank’s competition for underground artists?
The Melbourne Music Bank competition enables young aspiring artists the opportunity to kick-start their career. It’s extremely difficult to make it into the music industry at the best of times. This incredible initiative by the Bank of Melbourne enables artists to enter an original song, then all entries are judged and the final four have the chance to perform at the State Theatre. The winner gets an amazing prize of ongoing mentorship including a booking agent, publicist, recording time and more.
One of the prizes in the massive toolkit is assistance from a radio plugger; that’s you. What makes airtime such a valuable asset for an up-and-coming musician?
Radio play is always an important ingredient for any musician. With radio available digitally, via portable devices, in-home and in-car, it’s an incredibly powerful way to engage with your fans, soon to be fans and general music lovers at any time of the day. Radio is a powerful medium, which connects your music to an audience and obviously helps you sell music and sustain a career.
Which specific radio stations do you hope to generate interest from?
We will cover all necessary radio stations the winner appeals to. Whether it is alternative radio, community radio, triple j, commercial radio, regional radio, we’ll target the stations that will support not only the music the winner creates, but we’ll keep within their brand, so to speak.
Are pluggers the only/best link between indie artists being heard on the radio?
We aren’t the only link, but we are a very big piece of the puzzle. Surrounding yourself with a great team of specialists is really important. However, as far as pluggers go, they’re your best link to radio, but only if they have the right connections.
Why do you think people should enter their original songs in to the Melbourne Music Bank?
Original songs are an artist’s way of expressing themselves and creating a real point of difference within the industry. Music is always emotive and the more original it is, the better the reaction. Original songs allow you to convey your uniqueness, musicality and creativity.
