Do I have to send you my music for FREE airplay?
No the choice is completely yours if you wish to use our service which does not cost you a cent.

How do I know you exist / are you really a CIA front, alien conspiracy, microsoft shelf company, is sean really a computer in a secret underground bunker?
Please feel to give us a call on +61-2-49270290 and talk to Sean during Australian business hours (he handles enquiries from the public) if you wish to discuss our organization. Our Australian Business Number is 98 968 250 911 which can be verifed with the Australian Tax office. Our registered business address is Lvl 1, Suite 8, 17 Bolton Street, NEWCASTLE 2300. We can be found in the Newcastle phone book under "The Newcastle Youth Radio Association". Basically we exist...

Who are the people behind ILR Television and Radio?
There are two types of ILR Borg drones, theoretically this makes us efficient:
Internal (as in they deal only with other members of the Industry). Peter is the person who deals with Distribution and Promotion, he is based in Sydney. Doug is the person who deals with our Television programming, he is also based in Sydney. Jason is the person who sells things for us, he is based in Muswellbrook.
External. Sean is the person who looks after our Radio programming, he is based in Newcastle at our studios and unlike the others he works with musicians and the public.

Can I drop by and bend your ear about my CD and how you should play it more?!
If you are visiting Australia from Overseas we should be able to make an appointment to see you. Unfortunately we don't have the time to deal one on one with every Australian artist in person as their are simply too many people and not enough time. Please email, write or phone. However if you are absolutely determined to drop by and say hello please email and we will try to make an appointment for you with Sean (The world's busiest man). Please be kind and don't notice the sleep bags under his eyes, the shakes from constant caffeine and the 100 mile an hour conversation style!

What sort of studio equipment do you use, do you use dodeca-hedron turbo blasted akaiphillips RXJ123456 cart machines?
Since our re-location to a new studio a few years ago we have spread out our studio a bit. Our main system is a very simple and unglamourous fully digital studio linked to a computer which produces broadcast quality sound to all of the appropriate world standards. We use analog pre-amps for our microphones our main system being a rather nice Yamaha "Natural Sound" Pre-Processor circa 1982 which provides a warm resonant sound to our on-air talents voices. We have a backup digital pre-amp system but as we don't like the sound it doesn't get much use! We also have revox & genuine Cuemaster '77 reel-to-reel's, akai cart- machines, pioneer decks (turntables)... which all very occasionally get some work in non-critical audio work...although not very much these days.
For webcasting we have a permanent 100MB/s digital link direct to the kaosfm.net Real Server.

How high is your transmitter tower?
We don't have one. We make programs which other broadcasters use and provide always on 24/7 programming they can fade into their studio mixer when they need "fill" programming.

Why can't I send you my syndicated program on DAT tape or minidisc?
Because CD-R is now the industry standard in Australia. For us to transfer from DAT or minidisc takes real-time re-recording and equipment we have to borrow.

My song was deleted do you hate me?
No! Sadly, just as we add songs, sometimes we have to delete songs to make room for new ones. This is an automated process and we don't target any individual artist on the basis of whether they sent us a Xmas card or not. Please send us your new material and your name will be right back up there!

You bastards didn't playlist any of my songs?
Either the postal service stuffed up and we didn't recieve it (which does happen occasionally) or it was wrongly addressed and they couldn't deliver it. On the other hand your music may have been unsuitable for radio airplay. This does not mean that their is anything wrong with himylayan yodelling over the theme from "The Love Boat", just that we can't get it onto the radio. If you are in doubt please email and we will give you the exact reason or status of your CD. (It also could mean that we just haven't gotten to it yet and it is in the "IN" tray awaiting our eager ears).

You sound nice, why don't you come up sometime, your cute, I could just go for a guy/girl like you!?
Unless you can post it to Australia its not much use...if your in Australia it still won't work...but thanks for the compliment anyway!

I just slipped some "talcum powder" in with the CD?
We say no to drugs and our customs people are very efficient.. actually we could probably get into trouble!

Would you like one of our band T-Shirts?
Yes. We are happy to wear them when for example...we negotiate with radio station people! But please note we've all been in radio for a lot of years and that involves a great deal of sitting down. So we appreciate the thought, but if possible XXL (or XXXL if it exists!). Of course if you are aiming to send them for giveaways then you needed worry about the above as most our listeners are trim from dancing around to our programs.

How many CD's do you get a week that you review for airplay?
At good times around 100 a week as low as 40 at lighter times. The music review panel meets at the weekend in their own time once or twice a month. The selection process can often take from 12pm to 5am to get through everything properly.

Can I......?
No you can not come to the review meeting!

What happens to the CD's when you are finished with them?
A great many end up in our library which we can draw upon a a later date. Multiple copies used to be given away to other radio jocks but the costs of posting them out became excessive (and sneaky people tried to send us lots of extra copies so we'd basically distribute them to other stations for free, saving them actually paying for our distribution service)..so now they end up in the bin. Definitely a waste but a reality as we don't have room to store multiple copies of the same CD.

Can you mail me back my CD when your finished with it?
400 CD's per month X $5 postage = $2000 AUS! No we can't, look at it as an investment.

Why don't you play my song more/ more often?
Their are limited slots in shows and we try to be fair to everyone. If we are biased towards your music, this means someone else equally as deserving of a shot misses out.

But you only play my song once a month?
Please feel free to pursue other radio options or indeed buy your own radio station if you would like your song played 24 hours a day (might I suggest in a legally non-binding way something like "Radio Goodies"!). We give you the exposure we are able to which is shared evenly among all contributors.

Why can't I decide what song is played on your shows?
If you go to any other radio station in the world and ask them the same question they will look at you funny! Their are market limitations placed upon us as we have to punt shows to commercial broadcasters who for the most part care no where near as much as us about promoting independent music.

Yes...but why can't you play such and such a song?
Music is selected for airplay by a panel comprising staff who are musicians and have about 70 years radio experience between them. We don't ignore requests of this type, but for the most part our inital decision is final. We try and give you the best possible chance of sucess within our limited resources...which by the way aren't costing you a cent!

So you never listen to requests from musicians?
Sometimes we will review a CD again if you ask us to investigate new tracks. We might have missed something! If we don't have much material coming in at the time you ask you are in with a chance. Otherwise, normally if we give you another slot for another song someone else misses out.

Can I have a big list of all the radio stations you have contracts with so I can send them my CD?
No. That is privileged business information. We have many competitors who push big-time commercial pop music who have demonstrated in the past they are only too happy to high-pressure our clients with under-cutting packages. Ultimately this means independent music will suffer and we will be out of business. Radio stations rely on us to filter music and provide them with viable product. They work with us because they don't want to be flooded with CD's of questionable radio quality. Certain muso's have shown bad faith in the past and harrassed our clients continually (we know pushing your music is the game..but it does a lot of harm when people annoy music directors and use our name!) so we have a blanket rule. We at least listen to every song on every CD and try to sneak plenty of genuinely original music in among the same old same old.

Will you send me a big list of all the musicians you work with / will you send me the email addresses for all the musicians you work with?
No. Work hard like we did and develop your own contacts. We do not release artists email addresses. If we are satisfied that you are an organisation which may be of benefit to the artists we work with we MAY let people know about you as a mutual exchange as long as it genuinely works both ways and helps the careers of ILR contributors.

Ok just tell all the artists you work with to sign up for...click here..join my...?
Please email for our banner advertising rates or offer us a viable mutual exchange / trackable commission structure.

Do I get paid royalties for my music?
Yes. But not from us. We expect you to barter the use of your music, also we are not actually performing your music. We report playlists and complete logs of every tune we use to the stations doing the actual broadcasting..who in turn report the music they play to APRA (who have arrangements with SOCAN and BMI etc. overseas).

So I need a list of stations so I can send it to APRA BMI etc and collect my 14cents for the year?
SEE: Can I have a big list of all the radio stations you have contracts with so I can send them my CD? If the Radio stations report the use of your song to APRA then you will receive royalties. If not we can not provide you with a list of stations to make a claim from your end.

But aren't you all getting rich, smoking cigars, driving in limosouines and wearing gold chains while we eat pizza?
ILR is part of the Newcastle Youth Radio Association which is a non-profit organisation. We have some people who are paid for what they do at wages about equal to the average working musician. Most of the work done here is by volunteers who give their time for free and a lot of pizza is consumed!

I can't hear your program on my local station?
Help us out and contact your local station and suggest they visit www.isonliveradio.com and look under "Broadcasters" or the Australian Radio Industry website www.ausradiosearch.com on which our products feature.

Oh great can I have a free show sample?
You can listen to a demo on the web. To download or contract complete shows you will need to be a verifiable radio station.

I'm not in your charts, it must be biased, is my music bad, you favour your friends, how is it compilled, my music does well at MP3.com?
Our charts are compilled from real-time online voting through our webpage. This is direct and unbiased feedback from our listeners. Only one vote per unique click per song is processed per day. Repeatedly clicking the vote button (..or say constantly downloading the same MP3..not that that happens anywhere!) will not juggle the charts. Just because you don't fly up the charts, this does not mean their is anything wrong with your music. We have no control over the voting. Radio listeners may not be ready for your music.

But isn't that the problem with radio you claim to work around?
No we don't claim to be able to solve the problems of music versus radio (We dunno who started that rumour!), we just do the best we can for independent music.

What studio software do you use, can we sell you our great new package?
We use custom designed software for playlisting which selects songs according to pre-determined algorithmns. On air we use "Robot" broadcast software, which interestingly we also develop and sell! If you want us to use your software post it to us free on a CD and we will put a banner up saying we use it exclusively or whatever and if your very lucky we may even give you a free 30sec radio spot. Otherwise..we're not interested!

Do you webcast?
Yes we do. You have a choice of 3 automated 24 hours streams and live content on kaosfm.net when we are doing our shows.

But I can't HEAR it on my radio!!?
SEE:I can't hear your program on my local station?

Do you play Christian music?
Yes. But within guidelines. We try not to playlist music that is overtly "preachy". We also restrict it to the same levels as every other type of music we play. This represents no bias on our part, it is a commercial reality.

Will you play the KKK theme song set to a breakbeat?
No we don't tolerate any kind of music that promotes hatred. We have a broad no politics policy. Because our programs are broadcast in a number of countries we also avoid overtly nationalist music as this may offend listeners in another country.

Will you play a song with swearing in it?
F&%K NO! We don't make the wowsery rules that govern radio, we just have to work within them. Sometimes if the particular word or words are not too clear we slip it through. However if we let really bad loud words through Program Directors usually ring us up and swear at us....thats on our syndicated programs. When we are webcasting the weekly web versions of our shows we sometimes play the songs we can't get onto the broadcast programs..as a general rule the "C" word and the "F" word are banned totally..others at our discretion.

Why don't you ever contact our band for an interview?
Check out the on-air interviews link. We have recently changed over to what is becoming standard radio practice and asking that you or your manager / promoter supply the interview grabs pre-recorded on CDR. If you come to visit us we can however record an interview with you live in our studio, providing you organise it well in advance. In SOME circumstances we may record an interview over the phone, but you are expected to pay for the call and similarly you must book it well in advance..we have to schedule studio time.

Why does it take you so long to answer email?
ILR is a trade organization. This means that when we are doing business we are dealing primarily with companies and people within the Radio industry. We do not generally deal with the public as such in order to operate, so our resources for doing so are somewhat limited. At present Sean is responsible for dealing with musicians and the public. A week to 2 weeks delay should be expected unless Sean wakes up really, really early one day and hoes into the email like a man on a mission.

I have more questions / I find your ideas strangely compelling / I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter?
Please click here and drop us a line.

I have a gripe?
Feel free to bypass us and submit your CD to your local commercial radio station but please don't blame us for the response you may get. We wish you the best of luck with your career and hope you suceed with all your dreams, no one will be happier than us if an independent makes it big time whether with our help or without it.