It’s our favorite time of year here at New Music Weekly and just about everywhere in the USA. That means “tour time” for many with abundant music festivals and concerts filled with great artists and bands. Indie artists are also out and about using the good weather to make their way to cities and towns to share their music with radio and audiences from Los Angles, Nashville to New York. Radio is also filled with some great music and that is helping to keep the spirit of the summer “alive and well”.

For most of this year things seemed pretty mellow around here with everything moving at a rather slow pace. Suddenly as this time of year approached it’s as if a water valve was opened at full throttle and this huge gush has occurred. To validate this point, all you have to do is look at the charts and activity right here in this publication. It’s an overview of just how busy things have suddenly become. Were artists and bands just holding on to all the good stuff until now? It appears that most of them finally decided to let all of the material out at the very same time.

No angle to this underscores the “flood of music” is better than over on our Country charts. Now that the major labels are leaning towards New Music Weekly as a vehicle to get their artists out there, the field has been a very crowded one indeed. If you combine those artists with the many independent artist and bands, the crowd soon became quite a big one at that. For most of the numbers in the past it would normally take 300+ spins to make the “up and coming” chart at Country. Over the past two to three weeks however, it’s taken well over 600+ spins to show up even at the bottom of that chart. That is just how crowded that field has become and we’re doing our very best over here to let as many people on the page as we most possibly can but it’s been rough.

Many of our artists and bands use the charts of New Music Weekly to their advantage. Whether it’s posting them on-line or filling up their promotion package, many are using their chart activity to book shows and events. When you become a chart artist here at NMW, you are now an official “national act”. Bands and artists need to use that important activity to help move to the next level. You also can now make your case to get picked up by a label if that’s in fact what you want to do. For some it helps them go to investors so that many can keep their own indie label in business.

If you missed the boat for the Summer of 2012, this might be the to set your plans in motion for next year. Early planning can be the key to a successful run. Plan to get your single out in the early spring, build your numbers and your profile and get to work. There are a number of stations that plan events and concerts and you can be a part of that action as long as you plan it all with enough time to make it all happen. Some of our artists are also looking to places out of the USA and have found great success in European outlets.

This also might be the time to re-build your team. From publicity, talent bookers to radio promoters, a strong and solid team can and will make all the difference in moving you to the very next level. Here at New Music Weekly we continue to provide many of the “tools of the trade” you need. From the STS tracking, our Future Hits compilations, digital services such as Airplay Access to our printed magazine that provides plenty of vital information, you’ve got it all here in one place. Let’s make the Summer of 2012 a “one to remember”.