FromeFM is inviting local musicians from Frome and the West Country to send their music into the community radio station accompanied by a short introduction, to allow artists and bands to introduce their own music on the radio.

Julian Crawley, chair of Frome FM, explained the initiative, "There's a wealth of musical talent in the South West, and musicians and music lovers have had a really tough time since last March with live venues closed. We want to help local bands get their music out to their fans and new listeners by creating slots in our schedule where they can introduce and broadcast their latest tracks to all the residents of Frome and beyond."

"We already receive a fair amount of content from local artists, and much of it is played by Music Eye Radio, our flagship show for new talent. New music is also passed on to our other shows, however most of them tend to be for niche musical genres which means that many artists only have their tracks played a handful of times. We currently have a number of hours each day that are filled by the automated playout of random tracks from a database, typically during the weekday drivetime period, and the plan is to swap some of this programming to play local music instead. Music submissions will get many more plays on the radio, and the appending of introductions to the tracks will let listeners know who the artist is, the result being that our music scene will get the coverage that it deserves."

Musicians can submit as many tracks as they like, although the amount of tracks by a single artist in the system at any one time may be limited. Each track should be accompanied by an audio recording of up to two minutes that introduces the artist or band, and importantly how listeners can find out more about them. The intro can be professionally produced with background music or simply recorded on a smartphone. FromeFM is Ofcom regulated so the track and introduction should be family friendly.

Tracks and introductions should be sent to [email protected], and you can email this address if you have any questions about the scheme. More information is available at: frome.fm/introduce-your-own-music-on-fromefm/

The more submissions that are received then the more hours of local music can be programmed, and the schedule will be updated accordingly. FromeFM can be listened to on 96FM, online at frome.fm or smart speaker.