Music is central to life here at Suffolk 'n' Cool.

Unlike conventional radio stations I don't have a restricted playlist of 50 or so singles that have been approved by the station manager. On the contrary, I play just (and exclusively) what the hell I like ... and it's a pretty eclectic mix. Some of it may be a bit of a challenge and all of it is interesting.

We don't have to worry about who is likely to be listening at different times of the day and adjust the output to suit particular audiences. Our listeners have the freedom to listen when and wherever they like. So we can play just what the hell we like.

Well, actually, there is one major and really good restriction on us. We don't want to pay the remaining four major record companies for the honour of promoting their already established acts, and we don't have to.

100 podsafe 75
ALL the music you hear on Suffolk 'n' Cool is "podsafe", so it's either:
  • an original composition by an artist who holds copyright and has not signed away their talent to a publisher or record company, or

  • music which one of the vastly more enlightened record companies or copyright holders has given us permission to play.

A lot of our music is sourced from the Podsafe Music Network where you can download most of the tracks for just 99 cents. Of that price 9 cents goes to pay for transaction charges and the remaining 90 cents (no, that's not a typing error) goes, in full, to the artist. It's an amazing deal for artists and a great way of getting their music out.

Podcasting is selling music
Each track played is linked back to the artist's own website so you can find out more and buy albums direct.* If you enjoy their music it would be great if you could leave a quick message to say that you heard them on Suffolk 'n' Cool.

You'll find upcoming gigs, links and lots of other information under the shownotes button - putting you directly in touch with the music. If you have more or better information on artists, or you are the artist in question, let us know so that we can update the notes.

If you are a musician or know of artists that we might feature, let us know - you can use the email link at the bottom of the page or contact us through the Suffolk 'n' Cool MySpace artists page.

If you share my passion for music this is the place for you. Come to that if you are a talent scout for a major record label it's probably also the place for you although I doubt whether the artists will be interested in your deal!

You are staring into the face of the future of music distribution

On other thing, although you'll find the mix of music pretty eclectic, one feature unites all the music — I really think every tune played is Suffolk 'n' Cool, and I hope you do too!

* Graphic courtesy of UK Podcasters Association