How to Get Your Music on Nashville College Radio
Six stations, six formats, six different ways in. Here's what each one actually wants from a hip-hop artist — and which ones aren't worth your stamp.
Nashville's radio reputation is country. Its college radio reality is stranger and more useful than that — a scattered network of student and community stations, most of them broke, most of them running on whoever's willing to show up for a shift. A few of them will actually play a hip-hop single. Most won't. Knowing which is which saves you postage, emails, and false hope.
This isn't an algorithm-driven playlist pitch. College radio still runs on a human being deciding your song is worth two minutes of airtime, on a signal that might only reach a few thousand people. That's the point. A DJ who plays your record because they like it is a different kind of validation than a Spotify add, and it comes with a built-in audience of students, alumni, and locals who trust that station's taste. It's slow. It's also real.
Below is every college and community station in the Nashville radio market that touches hip-hop in any way, ranked by how likely they are to actually spin your record, with the submission approach for each. HipHop615 tracks this stuff so independent artists don't have to cold-call six stations to find the one that fits.
01The Priority List
| Station | Format | Hip-Hop Fit | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| WTST "The Blaze" (TSU) | Urban — Hip-Hop & R&B | Core format | #1 |
| WMTS 88.3 (MTSU) | Eclectic / alternative | Open format | #2 |
| WRVU (Vanderbilt) | Freeform, internet-only | DJ-dependent | #3 |
| WXNA 101.5 (Community) | Freeform community radio | Two shows fit | #4 |
| WVCP 88.5 (Vol State) | Eclectic | Worth a shot | #5 |
| WFSK 88.1 (Fisk) | Jazz | Not a fit | Skip |
| Belmont University | No music station | N/A | Skip |
02Station Breakdowns
- Format
- Urban — Hip-Hop & R&B (primary format, gospel/variety on weekends)
- Signal
- 1600 AM campus, Channel 99 campus cable, online stream
- Website
- tsuradio.com
WTST is the one station in this market where hip-hop and R&B isn't a side show — it's the whole format. TSU is an HBCU with a deep student-radio tradition (Black College Radio Station of the Year, twice), and The Blaze runs with roughly 50 student announcers who program urban music every day, not just on a specialty block. If you send one submission in this city, send it here first.
There's no public submission inbox posted for the station, and staff rotate every school year, so the most reliable path is through the station's website contact form or a physical mailer (clean radio edit + one-sheet) addressed to WTST's Operations Manager, care of Tennessee State University. Confirm the current contact name before you mail anything — college radio turns over every August.
- Format
- Eclectic — alternative, indie, variety, freeform DJ shows
- Music sub.
- music@wmts.org or via the station's website
- WMTS 88.3 FM, MTSU Box 36, Murfreesboro, TN 37132
- Website
- wmts.org
WMTS sits under MTSU's Center for Innovation in Media, the same building that houses the student-run Match Records label, and its DJs get real freedom to program their own shows. It's not a hip-hop station by format, but individual DJs regularly play it, which means your pitch is really a pitch to whichever student happens to have a hip-hop show that semester. Lead with the music submission address, keep the one-sheet short, and don't be surprised if the reply — if there is one — comes from a different name than last year's.
- Format
- Freeform — student-programmed, genre-agnostic
- Signal
- Streams only at wrvu.org, iHeartRadio, Live365 (lost its FM signal in 2011)
- WRVU / Box 9100 / Station B, Nashville, TN 37235
- Website
- wrvu.org
WRVU gave up its terrestrial signal over a decade ago, so its reach is smaller than the call letters suggest. What it still has is an influential, plugged-in student base and a truly freeform structure — meaning the right DJ can and will run a full hip-hop block if your record catches their ear. Submit through the station's website contact channel or by mail; there's no institutional music-submission address published, so a physical package with a clean edit and one-sheet is the safer bet than hunting for an email. Worth also filing your release with collegeradio.org, the College Radio Foundation's clearinghouse, which feeds BBC Introducing in America.
- Format
- Freeform, volunteer-run, non-commercial LPFM
- Submission
- Physical mail only — no email intake
- 507 Hagan St, Nashville, TN 37203
- Website
- wxnafm.org
WXNA is community radio in the fullest sense — dozens of locally hosted shows, no corporate programming, and zero interest in email pitches. Two shows are the actual hip-hop and soul lane here: Soul of the City and the Housequake Vinyl Hour. If you want airtime, mail a physical CD or vinyl plus a one-sheet, addressed to the show by name, to the station's Hagan Street address. Don't call. Don't email. Mail it, and give it a few weeks — this is an all-volunteer operation.
- Format
- Eclectic student radio
- wvcp@volstate.edu
Small, low-wattage, and about 30 minutes outside the city — but it's a real student station with an open-format policy, which puts it ahead of stations that flatly won't play hip-hop. Send a short pitch and a link to the institutional email above. Don't expect a fast turnaround; treat it as a bonus stop, not a priority.
- Format
- Jazz — dedicated format, not open to genre submissions
- wfskinfo@fisk.edu
WFSK runs a committed jazz format and isn't a realistic target for a straight hip-hop single. Listed here for completeness — if your record leans jazz-rap, boom-bap with heavy sampling, or lyrical/jazz-adjacent production, it's worth a polite inquiry through the email above. Otherwise, spend your energy on the stations above.
Belmont doesn't run a traditional student music station — its broadcast operation covers sports, not music programming. There's nothing to submit here. Belmont's real value to hip-hop artists is its Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business network, not radio.
03The Submission Checklist
Every station above wants roughly the same package, even if the address is different. Send this, not a vague DM:
- A clean, radio-edit version of the song — no explicit tags, no ad-libs that'll get bleeped mid-word.
- A one-sheet with your artist bio, the song title, release date, and a link to stream it.
- A high-resolution press photo — station sites and socials will use it if they cover you.
- Contact info that actually reaches you (or your label/manager), not just a social handle.
- The Nashville angle, stated plainly — where you're from, where you record, why the local audience should care.
College radio staff turn over every academic year — often every semester. A music director's name and email from last spring can be dead by fall. Always check the station's own website for the current submission contact before you send anything, and don't be discouraged if a follow-up goes to a different person than your first email.
None of this replaces a real relationship. If a station plays your record, say thanks publicly, show up if they host events, and keep sending your next release. College radio rewards artists who stick around longer than one single cycle.
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