How to Make a Radio Edit and Delivery Package
Make a radio edit only for a defined station requirement: start from the approved master, choose clean-language, time, intro, outro, or other requested changes, edit at musical boundaries, and run full-listen, phase, loudness, metadata, and link checks. Preserve the original separately. There is no universal radio length, loudness target, filename, or need for a time edit.
Lead visual
Radio promotion map
Context
Radio · Promotion
What this guide is helping you understand.
Decision
Make a radio edit
The practical choice or setup step to get right.
Next
Action
What to check before you move the release forward.
Radio · Promotion
Production file map
Use this for
Lock the manufacturer and package before building the print document.
Watch for
Generic dimensions can move type into a trim, fold, glue area, or an incorrectly sized spine.
Check
Current product template, physical dimensions, bleed, safe zones, color setup, fonts, images, and proof.
Result
A plant-specific package that can be preflighted and approved without treating the streaming square as the print file.
Key takeaways
- Create a version only for a documented station or campaign need.
- Keep original, clean, short, intro, instrumental, and other edits as separate controlled assets.
- Edit at musical boundaries and compare against the approved master at matched listening level.
- Confirm identifiers and metadata through the authorized issuer or distributor.
- Listen to the delivered file from start to finish and test its public download path.
What must the radio delivery package specify?
Radio edit specification
Ten fields from edit brief to approved service asset
Target
Station, network, program, territory, format, contact, source URL, and checked date.
Ties every edit choice to a real programming request.
Job
Original, clean, time, intro, outro, instrumental, station ID, or combined version purpose.
Prevents the vague label Radio Edit from hiding different changes.
Source
Approved master version, sample rate, bit depth, channel layout, mix revision, and checksum or date.
Stops an old mix or lossy file from becoming the service master.
Content
Exact language, sample, ad-lib, artwork, or metadata issue and the authorized replacement method.
Makes clean status reviewable instead of assumed.
Structure
Sections removed or moved, musical edit points, intro/outro need, duration goal, and artist approval.
Protects identity, hook, energy, and intelligibility.
Audio QC
Clicks, fades, transients, tails, phase, mono, codec preview, true peak, loudness comparison, and full listen.
Catches technical damage created by the edit.
Identity
Artist, track, version title, release, writers, publishers, owners, label, ISRC decision, and alternate titles.
Keeps the edit matchable across station and royalty systems.
File
Required format, filename, embedded tags, duration, download permission, expiry, attachment rule, and backup.
Makes the asset usable inside the target's workflow.
Approval
Artist, label, manager, producer, mixer, rights holder, or other required sign-off and final date.
Prevents an unauthorized version from being serviced.
Control
Version number, changelog, source session, approved file, service date, recipients, replacement path, and archive.
Keeps old edits from circulating after correction.
Which version should be sent to the station?
| Use when requested | Do not assume | |
|---|---|---|
| Original | The station accepts the artistic master and its content, duration, and intro | Every programmer wants a shortened version |
| Clean | Published rules or the programmer requires prohibited language or content to be handled | A filename proves the full recording is clean |
| Time edit | The target gives a programming reason or an approved campaign brief defines one | A single duration works across all stations and formats |
| Intro or outro | A specific mix-show, presenter, syndication, or format workflow requests talk-friendly structure | Changing the hook or ending automatically improves airplay |
| Instrumental | The station, producer, interview, bed, or other documented use requests it | Instrumental service grants synchronization or reuse permission |
KEXP is a useful counterexample to the universal three-minute rule
Its current guidelines prefer the original form and say time edits are not needed. Use that as evidence that each station controls its own delivery job, not as a rule for another station.
Which sources govern a radio edit and delivery package?
Frequently asked questions
How long should a radio edit be?+
There is no universal duration. The station, network, show, format, market, and song determine whether a time edit is useful or requested. KEXP currently says radio edits for time are not needed. Ask the qualified target, preserve the original master, and document the edit job instead of cutting every song to a copied length benchmark.
What is the difference between a clean edit and a radio edit?+
A clean edit handles language or content that the target cannot broadcast, while a time edit shortens structure for a programming need. Radio edit can describe either or both, so the label is ambiguous. Name the actual version job, such as Clean, Short Edit, Intro Edit, or Clean Short Edit, in the file and delivery record.
Should a radio edit have a new ISRC?+
It depends on whether the delivered version is treated as a distinct sound recording under the current ISRC issuer, label, distributor, and metadata rules. Do not change or reuse an ISRC based only on filename. Record the audio difference, duration, ownership, release context, and existing identifiers, then have the authorized issuer decide and keep every system consistent.
What file should an artist send to radio?+
Follow the station's published specification. KEXP currently requests streaming and downloadable WAV links, no attachments, plus artist, title, label, pronunciation, focus-track, release-date, and clean-edit information. Other stations use uploaders, MP3s, physical media, distributors, or promoter systems. Test the required file and link logged out before service.
How should explicit lyrics be removed from a clean edit?+
Use a musical method that satisfies the target without obscuring timing or introducing a distracting artifact: an approved alternate lyric, mute, reverse, replacement, or carefully edited section. Listen to the entire mix, including samples, ad-libs, backing vocals, intros, outros, and artwork or metadata. The artist or authorized rights holder should approve the result before delivery.
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