Image and story courtesy of KUT/KUTX Studios, October 30, 2026.
Pause/Play, the podcast about live music, why it matters and what comes next, is back for season seven. Co-hosts Miles Bloxson and Elizabeth McQueen kick off the season with a question they hear constantly: How do I get my song on the radio?
Bloxson gets a lot of DMs about it, and McQueen says people ask her all the time. So they went straight to the source: Rick McNulty, KUTX’s music director since 2019.
The odds are steep. McNulty’s personal email gets 30 to 40 songs a day, and the shared mailbox adds about 200 more. His edge for local artists? “Put ATX in the subject,” he says. “That way we can search through 1,000 emails a week, and there you are.” From there, a panel votes. Yes, it gets dramatic.
What’s waiting in the episode:
The format to send (instead of CDs)
The details to include in your email, and the ones to cut
A game plan for a no, because a pass isn’t the end
