The Playback Project

The storied history of radio is nothing short of iconic. As the first mass broadcast medium, it laid the groundwork for how television would later transmit picture and sound. There was an era when the local airwaves were the premier platform for music discovery. The rise of "Top 40" pop-culture in the 1950s gave young people a soundtrack - and an identity. From the 1980s through the early 2000s, radio served as the golden gate to the world of music videos, offering exposure and discovery on a whole new level. From the birth of television, to the rise of modern pop-culture as we know it, radio started it all. 

Somewhere along the way, the world became obsessed with global connectivity, and the tech to make it happen. Almost overnight, we moved from physical formats to digital streams, trading tangibility for convenience. In that shift, music piracy found its footing through platforms like Napster and LimeWire, and a new era of consumption began. For many artists, it felt like a threat to both their work and their worth. In response, the industry sought to save what value it could. But by the time the dust settled, streaming had reshaped the landscape - and become the new norm.

Radio deserves to be that first-stop for music discovery again. Fans deserve to have that bastion of cultural significance back. And artists? They deserve a real chance at that milestone. In a world flooded with sound, radio still has power to make a song feel like an event. In a digital sea of endless content and disposable trends, there's something powerful about scarcity. When a song can't be found on streaming, when the only way to hear it is to catch it live on the radio - it creates anticipation. It turns casual listeners into seekers. That energy builds a kind of momentum that can't be manufactured through social media posts or algorithmic targeting. It's earned. 

For the artist, that anticipation becomes a moment. It means their music isn't just being released - it's being introduced. And when fans start tuning in just to catch that one track, even briefly, it creates a ripple effect. People talk. People wait. And when the song finally drops elsewhere, it arrives with gravity. The Playback Project was built to bring that gravity back - to give artists a real launch, and to remind listeners that discovery can still feel like something truly special. 

-Tommy Frazier, Founder and CEO`