Read: Five ways for indie musicians to get their songs played on KCRW

Meet Eric J. Lawrence. If you're a musician, he can be one of the most important people in your life.


Lawrence is in charge of one of the most critical avenues to an independent rock band's success -- getting your songs played on KCRW-FM (89.9).

As the music librarian at KCRW, his job is to dive into the hundreds of albums sent to the Santa Monica station every week and surface a handful of CDs to place on a row of compact wooden shelves in his library. And it is these shelves that the station's 25 DJs and producers turn to to figure out what to play next.

For indie bands, getting their music played on KCRW is a sign of success -- and not just because of the estimated 375,000 people per week who listen to the station's music programming, both online and over the air. That's because the public radio station has a reputation for being a tastemaker, with its fingers on the pulse of independent music trends poised to be the next big thing. It's one reason why music directors in Hollywood troll the station for new music to include in their television shows and movies.

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