9 college, community and independent radio stations in Chicago, Illinois and nearby Evanston that take music from independent artists. 4 accepting right now.
9Stations
4Accepting now
0★ Dedicated forms
0HBCU
Chicago has 9 stations checked by hand, counting Evanston, and 4 of them are accepting independent submissions right now. That includes WHPK on 88.5 FM, WLUW on 88.7 FM, WZRD on 88.3 FM. If you are based in Chicago, say so in the first line of your email: several stations here give weight to local artists, and it is the easiest advantage to claim. Each row shows what the station plays, whether it is accepting, and how it takes music. The exact submission contact and the rules it posts are on your Rotation sheet.
How they take music → Email · No submission route is posted. The station publishes one general address and routes by show; each show page carries its own contact.
Evanston, IL
Indie, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Electronic, World, Rock, Pop, Gospel, Folk, Blues
WPNA 103.1 Polish-American Mix · Evanston, IL · Independent Commercial
How they take music → See sheet · No submission route posted. The site publishes phone numbers (office 1-[phone on your sheet], on-air 1-[phone on your sheet], text 1-[phone on your sheet]), a street address at [address on your sheet], Chicago, and a general Contact Us form. No email address and no demo or music-submission page.
Evanston, IL
Pop, World
Research
How Chicago stations want it sent
Take music by email7 of 9
Submit through a form1 of 9
Freeform, no genre lock3 of 9
Route music to a show1 of 9
Weigh local artists1 of 9
Ask for lossless audio2 of 9
Have their shows mapped5 of 9
Counted from the 9 Chicago stations on this page, from what each one publishes itself. It is the fastest way to read a market before you build anything for it: an envelope market and an inbox market ask different work of you. Across them, 59 individual shows are mapped from the stations' own published schedules, with the night and hour each one airs.
Every door is on your sheet.
Pick your sound and region on Rotation and each of these stations shows its real submission contact and the exact rules it posts: clean edit, WAV, form or mail. Checked by hand and kept current. No station here paid to be listed.
Radio is the free half, and it stays that way. Every station here is free to reach and no station ever pays to be listed. The Doors is the other half: 100 verified places that are not radio, sync libraries, music supervisors, festivals, contests, live sessions and the music press, 43 of which can actually pay an artist. It also lists the 162 we opened and refused, with the reason each one failed, because most lists of this kind are stale and the rejections are the part nobody else will show you. $9.99, the 2026 Q3 edition →