I think some artists in the past got their start by being played first on College radio. I don't know how well that's working recently. I've mentioned this before, but there's a radio station in my area called
The Current that is part of Minnesota Public Radio. They program the music locally, they have played Yelle singing in French (she was a regular on their playlist) and are known for being open minded. Every Saturday night is request night and I have requested Alizée, but to no avail. I even sent them a Psych CD along with translations of all the lyrics. Still no luck.
Most radio stations around the country have been bought up by a few big companies and they are almost impossible to influence. This is definitely a hard nut to crack because the American media is extremely narrow minded, in my opinion. They are not interested in promoting music or doing anything for the art's sake. These people have absolutely no imagination. It's all about money. I wish I had the answer or knew how to proceed from here.