What has it done for you if anything...and please no bacon jokes!

I have, about 25 years ago.  Even played live in the studio.
 
Nothing came of it.
 
 
 
Not even becan
 

Me too 25 years ago. On local radio. That was with my new wave band.
One of these occasions was an hour during radio program with interviews. They had a local band every week.
 
And on local television too as an accompanying band for a singer that hosted a television show for kids. I remember I had to dress up as an aunt in a dress for the videoclip. These tapes are lost now of course.
 
But I'm sorry, I don't know any no bacon jokes.

I've had some airplay with various projects, both ones I recorded/produced as well as my own bands.

It has done a lot for some, and absolutely nothing for others.. Not trying to be clever, but my take on it is that it adds to your presence and legitimacy as a muso, along with name recognition, but that one song getting a bit of airplay is worth far less than some solid live performances, touring and web presence - especially in the new age of the indi business model. If you have a hit, well then that's different... but what are the odds?
 
One of my most successful clients has never had ANY airplay, yet has sold Gold (25 000) between two albums in South Africa, and she has had 200 000+ views on Youtube of her live performances. But then, she works like a dog and has an audience more loyal than most. She has had a song on an American TV advert (YP.com) and has had tour invites from some major artists around the world incl Shawn Phillips and Lucinda Williams - all on the strength of great albums and killer live performance.
 
Then again, I've earned some nice money from a ballad I wrote a few years ago.
 
If you're asking if you should chase airplay with all your heart.. well, it depends on your genre and your level of commitment. If you're a rapper or a pop diva, spend your energy getting airplay. If you're a band, go tour if you can. If you have a manager etc, get them to push steadily until something comes of it. And avoid bribing DJs or paying for likes - word gets around :O)
 
Your Mileage May Vary, as they say :O)

Best of bacon, sorry, luck,
 
Ludwig

I've had several of my original songs played on the air. 
 
A radio station sponsored a song writing contest and I submitted a song to it. That song won the contest and was played on the station for a few days. This actually happened 2 different times with 2 completely different radio stations.  One of the prizes was a portable radio..... I'd probably have appreciated a slab of bacon because at the time I was young and broke, and mostly hungry.
 
A band I was in played a community event sponsored by a local radio station and part of the set was played live across the air.  Nothing worth writing home about.
 
Some time later, I was driving down the road and heard a local station play one of my songs during a programming segment that featured local artists. I had sent them a CD with 10 originals and they selected one of them.
 
Nothing ever came from any of those events..... no royalties, and no record companies knocking down my door, and no bacon.
 

Some of our Scandalous Grace songs are actually being played on a small radio station in Austin, TX now.

Never.
 
I've saved myself of the letdown.

Beagle
Some of our Scandalous Grace songs are actually being played on a small radio station in Austin, TX now.

Yep, they have a disc that has 3 of our Scandalous Grace songs and the station in Austin, TX also has a CD of my latest solo work that they have been playing on regular rotation.  I have received several phone calls from the station manager to discuss the songs; the last one being 2-3 weeks ago.  That station is non-profit, so we won't see anything but some publicity.  
 
I also forwarded, "Thief" on the Songs Forums, to a station in San Antonio, TX that was looking for slower Indie Work to be played over the Easter weekend.  I don't think it got played, she said she would notify me by Facebook before each on air play, so that I had a chance to hear it.  The San Antonio station was looking for stuff that was REALLY main stream for the Easter weekend, so she said it would have a better chance of being played later.  She really liked the song, though, so it sounded like it would eventually be played.   

Yes, a couple of times on local shows. It was fun to hear, but didn't lead to anything.

Yes, a few times, most recently on a UK local radio station last year. Appeared on a local TV cable show 'back in the day' too, that was fun. Played 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' in a garden in Swindon. Aah, the glitz, the glamour..