Whether you’re reaching out to a blog, channel or playlist curator, there are certain things that can help your music submission .
Having great music is a prerequisite to great media success. Still, there are certain habits that you can infuse into your release scheme that can definitely elevate your output.
Some of them might not be new to you, and you might even be doing them already. Still, having a clear overview, in form of a tight-knit checklist, can always help automate your process.
So let’s dive into your music submission checklist with strong prep-work:
Nifty localization homework
Find out where your music is localized within the music ecosphere. Be radical and honest.
If you sound like Diplo, good for you. Probably you don’t, though. No worries – just draw a clear picture of where your music can be localized. This is like homework: Find references that make sense, check out how they describe their sound, adapt what you find appropriate.
Do your homework.
Media research
This is another assignment. Before you start your music submission, make sure the media you are trying to get placements in actually match up with the music you are trying to push.
Good luck pitching some lo-fi ambient stuff to an EDM online mag. You get the picture. A little media research goes a long way if you want to build valuable relationships for future releases.
Take some time, and time will be taken.
Solid one-pager
Can’t stress this one enough: Be sure to whip up a solid one-pager.
This means vital bio info but also relevant streaming data (ForTunes has you covered).
A one-pager is as close to an elevator pitch as you’ll get. Aside from the initial submission request, this is the first line of identification for anyone planning to handle your output.
A/B test different versions of one-pagers with peers you trust. Sometimes you have to tweak a message to get it over the right way.
Try not to get frustrated when this process turns out to be demanding and intricate. Again, the more time you invest now, the easier it will be later on.
Paste-able bio
The dream scenario is – media people dig your sound so INCREDIBLY much, they dig deep into every part of your artistic journey and come up with a unique and enriching info text.
The reality is – media people get OVERRUN with requests, have to be very exclusive in terms of what they feature, and don’t have the time and resources to dig into every music submission equally as extensive.
This isn’t out of bad will or un-professionalism, it’s just the reality of the game.
So – be aware that a great deal of media will just copy-paste, maybe slightly rearrange, but certainly just transfer most of the texts in your bio to their respective articles. Try to write your bio in a way that media reps but also music aficionados can appreciate. Always keep the reading audience in mind.
Healthy links
This should be a no-brainer, but sadly, it happens a LOT: Musicians completely hyped, sending out perfect one-pagers, great pictures, the whole package – and BROKEN LINKS.
That’s why you should always and frequently test the links you send out for promo-purposes. Media reps that barely know you will rarely write pro-actively, asking for live links. They just won’t write about you.
Make sure every link works, that means try them out regularly, on various devices. Sometimes desktop and mobile versions differ, with problems only arising on either one of them. Keep your links healthy.
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