Are you an artist trying to get your music featured on blogs? Read this article to refine your approach.
As a music blogger, I’m receiving tons of emails everyday, mainly music submissions and promos from PR agencies, labels, and artists themselves. While PR agencies and established labels don’t need advices for doing their job, it might seem more tricky for artists who need to do it themselves. This post will hopefully help all the upcoming talented artists out there, who are struggling to get exposure.
There are already a couple of articles telling artists how to approach blogs, but as some artists asked me advices about that and complain about how difficult it can be, I thought I should share my point of view.
Don’t believe the hype
Social media figures
It’s no mystery that social media figures play a major role in the music industry. Facebook likes, Soundcloud plays, etc… are unfortunately key figures for actors like bookers and media…. but not for all bloggers. I personally post music I like, no matter if you have 100 or 100k likes, if your music sounds good, I will share it. NEVER pay for likes and plays: you will not only waste money (which could be spent in better marketing), but also discredit yourself… It’s usually quite easy to tell when an artist bought likes or plays.
However, it’s a good idea to include your social media links in your email, this will give a good overview of your work and background. Make sure there’s some basic info on these pages: at least where you come from, a short description, who is in the band…
Produce the music you like
The hype effect is not only about numbers, it’s also about the music you produce. Too many artists think about what the public will like. A good example to illustrate that are remixes: how many Disclosure or ZHU remixes were released last year? Why not, instead, remixing a song you like, give it a different approach and stand out? If you read interviews of successful artists, you will realise most of them were just producing the music they like, and eventually got more exposure. Consistency and patience are key!
Finally, don’t believe the hype when choosing blogs to contact. It’s very cool to be featured on the biggest ones, and you should try to, but also consider the ones with less followers. Maybe they have a bigger blog traffic than you think, will feature you in a mixtape… and are easier to reach.
Know who you’re talking to
When you’re sending your music to blogs, you want them to spend a few minutes reading about you and listening to your music. So just do the same before reaching out. Visit the blog, their social accounts, to get an overview of the type of music they post. You’ll usually find the contact info on their “About” or “Contact” page. There are many ways to get in touch via social, but I personally prefer receiving an e-mail.
There’s nothing worse than receiving an e-mail pretending to be personalised… For example:
“I really love the music you post, I’m a regular reader of your blog. I’d like to send you my latest song, a dubstep banger which had 10 000 plays in just 3 days.”
Well, thanks, but I hate dubstep, you should know that as a regular reader. This type of email is usually sent to hundreds of blogs, in the worst case with all the recipients disclosed. If you want to send your song to many blogs at once, don’t pretend to talk personnally to them. An email looking like a newsletter with the basic info, artwork and social links will be enough. Oh, and make sure to include everyone in the Cci field.
Don’t forget blogging is a hobby
Apart from the biggest music blogs, most of them are run by people doing it in their spare time. Keep that in mind when you approach them! Don’t stress out if you don’t get a quick answer. Following up is a good idea, but I’d say you should wait at least 4 or 5 days to do it. Check out the blog’s social accounts: if they are not active, the team may be unfortunately too busy these days. Following up via another channel is a good idea, for example Twitter.
So stay cool and avoid putting pressure. Maybe this time you won’t be featured, but you will next time, or the team will hear about you via another blog.
Keep it human
Finally, just keep it human and simple. There is no need to include your full bio, just say hi and give a few background info with the links. Music will speak for itself. The usual politeness words such as “thanks” or “best” are welcome, and unfortunately too rare in this type of emails. If you get featured, don’t forget to say thanks and make sure to keep the blog updated about your future releases. It’s always appreciated if you can reshare the post on social media, especially if it’s an interview or a long post — it feels good to see our work shared.
Special tip: offer exclusive content to blogs. It can be a private link a few days before the release, a premiere of one of your songs, an upload to their Youtube channel… We love it. Don’t forget that it’s a partnership: if a blog is premiering one of your tracks, share the page on social.
This way, you will quickly establish a relationship with bloggers who like your work and should support you on the long term. Don’t forget to check out who is sharing your music: check out who is following you on social, make Google and Twitter searches… Maybe you’ll be surprised how many blogs shared your songs, even if you did not contact them. Send them a message to say thanks and introduce yourself!
Conclusion
I hope this post will help artists to get in touch with blogs. There are probably other points that could be discussed. Feel free to leave comments!
If you’re interested in this topic, I suggest you to read these blog posts giving you more concrete guidelines to write to blogs:
How to get featured on Blogs by Symphonic Distribution
How to get posted on music blogs by Pigeons and Planes
Music blogs are a good start but don’t forget that there are other sources to get your music shared: web radios, artists releasing mixtapes, and eventually music labels when you feel like you’re ready to approach them.