Do-it-yourself music PR
Why is getting press coverage for your music important? Simple: positive media attention (and sometimes even negative media attention) can help you exponentially extend the reach of your music. You can get your songs, band story, album art, artist name, or press photo in front of an audience you might not’ve had access to otherwise.
Approaching the music media
So, who’d be interested in covering your story, playing your music, or writing a review?
* Local newspapers and weeklies
* Local cultural or art magazines
* Local TV news or news magazines
* Community, college, and online radio
* Podcasts
* Music blogs
* And many more
How do you go about contacting the media?
Actually, it’s simpler than you might think. There are five basic rules for independent music PR:
1. Contact the correct person
Make sure you have the right name and email/mailing address for relevant program directors, podcast hosts, music editors, etc.
2. Keep your pitch short and sweet
As they say, “don’t bore us; get to the chorus!” Communicate in the first few sentences who you are and why they might be interested in your music. Follow up with a paragraph that contains supporting details, links to your music and supplementary information (online press release), and then sign off.
3. Be polite, never pushy
If you rub someone the wrong way, they’re not going to help you. It’s common sense. If they respond and say “no thank you,” stay calm and try not to take it personally. They may just have too much on their plate right now.
4. Follow up
If you don’t hear back from them after a week or so, go ahead and send another email asking if they’ve had a chance to check out your music. You know that old saying about the squeaky wheel getting the grease!
5. Deliver
If someone writes you back with interview questions, a request for additional MP3s or photos, or wants you to appear on-air, be sure to respond to them ASAP with a gracious “hell yes” — and then, rock it!
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What’s worked for you? Have you gotten media attention by doing your own PR? Let us know all about it in the comments below.
For more tips on marketing your music, download our FREE guide:
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Chris Robley is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and award-winning poet from Maine.
His Beatlesque indie-pop and milltown Americana songs have been praised by The Associated Press, No Depression, KCRW, The LA Times, Boston Globe, NPR, American Songwriter, and others.
His poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner, The Poetry Review, and more.
Robley has received a Maine Literary Award in Poetry, Boulevard’s Emerging Writers Prize for Poetry, and in 2016 was selected by former US-poet laureate Robert Pinsky as a finalist for the Dorset Prize.