How to Get The Press Talking

As a musician, getting your material past the ears of your band and producer is obviously the biggest aim.

This can be done in a number of ways, but contacting the press is by far the most efficient.

By doing this, you can access a wider network of people using an outlet that they trust as a source of music recommendations, making your project even more viable in the public’s eyes.

Who should you contact?

musician walking on road holding guitar

When thinking about getting in touch with the press, it’s vital to actually think about who you’re sending your music to.

If you’re a hardcore punk band, there’s no point in sending an email to the editor of NME who will most definitely delete your email while listening to the Arctic Monkeys and Top 40 music; it’s just not their thing.

Remember, it’s not about just emailing journalists, it’s about emailing the right journalists.

So, focus on your genre. Do some research into what publications focus on new music and/or specifically the genre you are in, and this will make sure the people you reach will support your musical journey all the way.

What should you say?

musician playing piano on bed

Now you’ve picked the perfect people to hear your music, what should you tell them?

Start off with introducing your band; a bit about yourselves and where you’re based.

After that, explain why you’re contacting them – this is about making your project as desirable as possible so those journalists simply cannot resist writing about you!

A great tip for sending your music to the press: don’t attach your music as an mp3 file in the email but attach it as a link to your SoundCloud or Bandcamp at the end of the email.

This way, your email won’t just automatically be deleted if they don’t want to listen to new music, and the journalist doesn’t have to wait for the content to download!

To conclude:

Remember that these emails are just inquiries, it’s important not to be offended if nobody gets back to you or if your music isn’t published anywhere.

This is a vital step in the promotion and spreading of your music, and it means that someone new has at least listened to your music. You can never send your music to too many people, so get as many contacts as you can and send them that perfectly crafted informative email that you have!


Ready to hire? Our marketplace of over 410,000 freelancers has the skills and expertise needed to skyrocket your business to the next level. From marketers to designers, copywriters to SEO experts – browse the talented bunch here!

Jenna

Jenna is a Music Business student at BIMM Manchester from Northern Ireland. She loves puppies, dogs, music, puppies and going to gigs. And puppies. She currently runs an independent record label based in Manchester which focuses on indie/grunge music, and she also plays guitar and bass. She spends every day listening to new music and reading about the state of the music business industry for fun and to seem a bit cooler at parties.


Fatal error

: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function Smush\Core\Parser\str_starts_with() in /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wp-smush-pro/core/parser/class-image-url.php:119 Stack trace: #0 /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wp-smush-pro/core/parser/class-image-url.php(98): Smush\Core\Parser\Image_URL->is_scheme_missing_from_original() #1 /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wp-smush-pro/core/parser/class-image-url.php(91): Smush\Core\Parser\Image_URL->prepare_absolute_url() #2 /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wp-smush-pro/core/lazy-load/class-lazy-load-transform.php(352): Smush\Core\Parser\Image_URL->get_absolute_url() #3 /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wp-smush-pro/core/lazy-load/class-lazy-load-transform.php(312): Smush\Core\Lazy_Load\Lazy_Load_Transform->maybe_lazy_load_image_element() #4 /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wp-smush-pro/core/lazy-load/class-lazy-load-transform.php(304): Smush\Core\Lazy_Load\Lazy_Load_Transform->transform_image_element() #5 /var/ww in /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wp-smush-pro/core/parser/class-image-url.php on line 119