How to Fail at Promoting Music Online
This past spring I polled a number of music blogger friends and gathered the results in “How to Avoid Pissing Off Music Bloggers (and Several Other Handy Tips for Artists).” I think it was a pretty good article and the feedback it received suggests that it was helpful to a lot of people. But there’s a lot to the process of music promotion — from a music blogger’s perspective, at least — that the article didn’t cover. Frankly I left out a number of particulars because I didn’t want to come off as too condemning, brash or caustic in my criticism of other people’s poor practices. Lord knows I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my own life…
Originally I had the idea to play off of Ben Stein’s tongue-in-cheek book about how to ensure that you stay as miserable as possible for the rest of your life, How to Ruin Your Life, but after I had scribbled down no fewer than a couple dozen issues I take with how people market music online, I momentarily gave up. (As it turns out, I’m no Ben Stein…) No matter how good it might feel to straight-up rip on other people who who are terrible at what they do, many who profit from being a nuisance under the guise of legitimate promotion, I realized that my personal emotions were getting the better of me and I was saying some things that I wasn’t entirely committed to in the spirit of “setting the record straight,” or whatever. It’s not my plan to be mean spirited here, and trust me: this is the toned-down version.
This week I’m hoping to have a few articles readied that will close out a chapter of whatever this website has become, each dealing with a different aspect of what this whole music blogging thing has come to entail. For the past six and a half years the daily process of being bombarded by people trying to push music on me has steadily become the most irritating aspect of the blogging process (something which practically every music blogger I’m friends with will attest to), and one that will sadly continue on long after I’ve given up on blogging. Much of listening to new music now has become a task no different than checking Facebook or Twitter: combing through band-spam isn’t nearly as rewarding a task as it might appear to the non-music blogger. Even so, I’m still hoping that this doesn’t translate as me spitting in the face of the very industry that helped me actually become a music blogger. Without emails from bands and the select few record label reps and marketing jockeys who I befriended in my first year as a blogger, I likely wouldn’t have continued on. Also, in reality, they come with the territory: I’ve been able to avoid having to have a real job for a few years because of this silly little blog and it’s kind of ridiculous that I’ve allowed this one small aspect of the process to wear on me. Sour grapes is all… Also, since 2005 I’ve had the good luck of learning a lot about the marketing process and the industry of music because of these interactions, and from time to time I was even introduced to some really, really good music that I would have otherwise never heard. But for every good email there are hundreds of duds that I’m confident exist in this world for no other purpose than to annoy me and waste my time. If you’re looking to gain some helpful insight into how avoid making some easy mistakes as you market your music online I’d suggest checking that first article out, but if you’re looking for a little bit more, here are a few of the major problems I take issue with these days, which are just a few of the many ways to fail at promoting music online.
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So, you’ve found an email address? Perhaps you traded contact lists with another artist, blindly harvested information from sites indexed by The Hype Machine or were passed down contact information an employee who previously had your job. One of the biggest mistakes you can make, however, is to assume that simply because you have an email address, that you should use it.
The quickest way to find yourself on the bad-side of an email recipient is to send them something that they have no interest in. Think about how you feel when you receive a “FWD: FWD: FWD: FWD: FWD: This will make your day!” email from a relative who you only interact with at Christmas time… now multiply that by about 100, and that’s what the average music blogger deals with on a daily basis. Only instead of receiving photos of adorable puppies and double-rainbows, they’re emails packed with puffed up bios, questionable mystery-attachments and music that usually isn’t worth a damn. Fact of the matter is that if you utilize that send-it-to-everyone-and-see-what-sticks method, you might not be asshole, but you’re kind of acting like one. What’s that you say, you like music? Then I’m sure you’ll be interested in this:
One of the problems with this is that even if you’re careful, considerate, and you do the legwork to find outlets that are appropriate for your music, you’re in the minority, and your email is likely to be clumped in with the daily wave of incoming spam. Unless you’ve already had successful communication with the recipient, there’s a good chance that whatever it is you’re sending to them will likely be greeted with as much excitement as a LinkedIn invitation.
Six years ago there weren’t that many people willing to send bloggers email, so of course it was easier to get noticed, but there were also fewer blogs out there to consider for your campaign. If you have 400 blogs in your radar, it’s easier to assess which are right for what it is that you’re trying to promote. When there are 4,000 this becomes damn-near impossible. Yet simply because other people make a habit of sending out blanket solicitations that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider your audience. Some will argue that they get the same number of replies and blog posts based on this method as they do when they take far more time and focus their aim. Don’t be mistaken though: successful spam-artists are still spam-artists.
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You’ve done it! You’ve trudged through every last blog indexed by The Hype Machine & Elbo.ws, you’ve collaborated with other artists & publicists, you’ve combed through blog directories until the dead of night, and you’ve finally gathered the ultimate physical & digital contact list. Now it’s as easy as BCC-ing them all on your next email blast and you’re off to the races. But what happens if contact information changes or the recipient simply does not want to be on your mailing list? You’re actively working address that, right?
Allow me to give you an example of what I’m talking about by publicly doing whoever is in charge of EMI’s mailouts a solid…
When I graduated from college in 2006 I moved back in with my parents while I worked to pay off my student loans. But as time went on I became more financially stable and moved out on my own, and during that time I also happened to transfer the blog to its own domain from a Blogspot. Yet here we are, over five years later and I STILL receive mail at my parents’ house, addressed to me from EMI, which even cites the old Blogspot URL (which I don’t even have own anymore, actually) on the address label. To make matters worse, the contents of these packages are typically promotional copies of albums (so my parents can’t even bring what they receive to a used record store) by such unappetizing artists as Dean Martin. So, not only has EMI failed to update their contact records in five years, but they’re targeting the wrong people with their mailings, and are ultimately paying postage (and the cost of a bubble mailer, someone to stuff envelopes, yada yada yada) to send glorified landfill fodder. And you wonder why major labels are dying?! Sure, it’s fun to pick on the big guys, but this is a problem that practically everyone promoting music is guilty of in some fashion.
Even if you don’t concern yourself with physical mailings (which you shouldn’t!) how often are you updating your contact information? Another example: Over its lifetime, including various contributor email addresses and the central contact account, there have been over a dozen email addresses associated with Culture Bully. Over time things changed though, and in part due to contributors coming and going around 10 email addresses have been deactivated. So as to not miss out in the event that a long-lost-love (they don’t exist) wants to get in touch with me (which will never happen) however, I have a “catch-all” set up so that anything@culturebully.com will be forwarded to the one single email address that I use. What happens when you don’t update your records? I receive upwards of a dozen emails from you every time you send a single email blast. This, to me at least, is as annoying as receiving an email twice, however, because both show that you don’t bother with account maintenance.
Additionally, if you don’t offer recipients a one-click method for unsubscribing from your emails, you’re potentially doing yourself some serious harm. Many senders will add a blurb explaining that if you no longer wish to receive such messages, you can email suchandsuch@whocares.whatever and will be removed. But what if the music blogger goes ahead and does that, and you can’t figure out what email address it is that they’re requesting you to remove because your contact list is 2000 addresses deep and you haven’t updated in three years? Countless times I’ve sent in removal requests only to get a response saying something like, “I’m sorry, but I can’t find your email address on my list.” Know why? In part because of that catch-all. And because you BCC’d your email, I can’t tell which of the dozen-plus expired email addresses you’re still using.
Further, it’s not a blogger’s responsibility to update your records for you. So please think twice before sending out “contact information update” requests, asking us to fill in our information for you (especially when everything you need is usually right there on our websites!). Between assuming interest and maintaining current contact info, this is where 99% of publicists and artists fail before recipients have even taken a moment to actually, you know, listen to a single second of music.
(Also, I’m not kidding about the single-click opt-out button. Here’s why it’s probably more vital than you think it is: Because companies like Google offer a single-click opt-out button of their own which is called the spam button. Think I’m kidding? You’d be surprised how many bloggers use it to help ensure that unwanted emails sent from strangers don’t become a nuisance.)
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Of all the how-to-market-to-bloggers tutorials I’ve read over the years, one of the most consistent inclusions is some sort of mention of how you should “personalize” emails so that they leave a better impression on the recipient. Every last one of these tutorials is correct: you should personalize emails. However, this doesn’t mean slipping the email recipient’s name into a template that you’re sending to hundreds of people. It means actually personalizing emails.
Anyone can add a name to a subject line or email body, and if you think that you’re on top of things by differentiating yourself as such: how poorly, poorly mistaken you are. Not only are email programs capable of doing this for people now, but if you are entering information yourself, it’s only going to be a matter of time before you screw up and call someone the wrong name, address the wrong blog in the body, or pull-off some other easily avoidable copy & paste boner. (I’ve done it myself when emailing five family members, imagine how prone to mistakes this method is when emailing hundreds of blogs with thousands of contributors…)
During this past spring’s blogger survey, when I was asking for general feedback, I received this message from Tiana Feng of Ride the Tempo: “Generally, if you spelt my name wrong in an e-mail it would automatically end up in junk.” Can you imagine how many emails Tiana gets for Tina? But people get this wrong EVERY DAY with simple things, like, y’know: blog names. If you’re emailing XXX@culturebully.com, how much sense does it make to address the recipient as Analog Giant, let alone Culture Buddy? Aside from suggesting that we now have some sort of implied friendship, you’ve just shown how little the email means to you. But that’s not even the worst part of this “personalized email” fallacy.
I don’t read many music-related emails, but if I had to guess how many mistake “personalize” for “pander” I’d have to put it at somewhere around 25%. “I’m a big fan of the site.” “Such a great blog!” “I read it every day.” (All of which still introduce mass-mailings sent to dozens if not hundreds of recipients.) Numerous times I’ve talked to other bloggers about this and the conclusion that we’ve all come to is that if even half of the people who say they loved our blogs even visited them, our traffic/Twitter follower/Facebook Like statistics would be through the roof. Yes, it takes a long time to actually send individual emails to individual people, but before you mock the idea of doing so, consider what you’re asking for in return. How long do you think it might take someone to listen to one of your songs, let alone an EP or full-length album. From there, how long might it take them to email you back to get updates on what you’re currently working on (tour info, new material, etc.)? Then there’s the actual process of posting something on their blog. This could be as simple as slapping a music video online (which takes, what, a minute?), or as detailed as writing an artist profile or album review. Granted, this is a fairly rare occurrence, but sometimes it takes days (not 24/7, obviously, but…) to compile information, allow sounds to simmer, and create something worthwhile to put online. And you can’t be bothered to get Tiana’s name correct when entering it into your copy & paste email template?
In this situation “personalized” means giving a damn. After all, that’s what you’re asking us to do, isn’t it?
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This one’s fairly quick and to the point: If a music blogger/journalist/whatever takes the time to write something worthwhile about your music (let’s say an article about a music video that you’ve just released on YouTube), then why not direct readers to the article rather than directly to the YouTube page? You still get your YouTube view, plus you’re showing a bit of goodwill in the process. The same could be said for occasions when articles include links to your tracks via Bandcamp or Soundcloud embeds: If the very assets you’re trying to promote are every bit as visible and functional on an article that someone devoted time to creating, why not direct your fans to their page instead of the Bandcamp or Soundcloud bases? Doing so might seem basic, but you wouldn’t believe how many artists/publicists miss these opportunities to promote their own work. If you want to build lasting relationships, show that you care about the time people are spending on putting your name out there. It literally costs you seconds and there’s so much that can be gained from it.
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As amusing as the above tweet might be, I cannot stress enough how important its message is. These words come from Wil Loesel, who began his “media career in 2000 with SFX/Clear Channel Entertainment as a client liaison” and now runs the Culture VI Experience blog. This remains one of my favorite tweets because of its direct contradiction to what countless workshops, publicists and music marketing 2.0 websites will tell you. And it’s true.
A recent interview between Billboard’s Ian Rogers and Marc Geiger (former ARTISTdirect CEO, current William Morris Endeavor agent, and one of the “true bridges between the old and new music businesses”) constructed a rather familiar scene for anyone who’s followed the business of online music marketing over the past decade by suggesting that a single blog can still break a band. The single blog in reference is, of course, Pitchfork, and due to the website’s “global distribution” (opposed to print’s regional reach) Geiger explained how Pitchfork is able to cause “potent” word of mouth to spread about an act when they dish out a positive review (he also suggested that the whole of TV on the Radio’s success can be attributed to an “eight-point-something” review, for what it’s worth). For a more recent example Geiger explained how a single glowing review of a free download on the site has led to the Weeknd’s Abel Tesfaye becoming so in demand that he now garners upward of $25,000 for a live performance. Nice as that may be however, it paints a rather false picture of just how much the music blogosphere — even its “major players” — might have on your act.
Brandon Griffiths, founder of music blog aggregator Elbo.ws, explained to me this past spring that his site monitors around 4,000 music blogs. That’s the number of music blogs that the site indexes, but by my estimation there have to be at least 10,000 around the world. Even that figure might be a little light. Add to that however many “legitimate” magazines and newspaper sections are focused on music, and think of whatever the total number of people around the world there are who are contributing to these outlets… what we’re left with is a lot of potential “tastemakers.” But of them, how many have truly supportive and engaged audiences to a degree that the outlet could single-handedly help elevate the profile of an artist or band given a positive review? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? How many outlets the likes of Culture Bully (in 2010 56.04% of traffic was generated by search engines, with 89.52% being new visitors… which is to say that the Real Reach is quite a bit smaller than any perceived reach) would it take, when combined together, to create the same level of buzz about your music? One hundred? Two hundred? Five hundred?
In a perfect world, even if all you do is spam recipients with the exact same un-personalized message, let’s say that the return rate (where you’re simply given a reply) from sending emails to music bloggers is somewhere from 1-3%. That means you could end up having to send out thousands of emails for any given campaign to gain a sliver of the online-coverage you’re seeking. Sure you could land a Pitchfork profile, or have an mp3 end up somewhere high on The Hype Machine’s daily popular songs chart, and hope that either causes a trickle down effect which leads dozens and dozens of other websites to post about your music, but both scenarios are relatively unlikely.
In the end though, what happens if you do miraculously get 200 blogs to talk about your music? That could mean a couple more iTunes/Bandcamp/Amazon sales, it might help swing a bit of weight in your favor when it comes to landing gigs at reputable venues, or it could even push you to landing some coverage from a major outlet, all of which would technically help push your career to the Next Level. But you have to decide how much time and effort you’re willing to spend on these what-ifs. As a musician, every minute you’re spending pushing your music to hot-and-cold bloggers, or journalists or whatever you’d like to call people who rap about music online, is one less minute you’re actually playing music. It’s one less minute that you’re actually performing, or one less minute that you’re on the phone with a promoter trying to set up your next show. Yes, you can get a publicist or a manager to handle your online “strategy,” but then you’re going deeper and deeper into your own pocket to pay to pay a premium for a process that has a laughable success rate regardless of who does the job.
Online marketing is valuable. But the point here is to underline the importance of not letting others (the Weeknd’s success, for example) influence you into thinking that it’s the only way to go: you too could demand $25,000 a show if picked up by Pitchfork; you need a publicist because if you’re not marketing online, you’re bound to fail! Ultimately you have to think to yourself, where exactly IS the money coming from (rapper)?
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If you’ve read this far it’s my hope that you were able to pick up on just how much these issues have to do with personal preference and circumstance, and that they might not be issues that arise with the majority of music-heads you deal with. Having said that, you never know… if someone had a bad weekend, who knows whether they’ll be interested in opening your email on Monday. You can’t plan for these inconsistencies. And even if you do all the right things and someone still doesn’t show interest, it could be because they’re simply overwhelmed that day or that they think your music sucks: it’s impossible to know which and I don’t know how to solve that. But what I can say is that, for me personally, the issues mentioned here really do go a long way in influencing whether or not I give you my time. There are so many factors that can affect how successful you are on any given day… Write an email that’s too long? I won’t read it. Email me twice by mistake? I won’t read it. Use an introductory line that rubs me the wrong way (What’s good with you guy-bro)? I won’t read it. When it comes right down to it, most of the time email marketing a crapshoot.
There is no Right Way of doing things, and I would hate to be in your position, either as an artist or publicist having to push music for a living, which is why I’m sorry if I’ve come off as too snarky here (again, sour grapes on my part). It’s difficult to get your name out there, and it’s only getting tougher to do with each day that passes. Truthfully, a bit of the above is questionable advice, but it still speaks to an important idea (I’m talking to artists here): Do not stop educating yourself. Of the tens of thousands of artists trying to push their music online every day, those who continue to identify new ways that they can do things better are those who are likelier to succeed. How many boneheaded “how-tos” are there like this very article identifying ways to market music in the digital era? Hundreds, if not thousands. And how many of them are weighed down by abstract ideas like “write a great subject line” or “watch your tone”? Plenty. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t seek the advice, just be mindful of what advice is worth taking. How many times have you seen mediocre acts land a big spot on a bunch of random blogs (hell, this blog!) and thought to yourself that you are waaaaay better than them at what you do? Then again, maybe they did something you didn’t. It’s really a matter of what you take away from seeing others succeed and how you filter the advice of others. Whatever you do, never forget: If you think you’re doing everything the Right Way and are unwilling to modify your game plan, it won’t be long before you’ll become as irrelevant as a band who still uses 30 second Real Player clips on their Angelfire website to promote their music. Good luck.
Elsewhere – How to Fail at (Music) Blogging
Haha, love the article and thanks for the mention! It’s amazing how many people get my name wrong (despite it being a part of my e-mail address). <3
I don't mind the "Hey I love your blog "insert blog name here*" e-mails as long as they show that they actually read your blog. The majority of the time, they have not read the blog (especially if they decided to send a video of something non-we don't post many canadian), because we don't post many non-Canadian songs, let alone videos.
Another point in online music promotion I hate is when I am following a band and all they do is Retweet people praising them. I don't need to know you are awesome if I'm already following you, I'm following you because you are awesome. This doesn't do anything except push away people who already follow you. I think you could probably write another article on Social Media alone hahaha.
where can i find the blog of tiana?
Every music wannabe blogger needs to read this! Right on the money
Thanks for writing this. It’s invaluable to hear the perspective of the bloggers we’re trying to reach!
Appreciate you taking the time to read it!
This is a great follow up to the first article. I’ve experienced ‘blog appreciation’ and I’ve done so just by contacting blogs I truly like and emailing with a common sense email. I agree that it It doesn’t hurt to attach a track or two instead of asking the blogger to listen through your entire EP or LP online. *Cheers* – Boyscout Discovery
Chris…my God…dope article. Unfortunately most people who make music aren’t smart enough to read this article and think about how a bloggers life is affected by thousands of mediocre artists and bands with millions of emails and a couple hundred fans…thank you for this article..I love getting the perspective of the other side..once again DOPE ARTICLE!!!
It’s truly a dope article, but I don’t think we can’t fully blame the mediocre artist because sometimes they totally relay on the manager or the promoter.
Really enjoyed reading your thoughts. I’m a publicist and I didn’t find it “snarky” at all. I think with the blog revolution many people thought they could scrape emails and become a PR rep. They read a few articles about reaching out personally and wham-o they are a professionals.
Bands can usually spot these people by their one shot template personal emails.
Just to further this statement “Geiger explained how Pitchfork is able to cause “potent” word of mouth to spread”
It’s important for any bands reading this to know, If a band is working with these people – WME, Ian Rogers etc.. they have talent, excellent branding (artwork), superior knowledge of social strategy, industry relationships most people with trade a limb for and most importantly (again) talent.
Pitchfork being one tiny slice of the pie.
It’s been my observation that there are 3 motivators for blogging music.
Passion included in all 3 but one is pure passion.
Advertising dollars
Local Notoriety
More than not sending the wrong type of music to a blog.. Know your bloggers motivator.
IS your content going to drive traffic? If not, consider not sending to a financially motivated blogger you have no relationship with. Otherwise, you risk burning the bridge.
Perhaps consider advertising on this platform if it’s that important to you. If it’s not important enough for you to invest your dollars, don’t expect them to invest their web space or time.
Local Notoriety- Nicky Digital is a good example, he really focuses on NYC. Maybe don’t only focus on what genre he posts, but don’t bother this type of blogger with music not relevant to his scene. Unless you’re going to be in his city, or your music is phenomenal. (like mind blowing good) Even then, consider waiting until you’re in a local bloggers city.
Passion- obvious. They just love music, some will post anything, some have incredible taste.
Building a press spreadsheet is the easiest thing to do in the music industry. A monkey can do it.
Don’t pay a publicist for something you can do yourself.
Being personable with anyone doesn’t mean giving a one shot bs compliment in the hopes of getting something in return.
It really means know where they live, what they like and if you have something in common. Reach out when you’re in their city.. Not just inviting them to a show, but find out from them where the cool spots are in their city.
Hook them up with tickets to a show you wont be at simply because you know they’ll enjoy it.
The most pleasurable part of my job is knowing that I can go anywhere in the world and have very cool people show me around, solely because of the relationships I have forged with my peers that love music.
If you are going to work with a publicist, ask a blogger which one they recommend.
Once you have that information, ask the PR person for references, then actually check them.
Don’t blast your music to all your resources (social media, mailing lists, FANS) then expect a blogger to be excited about posting it.
I see it all the time. If you do that, you no longer have the ability to drive new readers to their site. You don’t like working for free, don’t expect others to do it on your behalf.
Blogs and press is only one slice of the pie of success in the music industry.
Forge real relationships with people. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Be creative and thoughtful, invest in yourself twice as much as you expect others to invest in you. If you really are talented and have something special to offer it’ll all work out.
If not, that may be why no one posts your music!
Excellent comments Melissa – thank you for sharing!
On a side note: Passion vs. Advertising Dollars vs. Local Notoriety… speaking to all of this in the coming days on the blog here.
Hello Chris, Thank you for this. I keep a website up for DIY artists with a section on industry links for artists wanting to contact some respected referrals. In reference to Melissa’s comment — “If you are going to work with a publicist, ask a blogger which one they recommend. Once you have that information, ask the PR person for references, then actually check them.” — who would you recommend on the Marketing side of music, people who contact you personally and have earned your respect?
This was a great article by the way and would like your permission to repost a synopsis of this article on my website with a link to your blog. Feel free to email me privately as well with any marketing/PR agents/company referrals that you recommend, I will keep it annonymous.
Many thanks!
I am an artist, I do a terrestrial radioshow and from time to time I write for various music blogs. I understand both sides of the coin in terms of there needing to be some kind of decorum when approaching music bloggers and artists wanting to submit their music. I think that rather than just deleting someone who sends a blind submission, you should send them a response explaining to them proper protocol.
A lot of these artists don’t know any better and are only trying to get their music heard. You are not helping them by just deleting their submissions because in most cases they will continue to send you material and label you an asshole when they never hear anything back from you. A brief paragraph stating how you prefer to handle correspondence wont hurt and artists respect the fact that you took enough time to respond to them. At least it’s what I try to do.
Great article though.
Honestly – I think it’s a good idea, you think it’s a good idea… but it hasn’t worked in my history. Off an on over the years I’ve made an attempt to do just what you’re suggesting so that it doesn’t appear as though I’m blowing people off. I would send replies saying something to the effect of “thanks for thinking of me but the music isn’t what I’m into.” More times than not this was the end of the conversation (not necessarily the last time I heard from the people again though… because they failed to update their mailing lists) but from time to time I would get negative, name-calling, petty emails in reply. Some people are just shitheads, plain and simple… but they ruined the idea for me. Maybe it’ll work better for someone else in a similar position. (That, and I simply don’t have the time or interest to reply to a hundred emails a day, especially when nearly all of them are people who I never want to hear from again.)
I agree with Chris, as a music blogger, it’s really hard to reply to EVERY single e-mail on why we do or do not post, or the proper protocol to sending an e-mail. We get hundreds a day. Sometimes it gets to a point where you have to pick and choose what you want to read and if you’re part of a mass it really makes me rethink what artists I want to choose to listen to with such little time to listen to it all. I used to reply to everything, but it got to a point of negative name calling and just too much bad e-mails that I gave up on it too.
powerfully accurate, hilariously funny with great info.
you did forget, however, spamming people on twitter with random music links.
that shit will get you shot; please believe it.
Thanks Ericka!
I have a podcast that only features female artists or female led bands. Basically, I require female vocals. On the front page of my website, I have that I only feature female vocalists, all the pictures associated with the show on the website and on facebook are only women and basically, the reason I started doing the show 6 years ago was because no one was featuring women. It was all about boys. When a male artist sends some some stupid email about how they love my blog and can I consider them, I get kind of pissed. It’s been 6 years of this and it’s getting really old. If you love my blog, you would know that I don’t feature boys. I usually tell them “sorry, I don’t feature boys” and I’ve actually had male artists write me back and say things like “but, my music transcends gender because of the message”. Please don’t insult me. I mean seriously.
Something else artists do if just blindly send me tracks. No message, no nothing. Just a link to a file in an email from a person I don’t know which will never get clicked on.
You mention that artists should forge real relationships over time and I could not agree more. There are a handful of artists that I have developed real authentic relationships with. Some are just facebook friends and some I talk to on the phone and hang out with when we’re in the same city. And guess what, I will play anything they put out no questions asked. I will help them with whatever project they have, all because they aren’t fake. Authenticity goes a long way.
That’s a big one Heather. Most of the friendships with artists have come out of them willing to be supportive. One of the oldest examples was the singer from a band who put a quote from a review up on their website/one-sheet back in 2006… that went a long way. Then we did what I believe to be a really interesting interview. Later he sent over a song that he’d been sitting on for a while with the interest of putting it up solely on the blog. We’re still in touch… yes, this is rare as hell, but it’s not impossible. When it’s clear to me that I’m not the only one making an effort it’s exactly like you’re saying: I’ll back them for as long as I can. Instead most seem to be ready to go onto the next before they’re even done with me.
This is pretty awesome, and something any artist trying to self-promote on the internet needs to read before making an ass of themselves.
Great article. It’s good for companies like us to get an insider perspective on how music bloggers think. We represent a lot of homegrown Canadian talent and our lesser known artist would definitely appreciate these tips, as they don’t quite have a “name” yet.
I really enjoyed this article. It had some great insight and very helpful tips for artists, without being crass or obnoxious. Just because bands are sending you music, doesn’t give you the right to make them feel bad for not following the “rules.” I hope bands get the opportunity to read this and actually take your advice to heart. It can make a huge difference.
The only thing I would have to disagree on, is the name thing. My name is Andriana, not Adriana, Andrianna, or Andreana. If I ignored every person that got my name wrong, I would one, have no friends, and two, be a hypocrite, because I know for a fact I have sent an email or two with someone’s name spelled wrong by mistake. Ain’t no thang. Now sending me shitty country, in six separate emails in a row, yeah I’m probably not going to get back to you.
Thanks for droppin’ the knowledge!
Amazing article that should be thrust under the noses of any would be publicist or band. I understand the plight from both sides of the fence, but as a publicist I think it’s important to be a human being on the other side of a email. Yes it’s very likely that you will end up retyping parts of emails ( it doesn’t hurt to copy and paste *some* content ) but you need to know who you are emailing, what they are writing about and if they cover the type of feature/content.
Blind emailing makes PRs look like a bunch of idiots and I don’t work hard to be lumped in with these people!
Chris
I disagree about your point on the effectiveness of artists promoting themselves to blogs.
I recommend it to artists but with significant caveats, most of which line up with your points.
I’ve been on both sides of the fence as a blogger, and a manager and someone looking for PR for my artists.
In my experience the modern online marketing of music can be enhanced by intelligent promotion to music blogs.
But, the key is to have great music!
The problem you and every other blogger has is that 99% of what you are sent is crap. People don’t tell these ‘artists’ that they are not ‘good enough’ and that they need to spend time perfecting their art before spamming every blog known to man looking for a break.
When their music is worth a moment of someone’s attention and then a positive emotional response, they will find it easy to attract online attention.
This can and should be done in a systematic way with targeted blog promotion being one strand.
I encourage artists who do have material that is ready for wider attention to start with lower traffic blogs and ones that are not just about music (local sites, what’s on, demographically related – e.g. skate sites if you make skater music).
DO personalize as you said.
But, often, don’t email at all. Just read the blog, leave comments and be part of the community around that blog.
Every blogger I know reads their comments and so notices those from an artist and checks out their site (if they’ve linked it in the comment). If the music is good, often a blogger then approaches the artists and offers to cover them.
Do you have this experience?
Why focus on low traffic blogs? – because it’s all incremental.
For the DIY musician the journey to sustainability of a career or superstardom (whichever is their aim) is about a growing process done in public which attracts fans over time.
To target high traffic ‘name’ blogs with your first EP is to welcome rejection and feelings of failure.
Start small and leverage your presence on a raft of smaller niche blogs over the time that you and your career develop.
This is a strategy that does work and is a very good reason why artists should bother to spend time cultivating a select band of blogs who may form a supportive base for the next step in their efforts.
How many? I’d look at any stage of an artist’s career to be interacting on 100 or so tightly focused blogs (i.e. that are musically, genre and demographic appropriate). Some might think that’s hard to do in terms of time or too much.
But, if you’re a musician and in a scene, shouldn’t you want to be involved in it, online and offline? I don’t see why people would see contributing to their scene and getting promotion from it and within it as a chore.
Done right, reaching out to blogs works for musicians.
Thanks for reading and for the detailed reply Ian.
“The problem you and every other blogger has is that 99% of what you are sent is crap. People don’t tell these ‘artists’ that they are not ‘good enough’ and that they need to spend time perfecting their art before spamming every blog known to man looking for a break.”
I’m going to borrow something out of context from a post I wrote yesterday: “There’s a documentary that I’d recommend people checking out called PressPausePlay that focuses on the democratization of art in the digital era. In it Pitchfork’s Amy Phillips touches on the idea that just because you can make music does not mean that you’re entitled to a fan base.” There are so many issues with this, relative to what you’re saying, that it’s hard to even know where to start.
Our culture has shifted dramatically toward one that not only pushes for an increased sense self-esteem, but the idea that we’re all entitled to feel like we’re special and what we do is special. This is as true as it is with blogs as it is with music, and this blog has been anything but exceptional throughout the years, but many musicians have transferred this to their “art.”
This post led to an email conversation I had with someone who left me with a great comment based on an experience he had, “i have a friend who is a musician, who last week took to facebook railing about how he didn’t get paid for a gig, and how artists ‘have a right to be paid for what they do’, and how ‘venues today are so corporate, and all about money’. i inquired about the show. there were 8 paid at the door.” Just because you can make sounds or you took time to write lyrics doesn’t mean that they’re worth anything, and most certainly it doesn’t mean that you’re owed anything because of it.
“But, often, don’t email at all. Just read the blog, leave comments and be part of the community around that blog… Do you have this experience?”
This is a tricky one… If you, as a musician, want to leave comments on a blog – be careful about the impression you might leave if/when you do reach out to whoever’s behind the blog. If you’ve left two comments out of the blue, have struck up a little conversation, then followed with a promo email referencing the comments & you don’t hear back… the tendency is for the comments to stop. It’s hard to tell what people’s motivations are. It’s nice to get comments and certainly it plays to the ego of the blogger but depending on who you’re dealing with, it could be seen as attempting to capitalize on a placing comment that might not have ever been put there without the ulterior motivation in mind. If there’s interest in building though, persistence is key.
Hell, it’s key with everything, isn’t it?
Thanks Chris.
I see it as part of what we do to be one of the few people who stop musicians and tell them honestly that their ‘art’ isn’t up to it, when it isn’t. This can save years of fruitless effort.
It doesn’t mean that they can’t keep trying or try to improve – perhaps they should. In som cases they should go back to McDonalds and forget it.
I’ve been in the mainstream music industry for 20 years and most record company people just won’t tell people if they’re shit, for fear that a) they might be wrong as they don’t often actually have their own opinion and b) the person might ‘make it’ one day and forever hold a grudge.
I think it’s critical that everyone be allowed (encouraged even) to express themselves through their own art but it’s just as importnat that someone give them unbiased appraisal.
As for the stuff about commenting – it has to be real and you have to be involved in the blog in question. As you say, 2 short comments and then a pitch reeks of all the wrong intentions.
Then again, if you’re great, have just built a new site and posted some ace new songs and you leave a comment or two on the right selection of blogs, the bloggers will come to you. Fact!
Hi Chris,
I agree with Ian’s point above.
Bob Lefsetz recently said; “Music is marketing”. Some musicians spend more time whining on forums and bemoaning the state of things than putting the hours in.
I agree with you on the sense of entitlement many musicians feel. It reeks of superiority, and also shows their true colours. Devotion to creating great art is essential, however long it takes. Anything less is a cop out, and a an early exit.
My attitude is simple. I am repaying a lifelong debt to music. The world owes me nothing.
Thank you for your candid article. I will take all of this into account in future.
Conor
I love your attitude Conor – it will take you far!
Chris,
Great article!!! And I must admit that I originally saw the link to it from Ian Clifford’s space on the ‘Make It In Music’ Posterous Daily.
I am glad that someone was actually brave enough to address the situation. I have no email contact info on my digital publication site and prefer it that way, because of the crap that gets spammed all of the time, without consideration for the writers/editors of blogs.
Since then, some of the issues that I have come across are musicians who I follow on Twitter will send me a Direct Message to check out their music, but don’t follow me back so that I can respond to them directly. Heaven forbid I put a negative @reply to them in the timeline, then they are upset with you for tarnishing their brand.
Point being, learn some social media etiquette, when pitching your music, as well.
On the note of reciprocating support for the blogs that have taken the time to write about you. Please take the time to put proper links for the bloggers/publication’s website. It would be such a shame to get a great write-up, then send a newsletter out to your fans about it, but when they click the link, it goes to GodKnowsWhere.com
My last rant is about asking a blogger/writer/editor to “LIKE” your Facebook Fan page, “Follow” you on Twitter, “Become A Fan” on reverbNation, or “Vote” for you on such and such competition site, before asking them to at least take a listen to the music.
ex. “Check out our music (genre and/or short description) at whatever link and if you enjoy, please don’t forget to “LIKE”, “Follow”, “Fan”, “Vote”, etc…”
Oh, Oh I know what got left out of this article. The “enter your e-mail before you can download my song” thing. If you e-mailed me first, you already have my e-mail.
Haha – yeah, that’s frustrating. When you’re sent an email to promote a song which includes a link to a website that requests you to enter your email address so you can be sent a download link.
Great article, always looking for useful information on music promotion… I already enlist some of the suggestions in your post, like personalized emails (I never BCC, I always send individual emails) and reciprocation (after I get a post I always link to it via twitter, Facebook, etc.)… Basically just being polite can get you big rewards; I’ve gotten comfortable with a few bloggers, some have even given me different email addresses to contact them (rather than the one published on their blog).
Musicians keep grinding, good music is only part of it, the other part is hard work!
A very very insightful article, its good to know the “other” side as well. Thank you Chris
The most intelligent article I’ve read in a while – and yes, it does bridge the ‘two sides’ together very nicely. This is the type of discourse that should happen more, after all, this should not be a war about who can get to whom – it should be a dynamic dialogue. OK that sounded trite, but I do mean it. The article doesn’t leave one think in delusion: “NOW I’m going to go and do this right;” it just incites self-check and awareness.
That’s a great article for real. I run a blog but I’m learning more and more everyday how to reach out to other blogs. LOL I think I’ve been guilty of calling Tiana “Tina” before in an email. I’m VERY sorry about, I know how it feel for real!
Great article Chris. Can’t stop reading actually.
Now I’m frightened to send you my email!
Great article!! Thanks for the valuable info!!
When blogs say in their contact form, email here with an mp3 link and a short bio…are we to assume that they actually dont want us to do that??… This writeup is confusing and a bit archaic in its main points. In today’s age a strong (balanced) online profile is just as important as performing live and it is easily the best way to not only build a fanbase but a much quicker, easier way to connect with that fanbase. It is also much cheaper and more realistic than touring for bands still not able to command worthwhile fees for performances. Especially for hip-hop acts who, in general, have a much harder time breaking that threshold where touring becomes profitable, grinding online is almost the only way to build that fanbase in the beginning stages of a career. Additionally, once you have built a strong profile performing live in your home city, bands can risk “over-exposing” in their home market, at this point as well, finding new fans and keeping current fans interested and engaged is completely dependent on an intense online hustle. Nothing beats pounding the pavement but being a “nuisance” and “spamming” MUSIC BLOGS who have, I’m sorry, signed up for the harassment, is definitely a good way to get new fans and expose new people to your music.
T
Welp. Got gypped out of $200 after hiring a fake PR company to promote an album. Thought I’d do it myself. Yours is the fifth music blog I went to send an unsolicited, vaguely personal email. Read both articles. Face-palmed immediately after thinking about the first four.
I don’t think my music would fit your blog. Won’t bother you (or waste my own time) with any more information. Thanks for the lengthy and clearly sound advice. All duly noted.
Note: there are no “copy & paste boners” present in the above.
Dig the information Chris. As an up and coming musician I think these notes will prevent me from making costly mistakes with connections I build. Thanks for taking the time to write it all out.
Oh, and I don’t think it came of as snarky at all. Better for us all to learn from posts like this than learn the hard way and burn any bridges along the way
I think it’s not a musicians problem. Bloggers haven’t realized yet what role they play on this new music industry. People (musicians and readers) want them to act as filters, some play to listen good music without having to go through endless crappy bands. Otherwise, people would just go to spotify, bandcamp or whatever and they would randomly an artist the genre they like. And basically, what you are complaining is having to listen to lots of awful music. How are you going to act as a filter if you don’t? I know it’s not what you were dreaming when you started this, but is part of what you are. Do you think ANY musician likes to send endless mails for promotion, press releases, show dates….? I can assure you they would all rather be in the rehearsal room. I understand the fact that you are tired of bulk e-mails, but honestly, how many personalized e-mails can a band send and still play music? I think you haven’t thought all the tasks an independent musician has to do nowadays to have a little promotion. It’s not just writing music, having rehearsals gigs, soundchecks, loading and unloading, work on press releases, going through endless and changing social networks, replying to fans messages, talking to promoters before shows, talking again to promoters two after a show you haven’t get paid for, contacting magazines or blogs to INVITE them to your shows, going to radio stations to do interviews, learning sound engineering because half of the venues don’t have a soundman and the ones who do usually are not the best ones on earth, and countless more. It’s also sending e-mails to festivals, e-mails to venues, e-mails to promoters, e-mails to magazines, e-mails to record labels, e-mails to radio station, e-mails to blogs… Do you really think we all like to do this? Seriously? I’m one of those who does his own reseach, I’ve read at least something of all the blogs I’m sending messages, so I know that my music iS not going to be out of place. I’ve never received a mailing list from another band or magically found your e-mail. I even read your whole post about how the musicians fail at promoting.I always try to please everyone with my e-mails, but I don’t have the time (no one has) to send personalized e-mails to everyone I have to. I thought you should know how unfair your words are. You are making a living of this, something which many GREAT bands cannot say. So I think you should be more respectful for those who are working to give you something to write about(and this goes to all the bloggers who are aggressively complaining about musicians e-mails) I know you don’t like to receive countless cd’s, videos etc. But that’s part of your job, as it is of everyone involved in the music industry (radios, magazines, record labels…) You can’t expect it to be all funny. Lately everyone wants the bands to do all the job but still have the benefits, please bloggers, don’t be a part of that. And about everyone wanting their five minutes of fame despite of the bad quality of the music, believe me, it’s musicians who get the worst part because it makes everthing a hundred times harder, from drawing press attention to get a decent paid show (because there’s always someone who would do it for free) so don’t blame it on us.
And I know this was intended as advice for musicians, and I’m grateful for that but I’ve spent days going through blogsreading all this advices and they sound more like “we are tired of you”, which is why I’m so upset.
This was some invaluable info, i have been a musician for many years & have had a fair amount of success back & forth. Now that im doin things on a more indy level i.e. getting off my arse and not relying on other people to do it for me. i realize how difficult this industry really is, especially in these 5th dimensional time’s.
If i’m being honest this is the first blog i have ever read, sad but true(Technosauris of sorts) i have only ever used computer’s to make music and it is only now that i fully appreciate how much of a climb i have ahead of me.
I have a new found respect for people like yourself & i promise to take the time to give you & your peers the respect you deserve.
Thanks for opening my eyes!!
Ewan
Thanks for taking the time to write this post! It really is helpful. I’m a musician, and I certainly am guilty of committing a few of these “sins” in the past myself XD.
This was an extremely helpful post, great work mate!
I’m just about to begin my quest for blogging supremacy and im glad i read this article before i inevitably made ALL of these mistakes.
Thanks !
Great read! Just going through this process myself, putting together our first press release thingy for a new band I’m in. Last thing any of us want to do is piss people off… I’d like to think that a lot of these points may be considered common sense, but common sense ‘aint so common sometimes. Its an incredibly long process doing research on all of the blogs out there, what are they about? What sort of music do they review? …and I keep finding more and more communities everyday… When you’re completely DIY the process can consume your life. I don’t think I’ve seen or spoken with anyone except my band mates in the last two weeks. lol. I guess this is why bands pay for PR and management because it sure takes a lot of time away from the actual process of making music… Its a real left side/right side of the brain tug of war. I’m sure we’ll make some mistakes, success isn’t a straight line, but I do feel a lot better about this after reading your article!
D
Here there is another tip: get on college or independent radio stations. They are always willing to have artist live on air. The audiences are not really big but sometimes you can find there people much worthier for your interests. Furthermore now with internet tools such as RadioFlag they are expanding and becoming social. There are even independent record labels streaming music there.
Chris,
I find your attitude offensive. You owe your blogs success to musicians and music lovers. Your job is to connect the two. You should value every submission wether its personalized, misspelled, forwarded or other, because it means that your blog is valued. I can understand if you aren’t able to read each email, but your article discourages correspondence. I think your expression in the photo above is disrespectful to the artistic community that you depend on.
this was very help full….
Hey Chris:
Or should I say bro-guy.
This line made me laugh out loud for a while:
What’s that you say, you like music? Then I’m sure you’ll be interested in this:
I’ve been reading a lot of these how-to articles from bloggers lately for my own education.
One thing that no blogger, publicist or industry exec mentions is that for any music to really make an impact on popular blogs like yours or get ranked on We Are Hunted or make the front page of Hype Machine, etc., is that it has to have an indie-aesthetic. There has to be a certain look to the artist and a certain sound. I think the better known bloggers should address that in any of their commentary about what annoys them. If you look and sound like St. Vincent, we’ll probably love it. If you’re more of a Susan Boyle type, don’t bother.
I don’t think I’m generalizing here. Blogs are the KCRWs of the internet, not the Clear Channels.
What are you thoughts on this?
Great info, I have a clearer insight into “What Not To Do” when submitting projects..I think people are bogged down and are looking for a quicker and faster way…but in life there are no short cuts.
This article really shined a light on what I was doing wrong…When I first released my first EP “$ay La V”, in May, I suffered from that “let’s-write-a-generic-email-to-a-hundred-bloggers-and-hope-for-the-best” sryndrome…Lo and behold, I got replies from maybe 3-4 blogs…I was truthfully deterred and reconsidered my career choice…Could my work have been that bad that I got rejected from all these different blogs? After having multiple conversations with booking agents and such…I realized that there are only two scenarios to why we didn’t get what we wanted…In the first scenario, the writer we sent the music simply didn’t like our music…and they have all the right to form that opinion…The second scenario was that, we failed at differentiation from the crowd by making the above mistakes…so simply put, the writer never even listened to our music…With this understanding I have rethought of my approach and plan on really taking the time to earn the writers respect by showing that i honestly care about their work…Going as far as bringing value to them…I’ve learned the importance of this from booking the shows and earning the trust of the agents…We are all humans and I feel we should always give if we want to receive.
- Well$
This was very enjoyable to read. Educational too. My mistake may be from the polar opposite side. Every email I send comes directly from me, I don’t use a template. I do however present the music perhaps too timidly, with the understanding that these folks get hammered with music everyday; why on earth should they bother hearing my work? If I don’t give them some reason to listen to the songs in my email, they’re certainly not going to waste time drawing their own conclusions. Perhaps it’s just as dangerous to assume disinterest and that you might disturb a busy man-eating angry monster blogger. Perhaps there’s a middle ground to be found between my super slow, relational, non-confrontational style and spam blasting everyone with even the slightest connection to local music.
-Steve
This was well written, expresses a lot of the frustration I feel when artists don’t take the time to put forth some etiquette. Most scrape emails and send them without actually finding out the proper way to submit music. I will definitely highlight this post in a future post of my own.
Typical person outside of artists who thinks they’re more important than the music makers. As long as artists Kowtow to these sniveling little shits we’ll be forced to have sloppy seconds. Don’t forget bloggers without us you’re nothing!
The best piece of information in this article is the idea that there is no Right Way. The pond is getting smaller and the fish are getting hungrier. That’s the truth-most of the music being released is not worth your attention. The problem is that most indie artists have NO PERSPECTIVE on that. Either they don’t follow current releases or attend enough live shows or festivals to witness the level of artistry out there OR they are just full of themselves.
This is humbling advice that has the potential to devastate or elevate-I think I’m going to keep thinking!
I just came across this today, ironically while searching for new blogs to add to my press list! I’ve been on both ends of this; the publicist and the media outlet. I’d hate to think I’m as finicky as all this but it really is true. The truth is that it really is a crapshoot. I would hope that outlets and bloggers realize that publicity takes a lot of work and people make mistakes, but the info here is very accurate!
Hi Chris,
The article is cool and the amount of detail blew my mind, but I’m going to beg for more. I would like some examples of bad/good emails that artist may send. And also, what do you consider to be a kiss-ass in an email. I think its appropriate to say what I like about a blog, but how much is too much?
Sorry for all the request and questions but you really seem to know your stuff
Great article
Very enlightening and easy to read.
No matter if some one searches for his essential thing, so he/she desires to be available that in detail,
therefore that thing is maintained over here.
very good read. I’m a musician who’s just getting started in online promotion, now I have an idea of what to do and what NOT to do. Thanks for posting this.
-Nathan
Chris,
I just came across your article…and I am really glad I found this.
First off, Im glad I not the only one who had to move back in with his parents after college…hehe….
That said… a lot of us wannabe artist are still trying to figure out how to make the internet wrok for them. It can be a tricky slope to maneuver and your article will help if a variety of areas.
Ever thought of promoting/teaching an online class on how to promote music online? It might be your next venture.
Thanks again for posting this…it will make a difference for many of us.
Dazzy
I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the
eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often.
Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Fantastic work!
Really great article with invaluable advice. I’m definitely guilty of all of this bad email etiquette. Once I’ve got a bit more time I’ll spend a week writing some personalised and well-directed emails to the right people.
This should be handed out to anyone thinking of trying to solicit somebody by email without proper advanced communication:
“Unless you’ve already had successful communication with the recipient, there’s a good chance that whatever it is you’re sending to them will likely be greeted with as much excitement as a LinkedIn invitation.”
Don’t waste their time…or yours… by sending an email loaded with data realting to you without getting a commitment upfront for whatever your sending. It gives you false hope… and the recipient a cluttered email box filled with correspondence that will never get read.
Chris is right.. .there are better ways!!!
Really glad I came across this post, because it hits on so many points I was making the other day to someone who was trying to get the attention of a particular music producer they wanted to work with.
Before you start wasting time sending packages and emails that will never get opened, you really need to first establish some type of business or personal relationship.
Obviously, this can be very difficult, so here is a tip on how to establish that relationship:
Start a blog on the type of music or entertainment the person you want target is involved with. Then after you have a few posts… call about interviewing them for your blog!!
Great way to make a friend/contact… once you have established the relationship, getting your material in front them will be a snap!
Happy blogging!!
First off, Kerry thats a really smart and gutsy idea that could definitely work with some people in the entertainment industry, especially those with big egos that need a lot of attention. Others might be a little more shy and humble, which would make them resistant to this type of tactic, but its a worthwhile idea to have in your arsenal.
Regarding blogs, no doubt publishing your own personal blog with information and stories about yourself, combined with videos promoting yours music, should be a big boost in geting you in front of the right people.
One way to use a similar tricky way to get certain people to your website or bog is to send them and email… I know it it is preferable if they have agreed beforehand to have them send you information… but in case you are having a hard time this email trick will help.
If you can get some type of picture of the person you are trying to reach, or a photo of something or someone you know this person is interested in… what you can do is attach a link to your website in the photo. When they click on the photo, it will take them directly to your website or blog.
Again, I know this is a little manipulative, but I can tell you from personal experience it works, especially if you send them a picture of themselves int he email
Chris is right, it is better to send them some pertinent info abut you that will peak their intereest…. versus just sending them a link to your Youtube page. But if you are still having trouble getting your foot in the door, try sending an email pic of them, or someone they would be interested in, combined with a link to your blog.
Sometimes you got to fight a little dirty in the world of show biz!!
Happy emailing!!