So you have recorded a killer new song you want the whole world wide web to hear, it’s the best thing you’ve ever written and you’re ready to be bombarded with that sweet, sweet internet love…
However getting blogs to writing about you can be a bit of a mystery, who do you contact? When’s the best time to hit up some sites? How should you set up an email that’ll stand out? How do you follow up on emails without annoying a writer?
Well luckily for you we chatted with three industry experts: a blog writer, a publicist and a band manager all of whom were kind enough to give you some tips on how to get internet famous.
Hugh McClure is the Sydney based Australian correspondent for international taste-making music website Indie Shuffle. Hugh has written over 670 entries for the site, championing Aussie music worldwide. Always on top of the best new local music, Hugh has also recently co-founded music management PR company Good Manners with fellow music writer Huw Nolan (The Ripe).
Em Kelly is the co-founder of music PR company Deathproof PR. Working with some of today’s biggest international rock acts (The Bronx, Soundwave Festival, Gallows), and this Australia’s greatest local indie acts (Mere Women, High Tension, Smith Street Band) their interest in digital PR has lead Deathproof to become one of the savviest Music PR companies in Australia.
Adam Kelly is the manager of Aussie band Jakubi. The Melbourne based five piece have recently massed a huge online following worldwide. The band’s last three tracks released on Soundcloud currently clocking in at a quarter of a million streams each. Thanks to the online support the band are set to tour the USA in the coming months.
Maintain A Strong And Effective Online Presence
EM: Make sure your social media is updated. This is where savvy journos will go when they want more/updated information about your band.
If you want online media to share your music make sure it is easy to share. Provide embed codes. Unlock that secure stream you’ve been guarding. Utilise lovely, functional platforms like Sound Cloud. RELINQUISH YOUR MUSIC TO THE INTERNET GODS!!
Research Who You Want To Contact
HUGH: Writers (and websites in general) often have specific musical tastes. For example, don’t bother sending in your latest folk single to someone who routinely posts about disco music or to a metal website. Find writers who write about the type of music you want covered and get in touch with them. It seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many times I have to tell the same people I only cover Australian music.
ADAM: The more you know about the sites you’re contacting, the more you can tailor a submission that is specific to that blog. It’s also important to know HOW they want you to submit your music. Most blogs will outline it for you; follow their instructions, no matter how tedious.
A Personalized Email Can Go A Long Way
HUGH: Writers are just people who really like music (most of the time). If you’re making music or work in the industry, chances are you like music too – there’s already a link there. I don’t need to know your life story, but you’re much more likely to get a response if I’m talking to a real person and not someone’s mailchimp account or a hastily copy/pasted mass email.
Coordinate Your Releases
ADAM: You want blogs posting within the first 3-4 weeks of a release, which means you need to get it to them a few weeks out to start the conversation. They might not reply, which is fine, that doesn’t mean they don’t like it; send them the live link and bio again on the day of its release. Blogs want what is fresh, so don’t expect them to jump on board with an old track. If you have a relationship with them already then offer them things in return for their support; giveaways, premieres, etc.
It also helps to have other things for them to talk about. Coordinating all of this with a tour announcement is ALWAYS going to add weight to your cause.
Keep Your Eye On Spelling And Grammar
ADAM: A lot of blogs are based overseas, so keeping your bio simple, clear and without spelling errors is really important. Often they will translate your bio word for word and our often-convoluted descriptive terminologies can get lost in that translation. It’s also important for English speaking blogs; these are people who write for a living. They care about your grammar.
Be Conscientious About Email Layouts
EM: Provide blogs with hyperlinks instead of attaching files. A sure fire way to piss off a very busy person is to effectively disable their inbox with one 10mb+ email. Upload everything to one manageable website or cloud and provide hyperlinks to all your press tools (images, cover shots etc).
Contact As Many Sites As Possible
ADAM: Five readers or 500,000 readers, it doesn’t matter – a play is a play and online hype is online hype. What you want is for the first three pages of Google to be filled with people writing about your band or your release. Type ‘Jakubi’ into Google if you want an example of what I mean.
Have Reasonable Expectations
HUGH: We get sent a lot of music, it’s pretty difficult keeping up with it all when you have to fit in writing around things like full-time jobs and actually having a life. So, if I don’t get back to you within the hour, don’t pester me, I’ll try and get around to it when I have a moment.
Just because we’ve had dealings in the past, or even if we’re mates, don’t just expect you’ll get coverage. Writers have to maintain credibility, and if we’re reviewing stuff just because we like the person who sent it to us this credibility is at risk.
EM: Don’t EXPECT them to eagerly devour your music. Blogs in particular are primarily run by people who choose content based on their own tastes, not based on what a PR or band is telling them to cover. Offer the content but don’t be upset if they decline or ignore you.
Write Good Music
ADAM: Sounds painfully simple. But it isn’t. Most bands think that the key to success is having a good manager, a good agent or a record deal… Those things help, sure, but if the music isn’t great (and I mean GREAT) then all those networks can only take you so far. Don’t expect that your first song or even your first EP is going to impress anyone. If it does it’s a bonus. Just focus on writing as much as you can and work with a producer that knows how to get the sound you want. The old adage is true; if you build it, they will come.
Say Thank You
HUGH: No matter if it’s on Pitchfork or someone’s personal tumblr account, make sure to say cheers for spreading the love.
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