As well as shouting about your news on your social media channels, it’s a great idea to get the media to help with your PR campaign. One essential way to get editors to open that email and help you promote your music is with a press release for musicians.
This can be pretty daunting when the last thing you wrote was a Christmas card about a decade ago!
Although traditional press might not immediately drive your streaming rates sky-high, free press coverage is invaluable for your music brand. It will give you content for social media.
It will also add brand presence to your ever-growing music career. Remember almost all traditional entertainment, culture and music press outlets have online and social arms as well so this, in turn, will bolster your digital presence.
So we’ve put together this easy-to-use music press for musicians release guide, full of tips, tricks, and even a template so you can start your PR campaign straight away.
A Few Dos and Don’ts
Your press release should be interesting, relevant and easy to understand. It should be short and to the point. Try and keep it to one page, two pages max. Look at around 300 words as a suggested guideline.
Don’t send out a bulk press release to all your contacts. This is a big no-no. Send it to individuals and make it specific. It will take longer, but you’ll get much better results.
Do not send your press release as a PDF. Editors cannot cut and paste your information for their articles.
Due to office firewalls, some outlets can’t open attachment so ideally send the press release within the email directly. If you are going to send as an attachment then make sure it is a Word Document.
PR is all about relationships, so invest in the time to get to know the outlets and the journalists. Editors get 100 hundreds of press releases a day from agencies and musicians all wanting a lot for not much in return.
So when you send within a bulk email it looks like you have not taken the time to personalize the email and don’t care. So why should they give any love back?
Don’t send your amazing track to an editor that specializes in nightlife and gig news. It will be more detrimental to you in the future when you do have a gig to promote. Know your outlets and what they cover.
Spend time pulling together a PR contacts list.
[bctt tweet=”Remember any coverage is better than no coverage at all! “]
Put your hitlist down on an excel sheet of who and when you sent your press release. This is so you can keep track of who you have sent to and when. CRMs might be advisable such as Hubspot or Zoho.
You don’t want to be too persistent and annoy the editors. The relationship will flounder before you have even begun.
Creating Your List
The easiest way of contacting the outlets is to call the reception and ask to speak to the relevant department. From experience, this is very laborious, time-consuming and can take weeks to get through to the right person.
However, I have an answer for you!
PRO TIP 1
Here is a simple process of what you can do.
1. Decide an artist that is the same genre and in the same geolocation as you.
2. Go to Google and type in the name of that artist
3. Then click on ‘images’
4. You will then see all the press coverage and the names of the different press outlets that have covered that artist like yourself.
5. Click on the image link and it will take you to the article. Then bingo! You will be able to see the name of the editor that can be contacted. I clicked on The Gulf News article.
6. Now you can search for the editor online or ring the outlet directly.
7. Say hi, introduce yourself and say something complimentary about the website/magazine/writer you’re approaching (ie you liked their recent cover feature, live review, feature, etc). Be polite, and straight to the point. Think of it as a music career elevator pitch.
Flattery will honestly go a long way as long as it’s sincere.
Then cut to the thrust. You’re releasing a new album/have a tour coming up/dropping a new video and you think the news would be a good fit for their content.
Be specific if you can. So ask for news write up or to be added to the gig/event listings. The easier you can make their job, the better your chances of success.
An example
“Hi there, my name is (insert name) and I am a singer-songwriter from (insert location). I see that you wrote a great article on (insert the artist that was covered). (This shows you researched and care about their work) Please could you let me know the best way that I could share with you my music and story? Can I have your email?”
PS. Notice I put “story” in there. You must know this. You can download our free “Kickstart Your Music Career” ebook where you can get to know more about “Knowing Your Why”. Editors want stories for their readers. What is it that makes you stand out from the rest? Unfortunately just having good music is not always a way to get media coverage.
Here is another example you can use.
‘Hi, my name’s XXX and I’m with (insert band/act name). We’re big fans of your website/magazine and liked your recent feature on XXX. We’ve just announced our new single/album/tour schedule and think it would be a great fit for your readers. Please let me know if this would be of interest. Thanks for your time!’
Another great method to introduce yourself directly to the editor is by using social media direct messaging.
Follow the steps in the PRO Tip 1 above to get the name of the editor you wish to contact and then google (insert name of the editor) and add “insert social media name”. And Voila!
It’s better to have a smaller list of built up relationships than a large list where you just chucking *%^$ into a fan and hoping something sticks.
PRO TIP 2
A lot of publications are owned by one holding group. In the United Arabic Emirates where we work out of, Motivate and ITP owns the majority of all the important and biggest press publications. They freely offer updated editors list every month. All you need to do is call them.
However, if you wish to receive a free sample media list that I have compiles then email me tobie@maanamusic.com
Important Questions To Ask
Although your job is promoting your hard work and to get people to hear your music, your job is also to make the life of the editor as easy as possible.
Ask the following questions to show you care. Again this relates to building a relationship with the editor.
Any one of these can affect whether your press release email gets opened.
Would you like the press release incorporated in the email?
Are you restricted with firewalls so as not to add attachments?
Can you open links within emails?
Do you have any preference to hear the assets? Wetransfer link? Soundcloud?
So take time to get to know the editors and what they prefer..
Don’t be disheartened if you get very few replies to your PR campaign. Rejection is a big part of the music career. Don’t stop believing and never give up. I suggest sending a follow-up email a week after if you’ve not heard back and get on that phone!
Constructing Your Press Release for Musicians
So now you have a growing media list. Let’s show you how to construct an effective press release for musicians.
There are few ways to do this but here’s one example of a recent campaign that we sent out that got plenty of coverage in the MENA region.
STEP 1 – Band/DJ logo or image
Add your press photo or your logo at the top of the press release. Hyperlink it for extra points to your website, Youtube, Soundcloud, website, etc. Make sure it’s a hi-res image (300dpi resolution) and include download links if it’s too big so it won’t clog up the email inbox. Remember if you sending the press release embedded in the email to the outlet then this is not needed.
STEP 2 – Subject line
It needs to be punchy, quickly explain your news and make it sound interesting and vital so that the journalist or writer wants to know more.
Examples
Chart-topping new band XXX release debut album!
Arab-pop group XXX collaborates with huge American star XXX!
XXX Announce 4-date Middle East tour!
STEP 3 – Main paragraph
Head straight to the news. What are you doing, why is it important? Give them the details in clear, easy to understand sentences. Be short, sharp and to the point. Make yourself sound as impressive as possible, but keep it honest.
‘XXX release their debut album on XXX through the XXX label. Four years in the making, the debut XXX album takes in pop, dance, and indie across its 12 tracks. The lead single from the track is currently riding high on the Spotify charts…….
STEP 4 – Second Paragraph
To give your press release for musicians a little more oomph then give more detail on your history, your music, your following, etc. Be short and sweet with 3-4 sentences at most. Explain how you got into the industry, any big moments and success you’ve had, what you sound like, where you’ve played and what you’ve released.
This can be a couple of sentences or you could even put it down as bullet points to give it more impact.
STEP 5 – Third Paragraph
Add in your short artist bio here, one or two paragraphs at most. This can be taken directly from your EPK and can be copied and pasted to make your life easier and quicker.
Please don’t post pages and pages of content. A press release aims to get the information over quickly and easily.
STEP 6 – Fourth Paragraph
Add in some quotes from the band/the act regarding the news that the website/journalist can use straight away. This makes your press release for musicians into a story by giving some quotes.
‘We can’t wait to get on the road and show our fans our new material’
‘This is our best album yet!’
STEP 7 – Contact details
Add in your email address and phone number
All you need is “For more information, please email: tobie@maanamusic.com or call +971 558 254 593″
STEP 8 – Links
Tell them where you can hear your music, watch the video, buy your tickets, etc. And make sure they’re Hyperlinked. This makes it easier for the recipient to listen to your music. Ideally, they’ll listen to your music while they’re reading the rest of your press release.
Include an asset folder where the editor can download all the artwork, artist Electronic Press Kit, the music. I suggest making the track in both Mp3 and Wav/Aiff.
Make sure the artist images are all high res so can be used on the outlet’s platforms.
A great new tool to use is called ‘Smart Link’. This is a great way to offer sharing options in one spot. You can create these ‘Smart Url’s’ at Amplify or Linkfire
And link to all your social media homes so they can quickly check out your fanbase and music and brand.
In Conclusion
There’s no real shortcut when it comes to writing a press release for musicians. It can take hours to write and send. But the more you do it, the better and faster you’ll get. The music press coverage can be vital to getting your name, music, and brand out to a brand new audience.
And if you do get stuck, Ma’ana Music is always on hand to help with questions and advice. And we’ll also jump on your music campaign, crafting targeted press releases that will get you noticed by the right people.
If you wish to know more then please check out these other helpful blogs.
How To DIY Your Own Music Video For Free
A Step-By-Step Guide To Middle East Streaming Site
Promote Your Music With These 7 Tips And Get More Fans
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