Press Coverage For Musicians 101

Getting the right amount of press coverage could make a huge difference for any upcoming musician. In the era of online news platforms and social media marketing, press coverage translates to verified artist presence on the internet. But how could independent and upcoming music artists get press coverage?

In this article, we have answered a few questions:

1. Online or Offline Press Coverage?
   
   
2. What are the pre-requisite materials needed?
   
   
3. What kind of press coverage could you get?
   
   
4. How to get press coverage?
   
   

 Let's dive in!

Online or Offline Press Coverage?

Should you be worrying about getting your music featured in magazines and newspapers as well? Is print media still relevant? 

Well, your questions are pretty valid. Considering the surge in news apps, online newspapers, e-news magazines, and so on, print media has seemed to be taken a backfoot. However, that doesn’t mean it is no longer important. Newspapers, news networks, and any other notable form of reportage have been important in society since they provide information to the general population. So, if a renowned newspaper mentions you, the thousands of people who read it will think you’re important. Most of the time, these renowned newspapers and magazines are print ones and have been around for a REALLY long time. Rolling Stone, People’s Magazine, and the New York Times are some examples. 

So, it is not a wise decision to ignore offline press coverage fully. 

Online press coverage is everything and is probably easier to get too. With print, there’s limited space on a sheet of paper so the value of an article is a lot more. Hence, the competition is a lot for print media coverage. With online press coverage, there’s infinite cyberspace for content, but there’s value for the permanent digital footprint you’d be acquiring. The idea is to get the best of both worlds. 

What are the pre-requisite materials needed?

Electronic Press Kit

We cannot stress this enough, an EPK is a must-have for every musician in this day and age. An EPK is basically a folder of sorts, that has ALL the necessary information anyone in the media industry would need to know all the essential information about the musician. It has a descriptive bio, professional press photographs of the artist, press releases, your contact information (your professional email ID, social media handles), music samples or releases (links to these), and other additional information (what your local gig venue owners have to say about you, testimonials on your performances, feedback from experts in the field). 

person helps to retain an objective tone, which adds credibility to the material delivered. It establishes a sense of separation from the subject (the artist or band), making the biography appear to be more of an account of reality than marketing oneself.

High-Quality Music

Ensure that all your releases so far are of high quality and seem as professional as possible. High-quality music begins with a professionally produced track. This includes using professional-grade audio gear in an appropriate production location, such as a studio with acoustically treated rooms and high-quality microphones. The recording procedure should precisely preserve the intricacies of the performance while minimizing disturbances, distortion, and other technical faults.

Social Media Presence 

If you don’t have an active and engaging social media account across different social media platforms, then prioritize it NOW! Journalists may look through your social media sites to discover more about the artist’s personality, fan interaction, and the music brand you want to establish. Your social media engagement would reflect how you’d like to market your persona and what you'd like to (and don’t) show on your social media accounts.

Pssst…come here: Many upcoming musicians miss this - use the analytics and insight tools on your social media accounts! It helps in tracking the performance of each post you put up and helps you compare what kind of content you should post more to get more engagement and reach for your page. Data and analytics, if noted and tracked consistently, could help form a better content and music promotion strategy. 

What kind of press coverage could you get?

There are different kinds of articles you could get for your music on different mediums. 

Feature stories 

Feature stories are those news pieces that focus on introducing and conveying an artist’s entire journey. It focuses more on the person than the product itself. These stories are crafted in a storytelling format, which helps the reader instantly get a deeper understanding of the musician it is written about. They focus on telling the life story more than the event. 

These are great for all kinds of musicians, those that are emerging or already established. It usually involves taking interviews with the music artist as well. Feature stories are usually long-form articles and begin all the way from any early musical influences the artist had to future plans, so they pretty much cover everything. 

Single/album reviews

You could submit your music and request for a music review. Reviews provide constructive criticism and appraisal of a musician's most recent album, single, or EP. They evaluate the musical quality, lyricism, quality of production, and the track as a whole. Music journalists, writers, and industry magazines can all submit reviews, which influence the public's opinions and record sales.

Getting these reviews would establish an online media presence as well as get YOU the feedback your music could use. These could be exceptionally important for emerging musicians because constructive criticism could help them understand what the audience is seeking now and how they could shape their music better if they wish to get better reach. It is a bonus if the review you get is all praise. 

Tour Coverage

You could get an article written from the angle of the event you’d be participating in. That includes gigs, shows, and even tours. Articles about concerts, tours, or gigs give readers insight into the musician’s theatrical appearance and musical style. They may include concert reports, program highlights, crowd comments, and along-the-ride anecdotes. Tour coverage promotes upcoming events and engages fans who enjoyed previous gigs or are intrigued about additional tour dates.

How to get press coverage?

Do you email? Do you just go up and make a conversation in a press conference? What do you do? 

Don’t worry, we have got you covered. 

Draft a very simple email

Once you have networked enough and got the contact of the music journalist, draft an email. We’d advise you not to approach them in person, emails work the best. Try to write as honestly and unambiguously as possible. The idea is to make your objective clear and this will help you show your sincerity. Always use emails as your first point of contact because they give the music journalist immediate access to your work. Whenever feasible, include your press kit in the initial email. The more systematically and meticulously you design this package, the more likely that the press will talk about your music, whether you’re an emerging independent artist with little or no popularity or an artist who is already well-established in the industry. 

Pssst…come here: You could also try out cold emailing. According to a study by Backlinko, cold emails have an average response rate of 8.5%. Anywhere between 1 to 10% is a good benchmark for response rates for cold emails. 

Maintain unambiguity in your content 

Do not ‘info dump,’ on your music journalist. Remember that press officials and reporters are almost always on the run, in search of a news story and to cover the latest in town. So make sure you are direct and to the point. Make your email content short but provide 100% clarity. 

Use keywords to describe the subject of your inquiry, such as ‘Press Coverage Request: [Artist Name]’ or ‘Media Inquiry: New Album Release.’ 

If it is an interview a review or anything else you are specifically asking for, please mention that along with a few lines of context. It will make the objective of communication very clearer. 

Provide Links & CTA 

All links that lead to your work are noticed. Whether they are referring to paid or free streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, or their own websites.  Obviously, YouTube, Vevo, and other video hosting websites are highly suggested, as are professional online networks, because personal social media accounts project a more rookie appearance, probably a more real ‘YOU.’ Smartlinks make the task easier. 

Pssst…come here: Don’t just copy-paste the links. Hyperlink them to texts. See how we have highlighted the word this word - this. In the previous paragraph, we have hyperlinked ‘Apple Music,’ ‘Spotify,’ and ‘Soundcloud.’This would look 10x neat and would show that you actually put a lot of thought into drafting the mail. 

Be polite. For instance, begin the conversation with the phrase ‘Please free to ask any questions.’ This helps in initiating a healthy and positive discourse in order to create something (more) genuine with the reporter. We understand that at the end of the day, it’s just a couple of emails that happen back and forth, but the fact is that how you respond lays the groundwork for any prospective connections or acquaintances. Use phone calls as a last resort after providing the journalist with enough information to get a sense of your work. Note that once sent, emails cannot be altered or removed. So proofread your emails not once, not twice, but thrice. It will help, really. 

Clearly state the action you want the receiver to take, whether it’s reviewing your music, scheduling an interview, or attending an upcoming event. This call-to-action section should be framed carefully. 

Follow-Up 

The reporter will get back to you asking for more details and how they would like to proceed. This means that they are willing to work with you. But if they do not respond, either they are too busy or they aren’t interested. 

You could still follow up though. Write a polite follow-up email, requesting them to kindly look through your previous and respond if interested. A three-day rule applies here as well. If you don’t get an email back, move on to other music journalists and reporters. 

Don’t lose hope. Keep the momentum going, even if a news organization isn’t interested in covering your music, request contacts who wouldn’t mind. Some reporters are likely to introduce or redirect you to other music journalists from different media companies. You got this!

We at GreaseRelease, have a bunch of curators on our network who are looking for new & exciting music to push on their massive playlists. If you make music and want to reach a wider audience, check out our submission platform and get a chance to reach millions of listeners! Submit your tracks now!