When you have the whole package; undeniable talent, your music, motivation and a clear vision, then it is the right time for you to make your first steps in the world of Music Publicity. But before even thinking about it, there are some crucial things you need to get done so that you make sure that you are ready for such a relationship with the media. You should realise also that It’s not a matter of feeling ready, it’s a matter of being ready.
Your social media house. This is your foundation which has to be clean and neat. Before you even begin thinking about PR you need to have your presence sufficiently established online from your website to your blog to your Twitter profile. Your efforts in a PR campaign may turn out to be vain if you don’t have a strong internet presence.
MusicPromoToday prepared for you a detailed list of 9 key factors you should know about Music Publicity
Let’s get started…
1. What Is Publicity?
The answer to this question may seem obvious but in case there are people who still would like to know more here is some useful information. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Publicity – “An act or device designed to attract public interest; specifically: information with news value issued as a means of gaining public attention or support. Also: The dissemination of information or promotional material.”
A music publicist is a member of your team, who is responsible for your representation to the media. In general, media is defined as editors and writers of blogs, podcasts, newspapers, magazines, and some TV bookers.
In case you want to get on the radio “charts’’ then you will need a radio promoter.
In other words, a music publicist is a person who establishes a connection between you and people who work in the media field.
2. RUN If They Contact You
Always remember that you are the buyer and you are shopping for music PR. Hiring a publicist is the same thing as hiring another guitar player for your band. And it is very important that your taste and vision are matching. Most definitely it will not work for your music if you are a blues player and your new member guitar player is a fan of K-Pop music. The same is with a music publicist. Actually, everyone on your team has to be on the same page.
But there can be times when some shady PR companies will contact you and tell you that they are eager to represent you. Just run screaming because this publicist must have a real good reason to take time out of his / her busy schedule to reach out and find you. These types of music publicity agencies are hurting firms who do our work with passion.
3. Effort Is What You Pay For
Yes, that is right. You don’t pay for the results but you pay for the strategy the publicist makes, the amount of time and effort he/she spends on your campaign.
They say no results at all is a result as well. But this is not the case. Getting nothing is totally unacceptable but you have to realize that your publicist’s efforts may show up in months or even a year.
4. Everything Needs To Be Planned In Advance
For magazines with national distribution, you need to prepare everything about your album months before the initial publication. For instance, your new album release is planned in July, this means you have to be ready to go in April.
5. Press Kit
A thorough press kit consists of four parts: the bio; the photo(s); the articles, quotes & music reviews; the music.
The Bio– A one-page intriguing story about you. You can tell here an original story and it would be better if you hire a professional bio writer.
The Photo – Create a photo that is clear and well-shot. If you know anyone who can edit your photos with some creative touch then ask them. Always utilize your resources!
The Articles, Quotes & Music Reviews – The first article written about you may be embarrassing but you have to get used to it. The perfect place to start is your local hometown papers but don’t forget to check for comments on iTunes and Amazon.
The Music – You must present your music with a professional approach. This means that it is a bad idea to send copies of your CD via email. Instead, send a link to Bandcamp or SoundCloud with your artwork and tagging. This may help the writers to access your tracks without any difficulty.
6. Publicity is a Marathon
Music Publicity strongly differs from a radio campaign with its charts. There is no such thing as Top 100 Publicity Chart. It may take you longer than your publicity campaign to notice any positive results. The reason is the number of released albums and EPS which is approximately 2000 per week.
7. Online Publicity VS. Offline
Nowadays, with the evolution of devices, for independent artists, it is better and easier to show up online. All you need is to get familiar with music blogs on Hype Machine and methods on how to get included on Spotify and SoundCloud Playlists.
8. Publicity Is Not For Selling Music
As it was mentioned above, music publicity is aimed at raising awareness of you in the press, on social media, but it has nothing to do with spiking your sales. You may disagree on this one and at some point, you may be right because a well-written article may lead to sales but this is definitely a horse of another color.
In case your main goal is selling music, then music publicity is not the only thing you will need and the answer is obvious. Nowadays, no one buys music because they have already paid for their accounts on Apple Music or Spotify or they even listen to tracks for free on YouTube!
So besides music publicity, to sell your music you will also need to build a strong fan base and maintain communication with them.
9. Never Take Your Own PR Seriously
Your goal for music publicity must be to take your name out there, but you should realize that the average person remembers very little of what they read. The chances are too small that readers are going to remember the epic written review about your new album release. Anyway, the best publicity for your music is your own music.
To learn more about Music Publicity and other attention-worthy news and hands-on trends of the industry stay tuned to MusicPromoToday.
