Learn how to submit your music to a blog. Boost your career and get your music featured on blogs with these essential music submission tips.
Get Your Music Featured on Blogs and Boost Your Career
One of the biggest challenges as an artist is getting your music heard. Getting noticed in the music industry takes work. You have to employ different marketing tools to keep up with the competition.
Learning different ways to promote your music is essential if you want to make it in the music business. And getting your music featured on blogs is one effective way to promote your music and reach new audiences.
Gaining support from a music blog will help you increase exposure, establish credibility, and open new opportunities. However, it can be challenging to get your music featured on a blog. Especially with so many emerging acts striving to get heard. So, how do you submit music to a blog? And, how can you find the music blogs that will feature your music? This guide breaks down all the essential steps of scoring a feature on a music blog.
1. Music Submission Preparation
Preparing your music or video for submission is an essential first step. Before you submit your work to a blog, ensure your music is sounding the best it possibly can. Avoid submitting unfinished or poor quality tracks. Make sure your tracks are finished, mixed down, and mastered. Send your best work!
Next, get all of your release information together. Include the release date, hi-res artwork, a press release or release bio, an artist bio, hi-res press photo, a link to stream your music, social media links, and your contact details. Even better, create an electronic press kit (EPK). Also, most blog writers prefer private links to stream music over downloading files. For example, a private DropBox or SoundCloud link.
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Lastly, DO NOT submit music with copyrighted material unless it’s cleared for use. Blog writers will reject tracks that could land them in legal trouble.
2. Music Blog Research
Many tastemaker music blogs specialize in a specific genre and style. It’s essential that you research a music blog before sending them your music. It’s also crucial that your music aligns with the music they feature. It makes zero sense sending a future bass track to a hip hop blog.
Also, research artists that produce the same style of music as you. Find what blogs feature their music or interview them. Doing this will help you track down blog writers that cover your style of music.
Lastly, compile a list of the blogs you want your music featured on the most. Familiarize yourself with those blogs and the type of music they feature. Look for their website, SoundCloud, Facebook Page, Twitter account, and other channels. Also, find names and contact information for blog writers and editors. Lastly, see if there is a dedicated submission form and locate their music submission guidelines!
The more you know about the music blog, the better. For instance, the information you collect will help you personalize your message during the submission process. It will also help you reach the right people.
3. Follow Music Submission Guidelines
Once you have your list of music blogs, locate and carefully read their music submission guidelines. Most blogs have music submission guidelines displayed on their website.
4. Submit Exclusive Music
Getting your music featured is beneficial for the music blog and the artist. A successful feature brings visitors to the blog, and the artist gains exposure. However, music blogs like to feature new music that is exclusive to their platform. Blog writers want music that will drive traffic and increase visitors. Your music has a better chance of being featured if it’s a new release, unreleased, exclusive to their publication, or never published before. So, offer blog writers a track that you have not made public yet to increase your chances of getting featured.
Furthermore, give yourself a couple of weeks of lead time. For instance, submit your music to blogs 3-4 weeks in advance when looking to score a music premiere or exclusive.
5. First Impressions Matter
Ensure your message, artist information, and artwork look professional. Everything you put out sends a message about you, so make sure it’s the right one.
Carefully proofread your music submission before clicking send. Look for spelling errors, grammar mistakes, and other issues that could reflect poorly on you. A message filled with spelling errors, incomplete sentences, slang, and inappropriate language gives the impression that you’re not professional. It also shows that you’re not serious about your musical aspirations. Moreover, blog writers don’t want to fix a press release riddled with spelling and grammar errors.
Have someone proofread your message. Sometimes it can be difficult to spot errors in your own writing. Ensure your music submission is clear, concise, informative, and as professional as possible!
6. Personalize Your Message
Music blogs can receive dozens or even hundreds of music submissions a day. Personalizing your message is vital to stand out from the competition.
Like any email, the golden rule is to keep them simple, concise, straight-to-the-point, and polite. Below are some best practices:
- It’s a professional courtesy to use the blog writers official email. Avoid messaging through social media to ask about getting your music featured.
- Craft an enticing subject line that will persuade someone to open your email.
- Personalize the email by mentioning the writer by name and including the name of the blog.
- Write a sentence or two that compliments their work. Let the writer know you took the time to check out their content and that you are a fan of the blog. Also, reference other artists they featured in the past that are similar to you. This approach shows you did your research. It also helps establish a relationship.
- Describe your music in a paragraph or two. Give a background story about the music you want to be featured and why you think its a good fit for the blog. Give them a reason to check you and your music out further.
- Provide any details that may boost your pitch. Mention any notable music career accomplishments. Also, add key information such as your stage name, the genre of music, your location, and any related press coverage. Moreover, avoid overselling yourself, adding spammy details or being unrealistic. And, keep it short. Ensure your email or music submission is a quick and easy read.
- Make it clear why you’re asking the writer to feature you. Politely ask the blog writer what you want. For example, a music premiere, exclusive, interview, music review, playlist feature, etc. Also, offer them a reason why featuring your music is beneficial for the blog.
- Include links to stream your hosted music. Also, include links to your EPK, website or anywhere else someone can quickly find more information about you and your music. Moreover, avoid adding too many links and DON’T add attachments.
- Finally, thank the blog writer for their time. Include a sincere thanks for taking the time to consider featuring your music.
Lastly, avoid sending mass mailings to multiple music blogs. This approach is not effective and often rejected. Blog writers are keen to spot lazy attempts using marketing software and unsolicited emails. Put in the effort and personalize your email to the specific blog writer or editor that you’re asking to feature you.
7. Send Links Instead of Files
Before you send anything, find out how the blog accepts music submissions. Most blog writers prefer private streaming links to your hosted music. For example, private SoundCloud links with the ‘Downloads’ feature enabled has become an industry standard. Moreover, sending a link to stream your track(s) is fast and easy. The easier you make it for someone to access and listen to your music the better.
Also, avoid attaching your tracks to emails unless the music blog prefers it. Emails with attachments are often deleted for security purposes or end up in the Spam folder. Moreover, files can take long to download, clog inboxes, and can seem suspicious.
8. Build Relationships
Building relationships and networking in the music industry is always helpful. Boost your chances of getting featured by developing a relationship with music blog writers and editors. Find blog writers that post articles about the same music you make and listen too. Follow their content, comment on their posts, and engage with them on social media. Familiarize yourself with their content and the other artists they write about on the blog.
Also, get out and connect with other people in the music industry, regardless of their status. Try to meet other artists, producers, DJ’s, publicists, booking agents, label staff, fans, and anyone else in the music scene. These connections could open new opportunities. But, do so in a professional manner and don’t be a stalker.
9. Follow Up Email
Give music blog writers time to reply. They receive lots of submissions every day. It could take a few weeks before getting a reply. They may also need time to decide if they want to cover you and how the feature fits into their calendar.
Also, if the blog has a follow-up policy, make sure you stick to that. If not, it’s safe to send a follow-up email after a week. Send a short, polite email to the blog writer asking if they received your email or submission and had a chance to listen to your music. The hard truth is, you may not get a reply from bigger publications. Especially if they’re not into your music or don’t think covering you will benefit the blog.
10. Music Blog Types
Music is wide-ranging and so are music blogs. Make sure you are submitting your music to a blog that features your style of music.
Knowing the different music blog types will help narrow your search. There are independent music blogs, major EDM blogs, music discovery websites, and more. You can discover the best music blogs at sites like Hype Machine and SubmitHub.
Hype Machine
Hype Machine has long been the king of music blog aggregators. The site indexes hundreds of music sites and collects their latest posts for easy streaming and discovery. You can use the site to discover music blogs. For example, search Hype Machine for artists with a similar sound to you. Underneath the posted songs, you can see all the music blogs that posted the music content. Use the provided info to track down and contact the writers.
Also, many industry professionals, labels, and A&Rs look at which tracks are popular to understand what’s trending. If you’re trying to get discovered, get your music posted on Hype Machine!
SubmitHub
SubmitHub is an easy way to submit your music to bloggers, Spotify playlisters, record labels, and more. The service offers statistics and methods that help you find the best blogs to feature your music. The service also provides feedback that can help improve your music-making going forward. Moreover, there are hundreds of blog editors, labels, and playlisters that use SubmitHub to find new music and connect with artists.
Bonus: Climbing the Press Ladder
If you get your music featured on a music blog, use the coverage to generate even more press. Share the music feature on social media and use it as leverage when reaching out to other music blogs. Use the coverage to get you your next one!
Conclusion
One amazing write-up on a leading blog can boost your music career. These tips aim to guide you in the right direction when seeking to get your music featured on a blog. And, when you’re ready to submit your music, remember that first impressions make a difference. Good luck!