Feature articles, music reviews and interviews: These are just a few examples of what the PR and marketing industry call earned media. Not only does landing earned media bring you publicity and exposure as a music artist or band, but it does it entirely free of charge! The downside- landing earned media does involve a lot of time, organization and strategic planning. But don’t worry! We’ll walk you through how to do it with these five easy steps.

1.) Know Your Goal

The prospect of free publicity and promotion as a music artist or band is an exciting one. As a result, it may be tempting to share anything and everything. Trust us, we get it. It is, however, much more effective to focus on one goal at a time.

To do this, ask yourself what you’re trying to accomplish with gaining media coverage. Are you promoting a show? Are you trying to encourage pre-saves for a new release? Do you want to connect with your audience? Specific media types are better for specific goals. To better understand, let’s take a look at the three examples mentioned earlier: feature articles, music reviews and interviews.

Feature Articles

If you want to grow your fanbase, build a connection with audiences or share the story or inspiration behind your music, feature articles are the way to go. Because feature articles come in written form, they also involve a little less pressure as compared to audio or video interviews. Of course, you will be interviewed as part of the writing process, but because cameras and microphones won’t be recording your every word, it’s a lot less pressure. For these reasons, feature articles are great for all genres and experience levels.

Music Reviews 

If there is a particular song, EP or album you are looking to promote, you might want to focus on receiving a music review. This can come in the form of a written article, a podcast or even a livestream. No matter the form, music reviews generally involve sending your music either before or after release to a reviewer who will then expand on their likes, dislikes and recommendations. Keep in mind that journalists and media professionals are under no obligation to give you a raving, five star review. In fact, they will be honest and they may be tough, but that’s what makes their content authentic and trustworthy for their audiences. Don’t let this scare you. If you’re confident in your music and its quality, go for it!

Interviews

Similarly to feature articles, interviews are great for growing a fanbase, building connections and sharing your story. Additionally, they are a great way to promote a recent song, EP or album. The focus of the interview all depends on your goal and how you pitch to the media (we’ll discuss this more in step 3). Interviews are especially great at showcasing your personality and charm. On the flip side, having a successful interview involves a lot of preparation. Because interviews generally take place through video and audio recording, you need to be media ready. In other words, you need to plan responses to questions that are both expected and unexpected.

Which of these sound like they align with you and your goals? Keep in mind that there are other types of earned media coverage you can receive, so be sure to do your research to solidify a proper plan.

2.)  Create Your Media List

Once you have established your goal, it’s time to create your media list, or your list of various journalists and media professionals. Within this list (which we definitely recommend creating in a spreadsheet) you should include names, media outlets and contact information. 

To start, refer back to your goal. Next, search for journalists and media professionals who specialize in topics related to your goal. For example, say your goal is to have a feature article written. With the help of Google, search for different newspapers, magazines or blogs that write features about musicians. Specifically, seek out the ones who cover your same genre, lifestyle or location. Once you have the name of the outlet or publisher, look through specific articles to find a journalist with previous work similar to what you’re looking for. From there, search their name to try to find the best way of contact. If you’re in need of assistance, you can even ask ChatGPT to help make you a tailored media list. Just be sure to double-check the accuracy of the results.

3.) Develop Your Pitch

After you have created your media list, you can then begin developing your pitches. Using the contact information you have gathered, start to write to each journalist/media professional individually. Be clear on what your intentions are and what you’re looking to do. You also want to make each message specific and personable towards that specific journalist/media professional. A great way to do this is by mentioning and complimenting their past work. You can then relate back to your pitch explaining why your story or music would be a great addition. 

It is also important to remember that journalists are storytellers. As a result, they are looking to share stories that are newsworthy, filled with emotion, and timely. It is therefore important for you as a music artist or band to communicate what is newsworthy about your music and story.

If your goal is to promote an event or an upcoming release, you can also write a press release or media advisory. Press Releases are official statements sent to the media in which information is shared on a significant topic. Media Advisories are similar to press releases, however they are sent with the goal of having a journalist or media professional attend your event. Although Press Releases and Media Advisories are short and to the point, be sure to include your 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, why), your intended release day/time and your contact information. 

Along with your pitch and/or press release, you should also consider including your EPK, or Electronic Press Kit. As a musician, an EPK is your digital portfolio. It includes your bio, photos and videos, your social media platforms, your biggest achievements, your contact, reviews and links to your music. It’s a great way to highlight all you’ve done while also providing additional information that may not be included in your pitch or press release.

4.) Send Your Pitches

Once you’re happy with your pitches, it’s time to send them! But before you do, just be sure to consider these things:

Timing

Always plan ahead when sending your pitches. Especially if you want an event or upcoming release covered, send your pitch at least 3 weeks in advance. Additionally, send your pitches on the weekday during regular business hours. 

Subject line

If you’re sending your pitches via email, be sure to include a captivating subject line. To do this, make sure your subject line includes the most newsworthy aspect of your pitch. It should also be short (10 words or less).

Money

Don’t worry. As mentioned earlier in the article, you shouldn’t have to pay for earned media. It’s called earned media for a reason. You have to earn your time and space. With that in mind, do NOT under any circumstances try to bribe journalists or media professionals. They have an ethical code to follow and your bribery can have you blacklisted. 

If you are looking to spend money, there are people and companies who will offer reviews, interviews and features as a service, however this is not considered earned media (and is not what this article is about). These may be poorly written/produced, they may not reach your target audience and they may even be scams, so be careful! 

Double Checking

Before you hit send, make sure the journalist/media professional’s name is spelt correctly, that you have the correct contact information, that your pitch is free of any grammatical errors and that you’re sending the right attachments. Otherwise, your pitch can end up right in the trash.

5.) Follow Up

Congratulations! You have now made it to step five- the final step of media pitching. Remember in the last section when we mentioned leaving extra time? Well, there’s a reason for that. You see, journalists and media professionals are busy people. They get hundreds of different pitches a week and they are working their butts off to share great content. Because of this, even if you have an incredible pitch, it is very possible for it to get lost in the madness. To combat this, you can send a follow up. If a week has passed since your initial message, kindly send another message asking if your pitch has been received. You can also share your additional contact information and/or availability to make the process easier and more convenient for them. If they still do not respond after your follow up, don’t stress it. Put your energy towards contacting other journalists and media professionals. 

If you do receive a response from a journalist or media professional who is interested in covering your music and/or story, great! Be sure to respond to inquiries in a timely manner and to provide all the additional information and materials they may need. Once the journalist/media professional officially posts their content about you, follow up with a thank you message. It is also important to share their content on your own platforms. Doing so will help you build a meaningful relationship with them which can help you land even more earned media in the future.

With these five easy steps in mind, you’re now ready to pitch your music and your story to the media!

The post Land Music Features, Interviews & Reviews: How to Pitch to The Media in 5 Easy Steps appeared first on Space Hound Records.

You’ve done it! After spending hours creating the catchiest melody, writing the perfect lyrics and developing the ideal mix to highlight it all, you’ve got yourself the next hit single. The problem? Nobody is listening to it. Whether you’re looking to build a fanbase with your first release or you’re looking to bring traffic to your previous releases, here are five tips to increase the number of streams on your music. 

1.) Submit to Playlists

Whether it’s for a road trip, a party, a workout or a rainy day, playlists of all kinds allow listeners to enjoy music specific to their preferred genre and mood. As a result, getting placed on playlists is a great opportunity to extend the reach of your music, specifically to those within your target audience. To do this, you can either manually search and contact playlisters or you can submit through websites such as Daily Playlists or SubmitHub. Be sure to take note of your song’s genre, mood and vibe, as well as artists that share a similar sound to yours. Doing so will ensure that you are submitting to the playlists most beneficial for you. 

2.) Collaborate

As an individual artist or band it can be difficult to be recognized, especially within the early stages. Thankfully, the music industry is a collaborative one. To increase your streams, consider reaching out to other musicians. This can be with a producer, a singer, a rapper or an instrumentalist; It all depends on which makes the most sense with your sound. For an already released track, try having a remix version created by a producer. If you’re looking to release new music, try getting a similar artist as a feature. By collaborating with other musicians you can expose your music to other fanbases, allowing you to reach new listeners. 

3.) Perform Live 

You don’t need to be the opener for a world renowned band and you don’t need to launch an elaborate tour, but performing live (even at your local bar) is a great way to build exposure. After performing your song(s), remind the audience of your name and where they can stream your music. If they enjoyed what they heard, they can potentially be new fans who stream your music in the future.

Want to take your performances to the next level? Check out these 5 ways you can enhance your live performances.

4.) Promote on Social Media 

It may seem obvious, but in order to have your music heard, people need to know that it exists. In today’s digital age, one of the best ways to do this is through social media. Specifically, you want to make your music noticeable and easily accessible. No matter the platform, be sure to provide links that take your audience directly to where your music is streamed. This can be in your bio description, through your story using the link feature, or in a post. Keep in mind that on some platforms such as Instagram, links are not clickable in the caption. In this case, post about your music, but direct audiences to where they can easily access the link. To reach a wider audience, you can also include hashtags most relevant to you.

If you want to make the most of your social media accounts, be sure to avoid these 5 mistakes.

5.) Get Press Coverage 

While social media is a great way to encourage audiences to listen to your music, it’s not the only way. You can additionally try to land press coverage. To do this, reach out to music blogs, online magazines and local press to share announcements, receive artist features or have your music reviewed. This type of press can help generate buzz and attract new listeners.

The post Why is Nobody Listening to my Music?: 5 Tips to Increase your Music Streams appeared first on Space Hound Records.

On July 5, 2023 Meta officially launched what they call their “text-based conversation app,” Threads. While it may seem overwhelming to add yet another social media platform to the already long content to-do list, the transition to Threads is surprisingly an easy one. If you have an Instagram, which you definitely should as a music artist, your username, bio, profile picture and even the accounts you follow can automatically transfer over. Not only does this make it easier for you to create your account, but if you already have an Instagram following, it makes it easier for your audience to stay connected as well. 

Of course, every social media platform has its strengths and weaknesses. While Threads doesn’t yet have an inbox or functional hashtags, it does have other great features. So, why not make an account and take advantage of them? Here are the best ways to use Threads as a music artist:

1.) Ask Questions

Being that Threads has been coined a “conversation app”, it’s important to… you know… have conversations. A great way to do this is by asking questions. This will help further engage your audience and encourage interaction. Particularly, you want to ask your audience questions specific to your genre and your style. For example, to stay on the topic of your genre you can ask, “Who’s a better rapper: _ or _?” Doing so can create a conversation about the two rappers and can even provide some insights on your audience’s music preferences. Additionally, you can ask questions specifically for audience feedback such as “What kind of merch do you want to see?” or “What city should I perform in next?” This will create a direct dialogue between you and your audience, allowing you to build meaningful relationships with them. 

2.) Provide Updates

While other social media platforms may involve a lot of planning to create a post, Threads is easy and immediate. Due to its immediacy and focus on text, it is a great platform to use to quickly share information with your audience. For example, you can share updates about an upcoming show. Maybe you need to inform your audience that tickets have been sold out or that the show needs to be moved to the rain date. Both can be easily communicated on Threads. You can even update your audience through teases. Provide your release date with no context to spark curiosity or drop a hint about your next collab. Doing so will show your audience that you’re hard at work.

3.) Share Behind the Scenes

Not only can you share text that is up to 500 characters on Threads, but you can also share photos and videos that are up to 5 minutes in length. Being that Threads is new and hasn’t yet been flooded with polished, commercialized content, it is a great time to share fun, unedited visuals. What better way to do this as a music artist than by sharing some behind the scenes content? Share a funny clip of your band practice, take a photo of yourself recording in the studio or show your audience how you start setting up for a show. Whichever you choose, make your visuals authentic by showing your personality. 

4.) Share Links

While apps like Instagram and TikTok are great for sharing audio and visuals, they’re a little less effective in bringing traffic to your music. This is due to the dreaded “Link in Bio” text we have to share. How often do audiences really take the time to leave their feed, go to our profiles, read our bios and then tap the link? Luckily on Threads, you can share clickable links right within your posts. Take advantage of this feature by sharing the links to your music, your website and your video releases. It’s a much more straightforward and convenient way for your audience to access what you want to share the most.

5.) Interact

As mentioned previously, Threads is a “conversation app”, and unless it’s an imaginary argument with yourself while you’re taking a shower, conversations generally take place between two or more people. It is therefore important for you as a music artist to both speak and respond. In other words, not only should you create your own posts on Threads, but you should also respond to and share the posts of others. For example, you can show some love by commenting on the threads of other music artists or you could repost a thread that represents you and your brand. Whichever the case, take the time to both initiate and continue previous conversations.

The post How to Use Threads as a Music Artist appeared first on Space Hound Records.

So, you’re an artist or band who is looking to use social media to promote your music. Great! You’re already a step ahead in the game. While social media may seem like a place to simply slap photos and a link down and call it a day, using it as a tool to promote your music successfully involves a lot of planning and strategy. “Planning? Strategy?” I know, these words can make it seem overwhelming, but here are 5 mistakes you can avoid making to set you apart from other artists in the industry:

1.) Having an unrelated username/handle.

The usernames/handles for your social media accounts should include your artist or band name. For example, if your band is called “Kool Kats,” you should aim to have an account such as @KoolKats, @Kool_Kats, @KoolKats_Official or something along these lines.

Now you may be thinking, “Wait, what about Drake? Mr. @champagnepapi?” Well for one, he is Drake. He is an established artist who has built a following allowing him to essentially have any username he wants. For artists who haven’t sold over 170-million records or received multiple Grammy Awards, it is important to include the artist or band name in order to improve SEO (search engine optimization) and to make accounts easier for fans to find. In addition to having a username/handle that includes your name, it is also important to make sure that your chosen username/handle is consistent across the board. In other words, your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms should have the same username/handle.

2.) Having a Linktree in your bio.

Yes, I know. You have a lot you want to share with the world and Linktree allows you to keep everything in one place. Believe it or not, doing so may be hurting you. Having so many link options after a simple tap or click can be both confusing and overwhelming for your audience. Instead, the link in your bio should be a link to the most important content or event at the time. This can be a pre-save link to your next release, a link to purchase tickets to your upcoming tour or a link to your latest music video. If you are promoting a specific album, EP or single, it is recommended to share the link provided by your music distributor (such as DistroKid). Although these distributor links include a list of links within them, they are focused on one release and allow your audience the freedom to listen to your music on their preferred platform.

3.) Having repetitive posts.

So, you heard that posting consistently can help grow your following and drive engagement. The problem: creating so many posts is too much work. To make it easier, you can just keep resharing the same post, right? Wrong. Not only does sharing the same post repeatedly just come off as lazy, but it’s also boring and annoying for your followers. I’m not saying you can’t have multiple posts that promote the same thing, but you have to be creative in how you do it. Post a combination of still images, videos and stories. Instead of spamming your audience with the same show flier 15 times, show some behind the scenes, share footage from your last performance or give a shout out to other artists in your show lineup. There are a number of ways you can get your message across in a more engaging and interesting way.

4.) Sending mass DMs of your music.

While reaching out on a personal level to your audience can be beneficial, sliding your SoundCloud link into the inbox of strangers with no prior relationship is not how to do it. As much effort as it may take to craft a message and select a list to send to, at the end of the day you’re overstepping a boundary. Generally speaking, people seek out music themselves. If they wanted to listen, they would. Take for example the band U2 when their “Songs of Innocence” album was automatically downloaded to our iTunes music libraries in 2014. Although it was free, many were angered by this action. Why? A boundary was crossed. Music they did not seek out appeared in their music space. The same idea applies to DMs on social media. Additionally, doing so seems robotic, impersonal and can even damage your brand. Nobody wants to be known as the artist or band who just spams people with links. Instead, create posts that encourage people to seek out your music. Give them a reason to listen to it. If you’re looking to expand beyond your followers, be sure to include hashtags in these posts as well.

5.) Focusing only on yourself.

“Wait, you’re telling me that I shouldn’t focus on myself on MY accounts where I’m promoting MY music?” Why yes, yes I am. There’s a reason the term social media is often used interchangeably with the term social networking. It is a place to be collaborative and to build relationships. In order for people to care about you and your music, you need to show that you care about them. Do not simply make a post, close the app and expect people to be your lifelong fans. For your fans and followers, respond to the comments on your posts and share reshares of your content. Not only is this bonus content for you, but it also shows audiences that you appreciate them. This will encourage additional support in the future and it will help you build a positive reputation. Don’t just stop with your fans and followers. It is important to also show love to your fellow musicians. “In this cutthroat industry? With my competition?” Yes again. You never know what kind of connections you’ll make or what opportunities will arise. Share the music of other artists, like their content and show some love in the comments, because you never know who’s watching.

The post Mastering Music Promotion: 5 Social Media Mistakes Every Artist Should Avoid appeared first on Space Hound Records.