2. What Does A Music Publicist Do?<\/b><\/h3>\n
Music <\/span>publicists<\/b> are professionals who help musicians by securing various unpaid or earned communications.<\/span><\/p>\n When you <\/span>hire a publicist<\/b><\/a><\/span>, you\u2019re hiring a mouthpiece to communicate your message or what you want to promote to the media. Media can include newspapers, magazines, television, radio, blogs, podcasts, and playlists.<\/span><\/p>\n Until I started working in PR firms, I really didn\u2019t understand the depth to which PR touches almost everything you read in the media. For example, if you open a fashion magazine and see \u201cThe best shampoo of the winter\u201d, \u201cOur favorite lip-gloss,\u201d or \u201cThe best pants to wear this season,\u201d or if you read a music blog and they have a round-up of the ten best music videos you must see this week, that is all 100% the work of a publicist. The editors did not scour the earth to find the \u201cbest\u201d anything. The publicists worked hard to get the editors’ attention to place the products and the music.<\/span><\/p>\n Every facet of every business hires publicists \u2013 politicians, products, retail stores, cities, states, countries, you name it. And, of course, musicians all have publicists.<\/span><\/p>\n There is no correct answer to this question, as many types of publicists can help you at practically every stage of your music career. I deeply suggest that you try your hand at DIY publicity first to understand how it works and how challenging it is to do well. This will also help you to understand the landscape before you spend your precious money on publicity.<\/span><\/p>\n I caution you to make sure you have a solid brand, an online presence, an engaged following and a strong brand or your publicist will have a hell of a time getting you placements. If you would like help with these things, find<\/span>\u00a0out about our Total Tuneups here.<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n If you feel you are ready to hire a publicist, <\/span>come find out about our Publicity Packages here. <\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Music publicity varies widely in price. You can expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars monthly to $5,000 for a blue-chip agency with household names on its client roster.<\/span><\/p>\n Hundreds of music PR firms and individuals make their livings helping musicians get press. Individuals can charge less than larger agencies with NYC or Los Angeles overhead and expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n I know that this is extremely broad and, therefore, not incredibly helpful, but if you have a small budget, being clear and upfront about that will save you time and keep you from wasting time looking for the right match.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t. Many musicians try to create videos, social posts, or music that goes \u201cviral,\u201d but it goes viral because consumers love it enough, are amused enough, or are moved enough to share it online.<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, you do! If you\u2019re pitching to the media, many will still expect to have access to your bio for context. It\u2019s also nice to give fans a deeper sense of who you are and what your narrative is.<\/span><\/p>\n The old music business set a standard for the musician bio. You are probably familiar with this \u2014a one-page, single-spaced, typewritten bio that goes through the artist’s entire history, starting with something like, “So and so began playing music at age 3.” It then goes on to include every single milestone and accolade that the artist ever received. This is not a compelling way to entice fans and media today.<\/span><\/p>\n Your bio, or as I call it a Signature Story, needs to include a memorable story (or moment) that the reader can recall. I refer to this standout moment as the hook.<\/span><\/p>\n As much as you may want to drive traffic to your Spotify plays, SoundCloud is the industry standard for pitching to and posting on music blogs. This is because SoundCloud doesn\u2019t force you to log in to stream tracks like Spotify does, so music bloggers like it because there is no barrier to entry for their readers (<\/span>unless you are told otherwise in the submission guidelines)<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Ensure you have your SoundCloud profile fully built with a current on-brand header, bio, links to socials, and album and single artwork posted with each track.<\/span><\/p>\n SoundCloud allows you to create and share private links. Take some time to understand how to set these up, as they will come in handy for advance listens. Create separate playlists for individual songs with single art, and when pitching for that specific track, send only that link.<\/span><\/p>\n You can also share these private links with the media. If you’re shopping for a music publicist or sending music to industry folks, this is the easiest way to share your music for their consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, if you are pitching to playlists, you will send your Spotify link.<\/p>\n This is crucial. A thorough musician\u2019s press kit should consist of five parts: 1. music, 2. bio, 3. photos, 4. videos, 5\u2014quotes from the media, industry, or fans.<\/span><\/p>\n It is also vital that you post an EPK on your website. The media will deeply appreciate having easy access to your information because they are constantly under deadline. You can also point other industry folk such as promoters and venues to your EPK. You want all press assets to be in your control so that you always have your best foot forward and are sharing the latest news, releases, and images. I don\u2019t suggest using an EPK website or service to host yours, as you want all of the content to count for your SEO.<\/span><\/p>\n A good pitch is short and written specifically for the blogger, playlister, or music journalist. It is NOT a copy-and-pasted \u201cblast\u201d that gets sent to hundreds to see what sticks.<\/span><\/p>\n Aside from excellent music, a <\/span>pitch<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/span> is one of the most essential things to create. Without a pitch, people will have no context to understand who you are or what you sound like. It\u2019s critical because we have very short attention spans in today\u2019s world. If you don\u2019t have a concise pitch that gives people an instant sense of what you sound like, you\u2019re basically robbing yourself of possibilities to get media and entice new listeners.<\/span><\/p>\n A good pitch includes descriptive and catchy words; descriptive doesn\u2019t mean you have to sound like somebody else, though that can be helpful for context. Catchy could be fun – hillbilly-flamenco, or poly-ethnic Cajun-slam-gras. Descriptive could be – Joan Jett meets Jessica Rabbit. Those are three of my all-time favorites.<\/span><\/p>\n All of them. You will never be done with your online posting. Staying malleable and adaptable is the key there. Technology will continue to change and fans will continue to expect to see you on socials. It\u2019s all about staying on top of it, or at least in it.<\/span><\/p>\n Yes. Many more prominent music blogs and publications will not even consider featuring you until you have a large social following. They expect that you will share their features with your audience, bringing them traffic. Publicity is very much a two-way exchange.<\/span><\/p>\n Many media outlets won\u2019t expect you to have massive numbers, but they do pay attention to your interactions, so it\u2019s vital that you make <\/span>connections<\/span><\/i>. How do you do that? Never squander an opportunity. Every day you are given the chance to connect with people, so take the time to do this thoughtfully – set a mini-goal for yourself that you will <\/span>connect <\/span><\/i>with five people a day (include music writers you like) on social media or on your email list. This means to go above and beyond and send more than a quick emoji – challenge yourself to write a few sentences. Stick to it for a few months and see how things begin to shift.<\/span><\/p>\n This depends on the type of results you are looking for. You could send your music to a blog or playlist that posts multiple times a day and get picked up almost instantaneously. So, when you talk about an online music publicity campaign, it can take a couple of hours to a few days to start seeing placements.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re aiming for traditional publicity in major publications, which are known in the PR-world as \u201clong-lead press” (Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair for example), you have to begin thinking about your placement at least three months before the issue comes out. You may have to go back to theses larger publications for years until you have something newsworthy enough to get included finally.<\/span><\/p>\n For daily and weekly newspapers, there\u2019s a shorter window. Editors need a minimum of 4-6 week\u2019s notice. They have to get interviews and artwork, and they are getting inundated by hundreds of other publicists and events that month, no matter what city you are targeting, so planning is key.<\/span><\/p>\n3. When Should I Hire A Music Publicist?<\/b><\/h3>\n
4. How Much Should I Pay For Music Publicity?<\/b><\/h3>\n
5. How Can I Make My Music Or My Video Go Viral?<\/b><\/h3>\n
6. Do I Need A Musician Bio?<\/b><\/h3>\n
7. How Do I Send My Music To The Media?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
8. Is It Important To Have An EPK \/ Press Kit?<\/b><\/h3>\n
9. What Makes A Good Music Publicity Pitch?<\/b><\/h3>\n
10. What Social Channels Should Musicians Be On?<\/b><\/h3>\n
11. Do I Need To Use Social Media To Succeed With Music Publicity?<\/b><\/h3>\n
12. What\u2019s A Realistic Time-Frame For Music Publicity Efforts To Come To Fruition?<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nWant to get started with your music publicity? Get my\u00a0 book “The Ultimate Guide to Music Publicity”<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/b>
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