Like the rest of us, you want a glowing press write-up.
And as an indie musician, you may naturally look to indie music blogs.
But how do you submit your music to blogs and actually get featured?
There are two main ways to approach this.
This article will show you how to use both approaches to garner press for your music.
The One-By-One Approach
You might call this the classic way to submit your music to blogs.
Here’s how you do it.
You look for blogs that feature your kind of music and submit to them one at a time.
Below is a step-by-step process you can use.
1. Find Blogs
Use Google and social media or check out the music blogs you already read.
A super useful tool is Hype Machine. It collects the latest posts from hundreds of indie music blogs.
You can filter by genre. Which means you can find blogs that are featuring music like yours.
Jot down artists they’ve done write-ups on. You’ll need them later.
Here’s a list of great blogs to submit to.
2. Make a List
Next, create a spreadsheet listing all the blogs you want to submit to.
Include the following column titles:
- Blog name
- Link to submission guidelines or contact page
- Name of writer who has reviewed similar music
- Writer’s email address (if submission guidelines aren’t clear)
- Link to a relevant article on the blog by that writer
- Date you pitched your music
- Link to their review of your music (if/when you get featured)
This will be your blog-submission master spreadsheet.
3. Write an Email Template
Write an email template you can use as an outline.
You’ll want to personalize each email you send, but a template will save you so much time.
Try this template:
SUBJECT LINE: Music submission: sounds like [LIST 3 ARTISTS YOU SOUND LIKE]
Hi, [NAME OF BLOGGER/NAME OF BLOG]!
I loved your review of [SIMILAR ARTIST]. I really appreciated the way you described [SPECIFIC THING THEY WROTE ABOUT THAT YOU LIKED].
I make very similar music, and I’m releasing a [SONG/EP/ALBUM] on [RELEASE DATE]. Would you be up for giving it a listen and reviewing it?
Here’s where you can stream it: [LINK: PRIVATE SOUNDCLOUD LINK / BOX.COM / DROPBOX]
And here’s a short bio: [3–5 SENTENCE BIO + LINK TO YOUR WEBSITE]
I look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
Remember to always follow the submission guidelines listed on the blog’s website.
If they accept emails, remove anything from this template they don’t want and add anything they do.
Batch Submissions
If you don’t want to submit to blogs one by one, there are tools and companies that let you batch submit your music.
Here are a few methods you can use.
SubmitHub
SubmitHub partners with indie music blogs. And then artists submit their music to those blogs via the platform.
This is super convenient because you don’t have to do any research. You can filter blogs by genre and see how often they feature music like yours.
Then you can check off which blogs you want to submit to, write a 2–3 sentence summary of your song, and hit submit.
All you have to do is link your SoundCloud account, and it pulls your songs in.
You can also submit to Spotify playlisters and YouTube channels. Not to mention social media influencers, indie labels, and radio stations.
With each submission, you have to use a certain number of credits. (Different blogs require a different number of credits.)
You can use standard credits or premium credits. You get two free standard credits every four hours.
Premium credits, however, cost money.
Premium credits filter your submission to the top of the blogger’s list. Of course, on a first-come, first-serve basis with all the other premium submissions.
After you submit your music with premium credits, the bloggers must:
- Listen to at least 20 seconds
- Accept or reject the song within 48 hours
- Provide at least 10 words explaining why they rejected the song
If they don’t follow these requirements, you’re refunded your credits.
None of these requirements apply to standard credits.
Bloggers spend more time with premium submissions. So it’s best to invest a little money in premium credits on this platform.
Thanks to SubmitHub, my music has gotten write-ups on music blogs and placements on Spotify playlists. So I know first-hand this website works.
Work with a Public Relations Professional
This is going to cost more money upfront than SubmitHub.
But they can give you a much wider reach than if you were to submit music on your own. If you work with a reputable PR professional or agency.
You only have so much time in a day, and PR people know how to pitch music to increase your chances of a feature.
This means PR companies can get you write-ups on bigger blogs and even in music magazines.
They can do much more than that. And if you have the funds, then handing the reins over to a PR person can save you time and get you some decent press.
Tips for Submitting Music to Blogs
Regardless of how you submit music to blogs, here are some general guidelines to follow.
Make Sure Your Music Is Actually Ready
This may be obvious, but your music has to be pro level before you try to get press.
This means you need to have the knowledge and patience to execute every level of music-making.
This includes songwriting, engineering, and producing at the very least. Mixing and mastering can be outsourced to pros.
Only submit your music when it’s good and ready.
Submit Music Before It’s Released (or Within a Month After)
Blogs don’t want to promote stale music.
So your submission needs to be for an upcoming release. Or something you’ve released within the past month.
For example, I’ve submitted songs the week they came out and gotten write-ups.
Follow the Submission Guidelines
Make sure you look for submission guidelines.
Sometimes blogs have specific things they want to see in your submission. And things they do not want.
Sometimes blogs explicitly say they don’t accept submissions.
Know the guidelines before you submit.
Reference Similar Artists
Whether you submit directly to blogs or through SubmitHub, mention well-known artists your music sounds like.
This helps the blogger know what to expect right away.
It’s especially helpful if you cite artists the blog has covered before.
Make Sure All Links Work
Whatever way you submit, double-check that your links work. SoundCloud, Spotify, official website, and all other links.
Open them in incognito mode on your browser. Make sure they look good on your laptop and your phone.
A bad link can ruin your chances of getting blog coverage.
Proofread Your Submission
Before you hit send, read through your email. Ensure the tone is friendly but professional.
Also, use a free tool like Grammarly to make sure you don’t have any typos. (But don’t just accept all of their suggestions—go through them!)
Conclusion
I highly recommend you try submitting music via SubmitHub.
You can also find blogs on Hype Machine that don’t partner with SubmitHub and use the one-by-one method to submit.
Whatever you do, make sure you’re submitting high-quality music that you’re super proud of.
