How To Get Music Blog Coverage

Written by T.J. Petracca

Getting your music blogged about is one of the best ways to help your band grow on the Internet. Believe it or not, bloggers are some of the most powerful and influential people in the music industry. Sure, some of them are reclusive nerds slouched over glowing screens in their parents’ basement, but an increasing number of bloggers are producers, managers, A&R guys, and musicians themselves. Even if they are nerds in their parents’ basement, their influence can be extremely crucial to the success of your band. Below, find the top 5 ways to improve your chances of being featured on blogs.

1. Content is King

Creating bloggable content should be your first objective, but doing so is easier said than done. I’m not talking about overloading the web with songs, videos, and pictures, or talking about compromising your art, but rather that you stay current with the type of music that is getting coverage right now. Learn about the blogs you want to see your band on, and target them with the content you create.

2. The Album is Dead

At least when your band is first starting out. At that point in time, it’s all about releasing singles. Put your single up on an attractive Bandcamp page and upload it to Soundcloud. (Soundcloud is crucial to getting reviews. Many bloggers have soundcloud dropboxes built into their sites, making it super easy to share your tracks with them without clunky email attachments.)

3. Keep it Short and Sweet

Now that you’ve uploaded your content to the web, it’s time to start reaching out to blogs to get your music covered. Don’t spam them! Instead, learn about them and make sure you think they will actually like your music based on their previous posts. Always read the ‘about’ section on every blog and understand who you are talking to. Bloggers get hundreds, even thousands of submissions every day. Keep your email short and to the point. Use your subject line wisely so you’ll stand out. Talk about their blog and tell them what you like about it. Maybe highlight a specific post that made you think they would like your music. Attach a .jpeg of your album art and link to your bandcamp. Look at the format of their site — if you can size the photo you send them to fit perfectly with their layout, they are more likely to blog about you.

As I mentioned before, many bloggers prefer to receive submissions in their Soundcloud dropbox. Make sure to do that, but a follow up email is always a nice touch and it gives them another chance to see your name.

4. Follow them Religiously

Dedicate your band’s twitter “following” section to only blogs that are relevant. Follow them on twitter, soundcloud, instagram, tumblr, and everywhere else. Make them see your name as many times as possible, make them know who you are. Don’t harrass them, but stay in touch with them. Interact with them on twitter about everything, not just your music.

5. Thank Them and Keep Records

When someone writes about your band, share the article on all of your social media outlets, making sure to tag the blog in every post. Write them a short thank you email for featuring your song.

Compile a spreadsheet of bloggers who have featured you. Write down their site, name, email address, twitter handle, the link to their post about you, and their geographic location (the location will come in handy later when you decide to tour). Once you have a list of bloggers who have featured one of your singles, you can hit them up again in the future when you have new content, allowing every new release to go smoother and bigger than the one before.