This is the first post in a series of guest posts by MusicNomad, a musicians advocate organization that researches, reviews and ranks thousands of companies in the music industry to filter out the ones that help musicians the most.Music blogs are the new A&R scouts for the music industry. Music fans and record labels use influential music blogs to filter out and find new music, and as a result, all developing artists must now leverage the music blog scene to succeed. Some music blogs write about popular music and give reviews, gossip and MP3’s, but the most influential ones are usually written by one blogger who writes about music he loves and does not follow the mainstream music scene. Music fans on these sites go there because they have the same musical tastes of those bloggers and want to discover cool new music. As a result, if your band is lucky enough to be positively reviewed on a music blog, it can bring new fans to your shows and websites. This should sound familiar to Evolving Music readers, as it shares the same underlying principal as the Niche Music System.
Well how do these bloggers find new music to write about? They go to record stores (yes there are still a few around) and ask the clerks what is new and cool. They ask friends and check out lots of live shows. And, they take music submissions through their sites. The challenge is that most bloggers have no time to listen to everything submitted, so the chances of them listening to your music and getting put on their blog are slim.
However, MusicNomad has compiled a great list of do’s and don’ts for submitting your music that will increase your chances of getting mentioned:
Do’s
- Make sure you check out the style of music the blogger likes and send your music to only those bloggers that like your style/genre.
- Personalize the email and refer to something you read in the blog that you liked. Mention some of the bands the blogger likes and that you are in the same genre as them.
- Tell the blogger some cool bands you think he will like and in your signature, put your band’s myspace page, etc and tour dates.
- Use the subject line to draw attention to something important, such as you are touring through the blogger’s town or you sound like one of his favorite bands.
- If you are touring through the blogger’s town, let him know and ask him to come down and check you out.
- Send MP3 links
Don’ts
- Don’t show up at their home or place of business, they don’t like stalkers.
- Don’t send CD’s unless they specifically ask for it.
- If you are a rap artist, don’t send your MP3 to an indie rock blogger and vice versa.
- Don’t use all caps in your email to them…there’s no need to yell.
In the end, most bloggers write about music they like and share it with readers who have come to respect them for their recommendations and taste. These influential bloggers help promote artists and bring people to their shows. They also get pleasure in helping the bands they like and bringing new fans to them.
About MusicNomad
MusicNomad is a musicians advocate organization that tries to make sense of the vast and fragmented music industry through researching, interviewing, reviewing and ranking thousands of companies in the music industry and filtering the ones that can really help musicians. They then do write ups on the companies, rank them and give you a direct link to their website. There are also tips, news and articles for musicians to explore. The website is free to use and focuses on fighting for the underdog, independent musicians!
MusicNomad is a musicians advocate organization that tries to make sense of the vast and fragmented music industry through researching, interviewing, reviewing and ranking thousands of companies in the music industry and filtering the ones that can really help musicians. They then do write ups on the companies, rank them and give you a direct link to their website. There are also tips, news and articles for musicians to explore. The website is free to use and focuses on fighting for the underdog, independent musicians!
