Thanks for our friends from MusicNomad.com for supplying the following words of advice:
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Music Blogs are the new A&R scouts for new music. Music Fans and Record Labels use influential music blogs to filter out and find new music. 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 readers 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 site it can bring you new fans to your shows and your websites.
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. The last way is they almost all take submissions and on their site where they explain how to submit your music. The challenge is most bloggers have no time to listen to everything sent in so the chances of them listening to your MP3 and getting put on their blog are slim.
However, we at MusicNomad have heard from music bloggers themselves on the do’s and don’ts for submitting your music. So we have compiled a list that will hopefully increase your chance of them opening up your submission and getting mentioned in their music blog.
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 then in your signature put your band’s myspace page, etc and tour dates.
- Use the subject matter to draw attention to something important such as you are touring through the bloggers town or you sound like one of his favorite bands.
- If you are touring through the bloggers 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.
In the end most bloggers write about music they like and share it with their readers that have come to respect them for their recommendations and taste. These influential bloggers help bring people to an artists show and promotes the artists concerts. They also get pleasure in helping the bands they like and bringing new fans to them. I hope this article helps your chances of getting on some influential blogs.
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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 (www.musicnomad.com) is free to use and focuses on fighting for the underdog, independent musicians!