Music PR 101

Back in the pre-internet days, getting PR for your music was the only way to get your music heard.

Record labels, PR firms, radio stations and music magazines were the gatekeepers of the music industry - to get your music in front of an audience, you needed their help.

Now, though, it’s easier than ever to reach an audience via the internet. You no longer need to hire a PR firm to give your music an ‘in’. Even if you don’t know anything about PR, you can easily manage the ‘traditional’ PR tasks that get you in front of an audience.

What is music PR?

PR, or Public Relations, has one goal: to present a positive public image to media outlets, influencers, industry bodies and more, usually via press releases, interviews and reviews.

How has music PR changed?

For independent artists and record labels, music PR is about getting your music out there through media sources. 

For the media sources themselves, it’s about providing content that readers, listeners or followers will enjoy, so that their own audiences can grow. 

It’s a win-win situation, if the musician and media outlet have similar audiences and both their goals can be achieved.

With the rise of the internet and social media specifically, the landscape of music PR has changed. But how?

The biggest change is that independent artists and record labels don’t need music PR success to reach an audience online.

Social media has levelled the playing field, making it easier for artists to get their music in front of fans without the assistance of media outlets. While music PR is still a boost, it’s no longer the only way to reach fans.

Does music PR matter?

Yes, it definitely does!

While social media is great at building an audience and a loyal fanbase, music PR will help you reach new fans by piggybacking on the audiences of media outlets, industry bodies, etc.

The world of music PR is, arguably, more challenging than it used to be. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth pursuing.

Fans trust music media outlets - so when your music is featured by a trusted outlet, influencer or other industry body, you’re likely to get new fans listening to your music.

How can I boost my music PR?

To secure PR for your music, there are a few important things you can do, including…

Make your music widely available

Media outlets can’t promote music that they can’t find!

Work with a digital music distributor to get your music onto major streaming platforms, like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, as well as more niche platforms that might be genre or territory specific.

Every journalist, blogger or influencer will have their own personal preference for where and how they consume music - so it’s not enough to just put your music on a couple of platforms.

Use a music distributor who can put your music on global platforms. Even if you’ve never heard of most of them, the people you’re reaching out to might have!

(Tip: Identity Music distributes your music to over 80 global platforms!)

Use your social media presence

Share your music on social media and build connections with media outlets or influential music people by following and engaging with them.

If you’re new to using social media to grow your music career, have a look at these guides:

🔗 Instagram Stories: A Musician’s Guide

🔗 Writing a Killer Bio

🔗 Music Promotion: how to promote your music (& make more money)

🔗 TikTok Musicians’ Guide: Tips & Tricks

Start building a contacts list

Having a strong list of media contacts is crucial to effective PR outreach.

Whether that’s influential Instagram accounts, bloggers, journalists, podcasters - if they’ve got an audience that aligns with your audience (i.e. their audience contains people who could be fans of your music), try to find their contact details to add to your own PR database.

At the very least, start building engagement with them via your social media channels. You may not be able to find an email address to reach out to them directly, but engaging with their social media content will help them to notice your existence - and over time, they’re more likely to be receptive to your DMs and give you PR attention.

Create an EPK

Build an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) to send to your database of media contacts.

An EPK is basically a CV for your music. It usually includes photos, links to your music on streaming platforms, and a brief bio of who you are as an artist. 

If you don’t already have an EPK, now’s the time to create one! Use something like Bandzoogle or EPK Builder if you don’t have your own website, or create a simple page on your website if you do.

More information about EPKs can be found here:

🔗 How to book gigs as a musician

Be professional and interesting

As an artist, being professional and being true to your creative self can be a fine balancing act - but it’s particularly important when dealing with more ‘traditional’ media outlets.

If you’re reaching out to journalists using an email address you’ve had since high school that has nothing to do with your music career and is, quite frankly, a little embarrassing, journalists are unlikely to take you seriously.

Equally, if you’re reaching out to creative media outlets with bland, dull, lifeless content, you’re not going to grab their attention.

Striking that balance between presenting yourself as a legitimate, growth-focused artist and showing off your creativity can feel tricky, but practice makes perfect!

Don’t expect immediate results

Starting from scratch with music PR means that it can take time to get the much-demanded attention of journalists, influencers and other media professionals.

Media outlets receive hundreds, if not thousands, of cold emails every single day from independent artists (or their press teams) looking for PR placements. You’re competing with every single one of them for attention - so don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re unsuccessful at first!

Keep putting the time in, keep putting yourself out there, keep being creative with your music and your public content - and, most importantly, keep building relationships with people in the industry. 

As the saying goes, it’s not what you know but who you know that matters!