The Undercover Band

Our life as musicians should be simple:  write and record awesome songs and then wait for the world to hear them... Unfortunately, it’s not that simple :  Getting music, and the stories behind the songs, out into the world is just as important as writing them. How do we do that?  Music magazines and websites are our first outlet. They can premiere our songs, interview us or write a review of our latest release... Getting this coverage is not something we generally know how to do, and we’re unlikely to get on the cover of a magazine without having made a name for ourselves..  First of all, it's ok to dream big, but you'll need to start with local news sites and small blogs. Once you secure a series of articles and bring interest to your music, you'll grow and so will your publications. Must-Read: How much does a PR campaign cost? Rule #1:  Always keep in mind that you have competition ! Blogs and Magazines receive hundreds of artists and music submis...

Pitching to playlists has become an essential part of a musicians promotion :  a good streaming placement leads an artist to better exposition, more followers, more revenues and better chances to being placed to bigger and bigger playlists on future releases, ultimately leading to bigger opportunities, and so on... Don't underestimate this part of your promotion campaign, and give it the time from day 1 of your song release. But... know that a lot of so-called curators out there ask for a "small fee" to be featured in their playlists (from a few $$ to a hundred, depending on the number of weeks they'll leave your song).  Must-Read: How much does a PR campaign cost? Beware of scams and don't be fooled! If you are ok paying, at least check:  - if the playlist has a good amount of followers - also the artists featured: are they in the same music genre as your song? do they have a lot of follower / listeners (see if the playlists they pay for actually bri...

Every time you have something new to share  (or not so new!) Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash -> new single, EP, album, "Best Of" compilation, release Promote the release, pitch it send it to all the medias (radios, blogs, etc..) and don't forget to submit to playlists -> new music video release Promote the release, pitch it send it to all the medias, even the radios along with the mp3./wav. versions. ->  past releases if you haven't released anything for a while and haven't been active on internet. It will bring attention to what you did, give a new spotlight on your music, a few things to share and get people waiting and interested in your new materials coming up.  I call this the "pre-release campaign"! Must-Read: How much does a PR campaign cost? For each release more and more medias answer positively; maybe because we are familiar to them after several campaigns?   As a matter of fact, it took me and my bandmates 5 years f...

What exactly does a PR do? There's nothing you can't do. Sky is the limit!  Question is can you do it right and do you have the time for it? DIY  PR is free and good on many levels when you do it right and when you put a lot of time and efforts into it. If not done properly, it can be a total waste and damaging for your music and image. Here's how to do it right :         🔍 #1. RESEARCH all the contacts of the medias you'd like to reach and get your music featured on  and get the names of the people you'll send your emails to. The first lines of your email will be the first impression the person who reads it will get. Starting with "Dear John" will give you way more chances to be read and answered than a random "hey," or "hi". Gathering all those contacts will take time, but keep in mind that this time is a long term investment. Must-Read: How much does a PR campaign cost? #2. ORGANIZE your contacts  - by media types (rad...