Top Tips When Sending Music to Reviewers

Here at Angry Baby we try to be as helpful as possible and make the lives of musicians, as well as our own, work well, so here are our top tips for sending your music to a reviewer – click here to send yours to us. These tips should get you past the first step to getting your music listened to for review – if you’re wondering, the first step is instant relegation to the bin.

Contact the reviewer in the way they want to be contacted
Sounds straightforward doesn’t it, but it’s surprising how often it happens differently. In short, if a music blog asks for music to be submitted for review via email, then send via email; if they ask for it to be sent through a website landing page, then do that. Showing that you’ve checked out the site enough to know how they want their information will often get you past the first stage.

Submit all the information requested by the reviewer
Do your research – if the submissions landing page asks for an EPK, images and a streaming link, ensure that’s what you send. Reviewers are likely to have lots of messages all wanting music reviewed so make it easy for them and send what they ask for (if this isn’t explicitly set out, send as much as you can or check their other reviews). Failure to send the correct info makes it more likely your music won’t make it past the first stage.

Spend time on creating a good EPK
A good EPK means that the reviewer has all the information they need about the music submitted so if they like it and want to review, they don’t have to waste time searching online for something that can easily be provided in advance. For me, a good EPK should have:
Streaming link to all tracks submitted
Images that can be used
Bio
Press release including industry quotes if relevant
Links to all socials

Reply to reviewers queries in good time
As and when a reviewer requests further information, reply sooner rather than later. Taking more than a few days means that your review request will either fall down the priority list or fail to pass the first stage altogether.

Submit your music early
Work back from your release date and timetable your submissions well ahead of that date. Reviewers don’t like to be rushed into publishing something so urgent requests to review and publish something with only a few days turnaround are unlikely to be successful. If in doubt, ask reviewers for an indication of their lead time. Angry Baby likes a two week turnaround time in ideal circumstances, for example.

The main point to remember with sending music for review is to do your research. After all, you’ve gone to the trouble of recording and producing your music so why ruin it’s chances of success by doing a half hearted job in the promotion?

Click here to send your music to Angry Baby – having of course read all the above first!