Press And Publicity

Press can be integral to exposing a new artist-- a good review can directly translate into more CD sales at a retail account or more ticket sales at an upcoming show. In fact, publicity is such a powerful marketing tool in America that even a bad review is better than no review at all. It's worth noting, however, that this is not the case in some other parts of the world. In the U.K. for example, press (for whatever reason) reigns supreme, and a bad review can be devastating for a artist's career. But in the U.S. any review-- good or bad-- should be viewed as free advertising and, accordingly, a good thing. So you should promote your act in all press, newsletters, newspapers, and fanzines that cater to your target audience. Especially in your early days, quantity is more important than quality when it comes to press and publicity. Like all aspects of music marketing, promoting your act to the press and generating publicity involves several steps:
1. Develop A Press List
The first step is to compile a list of appropriate press accounts (i.e. outlets) in your target market-- college press, local magazines and newspapers, fanzines, online press and media, etc. Note that your list should include press that is not primarily focused on music, but which music fans read-- for example, skateboard or snowboard magazines are excellent outlets to expose certain genres of music, and as you will see below, there are more ways to market yourself in the press than just the simple album or concert review. Start with the StarPolish Database for both references of great press in your target market(s), as well as the important contact information. However, I also strongly recommend that you supplement whatever information you get from StarPolish with your own list that you compile from scratch. While we update our database often, the music industry moves quickly, new magazines and newspapers pop up all the time, and contact information changes rapidly; so you may uncover new information in your target markets faster than we do. Also, remember that you are clearly not the only artist who will be using the StarPolish Database. You should strive to stand apart from other artists by working with a personal, more comprehensive list, specifically suited to your act.
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