This blog is all about press releases, which are super important. Now you may think of press releases in terms of print, for example magazines and newspapers. However, we are talking about audio here, we are talking about music. The press release is still very much necessary to get your band, or career as an artist, out there.

So, who will be reading these press releases? Well, when you send it to the radio, it could be the music co-ordinator, it could be a presenter or a producer. They need to be able to scan through your press release as quickly as possible, as they will be receiving loads of these. They want to find out if you are interesting and if it's worth listening to your single. 

I started out as a radio plugger, and so I was writing press release all the time for various acts. Due to that, I'm going to give you my secret recipe for writing a great press release.

Tip no.1 – keep it short 

Your press release should ideally be on one page. If you think you need to spill out over two pages, then you probably need to condense your writing a little bit as producers will want to scan through this as quickly as possible. If they see there are two pages of writing in there, it will automatically turn them off, and they simply won’t read it.

The reality is, the only time I'll get to read press releases is in-between songs. Perhaps on advert breaks, there are three minutes in which I can scan through my emails. It would help if you made this as easy as possible, a helpful simple page I can quickly read through and go back to the radio.

Tip no.2 – the layout

To keep it easy, here’s the best way to order your press release:

1.Your band or artist name.

2.The name of the single/EP

3.Have links embedded to the single or video (I’ll come back to this one).

4.Artwork (Main Image)

5.The blurb (I’ll also revisit that one in a second)

6.Social media contact info

So this should all fit on one page!

Tip no.3 – the links

There are different ways of doing it but trust me, if you do it this way, it’s going to work well. First of all, do not copy and paste the whole URL into your press release, write ‘listen here’ and hyperlink the word ‘here’. It will look a lot more pro, and the link will lead the presenter/producer straight to your SoundCloud track, and they can listen there. Please note, check your track permissions and make sure it is downloadable! Otherwise, this whole thing is pointless.

Okay so you might be thinking that you have so many social media websites everywhere, but you don’t have a SoundCloud. My advice is to create a SoundCloud… it's free, it's easy, and it's the right way for the music co-ordinator to access your music.

Tip no.4 – the blurb

The all-important blurb is where you can talk about your story and inspirations. It's also a chance to show off a little bit.  You want to include in there how many plays you have had on Spotify and/or radio, cool people you have supported or big venues you have played at. All of these sorts of things, please put them in BOLD. If I’m reading this press release, I’ll be scanning through as quickly as possible and probably only reading the bits in bold, so it would make my life easier!

Tip no.5 – make it easy for the radio producer to help you

Please do yourself a favour, make it as easy as possible for me. If you imagine there is so much going on at a radio station, reading a press release is just a small snippet of the day. Keep it short and simple, you'll have a better chance of being played on the radio.

If you want me to find you on social media, don’t tell me where to find you – give me a link. If you want me to check out your Spotify, don’t tell me you are the third one down when searching your artist name, give me the link. Make it easy for me to help you!

Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in learning more and are serious about progressing in your career as a musician, please join us at WaterBear HQ for an Open Day or Order a Prospectus.