How To Write A Press Release For a Music Artist
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, music artists can sell their work directly to listeners through services like SoundCloud or Amazon. However, the ease of use means a lot more competition. One of the best ways to get more media attention and boost your career and profits is to write a press release about your work.
What is a press release?
A press release is used to connect with the media to convey important information. Press releases are an ideal way to broaden awareness of your work among the general public through media attention. If you publish your press release through a distribution service, journalists and bloggers who cover music and the arts can publish the information in their periodical, leading to more traffic, sales and buzz about your work.
Writing a powerful press release is easier than you think:
It needs to be real news
Don’t send out any press release that is little more than an ad for your work. Make sure it is something new and noteworthy journalists will want to pass along to your target audience. Live performances, concerts, new singles, new albums, and awards would all be newsworthy.
The date and location
Put these at the top of your press release. You can get local media coverage by mentioning your city and state. The date is important if you are announcing a live event. Issue the release about 1 month prior to the event to give journalists a chance to pick it up and their readers the chance to save the date on their calendar.
A strong headline
It should grab a reader’s attention and create some buzz.
An effective subheadline
The subheadline gives more information about the headline and summarizes the main point of the press release.
The first paragraph
In journalism, the formula for writing any news story is known as the 5Ws. It is a checklist to ensure you don’t leave out any important information:
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
For a live performance, your main facts would look like this:
- Who-Jim Brown
- What-a live performance
- When-August 1, 2018, 10pm to 2am
- Where-The Bell House, 123 8th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
- Why-To play the usual favorites and preview their latest album
The musician’s biography
This basically tells them what type of music you play and why they should get excited about your music. Mention your musical background, awards, previous work, inspiration, and so on. Also, tell people where they can buy your music.
Contact information
This section includes the name of the contact person, their phone number, email address, and URL where they can find more information.
Include media
Include images of your album or singles covers, audio files with excerpts of the songs, and video clips of the musician performing or talking about their work.
Include a call to action
What do you want people to do after they read your story? Buy tickets, listen to the new song, or get a free download for a limited time? Tell them and see how much of a response you get to your press release.
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