Artists, in order to promote your music, there is one key component you must really nail: the music press release. A press release is the informative and attention-grabbing official statement sent by you/your team to media outlets to announce something they should be aware of.
The types of events that usually require a press release:
- A new album
- A concert or tour announcement
- A collaboration with another artist
- An achievement or milestone (award, # of Spotify streams, platinum album)
- A film or documentary
The music industry media you’ll distribute to:
- Music journalists
- Bloggers
- Influencers
- Record Labels (sometimes)
By crafting and distributing information on a newsworthy event, you’ll not only spark the curiosity of the media, but also give them everything they need to then write about it themselves. If all goes well, your new music or upcoming gigs will get a press write up in respected publications in the industry.
It’s quite simple to write an effective press release, especially if you have guidelines. The following are some examples of official press releases by some of the greats. After that we’ll show you how to draft one yourself.
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Examples
Tate McRae’s press release for “It’s Ok I’m Ok”, released by Sony Music
Billie Eilish’s press release for her tour “Hit Me Hard and Soft”, released by Universal Music
Bon Iver’s press release for SABLE, released on website and written by Shorefire Media
1. How to Structure Your Statement
As you can see, regardless of whether it’s to announce new music or a headline tour, press releases follow a very similar structure. They are very factual, provide all necessary information, and are to the point. Some releases are distributed by an artist’s record label, while others are posted on an artist’s website. The end goal remains the same: get people talking and excited.
When crafting your own press release, include the following in your statement:
- Headline: include your name + the event being announced
- Subheader: get a little more specific
- Links to tickets, streaming, or video: use hyperlinks
- 2-3 body paragraphs: give context about the event
- Extras: artwork and press photo download, quotes
Important Note: even if you are writing about yourself, press release writing always involves talking in the 3rd person. Public relations and announcements like these should sound like someone else writing about your career.
2. How to Write Your Press Release
Headline and Subheader
Headlines are most effective when their message is clear. Given the informative nature of press releases, this is particularly important. Avoid clickbait-y titles and go straight for the announcement, followed by specific. For releases or tours, include the date of the drop or first day of ticket sales in the subheader, and for achievements, state the name of the project it was associated with.
Links to Tickets, Streaming, or Video
Almost all press release-worthy announcements will have a digital asset involved – you’ll notice that every example above used hyperlinks straight to them. Direct readers to a Spotify pre-save, a ticketing service, a music video, or anything relevant by providing links directly under the title. This makes it easier than sifting through the text.
Body Paragraphs
This is the place to be both informative and descriptive. You want to give as much context as you can without giving everything away. Use the “5 Ws” and explain the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of your announcement.
Just as you would be pitching a song to a playlist, describe your new music with great imagery to give readers an idea of what kind of mood and sentiment they should expect.
- Who: State who took part in the writing and production of the new music (for releases), who directed the video (for music videos), or who you’re collaborating with
- What: State the event
- Where: State where the music was recorded, achievement was obtained, doc was filmed
- When: State when the event is going to take place (release date, tour dates)
- Why: State what inspired the music (for releases), or give history on career development (for achievements)
You can write these points in whatever order you feel reads best. Just make sure they do not exceed 3 paragraphs as music industry press releases are always under one page.
Artwork and Photo Downloads
Give media outlets and reporters the opportunity to use your headline and accompany it with professional images of your choice by providing them with a download link to the high quality assets (see Tate McRae’s press release).
Quotes
In publicity and online press, you’ll often find quotes by the artists included to make the statement feel more personal. Don’t be afraid to include a one or two sentence statement from the artist (presumably you) about your thoughts on the upcoming event and how exciting of a time it is.
3. What Your Press Release Should Look Like
There is no set rule for press release presentation or formatting. Record labels stick to the center-aligned, single photo option as you can see in the above examples, no matter the roster. Given that these are Billboard charting artists, we can’t deny that that format may just be the standard to follow! It is clearly simple and effective, which is the point of the statement. Opt for either cover art of your new single (Tate McRae), a final poster you’ll be using for touring (Billie Eilish), or a professional photo of yourself as the sole image on the release, and let the rest be text. It’ll do the job!
4. How to Distribute Your Press Release
As you’ve come to understand, these statements are digital, so they’re easy to distribute. If we take a page out of Sony or Universal’s books, it’s clear that publishing the release on your own website is an efficient way of hosting it somewhere everyone can see and visit. In terms of getting it to people who don’t already follow you, you can pitch it to the media outlets of your choice and provide them with the link. At Groover, there are hundreds of media outlets, bloggers, and influencers to choose from that you can contact directly. If they don’t answer within a week, you get your credits back to use on someone else.
Email is also a great way to distribute your press release. Many media platforms have contact pages that provide this information, so send them a brief message followed by your press release. If you have a newsletter, you can send a press release to your fanbase to get them excited as well!
5. Be Prepared for Press
Remember that the music business is highly saturated and sometimes difficult to navigate because of it. Make it easier on everyone by being completely prepared:
- Make sure to have your music on all streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Deezer, Tidal, YouTube Music)
- Make sure your song recordings are of excellent quality and have been mixed and mastered before being sent to your distribution service
- Make sure you have sorted out the splits on your royalties with all parties involved before announcing any projects
If not everything has been sorted, that’s ok. Looking for artist management is wise when you feel like you’re in over your head. Songwriters and artists alike feel it necessary to build a team in order to get every aspect of their music career taken care of. Instead of dealing with the promotional, branding, marketing, media monitoring, and other administrative duties of your music career yourself, you can have others help you with everything, including writing a press release!
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Next articles:
> Storytelling: Building a universe around your music
> How to write a good artist bio
> How to write a good press kit
> Video Clip: 9 tips for small budget productions
To go further: How to prepare the release of your single and get noticed?
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