Band Guide Vol 1. (Song Distribution)

I was looking through my inbox today and I realized that I get a ton of emails from bands and PR/marketing/label folk looking for a little coverage. The problem is the presentation usually sucks so I ignore it or forget to check it out. If you want to get heard then there are a few things you should know before hand. I have experience in online music marketing and obviously I'm a blogger so I know how it works best for both sides.

• NO Streams - To be honest streams aren't so bad to listen to but they suck to post. If I'm sent a stream and I actually like the band it's unlikely I'll link to a stream unless it's a huge label band and no one's heard the track yet. If I feel compelled to post about a smaller band I'll dig up an MP3 somewhere and use that instead of the stream. This does not apply to full album streams - only track streams. ***Note to labels: Don't be cheap, send a fucking MP3 if you want to break your band.
  

• NO Attachments - True, bloggers love MP3's but attaching an MP3 to an email is not the way to distribute your music. Get that shit hosted somewhere kids. If you just dropped a few grand at a studio then you might as well pony up a couple more bucks to host the file. I don't want to spend the time downloading the attachment, listening to it, uploading it to a server, and then linking to the file. I want to copy the URL for the file (which should end in .mp3 by the way) and paste it in a post. Plus if you have it hosted you can access it from anywhere.

• NO Passwords - Sometimes bands send me links to their hosted MP3's that are password protected. They share the password with me but ask I don't pass it along. I can understand this to a degree but how does that get you heard? If you want to password protect the full album download that's fine but keep a track or two unprotected so I can share them with my readers.

• SOME MySpace - Everyone should send a link to their MySpace profile. It's the easiest way for me to preview your music. The key word here is PREVIEW, if I like it I still want an MP3. Sending a link to MySpace DOES NOT excuse you from sending a hosted MP3, even if the tracks are downloadable. Telling someone to download your MP3 from MySpace and share it is exactly the same as sending an attachment, meaning it's not getting posted.

And finally here is an example of how an MP3 should be sent, direct from World's Fair...

MP3:
You're Supposed To Be My Friend - 1990's

This concludes today's lesson. I do not claim to speak for all of the world's bloggers out there but I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. As a blogger this is what I personally prefer. As a marketing professional this is what works the best for gaining coverage. When I say "works best" I mean like huge difference "works best."

One last thing, there are exceptions. If you're that damn good and you know it then people will do a little extra work to be the first to "break" you - just don't get too cocky.