I put up this post in June 2007 when I realized that I really liked some of the submissions that had been sitting in my e-mail inbox for months...and that I had never gotten around to posting on most of them. Since then I've (hopefully) improved my system for dealing with the growing number of submissions TGH gets these days.
Though I greatly enjoy listening to music submissions and try my best to listen to absolutely everything I get, when you send music to me there are no guarantees that I'll post on it. Generally the rule of thumb is pretty simple: if I like your music, I'll post on it.
(#1) goes for all e-mails, by the way.
If you're a promotions person and simply want to put me on your e-mail list, just send me an e-mail at the glorious hum (at) gmail (dot) com. (Admittedly, I'd greatly appreciate it if you you promo people asked if I want to be on your mass e-mail list, but since that has yet to happen...) If you want to send me something in the e-mail (say...an attachment?), scroll down and look at the instructions at the bottom of this post.
For bands and artists: The suggestions (below) I'm posting are just that, suggestions, and not instructions. Do what works for you. I think these suggestions are fairly straightforward and they're there to make sure I'll read your e-mail, listen to what you send me, and post on your music (assuming I like it). In my experience most people do what I'm suggesting without me ever telling them to. I decided to put up these suggestions because I was concerned about leveling the playing field between artists and bands with good promotions people and artists and bands (also their fans) who may be less experienced in dealing with bloggers, but whose music I may like just as much.
If you have a blog (even better, a blog post) you want me to check out, you should also feel free to e-mail me and I'll probably add your feed to my RSS reader. Same goes if you just want to chat or exchange music recommendations, but last.fm is also good for this kind of thing. Please don't ask for a link exchange. If I (a) know your blog exists and (b) like it, I'll link to it. So there.
theglorioushum (at) gmail (dot) com
There are some ways to ensure that I'll post on your band (assuming I like your music) or get back to you in a timely manner:
(#1) Don't get labeled as spam.
This is pretty easy, but mentioning the name of your band, EP, album, record label, etc. in the title is helpful. Also, the subject line probably shouldn't be "picture" or "photo." More descriptive subject line = less likely to be labeled as spam.
(#2) Easy access to mp3s or albums. (This is critical)
DO: Link to an mp3 in the e-mail.
DON'T: Attach an mp3 to an e-mail (unless we've already corresponded and I've given you the go-ahead).
DO: Send me to your press page, myspace, or another website where you have downloadable music.
DON'T: Send me to someplace where I can only stream music unless you've also directed me to at least one mp3 I can download. If you're promoting an upcoming release (EP or album), then an older mp3, a live version of a song (in the form of an mp3 or YouTube video), a demo, or a streaming widget/file (make sure to give me instructions) is fine.
DO: Make it really, really easy for me to get track information about the mp3s you send me. How do you go about doing this? Include artist and the title of the song in the file name. It works, I promise!
See my mailing information at the bottom.
(#3) Who sends me the e-mail?
If you, the band member (not a promotions person or record company), are the one sending me the e-mail then say so - I'm much more likely to make listening to your music and posting about you a top priority.
This doesn't mean I'm not glad to get e-mails from promotions people, but when it's your own music that you're sending to me it's a more personal request and I take it a lot more seriously.
(#4) Tell me about yourself
So many submissions I get tell me absolutely nothing about the band - looking up information or asking for it isn't a problem for me, but more information is helpful when I'm writing a post.
I'm glad to hear your life story, how your band got started - all of this is helpful. I can't tell you how to describe yourself and your music, so that's really up to you - but attempting to label yourself with a genre is a generally good idea. The questions below are questions whose answers I personally like to know in addition to any other information you give me. Though if more people answered the line-up question, that would be nice.
** = If the answer to this question is yes then I will listen to you OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN until my brain hurts. That's a promise.
Is this your **first EP** or album? Your second? Your third? Did you just get signed to a label? What label? Are you trying to get signed to a label? Did you just change labels? Is this all irrelevant because you're still operating out of your garage/basement? You're still working your day jobs, right?
Where are you from? **Are you from DC? somewhere in Virginia? Ohio? Do you live in DC or VA?** Are you playing near me (DC, VA, OH, pick one) anytime soon, or have you in the past? What venue? **Are you playing in the DC area or at Oberlin College in the near future?** Who have you toured with? **You haven't been able to go on tour?**
What kind of music do you play? What/who do you sound like?
(Note: I'm a little sick of promotions people - not the bands, mind you - telling me that the artist in question has been compared to Nick Drake when they really sound more like Neutral Milk Hotel, for example. The most common problem with e-mails from bands is that the person writing the e-mail goes on about the philosophical reasoning for their approach to making and playing their music, which is nice, but usually not particularly helpful (please, prove me wrong!). DO: Tell me the nitty gritty details about how the band/artist got started and became awesome, how you went about writing and recording your most recent release, etc.)
What does your band's line-up look like? (names, instruments, etc. - who writes your songs? the lead singer? the bassist?) Should I have heard of some of your band members before? How did the band form?
Is there anything interesting/unique about how/why you make your music? Tell me!
(#5) Other stuff:
Do you want to send me something in the mail?
Disclaimer: I'm no good at dealing with CDs I get in the mail and strongly prefer being sent digital files, because I know personally how much money, time and effort goes into mailing me music when there's no guarantee I'll get it or listen to it. So, if possible, go digital.
However, I do have a mailing address during the school year (from September until May) that I'll give you if you ask for it in an e-mail. During the summer I tend to move around a lot, so this isn't such a good idea. Update: As of July 23, 2009, I have a summer address, but I'd rather not give it out. Go digital, or wait until the fall.
Do you want to invite me to a concert (bands and promotions people)?
Then e-mail me.
Though I greatly enjoy listening to music submissions and try my best to listen to absolutely everything I get, when you send music to me there are no guarantees that I'll post on it. Generally the rule of thumb is pretty simple: if I like your music, I'll post on it.
(#1) goes for all e-mails, by the way.
If you're a promotions person and simply want to put me on your e-mail list, just send me an e-mail at the glorious hum (at) gmail (dot) com. (Admittedly, I'd greatly appreciate it if you you promo people asked if I want to be on your mass e-mail list, but since that has yet to happen...) If you want to send me something in the e-mail (say...an attachment?), scroll down and look at the instructions at the bottom of this post.
For bands and artists: The suggestions (below) I'm posting are just that, suggestions, and not instructions. Do what works for you. I think these suggestions are fairly straightforward and they're there to make sure I'll read your e-mail, listen to what you send me, and post on your music (assuming I like it). In my experience most people do what I'm suggesting without me ever telling them to. I decided to put up these suggestions because I was concerned about leveling the playing field between artists and bands with good promotions people and artists and bands (also their fans) who may be less experienced in dealing with bloggers, but whose music I may like just as much.
If you have a blog (even better, a blog post) you want me to check out, you should also feel free to e-mail me and I'll probably add your feed to my RSS reader. Same goes if you just want to chat or exchange music recommendations, but last.fm is also good for this kind of thing. Please don't ask for a link exchange. If I (a) know your blog exists and (b) like it, I'll link to it. So there.
theglorioushum (at) gmail (dot) com
There are some ways to ensure that I'll post on your band (assuming I like your music) or get back to you in a timely manner:
(#1) Don't get labeled as spam.
This is pretty easy, but mentioning the name of your band, EP, album, record label, etc. in the title is helpful. Also, the subject line probably shouldn't be "picture" or "photo." More descriptive subject line = less likely to be labeled as spam.
(#2) Easy access to mp3s or albums. (This is critical)
DO: Link to an mp3 in the e-mail.
DON'T: Attach an mp3 to an e-mail (unless we've already corresponded and I've given you the go-ahead).
DO: Send me to your press page, myspace, or another website where you have downloadable music.
DON'T: Send me to someplace where I can only stream music unless you've also directed me to at least one mp3 I can download. If you're promoting an upcoming release (EP or album), then an older mp3, a live version of a song (in the form of an mp3 or YouTube video), a demo, or a streaming widget/file (make sure to give me instructions) is fine.
DO: Make it really, really easy for me to get track information about the mp3s you send me. How do you go about doing this? Include artist and the title of the song in the file name. It works, I promise!
See my mailing information at the bottom.
(#3) Who sends me the e-mail?
If you, the band member (not a promotions person or record company), are the one sending me the e-mail then say so - I'm much more likely to make listening to your music and posting about you a top priority.
This doesn't mean I'm not glad to get e-mails from promotions people, but when it's your own music that you're sending to me it's a more personal request and I take it a lot more seriously.
(#4) Tell me about yourself
So many submissions I get tell me absolutely nothing about the band - looking up information or asking for it isn't a problem for me, but more information is helpful when I'm writing a post.
I'm glad to hear your life story, how your band got started - all of this is helpful. I can't tell you how to describe yourself and your music, so that's really up to you - but attempting to label yourself with a genre is a generally good idea. The questions below are questions whose answers I personally like to know in addition to any other information you give me. Though if more people answered the line-up question, that would be nice.
** = If the answer to this question is yes then I will listen to you OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN until my brain hurts. That's a promise.
Is this your **first EP** or album? Your second? Your third? Did you just get signed to a label? What label? Are you trying to get signed to a label? Did you just change labels? Is this all irrelevant because you're still operating out of your garage/basement? You're still working your day jobs, right?
Where are you from? **Are you from DC? somewhere in Virginia? Ohio? Do you live in DC or VA?** Are you playing near me (DC, VA, OH, pick one) anytime soon, or have you in the past? What venue? **Are you playing in the DC area or at Oberlin College in the near future?** Who have you toured with? **You haven't been able to go on tour?**
What kind of music do you play? What/who do you sound like?
(Note: I'm a little sick of promotions people - not the bands, mind you - telling me that the artist in question has been compared to Nick Drake when they really sound more like Neutral Milk Hotel, for example. The most common problem with e-mails from bands is that the person writing the e-mail goes on about the philosophical reasoning for their approach to making and playing their music, which is nice, but usually not particularly helpful (please, prove me wrong!). DO: Tell me the nitty gritty details about how the band/artist got started and became awesome, how you went about writing and recording your most recent release, etc.)
What does your band's line-up look like? (names, instruments, etc. - who writes your songs? the lead singer? the bassist?) Should I have heard of some of your band members before? How did the band form?
Is there anything interesting/unique about how/why you make your music? Tell me!
(#5) Other stuff:
Do you want to send me something in the mail?
Disclaimer: I'm no good at dealing with CDs I get in the mail and strongly prefer being sent digital files, because I know personally how much money, time and effort goes into mailing me music when there's no guarantee I'll get it or listen to it. So, if possible, go digital.
However, I do have a mailing address during the school year (from September until May) that I'll give you if you ask for it in an e-mail. During the summer I tend to move around a lot, so this isn't such a good idea. Update: As of July 23, 2009, I have a summer address, but I'd rather not give it out. Go digital, or wait until the fall.
Do you want to invite me to a concert (bands and promotions people)?
Then e-mail me.
Give TGH a thumbs up!
0 Responses to “E-mail and Submission Policy”
Post a Comment