How to get more coverage as a musician or a band
Getting media attention is one of the key challenges for up-and-coming bands and musicians. The profession is based on being in the public eye and attracting the attention of the public in order to sell albums and tickets, which means being able to interest industry media is important for musicians and bands in order to be able to reach wider audiences and continually expand their business.
Sure, social media allows huge reach, but social media fame can be hard to convert into real-life sales of music and show tickets. Social media followers can be fickle, are often not localized, and have many options of similar content suggested to them due to the very fact that they follow your band or musician account.
Media, on the other hand, is a reputable professional source that filters the noise and a place where users come when they specifically want to find out some news from the world of music, watch the latest music videos or discover a new act.
Media can be a great supplementary way for you to put your music out there and find new fans. Plus your existing fans will love seeing the favorite band or musician mention in the media they frequent.
We are not saying you need a mention in Billboard or Rolling Stone stat, but we did reach out to Billboard’s Canadian correspondent and renowned music journalist Karen Bliss to talk about ways to ensure you can leverage the tool of media just right to advance your career.
During her time with Billboard, Karen interviewed such prominent artists as Robbie Robertson, The Lumineers, Sam Hunt, Serj Tankian, Peaches, David Foster, Beanie Feldstein, and Renee Zellweger about her preparation for ‘Judy’ – the Judy Garland biopic, which landed Zellweger her fourth Oscar nomination (she won in 2004 for Cold Mountain).
If an artist doesn’t have a profile or a unique relevant story, then no point in aiming for the biggest players. Start small, start local, and build from there. — Karen Bliss
While the full interview is available on our blog here, we will walk you through some of the highlights.
Karen advises musicians to:
- not be suspicious of the media, prepare for interviews, get all the facts correct and do your research to know what content each media is after when they are interviewing you;
- understand the scope of your story — smaller stories will interest local media, but not the bigger players;
- create good music as quality releases have helped Karen notice rising acts like Lenny Kravitz, Counting Crows, Nirvana, Linkin Park, and others, and interview them before they blew up.
Ultimately, artists shouldn’t worry about what music journalists are looking for. Just do your thing, tell your story, work hard, and keep working hard. — Karen Bliss
And last but probably most interesting for many musicians and their teams reading — how does Karen discover new music to cover? The Internet! Social media and recommendations also play a role, followed by music publications, press releases, and even TV.
Read the full interview with Karen Bliss on our blog in case we missed something important you will cherish to know to help you advance your career!
