What is a Press Release, and Why It Is An Essential Piece of Your Marketing Plan?
If you are an artist looking to release music soon, you obviously need to find multiple channels to publicize your latest drop. Social media is a great start, but it is just one of the many ways you can break through the noise with your music. What about radio, TV features, news blogs, video features, and even podcasts? How do you access these channels, and what do you need to earn their attention? If you have never heard of a press release before, you are definitely going to want to take notes now.
A press release is usually an electronic document that you send out to various media outlets in order to make them aware of your new music coming out. It usually is very short and sweet, about one page that briefly explains the song, who you are as an artist, and perhaps a picture or two thrown in for a visual representation of your work. The original reason as to why press releases were such a huge part of marketing plans was because it was meant for journalists who are searching for a new up and coming story. With social media and technology spreading information like a wildfire, this purpose has become outdated. Journalists aren’t looking for new stories anymore, they already have an abundance to choose from on the internet.
So why do you need it? Press releases tell the world about your new music in such a way that is professional and shows that your news should be taken seriously. Especially if you are a growing artist that is looking into building a team, music industry professionals will be more inclined to work with you if you show them you have a press release. It is a great indicator of knowledge and understanding of your creative enterprise, which will do well to attract a show promoter, an agent, a manager, and of course, a music journalist.
Additionally, press releases are circulated worldwide and anyone will be able to find them, therefore it is one of the simplest forms of free publicity. These documents go to music websites, blogs, news channels, and stay online for a long time. As opposed to a social media post that will eventually get buried amongst other people’s selfies and brunch photos, a press release has the potential to make a lasting impact by appearing almost immediately when someone searches up your name.
Lastly, a press release makes your music drop go public. Getting media and press from music news outlets is one of the most desired outcomes when sending out press releases. So if you are able to catch the attention of a music journalist and they choose to write a story on you, it makes you a much more reputable artist. If you think about it, it would be a little sad if all the media coverage on your music came from your personal social accounts. Press releases show that other people besides yourself are talking about your music, which compels people to listen since they are getting multiple opinions from multiple sources.
Besides, just talking about your music on your socials severely limits your outreach. You can always post to your Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Tik Tok feeds, but at the end of the day, the majority of people that will likely see that post are the people who already follow you. A press release allows people outside of that network to find your music, and it can easily be done with a simple search on the worldwide web.
If you retain anything from this article, let it be that you do NOT want to ignore the power of a press release. It should be one of the top things on your list of assets to include in your marketing plan. If you are stuck on how to write a press release, EAR has got you covered. We offer high quality press releases and news coverage services under three different EAR News packages, so you can share your new music with our audience of 150,000 subscribers and receive professional coverage that can help expand your reach.
