Don’t you miss the days of CD mail-in submissions and in-person, impromptu meetings with a record label’s A&R (because you had been anxiously waiting for them to go to lunch to try and hand that submission in, directly)? No? You’re too young to have experienced that? Me too, but that doesn’t mean that the ways of old are nil and futile – When ‘live’ comes back you won’t be able to keep the A&R team members at home.
Until then, you do have a few ways to shop your music around the industry. Below we’ve summarized just a few standard ways to take a proactive approach online!
Submit to Music Press / Blog Sites
It says more to a label if someone else is publically paying attention to your music than it does if only you and your few fans are posting. Music blogs and publications may eventually pick up on your hype, but why not try to get it going earlier by submitting to them yourself? You’re cutting down the amount of work their researchers have to do, and you’re guaranteeing that they will at least come across you. There are plenty of music publications, even ones that are linked to radio stations, that are looking for awesome new artists to write about and support.
When and if you are written about, be sure to use your social platforms to publicize the press you’re getting!
Submit For Playlisting on DSPs
This one is perhaps the easiest and most obvious, but also the easiest to miss or mess up. The DSP you probably want to focus on for playlisting is Spotify, but don’t limit yourself. Spotify is legendary for its playlists, but not all playlists are created equal especially if you buy your playlisting. So the only thing you can do is submit your song with as much information as possible, to as many places as possible that are FREE. If a submission isn’t free, and the playlist isn’t in your genre or close to it, do not submit to that playlist. This will do more harm than good to your Spotify Artist Data and could ultimately damage your ability to take advantage of the Spotify algorithm.
Create a ‘Sound’ on TikTok
Everyone knows at this point that if your song goes viral on TikTok, it will get playlisted and it may even get played on the radio! So take the shot – if you think your songs are worth submitting, then give them another chance at life on social media. Create a sound by first having a TikTok account, using the music in your
Tag Labels In Your Social Media Posts
Most labels have a small team of A&R coordinators who are constantly scouring the internet for signing worthy talent – and a great way to get their attention is by tagging the label itself and using keywords that are associated with the label in your hashtags and captions. Do your due diligence and get to know/understand who you’re applying to. The more you can find out, the stronger an impression you can make!
Submit to Labels Through Their Website
It may be last, but it is certainly not least. Most Labels will have an address for you to send your music in a USB to. As long as you know your sound, look around for labels that fit your genre and Artist In The Business preferences. Make sure to make your submission stand out in a way that reflects well on your brand, but gets across how dedicated you are to your craft. EDGEOUT is one of the few labels that have an online submission process, and though we require quite a few details, the application should take you no more than 20 minutes if you have all your ducks in a row!
Apply for The STUDIO here!