Plan Your Promotion

Having a new CD release brings an excellent opportunity to gain exposure and make your mark as an artist.  For this reason its important to start getting reviews - so why not start here?  Its a smart move and for a number reasons.  As an informative and professional PR campaign, having your CD review listed here can bring additional exposure.  As you email and ask radio music directors to give you airtime show them your page link on this website - it will help.

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NewCDReviews.com is a nesting place that gets traffic outside of unknown band websites and people want to know what the best new CDs are - so they will check this website and find you're reviewed here!

 

We can also help you get a press release out, get interviews and MORE reviews plus much more.  We are starting our own podcast called the New CD Show and already have interest from radio stations!

 

We'll also refer you to experts who can help with designing a promo package and a campaign to get your name out there.  THINK about strategies that can benefit your message, ask yourself what are the things that set you apart from other bands, whether you're approaching record labels, promoting your own music, trying to get a gig, or if you're an indie record label trying to drum up some interest in your bands.  We are here to help you and at very reasonable costs that get you noticed and not in debt!

 

The following steps will help you put together a promo package that will rival any promo campaign run by a pricey PR company.

 

Choose the Music

The point of your promo package is, of course, to get your music heard, so choosing the music to include in the package requires some thought. Whether you're trying to get the attention of a label, an agent, the press or radio stations, remember that these people receive A LOT of music every day. They can't possibly sit down and listen to every album from start to finish. Make a short demo cd with your best two or three songs, preferably songs that have strong beginnings, so they capture the listener before they can push "next."

Write the Bio

Your promo package should include a short -one page is ideal - artist bio. This step is where a lot of people fumble. Don't try to be overly cute and don't make it read like it was written with your thesaurus firmly in hand. The people who do decide to work with you on the basis of your package are going to need some useful information about you and your music, but they don't need to know which song is your Mom's favorite or that you "knew you were going to be a musician the first time you picked up a guitar/heard such and such a song/etc." Go for professional over cheesy.

Write the Press Release

If you're sending a demo to a label or trying to get a gig, you may not have a specific event to promote that requires a press release. However, if you're trying to promote a new album or a tour, your promo package should include a press release detailing the specifics of the thing you are trying to promote.

 

The same rules that apply to band bios apply to press releases - keep it short and include useful information instead of "clever" fluff. Remember, the point is for someone to read that press release and use it to write something about your band. Give them something to work with.

Create a Press Pack

If you have a stack of press clippings featuring reviews of and interviews with your band, include them in your promo package. Of course, if you have several you'll have to make some choices about what you can send. Go for clippings from the highest profile publications you can find. To make good copies of clippings. Keep clippings of all of the press you get, and of course, don't send the bad reviews!

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• Cut out the article, the masthead/title of the publication, and the date/issue number.

• Arrange these items on one sheet of paper, with the title and date at the top, and photocopy the paper.

Include a Photo

If you're sending your promo package to magazine, website, or newspaper, include a color photo in your package. A hard copy of the photo or a disk with a photo file will work equally well. The media is much more likely to run a photo if they don't have to chase it down, so including one in your package dramatically increases the chance they will actually run a photo.