5 Music Submission Mistakes

When a music manager or A&R department receives music submissions, they often tend to skip over e-mails that are incomplete or require too much work when it comes to listening. Moreover, an e-mail that barely contains a message, bio, or any contact information is most definitely going to be moved to the trash. While the quality and content in your music is of primary importance, getting your foot in the door is the first step. Don’t make the following mistakes and you can rest assured that your music is, at the very least, being listened to.

1 - Sending Incomplete Tracks. There’s no point in sending something that doesn’t represent you as an artist to the best of your abilities. Waiting until your song is mixed and mastered allows the concept and personality of your music to shine through.

2 - Attaching the Song with No Concept. A lot of times, when a song is downloaded from an e-mail it shows up anonymously (ie. “track1.mp3”). This offers no information about you or your story. You’d be much better off attaching an EPK, or at the very least a photo, so that the receiving end actually has some insight into what they are listening to. Adding links to your site and social media pages also shows that you have an online presence.

3 - Messy Files. When you attach too many of your files to an e-mail in a disorganized way, managers get fed up and are more likely to skip to the next submission. Your best bet is to put your soundcloud, reverbnation and bandcamp links in the body of your e-mail. This showcases your work in a clean and efficient way, allowing people to listen to even more of your songs without the hassle on either end. Use safe links to popular platforms.

4 - No Contact Info. Too often e-mails get sent without any contact information. As silly as it may seem, make sure you write your full name with your phone number and e-mail address so that if someone likes your work, they can actually tell you!

5 - Little-to-No Bio or Press Release. A poorly written bio or press release is an immediate turn-off. Providing too few details or even too many can instantly send a message about your professionalism as an artist. While there is no need to write a life story, it is important to create a brief and relevant bio about where you’re from, what kind of music you create, and what you’re doing now. 

Pro Music Records & Entertainment Media can make sure that you have the tools to send a complete e-mail music submission that gets you heard. From a website to a well-written bio to a thorough press release, we do it all. Visit us at www.promusicrecords.com for more information.