Music Blogs That Will Feature Your Song

Remember when we talked about the best ways to promote your music online and get your music on playlists? Sharing your music with small indie and large blogs are a great way to start getting an organic following, and if they really like it you may even be asked to do an interview! 

Not everyone gets their start cold calling/emailing a blog though and there are certain important conventions to follow so your beat doesn’t get lost in the wind. To start you off, our past blog about getting your music on playlists talks about some of the most important things to remember when reaching out, and if you’re looking for some blogs interested in indie music then you’ve come to the right place! 

These blogs have all been chosen because of their generality and internationalism however, sending your music to a genre-specific or local blog will always be more effective when you’re just starting out. It is always important to ensure your song has the right fit, otherwise there is no way you will be featured. 

A&R Factory

A&R Factory is one of the biggest music blogs designed to bring independent and unsigned artists to the ears of labels and industry veterans. Their easy online submission form promises to be viewed by those who use this site as a resource for new music. Since its inception in 2012 it has grown immensely and now accepts music of all genres anywhere in the world. If you get on here then you know you got something good. 

Indiepulse Music Magazine

Indiepulse Music Magazine is an independent music publication devoted to (you guessed it) indie music artists. They are always looking for new music and artists to feature in their stories and interviews, therefore this site can be even more than a ticket onto a playlist. 

Xune Mag

This magazine is another publication featuring mostly independent and emerging artists worldwide. Their submission form is only gated by a little social media love therefore it should be accessible to pretty much anyone! Again, interviewing, reviewing and being placed on playlists are all on the table and Xune doesn’t discriminate by any genre. 

Indie Shuffle

This blog is an assembly of international writers united in one belief, that humans are better than robots at picking music. Their commitment is compelling, and dedication even more so. There are no bad reviews on the site, therefore if you are featured again, good things will come. Once again don’t worry about genre or vibe, all it takes is high quality music. Furthermore, submitting is extremely easy from their website and, if the writer in you takes an interest, you can even get involved that way!

The Alternative Feed

The Alternative Feed says they started to just be about good music, and they have done just that. Friends Lindsey Lanham and Garnette Ransom have made a unique music blog that is accessible and entertaining in the best way. Submitting your music online will nominate you for a review and/or feature on one of the most no nonsense music sites around, what could be better? 

The Line of Best Fit

This music newspaper/magazine features mostly established artists but maintains a strong discovery playlist on spotify that has almost 4000 followers! This website requires a very strong pitch to be featured as a completely indie artist and does not have a dedicated music submission button therefore you’ll have to put your best foot forward with some great emailing skills. 

Cut the Pause

Cut the Pause is a smaller specifically underground music blog with a playlist of only 21 songs followed by over 1200 people. Again, submit any genre from anywhere in the world for a chance to be featured on their site or on their playlist. 

BIRP.FM

This blog was started all the way back in 2009 as an indie/rock playlist but has now grown to many genres and styles. Based in Paris Texas, they are also always looking for remote writers and new music to feature on one of their many monthly playlists. BIRP is just as much a community as it is a blog, and it never hurts to get involved if you want to get your tracks reviewed. 

Emerging Indie Bands

Emerging Indie Bands has a uniquely international focus, unlike other blogs which plit songs by genre, this one does by region. For this reason, this is a great resource to find new bands that are not only really cool but close by! Getting in contact with the writers here is not quite as straightforward as other blogs however, there is no dedicated submission form therefore appealing to them through social media DMs might be the best shot.

Hearya

Hearya, based in Chicago is another music blog/publication with an interesting twist. They feature regular live streamed music sessions featuring some of the artists they love! Again, this blog does not have a submission form but most get in touch through comments on their website or through social media. 

Indie Music Filter

Finally, Indie Music Filter based in Toronto gives yet another incredible look into the best indie music around with articles, playlists and a podcast. On this blog, guest writers are regularly featured for even more unique perspectives and their article categories are even more unique with examples like East vs West and Mellow Mondays. Getting your music to the ears over at Indie Music Filter is as clear as it can be with a page dedicated to how best to send them music. 

Conclusion

There are countless music blogs out there on the internet from a fans local scene breakdown to a massive newspaper with countless writers and a multi-thousand plus playlist. Depending on your career stage, each one can be beneficial and getting your music on one blog will undoubtedly help get it on another. Although these blogs may be the biggest and most general indie blogs out there, they might not be the right fit for your music. Finding one that best fits you is always more effective than email blasting everyone you can find so make sure to do some research into each site before putting yourself out there. 

Also, getting rejected or not getting a response is always going to be part of the process, every has to start somewhere, and it is much better to leave the conversation peacefully than to vent your frustration and close those doors, they may not be featuring you right now but maybe your next release will be more their speed. 

If you are interested in the music promotional journey and other music related content, be sure to keep up with our blogs on our website here. Also feel free to reach out to us about your music.

We offer audio production, mixing and mastering services that can take your song to the next level, just fill out this quick contact form. Have a great day!

- By Erik Steiner

How to Get Your Music on a Spotify Playlist

Most of the population now uses Spotify to find new artists, songs and to stream playlists. So if you are an artist new to the music industry, getting your song on Spotify is almost vital to be noticed not only by listeners but also by big labels.

Check out Jony Studios blog How to Get Your Music on Spotify to learn more about the process of getting your song on Spotify.

However, the question: how will your potential fans find you, still remains answered. 

The answer: playlists on Spotify.

Spotify and big labels create playlists on Spotify that have millions of followers. These playlists have songs from various artists on them and getting your song on any one of these playlists can be a game-changer for your music career.

So how do you get your music on a Spotify playlist?

This blog will give you a few tips on how you can have your song featured on one of these playlists.

Go straight to Spotify

In order to get your music on a Spotify Playlist, you HAVE to have a Spotify for Artists account. 

Not only will getting a Spotify for Artists account help you pitch your song to a Spotify Playlist, but it also has numerous useful tools to monitor the success of your songs/albums. It has tools to analyse how your song is doing which can help you improve your marketing campaign. 

All you have to do is go to ‘Upcoming’ on your Spotify for Artist dashboard and submit a release to a playlist.

However, there are a few restrictions/rules you’ll need to follow:

• The track must be unreleased

• It has to be submitted 7 days prior to its release date but the sooner you submit the request, the chances of your song being selected increases

• You can only submit one track

• You need to submit specifications such as genre, mood, instrumentation and whether it's a cover or original.

Pitch to independent playlist owners

A lot of popular playlists aren’t owned by Spotify. They are made by big labels or individuals who have garnered a huge following.

You can search for playlists on Spotify that fit your song (genre, sound, mood, etc.), note down the owner of the playlist and Google them to find their contact or social media account.

It is a good practice to make an excel sheet of everyone you are thinking of contacting. You can use this template created by Jony Studios. 

While emailing your leads, make sure to be polite and provide as much information you can about your song with a link to your song.

SPOTIFY DISCOVER WEEKLY & RELEASE RADAR

Another form of playlist that exists on Spotify is Release Radar and Discover Weekly playlists.

These playlists are unique to every user. You might have seen one yourself if you have a Spotify account. 

They are created by Spotify’s algorithms and are based on people who follow you. 

Getting on one of these playlists is pretty easy. All you have to do is encourage your listeners and fans to follow your account on Spotify. Every time you release a new song, it appears on your followers’ Release Radar playlist. Release Radar has been known to generate more streams than any of Spotify’s self-curated playlists.

Discover Weekly playlists are a bit different.

This playlist is updated every week on Monday and is based on the listeners taste in music. Spotify listens to the kind of music you are listening to and creates a playlist based on the kind of songs you like but may not have heard before.

So how do you get on these playlists?

• Release music regularly as your chances of showing up on either one of the playlists increases with the increase in the number of songs you release.

• Promote your songs everywhere not just on Spotify. Don’t only focus on Spotify, keep doing live performances and releasing songs on other platforms. Your fans will find you on Spotify if they want to.

How to get your song on Discover Weekly?

•  Get your songs on other playlists so when listeners stumble across your song, it might just show up on their Discover Weekly playlist. This playlist uses data from everything a user does from which songs they are listening to, who they follow, which playlists they follow, user’s private and public playlists, etc.

• Build engagement around your music by producing songs with a high standard. It will do your song no good if listeners skip your song due to poor quality/music standard.

How to get your song on Release Radar?

• Get your fans to follow you on Spotify since Release Radar playlists are created using users’ followers.

• Make sure to direct your fans to Spotify whenever you release a new song so they can give you a follow.

Bonus Tips? Yes, please!

So. You got your song on a Spotify Playlist. Are you done?

Nope!

If you want the best possible chance to blow up on Spotify, here are a few tips you should follow:

Have everyone follow your account

The more followers you have, the more seriously Spotify will take you.

So every time you release a song/album or direct your fans to your Spotify, make sure to encourage them to give you a follow.

Have a complete profile

Make sure your Spotify for Artists account is completed and updated regularly by adding social media links,  bio, upcoming tour dates and more.

This makes you seem more legitimate on the platform which in turn gets curators to take you more seriously as an artist thus increasing your chances of being considered to be on a playlist.

DIRECT YOUR FANS TO SPOTIFY

Spotify’s ultimate goal like any other business is to get as many people on their app as possible.

So the more people you bring to Spotify from “off-platform”, the chances of you being featured on a playlist increase. Spotify’s algorithm recognises your contribution to bringing in more listeners and awards you by featuring your songs on their playlists.

Share your Spotify link as much as you can on as many platforms as you can!

SHARE the playlists you get featured on

Share any and every playlist big or small you get featured on, on your social media accounts.

This does two things: it generates more traffic on Spotify and shows listeners the high standard of your music for getting featured on a playlist.

You should also ensure to tag the playlist’s curator on your post as well. This shows to them you are thankful and builds a relationship with them.

Create playlists of your own

Discover Weekly algorithm takes every playlist into consideration. So if you make a playlist of your own, even if it has a few followers, featuring your songs, your chances of being featured in a Discover Weekly playlist increases.

Another way this could be beneficial is: you could build a playlist with a huge following on your own. This takes a lot of time but your playlist could potentially become a playlist, up and coming artists request to be on.

Conclusion

Spotify is an amazing platform for up and coming artists or artists new to the industry. Not oly does it give easy access to your fans but it could also help in garnering a huge fan base by being featured on playlists on Spotify.

I hope this blog helps you in your musical journey to success!

- By Neha Agarwala

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If you need further help creating your own music, we offer music production services that will help you elevate your sound and bring your song to life!

We look forward to being a part of your success.

Contact us here to get started.

6 Mistakes to Avoid as a Musician

Writing your own music can be daunting, as many different problems can arise. The entire process of writing, producing, and recording your own music can be frustrating, and great ideas can dwindle into nothing.

When you are in the process of creating your own music, there are a number of things to avoid in order to have the smoothest time possible. These tips can vary in importance from person to person, to make sure you know what you have the hardest time with.

Overthinking and Anxiety

One of the easiest things to destroy your creativity and ruin your songs is to overthink things too much. Make sure to not get too anxious when thinking of ideas, and also make sure to be very accepting of all the different things you come up with. You can always edit your ideas later, so don’t be troubled over any possible mistakes you might make.

Weak and Underdeveloped Ideas

Many artists can get frustrated when coming up with ideas, and end up just forming unfinished ideas together, creating an incohesive piece. Songwriting is supposed to be difficult and time consuming, so be sure to fully work through your ideas in order to create a fully realized, cohesive piece of music.

Bad Production Quality

Both overproducing and under-producing your song can lead it to ruins. You don’t want the quality of your music to be way too much, but you also don’t want the production to feel empty. Be sure to focus on the parts of the music you want to shine, and be subtle about the other things. You want to have music that connects well with the audience listening to it.

No Identity

In order to engage more with your audience, and create a truly great piece of music, you need to have a clear identity. A song without a clear identity or voice is easy to forget, and then is less relatable to your audience. Make sure to really put yourself into your work, so that you truly are relatable to your audience and engage even more people.

Weak Performances

While it is important to get the perfect techniques while recording, a song won’t be great unless it has passion and heart. In fact, a passionate performance is seen to be more desirable than a technically perfect one. Don’t be too focused on making mistakes, and be sure to give your performance a lot of character and heart.

Being Insecure

It’s extremely important for a performer of a musician to be very sure of themselves. Being insecure of your performance or music will look bad no matter how good or talented you really are. Being confident will bring the audience to your side, and can make you a better performer!

Conclusion

All of these are great things to take note of while in the process of creating your own music. It’s also important to remember to let your own ideas shine through your entire creative process, and to be true to your own brand of music.

If you need any help writing or recording your music, contact us here. We look forward to adding massive value to your brand.

Do you have any more ideas on what to avoid? Let us know!

- By Julianna Martinek