How to write a promo press release

 

After twenty plus years of receiving promo release sheets, from when you had an A4 piece of paper to fill in and fax back, to the rise of online promo services, working for Kahua Promotion and these days getting lots of music direct to my inbox the things that make a promo release work have always been the same and the secrets to content being read are simple.

 

Give relevant information, but not too much

The days of endless copy are over, no-one is reading much these days, heading straight for the music and maybe re-reading if the music grabs their interest. The balance to strike is between giving people enough key info, quickly, that they’ll read on.

 

Structure your content

In my experience the way to do this is to structure the content like this:

 

Heading/title

Tell them what this is. UM Records Promo: Artist Name, EP Name (Remixers)

 

Paragraph 1 - The pitch

A few lines on what the release is about, is there a concept, an idea, a sound that marks it out from everything else? Set the scene for why they need to hear this release.

 

Paragraph 2 - Important info

Tell the reader the nuts and bolts of the release. Talk about the tracks, name drop the remixers, give them a feel for the flow of the tracks, what makes them unique from the others.

 

Paragraph 3 - Artist Biographies

Now we’ve established the over-arching idea and the nuances of the tracks talk about the individuals involved in the release. Give a little background on each, what other labels they’ve been on (just a couple of key ones), where they’ve played out and any key people that they have worked with previously. Make sure these bits of information are relevant to your audience and resonate as more reasons to take note of the release.

 

Paragraph 4 - Endorsements or DJ quotes

So far everything has been in your words, but what have others said about the artist and remixers? Have you got any pre-promo feedback from some good names you can add here - it all helps give the release credibility. Failing that, get a quote from the people involved on the release.

 

What else do you need to consider?

Getting the structure sorted is one thing, making sure you make everything simple is the next step.

 

Don’t send attachments

No-one is going to download a huge Email, or the files without being able to preview it first, so don’t send everything in the one email. Include links. Some labels link direct to Dropbox for you to listen and select what to download.

 

What links to include

Obviously you need a link to listen to and download. But, consider adding links to press-photo’s and other assets people might use, like a label logo or something similar.

 

At the end of the release include selected links to your website (if you have one) or social media channels - but here, target where you want to build your audience most.

 

Be sure to include contact details too - you never know what it might lead to!

 

Proof read

And when all that is done, rad it, spell check it, read it again, get someone else to read it and make sure it’s perfect.