A musician has finished recording a new song. The artwork is ready, the release date is approaching and the press materials have been prepared. Now comes a different challenge: persuading someone outside the artist’s existing audience to pay attention.
The obvious approach is to send an announcement to as many music publications as possible. The song is new, the artist has worked hard on it and a little coverage could introduce the music to new listeners.
But a release announcement and an editorial story are not the same thing.
An announcement tells people that something is available. A magazine feature needs to offer readers a reason to spend time with the subject, even if they have never heard of the musician before.
At Good Hours, we are interested in the people making the music, the decisions behind it and the experiences that give it meaning. Other publications have different priorities, but understanding the distinction between promotion and journalism is a useful starting point for any independent artist seeking coverage.
Start by finding the right publication
Before pitching a magazine, read it.
Not just its homepage or submission guidelines. Spend time with several recent articles and notice what the publication chooses to explore.
Some music outlets concentrate on reviews, new releases or particular genres. Others favour interviews, live performances, recording techniques or the wider culture surrounding music.
Those differences matter.
An electronic music publication might be interested in the production methods behind a record. A regional magazine may find an artist’s connection to a particular place more compelling. A culture publication might approach the same music through its relationship with memory, identity or everyday life.
At Good Hours, for example, we have explored why the first song on an album still matters. The article considers a creative decision that listeners can recognise across many different records, rather than promoting one particular release.
Reading a publication’s existing coverage helps an artist understand its editorial interests and decide whether a proposed story belongs there.
A carefully chosen pitch to a suitable magazine is generally more useful than an indiscriminate announcement sent to dozens of unrelated outlets.
Find the story beyond the release date
Every new song has a release date. That alone does not make it an interesting editorial subject.
Consider what happened while the music was being made.
What changed between the first idea and the finished recording? Why did the artist choose a particular sound, instrument or collaborator? Did the recording environment influence the result? Was there a creative problem that required an unexpected solution?
Perhaps an album was recorded in a childhood home. Perhaps a band reconsidered its arrangements after a change in membership. Perhaps a songwriter spent years performing other people’s music before discovering a way to express something personal.
These are possible story angles, not details to invent. The strongest pitches are rooted in experiences and decisions that genuinely occurred.
Our feature Building a Song From Silence explores musician James Dean’s approach to live looping, drawing on an earlier interview. Rather than concentrating on promotional claims, it examines the process of constructing an arrangement layer by layer during a performance.
The creative method becomes the subject.
One useful exercise is to describe the proposed feature without mentioning the release date. If there is still something worth discussing, the artist may have found an editorial angle.
What Good Hours looks for in an artist pitch
Good Hours considers music pitches from independent and established artists, publicists, labels and managers.
We are interested in creative processes, musical influences, meaningful collaborations, recording environments and the ways music connects with place, memory and culture.
An artist does not need an extraordinary personal history to be an interesting interview subject.
Sometimes the most revealing material is modest: how a song changed during recording, why a musician returns to a particular instrument or what performing in different places has taught them about their work.
Our conversation with artist and publicist Dani Felt is an example of an interview that explores more than a current project. It considers creative ambition, professional boundaries and the challenges of developing an independent career.
Not every conversation needs to become deeply personal. Artists should decide which parts of their lives they wish to discuss. An honest explanation of a creative decision can be just as revealing as a private story.
What matters is whether the proposed coverage offers readers something beyond the information already contained in a press release.
Write a pitch that makes the idea clear
An editor should not have to read six paragraphs to understand why an artist has made contact.
Start with the artist’s name and the proposed story. Explain what is happening, why the subject might interest the publication and what an interview or feature could explore.
A specific subject line helps:
Interview idea — [Artist Name] on recording an album at home
This tells an editor considerably more than a subject line announcing an amazing new artist everyone needs to hear.
The opening paragraph should provide the essential context. Follow it with a short explanation of the proposed angle, relevant dates and accessible links to the music and press materials.
Avoid excessive superlatives.
Descriptions such as “the next big thing” or “the most exciting new voice in music” give an editor little to assess independently. A specific detail about the work is more useful than an unsupported claim about its importance.
Keep the message concise, professional and easy to understand.
An example of an artist pitch
The following example is fictional. The artist and project have been invented solely to illustrate how a musician or publicist might introduce an editorial idea.
Subject: Interview idea — Mara Ellis on recording music in her childhood home
Hello,
I’m reaching out about independent songwriter Mara Ellis, whose forthcoming EP was recorded in the house where she grew up.
We thought there might be an interesting conversation about how familiar surroundings influence creativity, the sounds we associate with home and what it means to return to a place after years away.
Mara is available for an interview and would be happy to discuss the recording process and the experiences behind the songs.
I’ve included a private listening link, a short biography and press photographs below.
Thank you for considering the idea.
The message does not insist that the music is important. It gives the editor a reason to investigate it.
The proposed conversation could interest someone who has never heard of Mara Ellis. That is what gives the pitch a purpose beyond promotion.
Prepare a press kit editors can actually use
An electronic press kit, often called an EPK, brings together the information and materials a publication needs to assess an artist and prepare potential coverage.
It does not need to be expensive or elaborately designed. A straightforward webpage or organised folder can work well if the contents are accurate, accessible and clearly labelled.
A useful press kit includes:
- A concise artist biography. Explain who the artist is, where they are based and what kind of music they make. Include relevant background without filling the biography with promotional claims.
- Listening links. Provide working links to released music and private access to unreleased material where appropriate.
- Project details. Include release dates, recording and production credits, collaborators and relevant background.
- Press photographs. Supply good-quality images, photographer credits and clear information about permitted editorial use.
- Official artist links. Include the artist’s website and relevant music or social profiles.
- Contact information. Identify the person who can answer questions, arrange an interview or provide additional materials.
Additional details may help when they contribute to the proposed story. Recording notes, a description of a collaboration or an earlier interview can give an editor useful context.
Avoid making essential information difficult to find. An editor should be able to locate the biography, listen to the music and identify the correct contact without navigating several complicated folders.
Make image permissions clear
Press photography deserves particular attention.
A photograph appearing on an artist’s website or social media account does not automatically mean a magazine has permission to reproduce it.
Provide images authorised for the intended editorial use, identify the photographer and disclose any restrictions before publication.
Clear permissions protect the artist, photographer and publication from avoidable misunderstandings.
Do independent artists need a publicist?
Not necessarily.
A publicist can help an artist develop a media strategy, identify appropriate publications, prepare press materials and communicate with editors.
Berklee College of Music’s overview of the publicist’s role explains how publicity professionals work to secure media attention for artists and music-related organisations.
Professional support can be valuable, particularly when an artist is coordinating a larger release campaign or balancing several commitments.
But hiring a publicist does not guarantee an interview, review or feature. Those decisions remain with the publication.
Independent musicians can approach suitable magazines directly. The essential ingredients are much the same: an appropriate story, accurate materials, professional communication and an understanding of the outlet.
Whether a pitch comes from an artist or an agency, its editorial value should rest on the proposed story rather than the sender’s reputation.
Why a good pitch might still be declined
Not every worthwhile artist story can become an article.
A magazine may already have similar coverage planned. The proposed angle may not suit its readership. The timing may be difficult, or the publication may have limited editorial capacity.
For an independent magazine, time matters. Interviews involve preparation, correspondence, research, editing, image permissions and publication work.
A promising idea still needs the resources to be handled properly.
At Good Hours, receiving a press release or interview proposal does not guarantee coverage. Submissions are considered according to relevance, originality, timing and editorial fit.
Artists and publicists can consult our Press & PR submission page for information about contacting the magazine and providing supporting materials.
A declined pitch is not necessarily a judgement on the quality of the music. It may simply mean that the proposed story is not right for that publication at that moment.
Follow up thoughtfully
A brief follow-up can be reasonable when an editor has not responded, especially if there is a meaningful deadline or genuinely new information.
However, publications have different preferences. Some specify a follow-up period, while others discourage repeated enquiries.
Check the publication’s guidance before sending another message.
If a follow-up is appropriate, keep it concise. Refer to the original proposal, explain any relevant update and make it easy for the editor to find the earlier materials.
Repeated messages containing no new information are unlikely to improve a pitch.
If the answer is no, a polite acknowledgement is sufficient. Another project or a different editorial angle may provide a better opportunity later.
What to do when an article is published
Publication is not necessarily the end of the story.
An artist can help interested listeners discover an interview by sharing the original article on social media, linking to it from an official website or including it in a press archive.
A thoughtful feature may remain relevant long after the release that prompted it.
When sharing coverage, link to the original publication and credit the magazine accurately. Avoid reproducing an entire article elsewhere without permission.
An artist should never be required to promote an article as a condition of receiving independent editorial coverage.
But when a conversation has been valuable, making it accessible to the artist’s audience can help more people discover the work.
The independent artist’s pitching checklist
Before contacting a music magazine, review the essentials:
- Have you read several recent articles from the publication?
- Can you explain why your proposed story belongs there?
- Does the pitch offer more than a release date and a description of the music?
- Is the proposed interview or feature angle clear?
- Is the artist biography accurate and current?
- Are listening links working and accessible?
- Are release dates, credits and other important details correct?
- Have you supplied authorised press photographs with photographer credits?
- Have you included a reliable professional contact?
- Have you checked the publication’s submission guidelines?
This checklist is a general preparation tool. Individual publications may request different materials or follow different editorial processes.
A story worth the editor’s time
Independent artists do not need an enormous audience or an expensive publicity campaign to have something worth discussing.
They do need to help an editor understand why the proposed coverage would interest readers.
A release can provide the occasion for an interview. A press kit supplies the necessary information. A carefully written email opens the conversation.
But the part that stays with a reader is often something else: a creative decision, an unexpected difficulty, a meaningful place or a detail that changes how they hear the music.
That is where a release announcement becomes a magazine story.