Thread by @thedisplaynet

🗣 ATTENTION TO BANDS/MUSICIANS ALIKE - A thread
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We have to do this for a better mailing etiquette and let’s learn together about this. It’s sad to see such good materials being overshadowed by bad mailing technique and even worse content placing!
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#Email101

We often see bands/musicians sending a half-assed email for their new single/album/music video. Most of the time it was caused by a bad mailing technique.

First of all, we truly appreciate a body email that states your intention. But please, place it on the body email, NOT on the subject column.

Second, keep your body email brief and packed with the most important information like your band’s name, genre (optional), your work’s title, when, where and how we could listen to your work.

Third, always insert your contact person’s number on your body email, so writers could ask about your work directly to the artist/manager/publicist if their email inquiry takes too late to reply.

Fourth, ever heard of BCC option on your recipient’s column? We suggest you use BCC instead of To or CC when blasting an email about your work. It has plenty advantages that makes your email more professional.

Fifth, BCC option allows you to send email to hundreds or thousands recipients without them noticing your WHOLE mailing list. In this day and age, media/journalists' email could be an important asset for you so keeping them in private might be useful later on.

Sixth, by using BCC option, it also gives an illusion that you send your works exclusively to those journalists/medias. It might give you a better chance for reviews/feedbacks.

Seventh, as we have stated before, DO NOT YOUR LEAVE YOUR BODY EMAIL BLANK. Even though you have attached your press release on the attachment, body email is essential to give a summary to your whole email.

Eighth, most writers/medias get 10+ emails per day, so reading a long press release one by one could be tiresome. So sum it up on your body email instead and make your points clear.

Ninth, please attach the most essential part of your work which are:
1. Press Release (we will explain more about it later)
2. Artwork for single/album
3. Still cut images for music video
4. Band/musician photo
5. Your work, duh (can be a link, or attached mp3/mp4)

Tenth, putting a hyperlink for those aforementioned materials on Google Drive, WeTransfer, or Dropbox might be more efficient as well. You can also zip them in one folder instead.

Eleventh, a tip for you. As we are driven by visuals, aside of music. It might be best to put some pictures on your body email like your profile photo, artwork, or logo to catch our attention.

12th, now we will explore more about the press release. Uhm, where do we start? Okay, press release is a ready-to publish article about your work. It is a guideline and foundations for writers to create a review/editorial article about your band or your materials.

13th, keep your press release packed with useful informations only and AVOID using multi interpretative language. We also hate reading press release which is full of praise about your work. Hey, it is up to us (the writers) to judge your work.

14th, yes you can point out your good side on your press release, but please do not sugarcoat it.
Good example: “This time, we use more instruments with a better mixing and mastering technique compared to our last release"

15th,
Wrong example: “Our new music will be able to transport you through time and hypnotize you with such impeccable melodies and rhythm. Listening to it will be a one-of a kind spiritual journey”
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P.S: Ur press release is NOT an infomercial. Use it on your IG caption instead

16th, we also found cases where the press release nor the body email don't include the link to your work/attach your work. It requires writers to search your band and work on Youtube/Spotify, etc. Welp, it’s time consuming and bothersome. WRITERS’ BEST FRIENDS ARE TIME & DEADLINE

17th, Once you have created a great press release with enough information, leave it to journalists to write additional info. They might add their opinions, your past discography, or a comparison to your old work/similar acts. Whether it’s good or bad, publication is publication.

18th, a bad pattern we observe in Indonesian music media is the copy-paste of the exact press release that the band/musician sent without any editing. So,always be sure to check the article once it’s published to make sure there is no personal information there that might harm u.

19th, those personal information might be your mobile phone number, email, or full name. So yeah, double check on those media who love to copy-paste press release.

20th, Hundreds of musicians/bands release new music every day or every Friday. Some writers/media might be overwhelmed by it. After a week or two of no response, you can re-send it but make sure it has a different subject or additional new info.

21th, IF there is still NO response, then consider your work might not be suitable for those media’s segmentation. It isn't bad. Your work is simply not in their alley. DON’T spam them with more emails or bombard them on other socmed. It is annoying & could damage ur brand.

22nd, you might want to curate the media/journalists that is more suitable for your music. If you’re a hip-hop artist, u can send it to a hip-hop based media like Complex, XXL, or RapUp for example in the US. But, we suggest you send it to all type of media, because why not?

23rd, if you don’t have the time/skill/patience/willing-to-learn about emailing or making a decent press release, there are TONS of publicists/writers out there ready to hire. Faster, more trustworthy, but needs money of course.

24th, DM-in or emailing the journalist on their personal account might work and give you a better chance of spotlight IF you already know them beforehand. However, DM-ing them out of nowhere is just a bad move.

25th and the last, we wish you good luck on your musical journey. Trust us, if those media/journalists ignore you, there are still other ways of promoting your work. Do not give up and keep on improving your skill! - Sincerely, The Display