Getting Your Album Reviewed

Every week anywhere between 60 and 100 plus heavy music albums are released. Getting one of those limited review slots can be a challenge. What can an artist do to increase their chances of getting a review? Here are some helpful hints that will definitely help with this site, and after reviewing heavy music albums for 25 plus years for a variety of websites and publications, I’m confident they will be useful with many other sites as well.

Do I Need A PR Rep?

Ideally, yes. They will already know most or all of the things you’re about to read, and more importantly have existing relationships with the sites that review music. If you’re looking for a good PR company let me know, I can recommend several. But, you might not have the resources to hire one. While it’s more difficult to get coverage without the help of a PR pro, it can be done, and hopefully the following advice will help.

Plan Ahead

This is the most important thing you can do. Sites generally plan their reviews a few weeks to several months in advance. At Heavy Music HQ, we schedule and assign our reviews several weeks ahead of their release dates. If you wait to send information about your album shortly before it’s released, when it’s released or after it’s released, it will dramatically reduce your chances of landing a review. Most sites will already have all their coverage planned.

So how soon should you start promoting your album? I’d recommend sending an initial press release at least two to three months prior to the release date. If you want to include a promo at that time great, but if not at least get the word out that an album is coming with details including the release date. Immediately upon receiving info about an upcoming album, we add it to our very popular release calendar.

Targeting

Send the info about your release to as many sites as you can. Out of those, pick some to individually target. Send a personalized email that shows you are familiar with the site, and ask for a review or an interview or some other type of coverage. Make sure to follow a site’s guidelines. For example, we don’t review singles, music videos or do news posts.

The Bio

When I read a bio, I want to know what style/genre the music is, and what makes the band’s story unique. With so many releases each week, you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Whatever it is that makes the band and/or this album unique or interesting, emphasize it.

The Promo

Don’t send info about the album and then ask if you can send a promo. Just send it. There are tons of different services and ways to get a promo out there. Whichever one you select, make sure it has both a streaming and a download option. In addition to the music and your bio, the promo should also include album art, a band photo or two and links to your socials, videos, etc.

The Follow-Up

We get literally hundreds of emails each and every day. It’s possible your pitch got lost in the shuffle. It’s completely fine to follow up or re-send. However, there’s no need to do so multiple times. If you don’t hear back, the answer is most likely no.

After You’re Reviewed

If a site reviews your release, make sure to share it on your socials. Link to the review instead of cutting and pasting it. An email thank you is always appreciated as well. It’s all about building and maintaining relationships, and how getting reviews for your current release can help leverage even more reviews and coverage for the next one.