CMU:DIY

Tips: Navigating the music press

By | Published on Thursday 4 April 2013

Magazines

CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke reviews the state of the music press in 2013, and considers what role different types and titles have to play in a music PR campaign.

So, you’re looking to engage with the music press to try and build profile for a new artist or release. Where should you start? What titles are worth approaching in 2013? Do people still read print magazines? And who should you be speaking to at each title? Here’s some pointers…

1. The traditional music press
We all know that the music magazines – in common with much of the print media – have mainly seen their circulation figures decline in the last ten years as the shift from print to digital media takes place. We know this because most (though not all) of the print titles have their circulations independently audited by an organisation called ABC, and these figures are then made public twice a year. However, while declining print circulation figures certainly pose commercial challenges for the music press, they remain important channels for reaching music fans, for various reasons.

Firstly, most of these magazines are still selling or distributing tens-of-thousands of copies per issue, and it is usually assumed that readership will actually be about three times circulation (on the basis that multiple people read each copy). Moreover, the 100,000+ people reading many of these magazines are core music consumers, who have proven they are willing to spend money on music products by paying for their music mag of choice. And remember, for many labels an album that sells 10,000s of units is generally considered a success, in which context the readership figures of the print music mags are reasonable numbers.

Secondly, those music magazines that have opted to go the full-content route online, ie they make most of their print content, and more, available via their websites, are likely to be talking to more people now than they ever have in their history, routinely reaching hundreds of thousands of people a month. True, many of these users will not be engaged in the same way as they might have been with the print title, and not all the online users will be UK-based, but those music magazines with a full online presence are arguably more influential now than in pre-web days.

Thirdly, and finally, in terms of why the traditional magazines remain important, the conventional music press also remain very influential, within the wider media, and the music industry at large.

So – even though it’s sometimes tempting to write off the traditional inky music press – they are still important. And there are a surprisingly high number of print music magazines still operating in the UK, though most obviously specialise in certain genres of music, so any one label will focus on those that are relevant to its artists and releases.

We all know Metal Hammer and Kerrang! are interested in metal and Mixmag and DJ Mag in dance, though the music policies of most titles are a little fluid, and alter over time based on the changing tastes of both editors and readers. So it is worth keeping an eye on all the music mags to look for any shifts; though when getting in touch, do target, and don’t waste time spamming journalists who are clearly never going to write about your acts and releases.

Talking of targeting, also give some thought to who you should be speaking to at each magazine you approach. With brand new talent, you should initially target any new band slots – find out who handles those columns and approach them first. If you get some support there, use that as an opening gambit when you approach the reviews editor, and if you get some positive critiques there, reference that when you start to approach news and features people.

And don’t forget lead times – the time lapse between when a magazine’s editorial team plan what to cover and the publication hitting the shelves. Monthlies have much longer lead times than weeklies and online, so you need to be speaking to them much earlier.

2. The online press and blogs
In addition to the online operations of print music magazines, there are – of course – a plethora of online-only music magazines these days; and that’s before you consider the prolific music blogging community. Where you draw the line between blogs and online music magazines is very debatable, and depends a lot on how you define a ‘blog’. Personally, I think of blogs as one-or-two man operations, where the content is a manifestation of the blogger’s own opinions and musical passions, whereas an online music magazine has an editorial team and process, and multiple contributors.

The online music mags in many ways operate like their print counterparts, though usually operate on much tighter budgets, with some contributors often working for free (though some print titles rely on voluntary contributions too). Online titles can be more responsive to the world around them, and turn round features more quickly, though some will still plan key interviews and features sometime in advance. Those music websites that have a news section, which will likely be updated on a daily basis, are often particularly hungry for news-type content, and this can be the most prominent output on the site (and in Google). For music PRs more used to pushing for reviews and interviews this can be a challenge – how do you make your artists newsworthy on a semi-regular basis?

Again for new bands, target the sections of online music magazines that specialise in tipping new talent. Obviously some online music mags, and especially some bloggers, have a specific focus on new acts, so these should be high up your list too. Remember, some new music sections or new-music-focused blogs may not have a particularly high readership, but may be influential, and can help to build a little buzz around your acts. This is especially true for blogs tracked by Hype Machine, because a lot of journalists on other music magazines (online and print) keep an eye on what is getting a good response there (as do label and radio people).

For many artists, managers and label bosses, there is still an emotional thing that says that print coverage is better than online, because you can take a magazine home to show your Mum. But remember, those magazines that have fully embraced the web have much bigger audiences online than in print, and some of the more established online music mags out perform their print rivals in terms of audience (even if online readership figures are harder to accurately assess).

And even those sites or blogs with smaller reach might be influencing all the right people, if you’re at the stage when quality is more important than quantity in terms of who you are influencing. And good dissemination of online coverage via a label or artist’s own social media can further reach too.

3. Other media
Of course not only the music media write about music – the newspapers, local entertainment titles and lifestyle magazines all cover it too, as do general entertainment websites like Digital Spy, and for more established acts the music editors and correspondents of these titles should be on your contact lists.

In the main these titles reach much bigger audiences, but go beyond the core music consumer. Which means they are less likely to be the sorts of people who spend money on music, but for mainstream acts this audience is key.

For newer talent, in the main other media will look at what coverage an artist has had in the music press before jumping on the bandwagon, though there are exceptions, like The Guardian (especially online) and magazines like Vice, ID and, in Scotland, The Skinny.

So there you go – the traditional music magazines remain as important as ever, but the online music publications may be reaching bigger audiences, blogs are increasingly key for building a buzz around new talent, and for mainstream reach you need to go beyond the music press. Which means there are more media than ever to service! So, a final tip: stay aware of all the relevant media channels out there, but target your activity to make the most of whatever resource is available to you.

Chris offers more insights on the music media through the CMU Insights training courses. Click here for more information. 



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