How to write the perfect music press release

We were delighted to welcome London In Stereo founder and music industry expert Jess Partridge to ICMP for a session on the ins and outs of music journalism. 

As founder of the influential music website London in Stereo, Jess knows a thing or two about what makes for a good story as well as how artists can promote themselves when it comes to the media. Her site has become London’s go-to resource for finding out about live music while Jess has also become a top industry tastemaker and thought leader, working for the PRS Foundation on their Keychange initiative, a project aimed enhancing gender equality within the music industry. 

Jess recently visited ICMP as part of the Next Steps events hosted by our Careers and Industry Hub team. Here's her essential advice on what it takes for artists to write a thumb-stopping press release... 

Get to the point 

Be concise and make sure you have all the information in there - tell journalists when the track coming out, what is it called, your basic influences, names of anyone you’ve collaborated with, no matter how big or small.

If you're going to use images, make them stand out. For the right reasons  

Make sure your picture is really good. If you’re going to include an image, then it needs to say something about what you do. People will see it and judge you on it.

Grab attention at the start of your PR

If you want to include more of a bio, then do that below. You need to get their attention at the start of your press release, then get into detail later on. If they’re still reading, then they’ll read whatever you have to say.

Research your writers and their websites

When it comes to pitching your press release to a blog or website, make sure you know who you’re pitching to. Do your research. Pick ten key publications rather than emailing 400. Look at their features and see what they’ve published in the past. 

Figure out where you see yourself on a website 

What do you want them to write about you? And where would you fit? Then when contacting a site, you can suggest which piece you’d like to do. As a writer, sometimes it helps to know where an artist sees themselves.

Visit londoninstereo.com for more information.