125 Best Music Blogs to Submit Your Music To

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Last Updated on November 22, 2021

Last Updated on November 22, 2021

Update: The list of blogs was updated on July 3, 2020. I removed all inactive blogs and added newer, more active blogs. The current list has 125 blogs altogether. You can see the updated list below, or download a copy of the spreadsheet by filling 

When you’re starting out, one of your biggest challenges as a musician is getting heard.

It doesn’t even matter how good (or bad) you are; bloggers, influencers and tastemakers are just too inundated with requests to give you a listen.

For most musicians, the process to get heard goes something like this:

  1. Spend hours finding bloggers who will listen to your music
  2. Spend more hours categorizing blogs and finding email addresses.
  3. Spend even more hours building a relationship and crafting a pitch.

The good news is that I’ve taken care of step #1 and #2.

In this post, I’ll share a list of 125 different blogs that will listen to your music. This includes their contact details, Twitter and Soundcloud URLs, and my notes for submissions. I’ll also share my tips for pitching your tracks based on my experience as a musician and a marketer.

125 Best Music Blogs That Want to Listen to Your Music

To make it easier to read, I’ve organized the entire list as a table. I’ve only shared publicly available email addresses.

Also see the notes section for guidelines on how to pitch some of these blogs.

BlogURLSoundcloudTwitterContactTwitter FollowersNotes
Pigeons & Planeshttp://pigeonsandplanes.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/PigsAndPlans[email protected]299300Acquired by Complex
popjusticehttps://www.popjustice.com/https://soundcloud.com/popjusticehttp://www.twitter.com/popjustice[email protected]230900
Consequence of Soundhttps://consequenceofsound.net/https://soundcloud.com/consequence-of-soundhttps://twitter.com/consequence[email protected]215900
FACT Maghttps://www.factmag.com/https://soundcloud.com/factmaghttps://twitter.com/FACTmag[email protected]195000
KEXPhttps://www.kexp.org/https://soundcloud.com/kexphttps://twitter.com/kexphttps://www.kexp.org/about/getting-airplay/186000Non-commercial radio station
Merge Recordshttps://www.mergerecords.com/https://soundcloud.com/mergerecordshttps://twitter.com/mergerecordsNA179200Music label, but also features indie artists on its blog and social media; huge reach
BrooklynVeganhttp://www.brooklynvegan.com/https://soundcloud.com/brooklynveganhttps://twitter.com/brooklynvegan[email protected]154800
DJ Boothhttp://djbooth.net/https://soundcloud.com/djboothhttps://twitter.com/djboothhttp://www.submithub.com/blog/djbooth143000Accepts submissions through SubmitHub
Drowned in Soundhttp://drownedinsound.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/drownedinsound[email protected]100900Fcoused on album reviews
2 Dope Boyzhttp://2dopeboyz.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/2dopeboyz[email protected]90900
Line of Best Fithttps://www.thelineofbestfit.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/bestfitmusichttps://www.thelineofbestfit.com/contact76200
Gorilla vs Bearhttps://www.gorillavsbear.net/https://soundcloud.com/gorillavsbearhttps://twitter.com/gorillavsbear[email protected]69700
Aquarium Drunkardhttp://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/aquadrunkard[email protected]53,700Non-genre focused; will post music from most genres if good enough
EarMilkhttps://earmilk.com/https://soundcloud.com/earmilkhttp://twitter.com/earmilkhttp://www.submithub.com/blog/earmilk52800Accepts submissions through SubmitHub
BIRP.fmhttp://www.birp.fm/http://www.soundcloud.com/birphttp://www.twitter.com/birphttps://www.submithub.com/blog/birp-fm52100Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
Tiny Mixtapeshttps://www.tinymixtapes.com/https://soundcloud.com/tiny-mix-tapeshttps://twitter.com/tinymixtapes/[email protected]51,800On a hiatus at the moment
Indie 88https://indie88.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/Indie88toronto[email protected]48300Focuses more on Canadian, especially Toronto based artists
Run the Traphttps://runthetrap.com/https://soundcloud.com/runthetraphttps://twitter.com/RUNTHETRAP[email protected]42600Focuses almost exclusively on trap
Kings of A&Rhttp://kingsofar.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/kingsofar[email protected]42400
No Depressionhttps://www.nodepression.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/nodepression[email protected]41200Focuses exclusively on roots music - folk, Americana, etc.
Under the Radarhttp://www.undertheradarmag.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/under_radar_mag[email protected]40400
Gas Mask Magazinehttp://www.gasmaskmagazine.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/GasMaskMagazinehttp://www.gasmaskmagazine.com/contact/39,800Covers music only occassionaly; culture focused blog
Louder Than Warhttp://louderthanwar.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/louderthanwar[email protected]36,600See new artist section here http://louderthanwar.com/contact/
Large Hearted Boyhttp://blog.largeheartedboy.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/largeheartedboy[email protected]32300Features music and literature
This Song is Sickhttp://thissongissick.com/https://www.soundcloud.com/nickraymondghttps://www.twitter.com/thissongissick_https://publishing.typeform.com/to/amgZ9x29,400
Music Ninjahttp://www.themusicninja.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/themusicninja[email protected] dot com24600
LA Recordshttp://larecord.comNAhttps://twitter.com/larecord/[email protected]21700Include "Submissions" in the subject line
Gold Flake Painthttps://www.goldflakepaint.co.uk/NAhttps://twitter.com/GoldFlakePaint[email protected]21700Music journal - published seasonally
We Rave Youhttps://weraveyou.comhttps://soundcloud.com/wechillyouhttps://twitter.com/weraveyou[email protected]20,900
Ones To Watchhttps://www.onestowatch.com/https://soundcloud.com/onestowatchhttps://twitter.com/onestowatch[email protected]19300Contact on Twitter for submission guidelines
Atwood Magazinehttps://atwoodmagazine.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/atwoodmagazinehttps://atwoodmagazine.com/contact-us/18100
Yours Trulyhttp://yourstru.ly/https://soundcloud.com/yourstrulysfhttps://twitter.com/yourstrulysf[email protected]17100
Buzzbands.LAhttp://buzzbands.laNAhttps://twitter.com/buzzbandsla[email protected]16600
A&R Factoryhttp://www.anrfactory.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/anrfactoryhttp://www.anrfactory.com/submit-demo/16200
Twang Nationhttp://www.twangnation.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/TwangNation[email protected]14500
disco naïvetéhttp://disconaivete.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/disconaivetehttps://disconaivete.com/about13000Submit through SubmitHub, HumanHuman, or PlaylistPush
DrunkenWerewolfhttp://www.drunkenwerewolf.comhttps://soundcloud.com/drunkenwerewolfhttp://twitter.com/drunkenwerewolf[email protected]12800Currently on hiatus, will be back in Spring 2020
Grimy Goodshttps://www.grimygoods.com/https://soundcloud.com/grimygoodshttps://twitter.com/grimygoodshttps://www.grimygoods.com/contact/12800Covers shows in LA
Little Indie Blogshttp://littleindieblogs.blogspot.in/https://soundcloud.com/little-indie-blogs-1https://twitter.com/LittleIndieBlog[email protected]12,600Follow submission guidelines here: http://littleindieblogs.blogspot.in/2014/12/little-indie-blogs-submission-guidelines.html
A Night In The 6ixhttps://www.anightinthe6ix.ca/https://soundcloud.com/a-night-in-the-sixhttps://twitter.com/anightinthe6ixhttps://www.anightinthe6ix.ca/submityourmusic11500
The Ransom Notehttp://www.theransomnote.com/https://soundcloud.com/the-ransom-notehttp://www.twitter.com/ransomnoted/[email protected]11400
The Bay Bridgedhttp://thebaybridged.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/thebaybridgedhttp://thebaybridged.com/submissions/11200
My Old Kentucky Bloghttp://www.myoldkentuckyblog.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/DodgeMOKB[email protected]10300
For the Love of Bandshttps://fortheloveofbands.com/https://soundcloud.com/ftlobmusichttps://twitter.com/ftlobmusichttps://fortheloveofbands.com/submit/8443Follow the submission guidelines on the submissions page
The Word is Bondhttps://www.thewordisbond.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/thewordisbondhttps://www.thewordisbond.com/wib-submissions-beta/7,530Must have good cover art (Guidelines here: https://www.thewordisbond.com/wib-submission-guideline/)
Acid Staghttps://acidstag.com/https://soundcloud.com/acidstaghttps://twitter.com/acidstag[email protected]7491Note submission guidelines here: https://acidstag.com/about-acid-stag/
We All Want Someonehttp://www.weallwantsomeone.orgNAhttp://twitter.com/weallwantsome1https://www.submithub.com/blog/we-all-want-someone-to-shout-for7150Use SubmitHub
The Grey Estateshttp://www.thegreyestates.comNAhttps://twitter.com/TheGreyEstates[email protected]7148
BeatRoute Magazinehttp://beatroute.ca/NAhttps://twitter.com/BeatRouteMedia[email protected]7146
StereoFoxhttps://www.stereofox.com/https://soundcloud.com/wearestereofox/https://twitter.com/wearestereofoxhttps://www.stereofox.com/contact/7,099No EDM or commerical pop songs. Use the contact page and select 'submit music'
The Owl Maghttp://www.theowlmag.com/https://soundcloud.com/the-owl-maghttps://twitter.com/theowlmag[email protected]7082
Turntable Kitchenhttps://www.turntablekitchen.com/https://soundcloud.com/matthew-tkhttps://twitter.com/ttablekitchenhttps://www.turntablekitchen.com/contact/6879Focuses on music + food
KALTBUT Magazinehttps://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/https://soundcloud.com/kaltblutmagazine/https://twitter.com/KALTBLUTMAG[email protected]6796Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
LA On Lockhttps://www.laonlock.com/http://soundcloud.com/laonlockhttps://twitter.com/LAOnLock[email protected]6436
Pause Musicalehttp://pausemusicale.com/https://soundcloud.com/pausemusicalehttps://twitter.com/pausemusicale[email protected]5432French language blog
Niche Musichttps://nichemusic.info/https://soundcloud.com/nichemusichttps://twitter.com/nichemusic_infonichemusic.info[at]gmail.com5199Japanese language blog, focused on niche genres, non-mainstream music
Twangvillehttps://twangville.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/twangville[email protected]5041Focuses on Americana, alt country
surviving the golden agehttp://survivingthegoldenage.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/stgabloghttps://www.submithub.com/blog/surviving-the-golden-age4791Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
Aupiumhttps://aupium.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/aupium/https://aupium.com/contact/4621Currently only reviews live performances in LA
Tonspionhttp://www.tonspion.de/NAhttp://www.twitter.com/tonspion_dehttps://www.submithub.com/blog/tonspion4541
Going Solohttps://www.wearegoingsolo.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/wearegoingsolohttps://www.submithub.com/blog/going-solo4243Only accepts submissions through SubmitHub
For The Rabbitshttps://fortherabbits.net/https://soundcloud.com/fortherabbitshttps://twitter.com/ForTheRabbitsforth[email protected]3917
KaneFMhttp://www.kanefm.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/kanefmhttp://www.kanefm.com/contact/3787
Nordic Music Reviewhttps://www.nordicmusicreview.comNAhttps://twitter.com/nordicmusicviewhttps://www.submithub.com/blog/nordic-music-review3746Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
Hear Yahttp://www.hearya.comNAhttps://twitter.com/Hearya[email protected]3532
Homogroundhttps://homoground.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/homogroundNA3464Features music from the LGBTQ community; Get in touch via Twitter
Slowcoustichttp://slowcoustic.com/https://soundcloud.com/slowcoustichttps://twitter.com/slowcousticContact via Twiter3452Contact via Twiter
Mix It All Uphttp://mixitallup.com/https://soundcloud.com/mix-it-all-uphttps://twitter.com/MixingItAllUp[email protected]3436Also accepts submissions on SubmitHub: https://www.submithub.com/blog/mix-it-all-up
House Music With Lovehttp://www.housemusicwithlove.com/https://soundcloud.com/hmwlhttp://twitter.com/hmwl[email protected]3424Has a label as well; focuses on deep house and techno
Asian Danhttp://www.asianmandan.com/NAhttp://www.twitter.com/asiandan[email protected]3334
Music Savagehttp://www.musicsavage.com/NAhttp://www.twitter.com/musicsavagehttp://www.musicsavage.com/contact-us-2/3291Contact via Twitter
Different Kitchenhttp://different-kitchen.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/Stellaskidhttp://different-kitchen.com/contact/3241Use the Facebook page contact to get through faster
MuteControlhttp://www.mutecontrol.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/mutecontrolcom[email protected]3054Spanish language blog, thus, focused mostly on Spanish-language music
Gems and Secretshttps://gemsandsecrets.com/https://soundcloud.com/gemsandsecretshttps://twitter.com/gemsandsecretshttps://www.submithub.com/blog/gems-and-secrets3038
Ovrldhttp://ovrld.comNAhttps://twitter.com/ovrld[email protected]3001Focused on musicians from Austin, TX
theOCMDhttps://theocmd.com/https://soundcloud.com/theocmdhttps://twitter.com/indierockgirl[email protected]2940Focuses on indie music
High Cloudshttp://www.highclouds.org/https://soundcloud.com/highcloudsmaghttps://twitter.com/highcloudsmaghttps://www.submithub.com/blog/highclouds2874Only takes submissions through SubmitHub, focused on album/EP reviews
Various Small Flameshttps://varioussmallflames.co.uk/NAhttps://twitter.com/VSmallFlames[email protected]2860Add "VFS Submissions" in subject line; Also available on SubmitHub
POPMUZIKhttp://popmuzik.se/NAhttps://twitter.com/popmuzik_sehttp://www.submithub.com/blog/popmuzik2724Swedish language blog; Only takes submissions through SubmitHub, doesn't take songs older than a month
Finest Egohttp://www.finestego.com/https://www.soundcloud.com/finestegohttp://www.twitter.com/finestego[email protected]2691
Neon Musichttps://neonmusic.co.uk/NAhttps://twitter.com/neonmusicnowhttps://neonmusic.co.uk/contact2502
Nordic by Naturehttp://nordicbynatureberlin.com/https://soundcloud.com/nordicbynaturehttp://twitter.com/nbn_berlin[email protected]2399Features artists from the Nordic regions
Wolf in a Suithttp://www.wolfinasuit.com/https://soundcloud.com/wolfinasuithttps://twitter.com/wolfinasuitblog/https://www.wolfinasuit.com/submit-music/, [email protected]2190Only takes submissions through SubmitHub or HumanHuman
Dance Like Nobody's Watchinghttp://www.dlnwmusic.com/https://soundcloud.com/dlnwhttps://twitter.com/dlnwmusic[email protected]2,144
Channel WAVYhttp://channelwavy.com/https://soundcloud.com/channelwavyhttps://twitter.com/natemillshttps://www.submithub.com/blog/channel-wavey2110Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
Nordic Spotlighthttps://nordicspotlight.com/https://soundcloud.com/nordicspotlighthttps://twitter.com/NordicSpotlighthttps://nordicspotlight.com/music-submissions/1901Features music from the Nordic regions
Collapse Boardhttp://www.collapseboard.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/collapseboard[email protected]1764
Planeta Pophttp://www.planetapop.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/PlanetaPop[email protected]1696
Tuned Uphttp://iamtunedup.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/tunedupmusichttp://iamtunedup.com/contact/1684
Hi54https://hi54.blog/NAhttps://twitter.com/HI54LOFIhttps://hi54.blog/content/hi54-submission-process-update1581Accepts submissions through SubmitHub
One Chord to Anotherhttp://www.onechord.net/NAhttps://twitter.com/onechordnet[email protected]1470Add "onechord" or "one chord to another" in subject line
Indeflagrationhttp://indeflagration.frhttps://soundcloud.com/indeflagrationhttp://twitter.com/IndeFlagration[email protected]1440French language blog
The Record Stachehttp://www.therecordstache.comNAhttps://twitter.com/therecordstache[email protected]1330Prefers Soundcloud links
Adobe and Teardropshttp://www.adobeandteardrops.comNAhttps://twitter.com/adobeteardrops[email protected]1262Use SubmitHub
WICKEDD CHILDDhttp://www.wickeddchildd.com/https://soundcloud.com/wickedd_childdhttps://twitter.com/wickedd_childd[email protected]1218
Monolith Cocktailhttps://monolithcocktail.comNAhttps://twitter.com/MonolithBlogger[email protected]1134
Upstream Indiehttps://upstreamindie.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/upstreamindie[email protected]1123Submission Page: https://www.upstreamindie.com/contact/
Common Folk Musichttps://commonfolkmusic.wordpress.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/commonfolkmusic[email protected]1100Covers folk music
Fingertipshttp://fingertipsmusic.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/fingertipsmusic[email protected]1052
Spinning Plattershttp://spinningplatters.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/SpinnPlatt[email protected]981Usually only covers San Francisco based/touring artists
Abduction Radiationhttp://abductionradiation.tumblr.com/https://soundcloud.com/skeletalbombhttps://twitter.com/AbductionRadhttps://www.submithub.com/blog/abduction-radiation936Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
Best Beforehttp://www.bestbefore.co/https://soundcloud.com/best-before-1https://twitter.com/bestbeforecohttps://www.submithub.com/blog/best-before933Accepts submissions through SubmitHub
Purple Melon Musichttps://purplemelonmu.com/https://soundcloud.com/purplemelonmuhttp://twitter.com/purplemelonmu[email protected]847
GIG GOERhttp://www.giggoer.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/_GigGoer_[email protected]814
Echo Cloudhttp://www.echocloud.tv/NAhttp://twitter.com/echocloudpro[email protected]748
Bolting Bitshttp://boltingbits.comhttps://soundcloud.com/boltingbitshttps://twitter.com/boltingbits[email protected]722
MUSIC THAT WE LIKEhttp://musicthatwelike.comhttps://soundcloud.com/musicthatwelikehttp://twitter.com/musicthatwelikehttp://humanhuman.com/users/eddyhutchins/submit688On a hiatus
Green Room Storieshttps://greenroomstories.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/greenrmstories[email protected]661Instead of music, this blog does artist stories
umstrumhttp://umstrum.com/http://www.soundcloud.com/umstrumhttps://twitter.com/umstrumhttp://umstrum.com/contact/596
Peanut Butter & Good Jamshttps://pbandgoodjams.com/https://soundcloud.com/peanut-butter-good-jamshttps://twitter.com/pbandgoodjamshttps://pbandgoodjams.com/submit/543
Velvet Independenthttps://velvetindependent.comhttps://soundcloud.com/doyle-smithhttps://twitter.com/UK_Velvet[email protected]458
Pulp Juicedhttps://pulpjuiced.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/itsjennawolf[email protected]435
Foundhttps://found.fyi/https://soundcloud.com/foundfyihttps://twitter.com/thisisfound/[email protected]424Focused on people of color and women
Casablanca Sunsethttps://blog.casablancasunset.com/https://soundcloud.com/casablancasunsethttps://twitter.com/CasablancaSun_https://www.submithub.com/blog/casablanca-sunset411Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
I Heard a Whisperhttp://iheardawhisper.com/https://soundcloud.com/iheardawhisperhttps://twitter.com/iheardawhisperhttp://iheardawhisper.com/Newsletter-Signup388Sign-up to newsletter to see submission information
Weirdo Wastelandhttps://weirdowasteland.com/NAhttp://twitter.com/weirdowasteland[email protected]362
Dusted & Socialhttps://dustedandsocial.tumblr.com/https://soundcloud.com/urbankillhttps://twitter.com/dustedandsocial[email protected]306
The Walk to Workhttp://www.thewalktowork.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/Interestblendshttp://www.thewalktowork.com/submissions/279
The Postiehttp://www.thepostie.de/NAhttps://twitter.com/thepostiemag[email protected]273
Sidekick Musichttps://www.sidekick-music.com/https://soundcloud.com/sidekick-musichttps://twitter.com/LaSidekickMusic[email protected]269Doesn't like festival EDM
12XUhttp://onetwoxu.de/NAhttps://twitter.com/einszwoxu/https://onetwoxu.de/submissions/125German language blog; Only takes submissions through SubmitHub.
Alternative Feedhttps://www.thealternativefeed.com/NAhttps://twitter.com/thealtfeed[email protected]115
AudioToxhttp://www.audiotox.com/NANAhttps://www.submithub.com/blog/audiotox-com0Only takes submissions through SubmitHub
Listen 2 This Onehttps://www.listen2thisone.com/https://soundcloud.com/L2T1https://twitter.com/Listen2ThisOnehttps://www.listen2thisone.com/0Accepts submissions through website form, also active on Reddit under username Listen2ThisOne
Record Turnoverhttps://www.recordturnover.com/https://soundcloud.com/recordturnoverNA[email protected]0Focuses on experimental music

How to Submit Your Music to Bloggers

You now have a list of 100 blogs to submit your music to.

But you can’t just throw in your song as an attachment and start shooting emails.

To get your music heard, you have to approach promotion a bit more strategically.

Below, I’ll share some tips based on my experience as a musician, blogger and marketer:

1. Create a One Sentence Pitch for Your Music

This is a trick I picked up from a Silicon Valley entrepreneur/musician:

“Think of your song as a startup product. Create a one-sentence pitch for it, as if you were describing it to a potential investor.”

A common practice among tech entrepreneurs is to describe their products in a one sentence “elevator pitch” (though technically elevator pitches are about 30-seconds long).

For example, here’s how Uber’s founder Travis Kalanick described the company in its early stages:

“You push a button and in five minutes a Mercedes picks you up and takes you where you want to go.”

There is no talk of “two-sided driver-passenger marketplace” or “taxi-aggregation” or any other fancy jargon. It’s a simple description of what the product does.

This tells potential investors and users the gist of the product without having to deal with unnecessary buzzwords.

Once you dig deeper, you’ll realize that pitching your music isn’t any different.

Just like a startup founder, you’re also trying to pitch a “product” (your music) to an end-user (a listener or a blogger).

Distilling the essence of your music into a single sentence will tell these “end-users” exactly what your music is about, what it sounds like, and whether it will appeal to them or not.

How to Create Your One-Sentence Music Pitch

Among startup founders, a common way to create a one-sentence pitch is through a “Mad Libs” approach.

Here’s a template popularized by the Founder’s Institute:

This template works because it:

  • Identifies the name of the product (or company)
  • Identifies its core value proposition
  • Identifies its core target audience

With some modifications, you can use a similar mad libs approach for crafting your one-sentence song pitch.

Here’s a template you can use:

[Name of Song], is a [Genre] song about [Song’s Subject or Theme] that sounds like [Musician/Song/Genre] but with [What Makes Your Unique].

Here’s the template in an image format for easier sharing/saving.

The reason why this template works is because:

  • It gives the reader the basic information about the song: its name and genre.
  • It tells the reader about the song’s subject, theme or backstory in a few short words.
  • It gives the reader an anchor to compare the song to.
  • It shares insight on your song’s unique feature.

For example, here’s how you would use this template to describe Drake’s Hotline Bling:

Hotline Bling is a contemporary R&B song about a jealous man worrying about his girlfriend that sounds like a R&B and hip-hop fusion but with influences from trap and retro R&B.
Try doing this for a few of your favorite tracks.

It sounds easy, but it isn’t.

Do this for all your tracks and you’ll find it much easier to create a compelling pitch.

 

2. Align Your Pitches to the Blog’s Audience

Take this from a blogger: there’s nothing we hate more than wasting our time on a song that doesn’t fit our audience.

Sure, your death metal track might be great, and I might even recommend it to friends, but if I’m running a blog about EDM, I can’t possibly share it with readers.

So basic rule when pitching: make sure that your track fits the blog’s audience.

Most blogs will make it very clear what kind of tracks they like to share on their ‘About’ section. Spend a couple of minutes reading this page to figure out their target genre.

For example, LouderThanWar.com tells you exactly what genre it covers on its manifesto page:

In case the blog hasn’t made it clear what genres it covers (i.e. it is a multi-genre blog), assume that the blog will cover most alternative and mainstream genres outside of extreme genres (like death metal).

If that doesn’t work (or if the about page isn’t clear), just spend some time listening to the blog’s recently shared tracks.

This will give you the best-possible indicator of what music it likes to share.

 

3. Develop a Relationship With Bloggers Using the “5-4-3-2-1 Approach”

When you first email a blogger, you’re a completely unknown quantity to them. You’re not a real person making incredible music; you’re just another email address in their inbox.

One of your biggest challenges, therefore, is to stand out.

And the easiest way to do that is to build a relationship with the blogger in question.

Think of it this way: if you were a busy person with 200 new emails in your inbox every day, who would you rather respond to first – ‘Random Musician #36’ or “Joe Musician who keeps sharing incredible insight on social media”?

The latter, of course.

The trouble is: building relationships with bloggers is hard. There are just too many musicians jousting for their attention.

Back in my marketing days, we had the same problem when we were trying to get shares from leading influencers.

To get their attention, we developed what I call a “5-4-3-2-1” framework. This framework works for most small to medium-sized blogs.

Here’s how it works:

  • Retweet 5 tweets by the concerned blogger on Twitter.
  • Leave 4 meaningful comments on tweets or social media posts by the blogger
  • Add 3 long and insightful comments on the blogger’s recent blog posts.
  • Send 2 helpful emails to the blogger with the goal of getting at least 1 response.

I know this sounds like a lot of hard work, but by the time you send your last email to the blogger, your name would be pretty familiar to them.

After all, you’ve interacted with them more than a dozen times already.

In case you’re wondering what kind of messages to send in emails, here are a few suggestions:

  • Answer a question they recently asked on social media.
  • Share content they might find interesting. Make sure this isn’t anything obvious or mainstream.
  • Introduce them to a connection who might help them (such as another blogger).
  • Create some unique content based on one of their posts, then share it with them (such as a free cover image for their best-performing blog post).

The point is: you’re trying to get noticed in the inbox. And you’re trying to do that by giving them value in some form.

This is the foundation of a relationship: give them value to get value in return.

Since all of this is a lot of work, I suggest building relationships only with the highest-value blogs on your list. For the rest, you can, at most, leave a few comments on their blogs/social media and shoot off a pitch.

 

4. Weave a Story Into Your Pitch

People don’t remember facts.

They remember stories.

If you’re a musician, you should know and use storytelling in everything you do – your music and your promotions.

A story adds a human element to your pitch. It tells the reader who you are and what inspires you. It appeals to the reader’s values.

Conventionally, every story follows an arc, popularly called the “hero’s journey”. It goes something like this:

  • A “hero” (the central figure) undertakes a journey.
  • The hero encounters insurmountable obstacles.
  • The hero overcomes the obstacles and reaches his destinations.

Think of all the classic stories – Odysseus’ long journey to reach his home in Homer’s The Odyssey, Simba’s banishment and eventual return in The Lion King, etc. They all have the “hero’s journey” arc.

Think of your music in the same way – what “journey” did you undertake to create your music?

As a musician, you’ll have three stories to tell:

  • Your personal story: The story of what got you into music, what hardships did you overcome and what you aspire to create.
  • Your compositional story: How did you compose the song in question? What were your challenges while writing/producing the song? How did you overcome them? Where did you get inspiration?
  • Your song’s story: Every good song has some sort of story arc, even if it doesn’t have any lyrics. The music might move from an up tempo beat to slow and melodic, telling the listener a story. The story you tell through your music is, arguably, the most important story you can tell.

Think of all your favorite musicians. They all have some sort of story of struggle and crisis and how they fought their way out.

Think of Eminem’s story about being bullied and finding refuge in hip-hop, or NWA’s story of facing racial discrimination (rappers, incidentally, are masters of storytelling – in their songs and in their “brands”).

You don’t (and shouldn’t) have to write paragraph upon paragraph about yourself in your pitch.

But at least add a line or two about what inspired you to write this song, what themes does it tackle (and why), and what kind of challenges you faced.

This will make your pitch more memorable and will help bloggers connect with you at a human level.

 

5. Have a “Brand” Image

This is a tough one – on the one hand, you don’t want to come across as too polished (you are an aspiring and struggling musician, after all).

At the same time, you don’t want to be some amateur with half-baked ideas – bloggers want to listen to good music.

The solution is to have a few core brand elements when you’re pitching. This includes:

Of these, the most important for me is your image.

Think of how different musicians present themselves in their pictures.

Like how all punk bands look like, well, punks.

Or how all singer-songwriters have the acoustic-guitar-downcast-eyes-unkempt-hair look.

Which is to say: your band’s image should evoke the genre you’re playing and the kind of music outlets you want to get published in.

If you’re a metal band, no one will take you seriously if you present yourself like this:

You don’t have to follow all the genre conventions, of course (otherwise we’d have never had a pink polo wearing Kanye rapping). But there should be at least a bit of alignment between your target genre and band image.

It’s also a good idea to have a website on your own domain. Website builders are effectively free and domains cost just $10/year, so you have no excuses not to.

(I’ll have an article on building your own band website at a later date).

 

6. Keep Your Pitches Short and Simple

It pains me to see submission pitches that drone on and on about the music.

Even worse is when musicians beg and plead for spots. Or apologize for the quality of the demo.

No one has time to read through 500-word pitches filled with apologies and run-on sentences.

The best approach is to keep it short and simple. Focus on the best parts of your music and give the reader the highlights only.

Here’s a template that works well. The parts in brackets are all to be filled in by you:

Hi [Blogger’s Name],

Big fan of your blog. Your review of [song/album/tour] was one of my favorite bits of writing this year. [Personalize this line as you see fit]

I wanted to submit a song for your [blog section].

[One-sentence pitch – see above]

You can see the song on my Soundcloud: [link]

I wrote this song because [story]

You’ll enjoy it if you like [song your music is most similar to]

I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can find more about me on my website link below.

Warmest wishes,

Your Name
[Your website link]

P.S.: You can grab a copy of the artwork for this song here [artwork link]

This template keeps things simple. It is personalized; it references the blogger’s first name and includes a line about the blog (customize this as you see fit).

Besides this, it also includes:

  • A one-sentence pitch.
  • The story behind the song or your music in general – in a single sentence.
  • A comparison to an existing artist or song. This can help bloggers decide if they’ll like your music. (Although this isn’t necessary since you’ve already included a comparison in the one-sentence pitch).
  • Links to your website in the signature.
  • A ‘P.S.’ section with a link to the artwork. This is actually one of the most-read parts of any email.

I’ll do a more detailed breakdown of a successful pitch in a future article. I’ll also include guidelines on finding email addresses, using a compelling opening hook and closing warmly.

Watch this space for more.

Besides these, follow the obvious tips: observe the submission guidelines, personalize your emails, and be polite. Follow-up once (and only once).

And most importantly: keep on making great music, and keep on trying.

42 thoughts on “125 Best Music Blogs to Submit Your Music To”

  1. Pingback: 100 Blogs To Submit Your Music To • tuneboxes.

    1. Ella Ronn

      Not the right genre for the contact   If you re DIY-ing this, there s a very good chance you pulled your list from something that sounds like 100 Blogs Who Want to Hear Your Music. Here s the thing – those lists are rarely catered to a specific genre. It doesn t matter how great your band is if you re pitching the wrong outlet for your music.

      1. Ryan Harrell

        Hi Ella, I created this list by hand, digging through each blog and searching through blogrolls. You’re right that the genres might not always be accurate. It’s difficult to zero down on the specific genres a blog covers without spending hours reading through each post. So for the next version of this list, I’ve removed the genre heading so as to not confuse readers.

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  12. Ari

    Hi,

    Great resources. I also have a music blog that is accepting music submissions. It’s called Ghosts Welcome (www.ghostswelcome.com) and I’m always trying to find new interesting music that I could share for my readers. Music submissions would help!

    Br,
    Ari / Ghosts Welcome – The Songwriting Blog
    http://www.ghostswelcome.com

  15. Ric Pierre

    Great beneficial info thanx alot appreciate this much but im trying to cant download this list in a spreadsheet format below where can i download it save it to spreadsheet?

  21. Michael Hensen

    Hi there Ryan,

    Thanks so much for making a really good resource available to us. I have been reading how important email and music marketing is lately and this seems like another step towards the goal of getting more fans. I appreciate it much!! If you all are fans of surf music/acoustic/ukulele stuff, please feel free to stop by http://www.michaelhensen.com and grab a free Mp3. You can also check out the EP that has over 638,000 plays on Soundcloud. 🙂 To all you guys making music, wishing you success and the motivation to make it happen!

    -Michael

  22. Anthony Meyer

    I never comment on blogs, but this has a ton of value. Thank you very much! I’ll probably be submitting to each of the relevant blogs on your list over the course of the next few weeks.

      1. Beth

        Wow! I am not expecting such a fast reply. Now I have the list handy. Great help for aspiring musicians.You’re awesome! Many thanks!

  28. Beth

    Wow! You replied to my message so fast. Now I have the entire list handy. You’re awesome! It’s a great help for aspiring musicians. Thank you!!!

  30. SClikes

    I am grateful to you for sharing a list of music blogs. Keep posting like this. I will follow you after reading this blog.

  32. Julia Watsica

    Thank you for sharing your incredible ideas. It is an appreciated and pretty tip for all those music lovers. What a Fatal post for those who want to upgrade exist subwoofer with new one.

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