It’s a common misconception that only famous artists or those signed to a major record label get editorial features in major music online publications. The fact is, online magazines and news outlets such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, Variety, and Music Industry Weekly all have the responsibility of bringing interesting and relevant music-related content to their readers.
It’s a bit of a paradox for those artists who are just starting out or who haven’t reached a level of being “Noteworthy” in the music entertainment industry at this stage in their musical careers. The average artist can’t get featured in a major publication because they haven’t reached the level of notoriety they need to get an editorial feature. On the other hand, they don’t have any editorial features, so they can’t seem to gain any notoriety. This is what some experts in the music industry have labeled the “Artist Buzz Paradox.”
Why Can’t Music Publications Simply Publish My Press Release On Their Website?
your credibility factor goes up exponentially.
Press Releases are another area of confusion for Artists and bands. Major music publications (and most commercial publications for that matter) thrive on original content. There are a number of reasons why major music publications need new and fresh content to publish on their platforms. In the vast world of the internet, content is king. Original content inevitably ranks higher on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
From indexing to SEO, major music publications want to make sure their articles are being found and read by their loyal readers and other music lovers around the world who are searching for similar content. That’s how they continue to build their readership. Press releases are broadcasted to hundreds (and even thousands) of news outlets at a single time. While this may seem like a great way to spread the news about an artist or band, real traction is gained when major music publications reach out to you, your manager or your PR team to do an editorial feature such as a story or interview. This results in an original feature/article being published online that immediately catapults you to being worth mentioning or “noteworthy” from a third-party perspective. Anyone can push out a press release, but when others are talking about you, your credibility factor goes up exponentially.
Will Being Featured In A Major Publication Help Me Get Verified On Social Media?
Whether you are a Social Media Influencer, Business Expert, Band, or Artist, anyone who understands the power of the blue checkmark next to their name on social media wants to be a part of the exclusive club. Verification has become a powerful status symbol in the online landscape. This allows social media platforms to help their users differentiate between an original authentic account and that of a fan or copycat of the original account holder. However, getting verified on social media is not easy. This goes back to the “Artist Buzz Paradox,” because, in order to be verified, you need to be able to prove that you are authentic, unique and noteworthy.
Most artists and bands have no problem proving that they are authentic and unique. The problem is being able to convince the powers-at-be (social platform auditors) that they are noteworthy. Most platforms will require several original third-party articles written about the artist or band in order to validate their “noteworthiness.” Press releases don’t count for the reasons stated earlier. Again, anyone can write a press release about themselves, but what are other people saying about them? The fact of the matter is, once you get an article under your belt, it becomes easier and easier to get other online publications to take you seriously and consider you for an editorial feature.
Can I Get An Editorial Feature In Music Industry Weekly?
We are constantly looking for noteworthy artists and bands to feature in Music Industry Weekly. However, it is important to understand that for every fifty submissions only one will meet our strict criteria for an editorial feature. When our Editorial Team reviews a candidate, they look at many factors, including:
- Quality of Music (Is it commercially viable?)
- Uniqueness In the Marketplace (Is the artist/band special/different?)
- The originality of Story (What makes your story stand out?)
- Overall Appeal to MIW Readers (Will you be interesting?)
- Social Media Presence (Can you be easily found online?)
- Social Media Influence/Followers (Do you have over 100K followers?)
If you feel that you or your band qualify for an editorial feature in MIW, place reach out to our editorial team by emailing editorial@musicindustryweekly.com. Please copy and paste the above bullet points into the body of your email and provide a short answer/description to each question. Our team will review your submission and will get back with you to let you know if you qualify for a featured article. It is important to understand that editorial features do not cost money. Reputable publications do not charge a fee for an editorial feature.
Instant Credibility in the Music Industry.
What If I Don’t Qualify For An Editorial Feature?
As with any other major online publication, Music Industry Weekly provides advertising opportunities for our advertisers. While we advertise in many different formats, we have a special type of advertising for artists and bands that don’t qualify to be editorially featured in MIW. This type of advertising (known as Advertorial) looks similar to an editorial feature but is designated as an Artist Spotlight. This will help you establish instant credibility in the music industry. Please note that Advertorial space is in high demand and we can only accept a limited number of submissions. If you are interested in being featured in MIW through an Artist Spotlight, email our Advertorial Team at advertorial@musicindustryweekly.com.
