Leading electronic music blogs and how to be featured on them
In the world of electronic music, some of the most influential opinions come from those in charge of the leading blogs. With each of the top outlets commanding a huge audience, being featured on any of the leading websites can be hugely beneficial for your brand. Most of the blogs cover multiple subjects, from track and event reviews to feuds between artists, from breaking news to informative articles. As an artist, your main focus when dealing with blogs should be endeavouring to have your track reviewed or even premiered on any of the leading sites, but this isn’t always as simple as it sounds. We’ve taken a closer look some of the top electronic music news outlets according to Feedspot, and how to get featured on them.
YourEDM
Topping the list is YourEDM, a blog featuring a wide range of music across the electronic spectrum. The primary focus of the site, however, is breaking news stories, which also take priority on YourEDM’s social media pages. Only breaking news items are featured on the site’s homepage, making it difficult for new talent to gain exposure from the site. That being said, YourEDM does cover a wide variety of tracks from a variety of artists, including many who have not yet broken into the mainstream. With almost 3 million Facebook fans as well as over 100,000 followers on Twitter, it is clear that YourEDM commands a huge audience in the electronic music fan community.
EDM.com
Coming in at second place, EDM.com covers a wide array of subjects including new music, events, and technology. The site offers articles targeted at fans as well as budding producers, with plenty of tips to aid in starting a career in the industry as an artist. EDM.com primarily focuses on news, events and technology, but does offer track reviews covering a variety of genres, making it a worthwhile outlet to target upon releasing a new track. The outlet is also close to hitting 3 million Facebook fans, illustrating the influence it has across the scene.
Dancing Astronaut
Third on the list is one of electronic music’s longest-running blogs, Dancing Astronaut. Containing an array of content including in-depth track and album reviews, the site is sought-after for features. The site even sells its own branded merchandise to fans. Regardless of genre, Dancing Astronaut is one of the best sites to approach for a feature, as it is nearing 1 million Facebook fans and has amassed almost 200,000 Twitter followers.
Also featuring in the top 10 are a number of other influential blogs, with EDM Sauce at number four, EDMTunes at number five and Run The Trap at six. Well-reputed magazine and online news outlet Mixmag comes in at number seven. At number eight is thatDROP followed by We Rave You at number nine and closing out the top 10 is Noiseporn.
Choosing which blogs to contact
The blogs that you should approach for a feature strongly depends on the stage you are at in your career. Established artists will often set their PR team the task of achieving blog features, but even when starting out, it is worth contacting the blogs yourself. This is not a task that should be taken lightly, as gaining features on blogs isn’t always easy, even for those at the top. When choosing tracks to feature, the blogs are looking for tracks that stand out as unique and will fit in with their regular content. Most of all, blogs are looking for content that their readers will enjoy, and if they don’t think your track is right for their audience, they are unlikely to feature it.
Research is key
Before you approach any blogs, you should first make sure to conduct thorough research. With such a vast number of outlets out there, contacting every single one will be extremely time-consuming, so it is important to ascertain which ones are the most likely to want to feature your release. Many of the smaller blogs are genre-focussed, so make sure to only contact those who feature tracks that share similarities with yours. If you think your release fits well into the mix, tell them why, a personal approach will do wonders for your chance of success.
Quality over quantity
The key is to contact fewer blogs but do it well. Sending five extremely personal thought-out emails will prove much more beneficial than sending a group email to 100 blogs with no personalisation between the emails, and the latter will likely result in your email being ignored. Another helpful tactic is to offer a blog the exclusive, and see if they would be interested in premiering your track. This way, the deal is mutually beneficial, as you gain exposure while they gain exclusive content.
Control your attitude
That being said, don’t approach blogs with an over-confident attitude regarding a release. In order to make a connection and stand the best chance of being featured, always remain humble when communicating, whether by email or in person. While it is beneficial to be confident, make sure to not be over-confident, and remain professional. Even if none of the blogs you contact are willing to feature your release, you don’t know when you may need to build a relationship with them in the future, and being rude or aggressive could destroy this relationship before it even begins. It is vital to never burn bridges in the industry, and always keep your options open for the future. You never know where your career may take you, and one day you may regret lashing out at someone from one of the blogs.
With so many quality blogs out there, it is imperative to do everything you can for a feature. No matter what stage you are at in your career, every artist stands to benefit from a positive article published by a reputed outlet, even those at the very top of their game. While it may be disheartening if you are not given a feature straight away, don’t give up. If a blog is unwilling to feature your track, a politely worded email may result in some genuine feedback. Learn from any mistakes made in order to stand more chance of a feature next time around.