You expect content to be in a book, right?

When you judge a book (like, an actual book) by its cover, you expect there to be content in there when you open it, right? What would you do if there wasn't? Put it back down? That's what I do. And I do the same for music that people send me on a daily basis that doesn’t have a story. This is why your music needs a story.I just finished reading How to Make It in The New Music Business by Ari Herstand. Ari highlights a plethora of a reasons why you need a story behind your music. One of them being that it's much more appealing to those that it matters to: journalists, publicists, labels, etc. Your fans are different; they'll listen to almost anything you release, even if it's trash. But publicists and journalists will not take on work that only has a story along the lines of “I liked the bass I made so I wrote this song.” That’s not a story. I’m a publicist and journalist, so I’m reiterating Ari’s point on why your music needs a story in this blog post.

Your music needs to have a story

This same concept goes for music. I understand the struggles that musicians go through to write good music. They write about life, past relationships, political issues, and even the future. There's always a reason you wrote something. "I was bored" isn't good enough for me. Sorry. We’ve all had that one friend or family member that just rambles. They talk (or make noise, as I call it) for an extended period of time, but they don’t say a whole lot. Your music can’t be like this. It’s good to have something to say, but you have to compile it into a story that’s going to captivate your audience.Really think about why you're writing a piece of music--whether it be an album, EP, or single. In fact, think of it like this: How would you captivate the person sitting next to you at Starbucks about your music? What would you say to intrigue them enough to open Spotify/iTunes/YouTube to listen to your music? Tell them something they can't resist.

Artists have been releasing longer albums... because they have something to say

Recently, a friend of mine reached out via text and asked why artists are releasing longer albums. He mentioned that Migos' Culture II had 24 tracks, and Chris Brown's Heartbreak on a Full Moon had a jaw-dropping 45 tracks. At the time, I wasn't 100% sure, as the music I listen to isn't generally that long (mostly singles and EPs with a few tracks). I have, however, seen a surge in electronic musicians releasing longer albums, like Don Diablo's Future.

In a recent article on Vulture, they suggest that "It’s possible Brown just could not condense whatever he has to say and, because streaming has very few restrictions, now we’re left with this thing." Maybe Brown had so much to say but didn’t want to boil it down into a normal, 11- to 12-track album. He just threw everything into one long LP instead. Also, look (and listen) to Linkin Park's One More Night album. With Chester Bennington's passing (rest in peace), the entire album makes total sense now. The album starts with "Nobody Can Save Me," "Good Goodbye," and "Talking to Myself." It finishes with "Halfway Right," "One More Light," and "Sharp Edges."We may not have caught it, but the entire album was Bennington telling us his struggles that led up to his suicide. The whole album tells a sad story and was Bennington’s cry for help.

A journalist/publicists' view as to why your music needs a story

Aside from being incredibly good looking, I'm a journalist and publicist. I’ve written featured articles for EDM.com, EARMILK, Magnetic Magazine, Digital Music News, Noiseporn, and my own publication, EDM In A Soda. In the past, I've contributed to Dancing Astronaut and EDMTunes.Through writing I've gained a large amount of friends, many of which are extremely talented artists, producers, and DJs. Newer artists that discover my writing and "hit me up" usually start with "Yo, Lenon (notice the incorrect spelling), Can I send you some music?" There's no introduction, asking how I'm doing, mentioning that they like my writing on [publication name]. Nothing. Nada. Instant turnoff. Treat it like dating. How would you feel if your date didn't ask how you were doing when you first met?I usually try to give these artists the benefit of the doubt, but I can generally sense the artists that just "hit me up" when they want something. In the previous case, it was coverage on their mediocre track.I discuss exactly what I look for in an introduction either by email, Facebook message, or in-person on my podcast episode with Making it with Chris G. I also discuss the content I'm looking for in an email. A lot of people still don't know how to format a proper email. If you want your music/email to appeal to me, listen to the podcast and learn what I’m looking for.

Give me (and other journalists) something to write/talk about

Your music needs a story because it gives me--a journalist and publicist--something to write and talk about. To this day, I remember specific artists and bands that had a story attached to their song. The most recent one was on Noiseporn for Wilsonn's "Even If I Know." If an artist, publicist, or artist manager sends me music that's really good but doesn't have a story/press release, I'll either a) turn it away or b) go out of my way to research the artist and scrape information from SoundCloud bios, Facebook statuses, previous releases, etc. This is an artist that I must see a future in--one that I truly believe in. I'm unlike most journalists because I believe every artist I designate time to listen to and ultimately write/talk about deserves a quality write-up, not some half-assed article with the required minimum five sentences. I’ve worked with publicists/bloggers in the past that do just that.

Put all of your information together, even if you think it’s irrelevant

95% of the time I do not search out the information for the artists I’m writing for, especially if I’ve never heard of them. The ones that are continuing to build up a discography and resume for themselves are easily memorable, and I can usually remember the pertinent information. Newer artists, however, don’t have the accolades that more popular artists have. Additionally, this information isn’t going to be easily discovered if you don’t have much “buzz” around your name. For example, if you just headlined a show, I’m not going to know that unless I head to your website, check your blog (nothing there), then scope Twitter (link’s dead; account no longer exists), and then go to the Facebook page with very little information and three posts. Thankfully, one of those three posts was a small bit of information about the show you just headlined.I can then gather some context about the festival and then rope your story in. This, however, takes me 10-15 minutes, which is often time I don’t have or will have much rather spent on other projects. I’d rather have too much information about you than not enough. I can always trim the stuff I don’t need/want to talk about, but I can’t put together a story without enough information. You try building a house without a hammer.

Here are some things to talk about if you can’t think of any accolades

There are a plethora of items you can talk about. If you’re promoting your new album, then you don’t have to talk about the entire album. Maybe a few tracks you just wrote because you were, for the lack of a better word, bored. But the other eight tracks were because of your recent breakup, the loss of a friend/family member, or even about your favorite flavor of ice cream. As a journalist, I would be completely intrigued to listen to an entire album about someone’s favorite flavor of ice cream. Do you see where I’m going with this? Make it unique--don’t be like everybody else. We all live very different lives that vary in culture, religion, gender identity, political views, and country. Be open and share that story with us.In addition to why you wrote the album, tell me a little bit about how you’re promoting the album. Did you open for your favorite band? Did you headline a festival? Did you collaborate with someone notable (not your best friend who hasn’t quite created his SoundCloud account yet.)? Do you have new merch coming out? Are you raising money for a cause? Like Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, for every song released there’s an equal or opposite story behind it.

But I’m a new artist and don’t have any accolades

That’s a lie. You’ve done something significant in your life or career. If you’re new, you can always talk about why you started music. Did a certain someone inspire you? Who and why? How did you learn music theory (if you learned at all)? How did you learn digital music production? Tell me about that. At the very least, treat it like you and I are sitting at Starbucks conversing. What’re some things you’d tell me about?

You don’t need a Grammy to receive media coverage

Seriously! Some artists think that they need to win a Grammy or have their latest single featured in an Apple commercial. While this does boost credibility, it’s absolutely not necessary. In fact, I couldn’t care less. If you have a fun, unique, and inspiring story, then I’d be more than happy to learn more and share it with my audience. There are some larger publications like Billboard that are much more difficult to get coverage on. Can you imagine what their journalists’ email inboxes look like? No thanks. You have to be patient.

Be patient but persistent, but not annoying

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an artist flood my inbox with their mediocre, story-less track(s). With each email, they get more rude, disrespectful, and demanding. If I don’t respond to your email it’s because a) I’m tied up with other projects at the moment, b) not interested, c) you don’t have a story, or d) you’re being an ass. I do not need negativity in my inbox. We have far too much of that in the real world. When I’m doing publicist work, I follow-up (in the same email thread) twice after I send the initial email. The first email contains the biography, story, social media links, and any other press coverage/work/important stuff I think someone should know. The second email usually goes out 3-7 days after the first email, simply reminding them and inquiring to see if they had any questions about the information in the first email. The last email is a small modification of the second email. Keep these emails polite, conversational, and not pushy! Nothing bothers me more when someone I don’t know slides into my email telling me who, what, where, when, and what time the article should go live. I don’t walk into your house to tell you how to clean or cook. I expect you to do the same with how I handle the articles I write. You need to trust me.

Think long-term

Seriously. Do you want to release an album, and then a year later regret or not be proud of it? All of your music should represent who you are as a person and musician. Therefore, you should be proud of everything you release. There are exceptions (like your first and second release...maybe), but your music should always be something you're very proud of. It’s a piece of art that makes you unique.You should also think of what you're going to do with your music. Are you writing in hopes of landing some licensing gigs for commercials? Are you writing it for high-energy content for your upcoming tour? Let this be a point in either your story or the reason you write your story.

Attaching files to an email will land you a priority spot in my spam folder

This should be a no-brainer, but I’ve had numerous emails head directly to spam simply because they attached the cover art, an MP3 (please don’t send audio files unless they’re requested), or PDF for their press kit. Services like Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive can easily remedy this problem. Simply put all of this information in a folder and send a link to the folder via email. This will prevent your email from going to my spam folder. Most email programs are getting much more liberal on what they mark as spam. Nobody has time for viruses, so an email client like Gmail would probably mark your cover art as spam, just to be safe.

If you don’t have time or the know-how, hire a publicist

Honestly. If you have no idea how to go about marketing your story to the right people, then hire a publicist. Not only do they have the connections and an archive for people who’d be best suited to read and share your story, they (should) know exactly how to market it. A publicist will know exactly when to market your music, who to market to, and the results you can expect to see. Additionally, they’ll be able to help you put your story together. They know the people they’re marketing to and know what information in your story will stand out the most to them. Trust them.

Your music’s story is important, especially to me

I love being inspired. I love hearing others’ struggles and how they overcame or are overcoming them. I love hearing about the next biggest artist. There are a ton of ways you can tell your music’s story. There are positive and negative ways to get people’s attention. It’s important that you tell your story in a positive, uplifting, and non-pushy way. A lot of people will instantly turn you off if you come across as negative, demanding, or pushy. This makes more room for those who know how to go about telling someone your story. Regardless of how minimal or long your story is, I’m interested. Musicians with stories never cease to amaze me.