how to become a music publisher

The Press Does Not Owe You Anything!
By David Hooper

Some musicians believe that if they write a press release that is newsworthy, that there is an obligation on the part of the newspaper to publish it. Not only is this not true, but this kind of attitude can be detrimental to obtaining the coverage that you want.

The media is not an extension of your marketing department. But, if you are fortunate and savvy enough to have information of value that their readers may be interested in, you will at least attract their attention. Editors are not ad sales people. They're journalists and they take pride in delivering unbiased coverage independent of outside influences.

That said, many "hometown" papers will accept a “trade” for an advertising commitment -- they'll print your release if you buy their ads. Take advantage of this practice as much as you can, just be careful not to approach the legitimate press with any type of bartering proposal. It may destroy your chances of getting your releases accepted now and in the future.

You Must Generate Real News

Generating news and information that people and the press will be interested in is not as difficult as it may sound. All you have to do is ask the question, “What does my target audience care about?” Asking this question will help to focus your thoughts and ideas. Conducting

Iain Banks first published The Crow Road in the UK in 1992, and it is one of his best-loved books. Time Out called it "Riveting...exhilarating...its pace, development, intensity and, above all, its hip and sexy humour never allow it to flag." The Crow Road is a philosophical saga and a romantic coming-of-age story, a mystery and a comedy, and a raucous, moving, and deeply human look at relationships and family. As Publishers Weekly says, "Readers unfamiliar with Banks's prodigious output have a great starting point here." ]]>

Neal Stephenson has been a staple name in science fiction ever since his incandescent opus Snow Crash appeared. What separated Snow Crash from the other cyberpunk novels of the world was, first, Stephenson's knowledge of computers and programming and, second, his wealth of research on topics as obscure as Sumerian mythology. This theme of in-depth research has continued through his other books, especially Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle. Before his reading, Stephenson discussed the mathematical philosophy and quantum mechanics in his newest novel, Anathem, as well as why he still writes by hand.]]>

Inspired by a WPA state guide series from the 1930s and 40s, State by State will surely rank among 2008's most notable literary achievements. Fifty writers on fifty states: Anthony Bourdain on New Jersey, Susan Orlean on Ohio, Sarah Vowell on Montana, S.E. Hinton on Oklahoma, Dave Eggers on Illinois... the list goes on and on. Weeks before publication, editors Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey discuss working with the authors, noteworthy contributions, pleasing surprises, and the new Out of the Book film, which stars 19 of the collection's contributors.]]>

Annie Barrows's creative process for co-authoring The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was, by her own admission, unusual. It's not often that your adored librarian aunt hands you a rough manuscript to finish. And allowing for the fact that we are prejudiced towards the novel's pure expression of love for booksellers, we found it to be absolutely delightful. Barrows takes the time to explain her experience of co-writing Guernsey, what it means to be a community of readers, and why we hunger for charm in these modern times. ]]>

As David Carr tells it, "The dude was addicted to coke, got off the coke, obtained custody of his kids, a single parent, got off welfare, survived cancer, married well. But that's not what is resonating with people. It's much more the pathology." The dude being Carr, himself. Kurt Andersen attests, The Night of the Gun is "a breathtakingly candid, laugh-out-loud funny, heroically rigorous, consistently riveting, and deeply moving account of a nightmarish descent and amazing redemption." Carr discusses coke and cancer, fact and fiction, parenthood, new media, hope, and his new remarkable book.]]>

Why do Americans spend more than $10 billion a year on bottled water? "The facile answer is marketing, marketing and more marketing," supposes the New York Times Book Review, "but Elizabeth Royte goes much deeper into the drink, streaming trends cultural, economic, political and hydrological into an engaging investigation of an unexpectedly murky substance." The Boston Globe calls Bottlemania, "Ingenious. Amiably, without haranguing or hyperventilating, this veteran environmental writer has produced what could be, assuming enough people read it, one of the year's most influential books."]]>

City of Thieves, the newest novel by David Benioff, author of The 25th Hour and When the Nines Roll Over, has been hailed by critics as "a smart crowd-pleaser" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), a "gut-churning thriller [that] will sweep you along" (Kirkus, starred review), and "a funny, sad, and thrilling novel" (Entertainment Weekly). Set during the Germans' brutal siege of Leningrad in World War II, the novel follows the captivating odyssey of two young men trying to survive against desperate odds on an impossible mission through unimaginable depravity. Surprisingly, it's also thrilling, absorbing, and very funny. In this interview, Benioff discusses why it took so long to finish the first chapter, the difficulty of trying to capture the voice of a 17-year-old Russian boy during World War II, and more.]]>

Kirkus calls America America, Ethan Canin's first novel in seven years, "[a] novel of character [that] is powerful and haunting, a major work." It is a sweeping, epic story that more fully explores themes Canin has written about previously — class, politics, fatherhood, wealth, and power — in a seamless and beautiful multigenerational American saga. America America is both an important work and a page-turning summer read. Especially in this election year, it is a powerful reminder about what is great, and what is broken, within our country. In this interview, Canin discusses his new book, the politics of generosity, class-jumping, and method acting for writing.]]>

It's rare that you have the opportunity to interview someone as notorious as James Frey. Whether you were a fan or reader of A Million Little Pieces, you couldn't escape the news of the Oprah endorsement or the subsequent drubbing Frey received on her program when it was revealed that parts of his memoir were embellished. After reading an early advance copy of his new novel Bright Shiny Morning, we couldn't wait to talk with him about it. It's a compelling book about hope and firmly establishes James Frey as the comeback kid of 2008. Kudos aside, our interview with Frey made for one of the most interesting conversations we have had in recent memory.]]>

Adamson and Wroblewski

Two predictions: The Outlander will win at least one major award. And The Story of Edgar Sawtelle will find a home on bestseller lists. When we discovered these two remarkable debut novels and decided to feature them together in Indiespensable, Powell's subscription club, someone on staff proposed a joint interview with the authors. Their books share more than you might imagine: runaways, ghostly visions, improvised outdoor survival, scenes rendered so powerfully you may forget you're reading fiction (you may forget you're reading, altogether), and characters that linger long after you close the book.]]>

Aleksandar Hemon, who came to the United States in 1992 from his native Bosnia, and then stayed on after war broke out in Sarajevo, began writing in English in 1995. He won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2004, and has drawn plenty of comparisons to Nabokov both because of his circumstances and his crackling, inventive, and blackly funny prose. The New York Times has called him "an extraordinary writer....not simply gifted, but necessary." In The Lazarus Project, Hemon reconstructs the story of an immigrant's death in Chicago a century ago, but it is also a book about storytelling, about the nature of memory and reality, and about the relationship of America to the rest of the world, then and now. In our interview, Hemon discusses storytelling, canvassing for Greenpeace, Bosnian jokes, and his remarkable novel.]]>

The first woman to co-anchor a network news program. Arguably the most influential interviewer of the 20th century. An American icon. Barbara Walters addresses it all in her incredible new memoir, but in fact it's her family story — the human story, pocked with inevitable failures and regrets — that forms the backbone of Audition. In conversation with Powell's, Walters talked about Baba Wawa, the art of not interrupting, life choices as evidenced by two Hepburns, W's muddy barn, NBC in the 1800s, and a remarkable life, both on- and off-camera.]]>

In 2000, Jhumpa Lahiri's debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize. A few years later, her first novel, The Namesake, became a bestseller and the basis for a major motion picture. Lahiri's third book, Unaccustomed Earth, more than lives up to her previous work: this deeply moving, gorgeously written collection of stories is Lahiri's strongest fiction yet. The Boston Globe raves, "[E]ight beautifully crafted stories that reaffirm [Lahiri's] status as one of this country's most accomplished and graceful young writers." In this interview, Lahiri discusses her new collection of stories, the ways in which her writing has changed, and her literary mentors. ]]>

some research on a specific topic or question will help you get the answer.

Another easy way to develop content for your press release is to create a “swipe file” of related news articles. A swipe file is collection of other people's creative work whether it's news articles, newspaper, and magazine ads or direct mailings. Use your swipe file for is to get your creative juices flowing. I call this method “creative inspiration.”

Don't limit your swipe file to items related to your industry. Put any ad or direct mail piece in your swipe file that jumps out at you and catches your attention. Even if you just find words that you like, or an image that hits you -- put it in there. On the other hand,

Save the best pieces for your swipe file. You can also consider creating a "Stinker File" for all the really bad ads you see.

Here are some more self publishing articles...

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Wedding announcements are intended to let people know that you are now married. The responsibility for creating them typically falls upon the bride or her family and there are a number of Read more...

Link Popularity: Distribute Content, Not Just Links
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The requests that find thier targets get rejected for numerous reasons. For example, your Google pagerank is too low or your links pages are dynamic and not static, etc., blah, blah, etc., ad Read more...

In A People's History of Sports in the United States, sportswriter Dave Zirin offers a rollicking, rebellious, myth-busting history of sports in America that puts politics in the ring with pop culture. Booklist calls it a "thought-provoking, contrarian take on American sport." In this INK Q&A, Zirin describes his literary pilgrimage to Powells, explains why writers are better liars than other people (maybe), and more! ]]>

The New York Times-bestselling author of Reading Like a Writer returns with Goldengrove, an emotionally powerful novel about love and loss filled with echoes of the classics Vertigo and Pygmalion. In this Ink Q&A, Francine Prose shares the most interesting letter she's gotten from a reader, the best book she's ever read, and more!]]>

A masterpiece of narrative history that vividly brings to life the original crime of the century, American Lightning shows the lasting impact the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times offices had on three remarkable individuals and, through them, the country itself. In this INK Q&A, Blum shares the excitement of writing for the Village Voice in the '70s, five books he's given to girlfriends, and more!]]>

David Boling's debut novel Guernica is an extraordinary epic of love, family, and war set in the Basque town of Guernica before, during, and after its destruction by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War. In this INK Q&A, Boling reveals the strangest jobs he's ever had, shares the question that compels him to write, and more!]]>

Paul Auster's Man in the Dark is the story of 72-year-old August Brill, who is recovering from a car accident in his daughter's house in Vermont. In this INK Q&A, Auster tells us about his literary pilgrimages, how he relaxes, and more!]]>

An astonishingly wise, ambitious, and riveting first novel set in the American community in Cuba during the years leading to Castro's revolution, Telex from Cuba is a masterful debut that will put Rachel Kushner on the map of American fiction. In this INK Q&A, Kushner shares the joys of a paper route, reveals her strangest interaction with a reader, and more!]]>

Angel's Tip is a harrowing stand-alone thriller from former Portland deputy D.A. Alafair Burke, author of the bestselling Samantha Kincaid series. In this INK Q&A, Burke shares which fictional action hero she'd like to date, the origin of her name, and more!]]>

Eminent pollster John Zogby offers The Way We'll Be, an illuminating, fact-filled look at the changing nature of the American Dream and how this is influencing everything — from the politicians people vote for to the goods and services they buy. In this INK Q&A, Zogby shares the favorite breakfast he can't eat anymore, what his favorite historical figures have in common with Larry the Cable Guy, and more!]]>

Elizabeth Peters, author of the bestselling Amelia Peabody novels, returns with The Laughter of Dead Kings, the long-awaited final installment in her beloved contemporary series featuring art historian Vicky Bliss — back for the first time in more than a decade! In this INK Q&A, Peters shares memorable experiences with readers, why one of her novels couldn't be published in Britain, and more!]]>

Michael Meyer's The Last Days of Old Beijing is a fascinating, intimate portrait of Beijing as pictured through the lens of its oldest neighborhood, facing destruction as the city, and China, relentlessly modernizes. In this INK Q&A, Meyer offers five great books about cities, shares his vision of the afterlife, and more!]]>

In Brunonia Barry's debut gothic thriller The Lace Reader, a young woman descended from a long line of mind readers and fortune-tellers returns to her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, for rest and relaxation. Any tranquility in her life is short-lived, however, when her aunt drowns under mysterious circumstances. In this INK Q&A, Barry shares her favorite places to swim, her delicious cold swordfish breakfast, and more!]]>

The new novel from the author of The Danish Girl and Pasadena, The 19th Wife is a spellbinding work of literary suspense, set against the history of the Mormon Church, that combines historical fiction with a modern-day mystery. "Great fun to read with its enticing characters, swift dialogue, and neatly structured plot," praises Booklist (starred review). ]]>

From the author of Empress comes Alexander and Alestria, an ambitious, richly layered tale of Alexander the Great, which entwines his historical legacy with a fantastic love affair set in a wartime between Western and Eastern civilizations. In this INK Q&A, author Shan Sa discusses the relaxation of talking to trees, her idea of absolute happiness, and more!]]>

In Farewell Navigator, her dazzling premier collection of short stories, Leni Zumas shines a bright light into the far corners of a dark, dreamlike America populated by a cast of characters on the brink of survival. In this INK Q&A, Zumas shares her forbidden love for Ponyboy, what she has in common with Barack Obama, and more.]]>

A brilliantly colorful memoir of becoming a monk, "Turtle Feet" details young music prodigy Nikolai Grozni's spiritual — and not-so-spiritual — journey in India. In this INK Q&A, Grozni shares the strangest job he's ever had, his idea of absolute happiness, and more.]]>

Resources

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