How do I get my music reviewed?

You need to have a physical CD. There's definitely exceptions, which I will describe in this article, but for the most part, websites and magazines expect to get a copy of your CD in the mail.

If you've got that, we're in business. You need to start by determining who your audience is, and where they are spending time and paying attention.

Check our list of Hip Hop Website Metrics from September 2008. These statistics can be radically off, being sourced from Compete.com, but it's the only such resource I'm aware of. Leave a comment if I'm missing something -- I'm not cocky, just ignorant.

Obviously these statistics are an imperfect yardstick, since I hear a lot more people talk about a review on Okayplayer.com (37,000 visitors in September) and I never hear people talk about articles or reviews on Hiphopdx.com (268,000 in September). You also need to keep your target audience in mind. Do quick research -- don't get distracted, just gather information systematically. Make a list of sites you're interested and go directly to the reviews page. Scan the artists they're reviewing.

If you're seeing a ton of mixtapes from Jeezy and Wayne, maybe you don't want to be sending them your experimental conscious hip hop masterpiece. If the entire staff is from Harvard, maybe your militant afro-dub album will scare them enough to love you forever. Make calculated decisions, but still take risks. It's just a single f'ing CD after all.

START HERE: A List of Good Reviews Pages

AllHipHop
Art of Rhyme
Baller Status - best name ever
Hip Hop Linguistics
Hip Hop DX
Okayplayer.com
UGSMAG
XXL Magazine

Procedure

Include a personal note with the CD. Include biographical info, tell them who you are, get their attention and be honest. Within a week, followup with an email. It's not being rude, just consistent. Your followup email isn't to pester them, just to confirm that they did in fact recieve a CD.

Wisdom: from the unbeatable Martin Atkins book, Tour Smart:

"I get 20-30 and sometimes 40 CDs a week. No kidding! The first thing I do is open all the mail and put it in a big stack. One on top of the other. I'm rarely able to listen to it all in one sitting: so many CDs will stay on the ever-growing stack as time goes by. Then eventually, I'll get an email or a phone call asking if I've recieved the disc. So I'll turn to my "stack" to locate the album in question. The only CDs I can read are those in regular, large, CD jewel cases. All the CDs that are forwarded in paper or thin jewel cases are lost from my quick view. Sometimes lost forever.

--Chris Payne

Exceptions to the Rule

One major avenue for getting attention and fans without having an album done: make a truly creative and awesome-looking video and post it on YouTube. There's actually a huge social networking component to YouTube that I never saw until we signed up for a World-Around account.

Of course, telling you to "be cool and original" is about as useful as telling you that if you really believe, you can fly. For an over-detailed, link-heavy analysis of what "viral marketing" actually means, check out Be Innovative, Episodic and Interesting to Get Free Publicity. Also check out The Five Core Elements of Success Without Touring.