Rap Publicity info

Sometimes it’s called a press kit. Other times it’s referred to as a promo package or media kit. Whatever you call it, this collection of music marketing tools will help you get more gigs, media exposure, radio airplay, industry attention and more.

However, you should also know that more than 95 percent of the press kits sent out by artists, publicists and record labels end up in the trash can. Those aren’t very good odds. It’s not easy to get pumped up when you consider that rate of failure.

But there’s a good reason all those press kits are being ignored: Most of the promo packages clogging up the postal system are lackluster attempts at marketing. They are hastily thrown together without much thought or purpose behind them.

Why am I so certain of this?

For 10 years I published and served as managing editor of a music magazine in the Midwest USA. I’ve seen enough bad media kits to make anyone’s head spin. But I also recall the rare gems that caught my attention — the well-thought-out press kits that sold me on an act’s worthiness, inspired me to pop in a CD, and quickly motivated me to assign a feature story on the act.

And the press kits that caught my attention were not the flashiest or most expensive. In fact, the most effective ones were quite simple. The thing that set them apart was that the person who put them together knew a few things that the vast majority of musicians were clueless about.