95% of the music I receive is deleted without ever being listened to. Why? Outside of the fact that I get 300-700 records sent to me each week via Email, Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Its just impossible for me to listen to every song I receive and still find time for my family and work. In an effort to increase the amount of material I listen to I have outlined “15 Reasons I didn’t listen to your music” in hopes that you will shape up
The List:
1.The first tweet you sent me had a link to your music in it… Try starting out with a “Hello!”
2.You sent me a link to your mixtape or album… I recommend sending a single. I’m not sure if I even want to hear ONE track from you but you just sent me 24 of them.
3.You just sent sent 300 other people the exact same tweet… All those tweets show up on your profile. That will stop people from following you because you look like a spammer and cause followers to unsubscribe because you’re flooding their time-line.
4.You emailed me a CDA File… Learn to rip/import a CD. You can’t just drag the songs off the disc into an email.
5.You emailed me a WMA file… I can playback WMA files but that means I have to download them first instead of just being able to preview them in my browser.
6.You didn’t submit any music for the On The Grind Mixtape (www.OnTheGrindMixtape.com)… This is a program I started to give independent artists major promotion on a very tight budget. Over time it has become my system for weeding out artists that are not serious about their careers. I figure if the artist wouldn’t invest $20 of their own money into their record, its probably not worth me listening to.
7.You sent me a link where I had to go through 2-3 screens of ads and wait 45 seconds before I could download it… I recommend using Z-share. Recipients can immediately preview the music and still have an option to download it.
8.I have no reason to listen to your music… You sent me your music but you really didn’t give me any reason to check it. Why do you want me to listen to your music?
9.You just CC’ed me on an email to like 500 other people… I personally don’t appreciate my email being circulated for any and everybody to have. Setup a Fanbridge account or at least start using the BCC field instead so you aren’t exposing everyone’s email address.
10.YOU sent it to me… If your music was really hot and you were doing the things that you need to be doing, I would be hearing about it from other people (DJs, A&Rs, Publicists, Promoters, FANS, Other Artists or Producers).
11.I’m busy… I may have every intention on listening to your music but as you know sometimes the day can just get a way from you. By the time I had the free time I forgot all about the link you sent me. This can be easily avoided if you focus on building a relationship instead of sending out songs.
12.I’ve already heard about you/your music…. Believe it or not this is a small industry and there are very few people in it that are actually here to help independent artists. Don’t think that we don’t talk to each other. So, if you have a reputation for Bullsh*tting, Trying to get something for nothing, Being lazy, lying or just making Bad Music you’ve probably been the topic of discussion once or twice.
13.You’re not a subscriber… 99% of the people that send us music requesting to be reviewed, interviewed, re-tweeted and put in our Email Blast aren’t even subscribers. Our motto at Makin’ It Magazine is very simple, “Support those that support you!”
Subscribe to MakinItMagazine at: http://www.MakinItMag.com/subscribe
14.You’re more concerned with getting heard than being listened to… You’ve sent me plenty of songs, emails, videos, etc but have never taken time to follow up to see if I’ve listened to any of them or what I thought. You’re more concerned with throwing punches than landing them.
15.You didn’t read this post… This one isn’t meant for you, but there are plenty of people who saw this post on twitter, their inbox or RSS feed and didn’t bother to read it. Those are the same people who will continue to make the mistakes described above. Lack of initiative is probably the #1 reason for failure in our industry.
This is just a personal list of things that deter me from listening to much of the music I am sent. I’m pretty sure most of these reasons may hold true for many of the other Magazines, DJs, Bloggers, Publicists, Promoters and people you send music to. If you know someone that needs to see this post please FWD it along and don’t forget to Retweet it. If you have something that you think is missing from the list please leave it in a comment below so that I can add it.
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