How to Get Your Music Posted on KN.com

by Kevin on January 23, 2010

We get asked this question all the time but there is no true definitive answer. There are various people on our media staff who go through the hundreds of requests that we receive on a daily basis but it is simply impossible for every request to get posted.

However, we understand your frustration so we have put together a list of tips that will help you in getting your music posted on the site. In addition, we have also included how NOT to get your music posted list. Please keep in mind that none of these tips will guarantee anything, but it will serve as a guide to the process of having your music posted on our site.

Tips to get your music heard and/or posted on KN.com

  1. Please submit your music to [email protected]. Do not send your music to a KN staff member directly.
  2. If sending your email to multiple people, please be considerate and use the BCC field.
  3. In your e-mail, please include a few sentences about yourself (or the artist you represent), as well as a few sentences about the music you are submitting. This gives us an idea of who the artist is, music style, and where/when to place the content.
  4. If you are submitting a single song, an album or mixtape; consider uploading it to AudioMack.com. This is the file sharing service that we now prefer as it is fast, efficient, and allows us to preview before downloading.  Other services we like are SoundCloud.com and Bandcamp.com. Please DO NOT attached mp3 files to your email.
  5. DO attach the cover of the album or mixtape to your e-mail in JPG format and make sure it is at least 550 pixels wide. If there is a back cover, attach that as well. If you do not have a cover to your music, attach two photos of the artist. These must also be at least 550 pixels wide.
  6. If you are submitting a video, send us a YOUTUBE or VIMEO link. No need to send the embed code, as we use a plug-in on our site that does all the embedding for us.
  7. In addition to everything above, we urge you to include links to your MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter pages and any other web sites you have.
  8. Remember, presentation is key so please make sure that your e-mail is professional and include as much detail about you and your project, but keep it short, concise, and thorough.

Tips on how to NOT get your music heard and/or posted on KN.com

  1. DO NOT send your music to us via Twitter or Facebook. We rarely respond to people that we don’t know on social media sites. And even if we know you and you send a message, it will probably get lost. Also, DO NOT tag us in a video, posting, add us to a group, etc. on Facebook. This is a sure way for us to remember you in a BAD WAY.
  2. Please DO NOT send your music to our personal e-mail addresses. Our personal e-mail addresses aren’t hidden, but your e-mail will more than likely get deleted if we don’t know you.
  3. DO NOT subscribe our e-mail addresses to your newsletters without our consent or include our e-mail address in the TO field along with 100 other email addresses.
  4. DO NOT spam our inbox with multiple requests weekly. We receive all emails sent to [email protected] so sending duplicates does not catapult your chances for placement. It clutters our inboxes making the process of sifting through potential postings even longer. If you’re releasing music more than 2-3 times a week, please send all the songs together. Also keep in mind that, if we haven’t posted your music within a few weeks, chances are, we have no plans on posting it. You don’t have to send us reminders. You can be persistent without being pushy. We are constantly on the hunt for new music to promote and write about, so if we are interested, we will post it.
  5. Please make sure that you are sending your submission to the CORRECT site. We understand the need to recycle e-mails to save on time but double-check your email before you hit send.
  6. DO NOT post links and drops in the comment section on our site. It is unprofessional and it just as bad as spam and will only make us ignore you.

Thank you for your support and interest in receiving placement on our site. If you follow these guidelines, your chances of receiving placement increase significantly but understand that following this list is not a guarantee. We understand that it is frustrating, which is why we provided these do’s and don’ts, but respect and be mindful that there is a protocol that must be followed. Thanks!

email
Kevin

Kevin

Owner at KevinNottingham.com
Kevin is the owner and founder of KevinNottingham.com. Originally from Virginia Beach, VA he now resides in South Florida. In addition to this site he runs HiPNOTT Records, a small independent Hip Hop label and is an Executive Producer of the upcoming documentary DEMOS: An Independent Artist's Guide To Success. Other than music, he is a techie by trade and holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology.
Kevin

@KevinNottingham

Send music submissions to music@kevinnottingham.com I come here to socialize, not to listen to your music. Follow @KNdotcom & @HiPNOTT
@Iamkik0 word. You too - 2 hours ago

Liked this post? Then you'll love these.,,

  1. Once Again Back It’s The Incredible…
  2. Cappadonna + Raekwon: Life’s A Gamble
  3. Wicked Celtics: I Don’t Wanna Hear Your Band
  4. Kevin’s Rant: Blogging is a Thankless Job
  5. Are We Back Online?
  6. Happy Holidays!

Posted in Tweet of The Day





  • http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

    No comments? Interesting.

  • http://www.plussignvibes.com/atfradio Myk Blauuw

    Thanks for posting this man…I know yall do your best to give some shine to dope artists who don’t necessarily have a big backing, & your site gets enough hits that it really does help to be featured here.

    I mos def have some music I’d like yall to check out, so I’ll be sending that through shortly.

    Quick question tho; say I work w/an artist & they’ve had their project featured on another site (2db/some random blog), should I include that in the email? Like “here’s the other folks who’ve shown this one some love”.

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Justin

    can’t hurt but not necessary

    One thing I’d add. don’t think whatever you sent has been skipped over if it’s not posted immediately. Especially if you send a full album or mixtape, I usually like to give it a spin before I end up posting it. Example – Rebellious who I posted today. Got this email a few days ago, enjoyed it & posted it today

    http://kevinnottingham.com/2010/01/23/rebellious-the-carolina-blueprint-soundtrack/

  • http://www.plussignvibes.com/atfradio Myk Blauuw

    yea, i was gonna ask about that too. How long should someone wait before following up? he mentioned sometimes yall just happen to overlook some stuff cuz it’s busy…how do we know when that’s happened or yall heard it & decided not to post?

  • Thomas

    It is about timing for me. Having a single attached to usershare where I can d/l and listen to it is great. Bandcamp or any site like that were I can stream and/or download the project is a plus. The Raid had a dope set up for me to listen to his album http://kevinnottingham.com/2010/01/12/introducing-the-raid/

  • Nasty Nyne

    What about the Soundcloud?

  • http://www.hgraphiks.com Kid Captain Coolout

    I hate when cats put “This is the hottest shit out!” in their email headings. Those emails make me add them to my blocked/junk mail list immediately. Sad thing is, their material might be really dope… but just because of that introduction, you wouldn’t be hearing how dope it is from me.

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

    I wasn’t expecting too many comments on this post, but I appreciate the questions. To answer briefly:

    @Myk: honestly, I don’t care if something’s been posted at another site. Just because they like it over there doesn’t mean we’ll like it over here. But like Justin said, it doesn’t hurt. I t just won’t be like, “oh, other blogs dig it, so it must be hot!”

    @Myk: I would say give it a week. Normally if something isn’t posted within a week that we receive it, I will actually delete all old emails (even if I haven’t even opened them). Hit us up a week later. If we still don’t post it, then yeah, we probably don’t dig it. I used to email people back and tell them that their music is not my cup of tea, but then that would open up a whole load of questions and people asking why, etc.

    @Nasty Nyne: yeah, Soundcloud seemed promising at first but then I realized I couldn’t keep up with all the tracks that were being submitted. The Inbox was another great idea, cuz it pretty much made sure everyone was getting posted. but it was so time consuming… taking 3-4 hours every Saturday morning to get the posts together. I just started going with the attitude that we simply can’t please everyone and can’t post everything we receive.

    @Kid Captain: yeah, I hate that too… lol

  • http://www.plussignvibes.com/atfradio Myk Blauuw

    @kev thanks man…like i said, i appreciate you spending the time to highlight folks who dont get the attention other places (even if the music’s dope). when i saw you post the homies Jansport J, Uptown Swuite, C Plus, etc, it meant a lot to know i was helpin them a lil bit (by submitting it to ya) & it meant a lot to them since yall give so much exposure.

    Runnin my lil blog, i get a few random folks sending in music & i try to check it out at least, but like you said, sometimes it just gets too time consuming to listen to everything.

  • Dave

    i gotta tell my boy to send some shit in, would you guys want to hear some dope indy Aussie Hip Hop?

  • http://www.casejones.com Case Jones

    glad you posted this,makes it easier when wanting to submit music to you

  • http://www.myspace.com/triple7gs Triple 7 g’s

    love the work your doing with your label and your site!! If you ever looking for nother group for your we are in South Carolina on the grind!! 3G-SC

  • http://onethreemusic.tumblr.com MalMoe

    First I wanna thanks. I know I definately took some of the wrong routes to get to y’all. But I still stayed coming here cuz I love the site. Of course with all the artists on here everyone is not liked as much as others but all in all the majority of the artists I see here are dope. The HNR roster is dope as well. Looking forward to some r&b. Anyway I like the answers to these questions and some of them actually made me laugh. I will def use a bunch of that advise. I’m just glad y’all posted that up there. I think I slept on that part cuz I just seen it today, lol. ONe

    MalMoe!

  • highlypissedartist

    this shit does not work. and it’s sad because artist need the blogs and the blogs need artist. posting the same shit as 2dopeboyz illroots or any of the blogs you have listed on your blogroll doesnt make your site any more interesting than the next one and honestly it makes it a turn off to come to your site and then visit a major site and see the same thing because you didnt get it exclusively. artist are reaching out to you all because they feel like the other blogs are unreachable, but this site is just as difficult. it’s a fucked up game, but fuck it it. we keep on moving. it’s just fucked up thou.

  • http://www.hgraphiks.com Kid Captain Coolout

    @ highlypissedartist – you shouldn’t be so easily discouraged. I have friends that I’ve known a long time who run really good sites, that wouldn’t post some of my submissions becuz they didn’t like the material. You can’t take this personal, it’s someone else’s site and it’s their right to post what they like.

    In further, blogs aren’t the only means of exposing your material. They serve as bridges to the fans you’ve gained on your own. Your fans are the main ones who continuously help you gain more fans. If KN were to post your music, it would be your job to drive traffic to that post. I’m sure you’ve noticed that people aren’t on the internet everyday. I’ve seen great posts on here that saw minimal views becuz it was a low-traffic day. When the next day rolled around, those posts got pushed down by new ones. So in all honesty, a site can only offer you an odds of chance. To avoid being accused of favoritism, they choose not to double-post material. Keep making music and remain focused on the art… good shit has its own way of getting around.

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

    @highlypissedartist I’m sorry you feel that way, I really am. But I’m sure you gotta understand how impossible it is for us to please everyone. We literally receive 100s of emails a day asking us to post stuff. I would say at least half of that gets deleted without being read. It really is a crap shot, but all I can do is give you advice on how to widen your chances.

    Here’s 2 big pieces of advice:

    1. Make sure we can easily listen to your music when you send it. That means use Bandcamp or Usershare or Youtube or attache the song to the email. If we have easy access to hear the music, it more than likely is getting heard. If you’re already doing that, then chances are we just don’t like your music.

    2. Network and build personal relationships. An email from a familiar name is gonna get read before one from someone we don’t know. That’s just human nature. If I see a bunch of comments on the site from highlypissedartist and then get an email from you one day I’ll probably check it out. I wish you would have used your real name; I would be checking your music right now.

    But Kid Captain Coolout brings up a GREAT point. If you’re relying on blogs to break you as an artist you’re never gonna get anywhere. Artists need to be on that hustle promoting their music and not relying on others to do it for them. I’ve posted plenty of stuff on here that got very little attention. When I hit that artist back with a link to their post and I don’t see them promoting it online and no one is checking the post, why would I post something from that artist again? It’s just a waste of my time.

    And the comment about us posting the same shit as 2dopeboyz and illroots, you’re gonna see that with almost every hip hop blog you go to. Not because we’re sitting here browsing their sites and posting whatever they post, but because we get the same emails that they do from the same artists, labels and PRs. Those artists who get their music up on multiple sites are doing something right. But you can’t honestly believe that we post the exact same thing as everyone else. Look at our front page. Out of the 15 articles on the front page, there’s probably 2 or 3 that have made it onto other sites. So please don’t come here with that shit.

    Hope that helps!

  • DJ Teknik

    Can we submit music with dapiff.com?

  • http://habdmv.bandcamp.com Habits

    Thanks for the instructions Kev. We’ll be sending something your way shortly. Good looking out

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1281182496 SpitRaw McGraw

    sorry for the duplicate…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1281182496 SpitRaw McGraw

    sorry for the duplicate…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1281182496 SpitRaw McGraw

    Question… I have my album available for download on MediaShare, and i have it available to be listened to in its entirety on soundcloud, would that be a sufficient email submission along with the other criteria that you set forth?

    @spitraw
    reverbnation.com/spitraw
    spitrawmcgraw @ gmail.com

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1281182496 SpitRaw McGraw

    Question… I have my album available for download on MediaShare, and i have it available to be listened to in its entirety on soundcloud, would that be a sufficient email submission along with the other criteria that you set forth?

    @spitraw
    reverbnation.com/spitraw
    spitrawmcgraw @ gmail.com

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin Nottingham

    yep, that’s perfect. As long as we have some way to preview the album before downloading, whether it be just a few tracks or the whole album. Downloading is so tedious and many times after I’ve downloaded something, I’ve forgotten to check it out.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1281182496 SpitRaw McGraw

    Dope, I’ve been mentioned on this blog as a feat. artist on a couple albums/mixtapes including Lyrikill, Alevyworld, and my group SuperUgly. Thank you for the info, I will be sending you guys the album soon…

  • Mr JClemons

    Im going to send some music today, my only problem is doing it correctly. Do I still need two pictures even if Im not submitting an album or mixtape???

  • http://www.facebook.com/isaiah.perkins1 Isaiah Perkins

    I will be submitting a few artist music I represent.. http://bcreativity.com/

  • Benjiboysoundlab

    check my boy Mike Steez out his new video you can google it  “Mike Steez Grey Goose Music Video” 

  • MichaelStylesfilms

    GOOGLE “MIKE STEEZ GREY GOOSE MUSIC VIDEO”  he is also his own producer check him out

  • Big G

    Check out the next big thing in the entertainment business NAZO BRAVO.Review the video as he gives ode to Kendrick Lamar with the remix/remake of the HiiiPower video with his version aptly titled HyePower see at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsViA9db9Ik&feature=share Holler at me 310-921-0806 or via email [email protected]

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1373886510 Arasia Magnetic

    I’m going to retweet this every damn day.

  • LUCKYLOOMUS

    AYO DRIVER NEW ARTIST THIS KID’S ON FIRE!!!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NTQ5FFylUQ

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000442908469 Wayne Anchower

    Does the content have to be edited?

  • Details

    I believe my management had sent a submission the way you had asked. Thanks for posting this info here, much appreciated. 
    Be Well,
    M. Detelj

  • http://KevinNottingham.com Justin Ivey

    Edited in what way?

  • http://twitter.com/TheRealRKA Ross Abraham

    If I have my single on bandcamp can I send that or do you still want me to upload it to hulkshare? 

  • Andrew

    hi there this is my submission to a video i recorded on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=ly2vLj8uGjk  

  • http://www.the1155group.com/ Abuvelore

  • Pingback: Social Media for Music Strategy Session – Recommendations for Dead Poets Society

  • Real Rich

    Real Rich Records Coming Out Of Bronx Ny. First Single By A Smooth “Need A Ryder” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_lNrXwz7yc

Previous post:

Next post:


Page 1 of 298123456789101112131415...2530354045...Last »