By SongTools.ai
Most music press releases are ignored because they make the same mistakes. Here's how to write one that editors and journalists will actually open and respond to.
Every music journalist, blog editor, and playlist curator receives dozens of press releases every week. The vast majority are deleted in the subject line preview or within the first paragraph. This isn't because the music is bad — it's because the press release has been written in a way that doesn't respect the recipient's time or give them a reason to keep reading.
The core problem is that most music press releases are written from the artist's perspective rather than the reader's. They open with biographical information the recipient doesn't need, use inflated language that reads as promotional rather than factual, and bury the most relevant information — what is being released, when, and what makes it noteworthy — halfway down the document.
A press release isn't a fan letter or a marketing document. It's a structured information package designed to give a journalist or editor everything they need to decide whether to cover your release and, if they decide to, the basic facts they need to write about it.
The mental model that produces good press releases: imagine you're writing a briefing for someone who has five minutes and hundreds of other documents to review. What do they need to know, in what order, presented how?
This framing produces a very different document from the typical release, which tends to treat the press release as an opportunity to explain at length why the artist is important.
Headline. Not your song title — a headline that tells an editorial story. "Berlin-based producer Lena Voss announces debut LP 'Circadian', recorded across six countries" is a headline. "Announcing: my new single!!!" is not. The headline should give a reader who never goes further a complete, accurate summary of the news.
Dateline. City and date of release. This is standard press release formatting that also signals to the recipient that the document is professionally prepared.
First paragraph. The most important information, written as you would write an opening paragraph for a news article: what, who, when, where, and why it matters. All five in 3-4 sentences maximum. If someone reads only the first paragraph, they should have the complete picture.
Second paragraph. Context and background — the information that supports the first paragraph. For a single release this might include: the label or distributor, how this release fits into the artist's catalogue, any notable collaborators or co-producers, the origin of the track.
Third paragraph (optional). A quote from the artist. Quotes in press releases should be actual quotes that add information or perspective not already in the document, not generic affirmations. A good quote adds something: the inspiration behind the track, the creative context, the thematic intention.
Assets and links. A clearly formatted section listing: streaming links (pre-save or live link), download link for press-quality audio file (WAV), high-resolution press photographs with caption credits, links to official social media channels, and a media contact email address.
Boilerplate. A brief, factual bio of 3-5 sentences covering the essential information about the artist: location, genre, notable releases or achievements, and context about their audience or profile. This section should read like an encyclopedia entry, not a promo piece.
The language of a press release should be factual, specific, and neutral. The goal is credibility — and credibility is destroyed by superlatives, hyperbole, and claims you can't substantiate.
Language to avoid: unprecedented, groundbreaking, revolutionary (unless you can specifically substantiate the claim); genre-defying, boundary-pushing, like nothing you've heard before (overused to the point of meaninglessness); "This is..." followed by any strong evaluative claim; and excessive adjective stacking.
Language that works: specific details such as release date, track length, BPM if relevant, and collaborators; factual context such as "the first single from the artist's second album"; attributable facts like streaming numbers, previous placements, press coverage with specific sources; and the artist's own description of their work in quotes, where that description is specific rather than generic.
Opening with biography. Journalists don't need to know everything about the artist's background before they know what's being released. Start with the news.
Using "we" or addressing the recipient. Press releases are written in the third person. "I" and "we" in a press release signal amateur preparation.
Excessive length. A single or EP press release should fit on one page. An album release rarely needs more than two. If your press release is longer than 600 words, it has unnecessary information in it.
No visual assets. A press release without attached or linked high-resolution photography and cover artwork forces the journalist to request them separately — and most won't bother.
No direct media contact. The press release should end with a named contact person and direct email address. "Contact us via the form on our website" is not appropriate for a press release.
Sending without personalisation. A press release sent to a generalised list without any indication that the sender knows who they're writing to will rarely receive attention. A single line acknowledging the specific publication or writer transforms a broadcast into a targeted pitch.
AI tools can meaningfully accelerate the press release writing process, particularly for artists who find self-promotion writing awkward or stilted. SongTools.ai's Press Release Writer takes your artist information and release details and produces a structured draft following standard press release conventions.
The output is most useful as a starting framework. The AI can reliably generate correctly structured documents with appropriate language and formatting; what it can't do is provide the specific, factual details that make a press release credible and interesting. Your job is to replace the template content with accurate specifics: exact collaborator credits, real streaming numbers or pre-save milestones, genuine quotes that say something specific, real context about how this release fits into your career.
The combination works well: AI handles the structural and stylistic heavy lifting; you supply the factual substance. The result should read as if a professional publicist who knows your music well wrote it — not as if it was either handcrafted with great effort or generated wholesale without personalisation.
A press release sent without any follow-up has a significantly lower response rate than one followed up with a brief, polite email three to five days after submission. The follow-up should be genuinely brief — acknowledging that they may not have had time to review it, re-stating the essential details in a single sentence, and confirming that assets are available on request.
Don't follow up more than once. Two contacts is professional attention; three is a reason to mark your email address as someone to avoid.
The relationship you're trying to build is a long-term one. Editors and journalists remember the artists and management who communicate professionally and don't pressure them. The goal of any individual press release isn't just the coverage from this release — it's the credibility that makes the next pitch more likely to be read.
All the tools discussed in this article are available on SongTools.ai — free to explore.