Saturday, February 21, 2009

You Crazy Dreamers

You Crazy Dreamers

Sorting A Blogger Inbox - A Guide.

Posted: 21 Feb 2009 02:59 PM CST


So I thought I might take a moment to peruse our inbox for musical suggestions, gifts, lottery notifications and offers to help a former doctor in Rwanda.  Always a bit of a mish-mash in a blogger inbox!

There is an art to sorting a Blogger inbox, as you do get great musical suggestions, hear from good people, and readers/artists even send kind words of appreciation.  You are a guru, you blogger you!  Then you get PR emails, they are a good source of information, but always seem a bit cold.  Lastly, you get “artists” who are trying hard to get heard and you want to help out but you simply don’t like their music.  That last one is always hard, as I think I have good taste, I also think I am a nice guy, so how do you react?

Well, there are more difficult things in life than handling an email inbox, but I thought I would list a few items that I think are common sense items, but need to be said about sending an email to a blogger.  Please read below, call me an idiot, call me obvious, simply read and move on…just sayin.

  1. Only send email to blogs that you would want to see your music on: Why would you send a indie-folk blog your latest dance remix?  Think about it.
  2. Know thy blog/blogger: This is similar to the above, but generic emails get much less attention.
    2a. Really know thy blog/blogger: Remember, some of us (myself included) blog on more than one music blog.  What I am saying is don’t send your EXACT same email with only the “Name of Blog” changed.  It is embarrassing for you and is not going to get you a post when you “…have been reading your blog for soo long and I have always wanted to be considered for “your” blog as you are my favourite blog…”
  3. Attach media: I give more attention to artists who send a sample track and offer an album download for review.  Yeah, I want your MySpace page address along with news, but include media and get online.  On this topic, you must allow something to be downloaded…this is what readers want.
  4. Be modest: Everyone can have talent, so be proud of what you have created, but everyone might not like it.  Be honest about it and be humble in the hope that the blogger might like it as well.  Don’t tell us we like it before we have even heard it.
  5. One Follow email up is great, 10 is annoying: This one is just common sense….isn’t it??

Okay, so now we are on the same page and I apologize if anything seemed harsh, it is not meant to be.  I always love getting music in my inbox - so keep on sending it to us!  Now that I have said that, I have included a couple of recent artists who made the right decisions in their emails and hence, they are now on the blog.

~Firstly, I have Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles who are releasing a track each month (on the 15th to be exact) and offering a free download of it (and accepting donations for higher quality files, etc).  Eventually it will be an aptly named album called “A Year of Song”.  Great idea, great music.  Visit Murdoch and crew on their website.

~Secondly, Trunks & Tales is a “Southern Alabama” group that just happens to be physically located in Pennsylvania.  They draw an almost fringe folk via hillbilly rock - an Alt Country Mountain Goats if you will.  Sound interesting, listen below and visit them on MySpace and Last.fm for a load of more free music.

~Smansmith

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