1. When do I contact/hire a publicist?

That all depends of course, but once you have recorded material you are happy with people hearing then it is a good idea to get that into a publicist’s ears.

2. Once I have a release date, how far ahead should I contact you?

Generally speaking, national campaigns are booked anywhere from 3 to 8 months ahead of time. If you have a targeted release date then the sooner we start talking the better. The highest percentage of success comes with the most amount of lead time.

3. What is the single most important thing to have in place in order for me to have a shot at some significant press reaction and radio play?

OK, this is an easy answer. The music has to be great. It all starts and ends with the music.

4. What is the second most important thing to have in place in order for me to have a shot at significant reaction and radio play.

Another easy answer. Live dates and tour dates. Nothing says press and radio like live show dates. From Coldplay to the garage band you and I have not yet heard of, the cornerstone to any kind of significant media reaction are live dates.

5. Can you book me a tour?

Sorry. That we cannot do. Sadly the majority of bands still book their own tours and the booking agents in Canada are very busy people. The best bet is to take the mic by the cord and start booking a tour yourself. One quick hint would be to look at bands you think are like minded genre wise and to visit their websites to see where they have played. Once you get a sense of the names and types of venues they are frequenting then it’s time to send those venues a package and go get yourself some shows.

6. Do we have to have a label?

Absolutely not. If you have made and pressed your own albums then consider yourself a label.

7. Do we have to have distribution?

In a word, yes. This is significantly more important than having a label and if you would like the support of Factor and other government programs it will be become something you need to address. Often, media outlets will need to know that your album is available via a national distributor in order for them to support it. They want to know that if they write about it or play it on air it will be available to the reader or the listener at a retail outlet or at the very least they will be able to order it from their favourite record store or major web retailer.

8. Do we need a fancy press package?

Heck no! In fact when we do mailer all we include is the CD and the one sheet mentioned above. Less is more.

9. What else do I need?

For now we just need to hear your music. Point us to a site where we can listen to your album or a few songs and read some of the things you have been up to.

10. Do you listen to everything you are sent?

Yes! It may take awhile but we definitely listen to everything that comes in. If you think it has been awhile and you have not heard from us then drop us an email and we will get back to you with where we are at in the pile. We usually end up listening to solicited material quicker but we definitely listen to everything we are sent. It’s your music and we have nothing but respect for all the music we are sent.