Ask Your Music Promotion Questions
April 8, 2007
As a PR professional and music publicist, as well as the owner and Editor-in-Chief of AudioXposure.com, I’d like to announce the launch of a new series / column here on AX. You can contact me at editor@audioxposure.com, or by commenting on this post, to ask me your questions related to music publicity. I’ll pick questions and try to answer at least one weekly. So start asking your music promotion questions now! :) And while you’re at it, you can check out a few of my music promotion articles at www.PromoteIndieMusic.com.
Write for AudioXposure.com
April 8, 2007
AudioXposure accepts submissions from two different types of writers: staff writers and contributing writers. Staff writers are our paid writers and are assigned artists to interview or indie CDs to review from our submission list, and are recruited and managed by our Managing Editor, Zach Pontz. Contributing writers are unpaid writers who approach AX with an already-written indie CD review or interview, and are managed by our Assistant Editor, Mike Land. Please read the descriptions below about each writer level with AudioXposure.
Staff Writers
AudioXposure will keep a limited number of staff writers available to take on weekly assignments to cover indie artists that have submitted materials to the editors. Generally assume that no staff writer positions are available unless we post a note on the site under “site news” stating otherwise. We’ll generally pull staff writers from frequent contributing writers. Here’s more information about staff writers:
- Staff writers will receive free CDs for review or interviews of indie bands and artists.
- Staff writers will receive a modest fee of $5.00 (for the time being) per submission.
- Staff writers will have to commit to one assignment per week (review or interview).
- Staff writers don’t choose the artists they cover, although all attempts will be made to match writers with genres of interest to them.
- All material submitted by staff writers must be exclusive to AudioXposure.com indefinitely.
Contributing Writers
In an effort to allow more reader interaction, and to enable bands to somewhat bypass our waiting list for reviews or interviews, AudioXposure will now be accepting unpaid submissions from contributing writers. These submissions are ideal for those who have never been published, but would like to submit to a webzine, those who are simply indie music fans wanting to make their voice hear, or those who want to do a write-up for their favorite indie band to help them get noticed. Contributing writer submissions will continue to be unpaid due to the potential for abuse and bias. The following rules and guidelines apply to AX’s contributing writers:
- Contributing writer submissions are unpaid.
- Contributing writer submissions should be posted complete, and will be approved or rejected by an editor on a case-by-case basis.
- Contributing writers may write about any indie or unsigned artist they please.
- Contributing writers have no direct affiliation with the site, and won’t receive assignments or CDs through AudioXposure.com.
- All material submitted by contributing writers must remain exclusive to AX for a minimum of 90 days from the date the material goes live on our site (meaning it also can’t be previously published elsewhere).
- Contributing writers will be managed by our Assistant Editor, Mike Land, and are subject to review before posting. If a review is deemed to be overtly promotional (such as a band member’s girlfriend doing a writeup, or something appears to be written by the band themselves), it will be rejected for publication.
Please contact Assistant Editor, Mike Land, at assistant.editor@audioxposure.com for more information about contributing indie music interviews, band features, or indie CD reviews to AudioXposure.com.
Submit Music for Band Interviews or CD Reviews
April 8, 2007
PLEASE NOTE: While we do now accept online submissions “officially” at AudioXposure.com, preference is given to those indie bands or artists who mail hard copy press kits. While we try to review as many online submissions as possible, because of the sheer volume of requests, it’s impossible for the editorial staff to review absolutely everything submitted via email, Myspace, or other online methods. We also don’t make any guarantee that we’ll contact you or respond to inquiries simply asking if we received your online submissions. If we received it, we liked it, and we have a writer available to interview you or review your submission, we’ll contact you (so PLEASE make sure you include contact info with any submissions). If you mailed a hard copy press kit, please wait 3-4 weeks before inquiring as to whether we’ve received it as, again due to large submission volumes, not everything is opened and reviewed as soon as it’s received. It’s often placed on a “waiting list” until writers are available. Thanks for your cooperation!
To Mail a Hard Copy Press Kit:
Please mail your CD, bio, photo(s), and any other press kit material to:
AudioXposure
c/o J.H. Mattern Communications
616 West Schuylkill Rd.
Ste. 359
Pottstown, PA 19465
Please note if your submission is for CD review consideration or Interview/Feature consideration. Please only choose one. If we choose to work with you on that choice, we may decide to run the other option at our discretion.
Email Submission Instructions (CD Reviews ONLY):
Please email the following information to reviews@audioxposure.com ONLY if your submission is for CD review consideration (NOT interview/feature consideration):
1. Band / Artist Name
2. Album Name
3. Release Date
4. Artist’s Hometown
5. Contact Person’s Name & Email Address
6. Genre
7. Artist’s Website’s URL
8. Full Track List for the CD
9. Attach the Cover Art Image as a 200×200 pixel .jpg file (No exceptions!)
You must also provide our reviewer full access to the tracks on the CD to be reviewed. You may attach them to the email in .mp3 format, or you may provide a link to a page where the writer can access the full version of each track on the CD. Please do NOT submit audio files in any other formats without having it pre-approved by the site Editor (email at editor@audioxposure.com).
Email Submission Instructions (Interview / Feature Consideration ONLY):
Please email the following information to editor@audioxposure.com ONLY if your submission is for CD review consideration (NOT interview/feature consideration):
1. Band / Artist Name
2. Contact Person’s Name (if different than artist)
3. Contact’s Email Address
4. Band Members / Roles
5. Hometown
6. Genre
7. Artist’s Website’s URL
9. 2 Photos (One MUST be 320×190 pixels or it won’t be considered for homepage circulation! A separate photo should be attached for the article page. Please submit in .jpg format. GIFs will be accepted as well.)
Myspace Submissions
Please avoid Myspace submissions if you want to improve your chances of coverage. They are given last priority because there are simply too many of them, and they tend to include the least amount of necessary information. Rather than sending random Myspace messages on the Zine’s profile page (www.myspace.com/audioxposure), please be sure to send a friend / add request. Message submissions are essentially reviewed on the whim of the editor (meaning if I have too many submissions there, or quite frankly I’m just having a lousy day, I might just delete them all - If I happen to stumble across your message when I have a bit of time to kill, I might check it out). Because of that, the best chance with myspace submissions is to be on our friends list. Periodically I simply choose random artists from our Myspace friends list to check out w/o any submissions needed, and if I like what I hear, I’ll be in touch. I actually tend to choose more artists this way than other online submissions combined. If I contact you via Myspace, I’ll request the further information as above in the email submission requirements.
Contributors
April 8, 2007
Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer Mattern
Jenn is the owner of JH Mattern Communications, a PR firm working in online PR, music publicity, and book publicity. She also runs a network of more than a dozen websites including several indie music sites such as the AudioXposure indie music webzine, The Indie Files indie music blog, and IndieGuru.com - an indie music directory. Jenn owns and runs AudioXposure, handling incoming press kits, site promotion and business, and partnerships / networking on behalf of the site, on top of managing the technical side of things.
Managing Editor
Zach Pontz
Assistant Editor
Mike Land
AudioXposure Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
April 8, 2007
Before contacting the editorial team of AudioXposure.com, please see if your question is answered below in our frequently asked questions.
Will you exchange links with my music or band site?
No. AudioXposure no longer participates in reciprocal link exchanges. Please don’t contact us requesting one. You can purchase text links on the site, or have links included if your band is reviewed or interviewed.
How can I / my band be interviewed or featured?
Please review our Submit Music page.
How can I / my band have a CD reviewed on AudioXposure.com?
Please review our Submit Music page.
Can I submit my music through email or Myspace?
Preference is always given to bands sending full press kits. For information on online submissions, please review our Submit Music page.
Will you add my / our tracks to your viral MP3 player?
If you’ve been featured or reviewed on AudioXposure, you grant permission for a track to be included, and we happen to like it enough to add it, then yes. However, we don’t always have open space available.
Can I advertise on AudioXposure.com?
Yes. Please review our Advertise page for details.
How long do I have to wait to be reviewed or interviewed on AudioXposure.com?
That depends. At any time, we may have hundreds of CDs waiting to be evaluated, and it can take several months to even be considered for a review or interview (not all artists considered are accepted). If you’d like a pre-release review done, we can occasionally accomodate you, but we don’t make any promises to that effect. Only artists directly scouted by our editorial team generally get interviewed before submitted material.
Is there any way to have my CD reviewed without your waiting period?
Yes, you can sponsor your CD review. Please see details on the Advertise page.
Who runs AudioXposure.com?
AudioXposure is owned and run by Editor-in-Chief and publicist, Jennifer Mattern. The daily running of the site is managed by the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor (Zach Pontz), Assistant Editor (Mike Land), and a small group of staff writers. You can learn more about the AX team on our Contributors page.
Can I write for AudioXposure.com?
Please review our Write for Us / Writers Guidelines page for information about writing for AudioXposure.com.
The FAQs didn’t answer my questions. How can I contact someone at AudioXposure?
Please visit our contact page to find the appropriate person and email address for your needs.
Advertise on AudioXposure.com
April 8, 2007
AudioXposure.com offers several opportunities to advertisers trying to reach our market. Please review advertising rates and options below, and contact Editor-in-Chief, Jennifer Mattern, at editor@audioxposure.com with any advertising-related questions or offers.
Text Links - Short text links are available site-wide above the footer on AudioXposure.com at the following rates and time frames:
$10 / month - 1 month
$8 / month - 3 months
$6 / month - 6 months
$4 / month - 12 months
Image Ads - Images ads of various sizes are available in limited quantities, appearing on the sidebar of every page. As available sizes and placements fluctuate depending on reserved space, please contact us with inquiries about rates and availability of image ads on AudioXposure.com.
Sponsored Reviews - Sponsored reviews are available at a one-time fee of $25. Sponsorship assures an album will be reviewed within two weeks of sponsorship (payment is to bypass the waiting period other albums are subjected to on a first-come, first-serve basis, and at editorial discretion. Sponsored reviews are not “positive reviews,” and will be subject to the same honest opinions of the reviewer as any other review on the site. Sponsored reviews will be labelled as such on the CD review page.
If you would like to propose other advertising arrangements with AudioXposure, please contact Jennifer Mattern at editor@audioxposure.com.
Contact AudioXposure
April 8, 2007
If you need to contact AudioXposure to pitch a band, submit a press kit, or otherwise solicit a review or interview, please use the contact information on the Submit Music page. Due to the volume of submissions, any contact on these matters not following those instructions will be ignored.
To contact AudioXposure about anything else, please first review our frequently asked questions, and then look for the appropriate contact info below if you have questions not answered there:
Link Exchanges - AudioXposure no longer participates in reciprocal link exchanges. We apologize for the inconvenience, but please don’t contact us requesting one.
Contributing Writers - Contributing (unpaid) writers, or those interested in contributing to AudioXposure.com should contact our Assistant Editor at assistant.editor@audioxposure.com.
Staff Writers - Staff (paid writers on assignments) writers should send all editorial or assignment questions, or inquiries about open spots, to our Managing Editor, Zach Pontz, at zach@audioxposure.com.
Business Inquiries - If you’re interested in advertising on AudioXposure.com, participating in a partnership or cross-promotion, or have other business-related inquiries regarding AudioXposure, please contact the Editor-in-Chief, Jennifer Mattern, at editor@audioxposure.com.
About AudioXposure
February 14, 2007
AudioXposure.com is an indie music webzine, launched by JH Mattern Communications on January 1, 2005. The zine launched with monthly “issues,” and has since moved to more of a free-form model with regular indie music interviews and artist profiles, indie CD reviews, and a music promotion column.
AudioXposure is one site in a growing network of sites targeting indie bands and independent artists, including an indie music blog, indie music directory, and site featuring music industry and music promotion articles by publicist, Jennifer Mattern.
Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer Mattern
Managing Editor
Zach Pontz
Assistant Editor
Mike Land
Staff Writers
Name 1
Name 2
AudioXposure also features several reviews, interviews, features, and more from various guest contributors.
Need More Information?
Site News
FAQs
Advertise
Submit Music
Writers Guidelines
Contact Us
New Editorial Team and Writer Levels
February 5, 2007
AudioXposure is doing a bit of housecleaning, in that we’re re-organizing our editorial team and our system of contributors. Here’s the editorial break-down and each of our roles (summarized) moving forward:
Editor-in-Chief - Jennifer Mattern
Role: Basically, I own the site and run the show. I’ll be dealing with all back-end and technical issues, building partnerships with other sites, labels and companies, handling the majority of the promotion, keeping the editorial team on track, planning and introducing new features for the site, and handling any hard-copy press kit submissions that are sent in (our priority group), amongst other things I’m sure. Of course I’ll still be submitting my own writing to the zine as well in a variety of formats aside from the new column I’m running on music promotion.
Managing Editor - Zach Pontz
Role: Zach has been with AX for well over a year now, and was formerly the site’s Assistant Editor. As the new Managing Editor, Zach will be dealing with a lot of the day to day things and some of our off-site issues (like recruiting past featured artists to submit tracks for the viral player, handling a good portion of our Myspace page, etc.). Zach will also review online submission requests and make the call on whether or not an artist will be covered from that secondary group. He’s also going to be directly managing staff writers, making the call on who comes on board and who needs to go (should the need arise). He’ll be approving and checking any work coming in from staff writers (our limited paid group of regular writers getting assignments) and helping out with certain promotional projects once in a while. He’s basically my right hand. Zach will also still periodically provide his own CD reviews and artist interviews.
Assistant Editor
Role: I’m currently recruiting an Assistant Editor, who in turn will be Zach’s right hand in running the editorial side of things. As the Managing Editor manages our staff writers, the Assistant Editor will be responsible for our contributing or “guest” writers (unpaid submissions from various sources. The AE will make sure submitted articles are proofread, formatted correctly, have the appropriate images, etc. before approving them to post live to the site. They will also actively recruit for guest contributors to post reviews to the site.
Staff Writers
Role: Once we’ve named our AE, we’ll be working with 2-5 staff writers who will write likely on a weekly basis, covering artists specifically assigned to them (any unassigned articles submitted are done as guest writers and aren’t paid pieces). Staff writers will handle a combination of artist interviews and CD reviews, and will have the ability to directly interact with the EIC and ME to share their thoughts on improving the site.
Contributing (Guest) Writers
Role: Contributing writers will only be permitted to submit CD reviews (at least in the beginning). They’re permitted to cover any unsigned or indie label artists they want, given that the artist isn’t currently on our waiting list. These submissions are not paid (they’re designed as a means of letting people post on artists to avoid our rather long waiting list for publication - since that lends itself to promotional abuse, they’re simply unpaid pieces, and will have to remain unique to the site for a 30 day period after publication). CWs or guest writers will be managed by our Assistant Editor, who will review and approve submissions manually before publication (weeding out anything strictly promotional, published elsewhere, or not meeting quality guidelines). If a contributing writer is regularly active on the site, and a staff writer position opens (either through someone leaving or through an editorial decision to add another writer to the team), they’ll have the opportunity to move up to paid assignments at the staff writer level.
Re-Launched With New Designs and Features
February 5, 2007
As you can see, AudioXposure.com was recently re-launched (hopefully for the last time for quite a while!) with a new look, and plenty of new features, with more being rolled out in coming weeks. Here are a few of the biggies:
- The new design (obviously).
- The ability for readers to comment on all features, interviews, CD reviews, and more.
- A new editorial team and writer hierarchy.
- RSS feed so you can subscribe to our latest updates.
- A new regular column on music promotion (written by moi, being a publicist and all that jazz) - be sure to ask your music publicity and band promotion questions and I’ll answer them in the column.
- A new FAQ page.
There are a few additional features that will be added shortly, such as a viral MP3 player featuring several AX-featured artists. So stay tuned. 
