BEFORE YOU HIRE A PUBLICIST
A Readiness Checklist for Artists & Bands
Hiring a publicist too early can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities. This checklist helps you assess your readiness and avoid costly or industry practices that don’t serve artists.
ARTIST INFORMATION
- Artist / Band Name
- Hometown / Country
- Band Members
- Genre / FFO (for fans of)
RELEASE DETAILS
- Release Type (Single / EP / Album)
- Project Title
- Confirmed Release Date (minimum 6-8 weeks away)
- Lead Single Title + Release Date
AUDIO & STREAMING
- WAV files (final masters)
- MP3 files
- Spotify album or single link
- Apple Music link
- SoundCloud or private stream (if applicable)
- YouTube link (official audio or video)
PRESS & PROMO MATERIALS
- Quotes: short (1–3 sentences) or talking points (Media usually wants both, but quotes are non-negotiable for PR.) – Written as if spoken by the artist – Emotional, reflective, or opinion-based – Used by media directly in articles
- Artist bio (separate Word document)
- Lyrics (Word document)
- Album artwork (PNG or high-resolution JPG only)
- Single cover artwork (PNG or high-resolution JPG only)
- Liner notes (Word document, if applicable)
Longer explanatory text
Written in paragraph form
Contextual: who you are, what the release is about, themes, influences
Often used by: – blogs – reviewers – radio – long-form features
Optional but very helpful
- Who you are
- What the release is about
- How/where it was made
- Themes, influences, and intent
PRESS PHOTOS
- Professional colour press photos
- Minimum file size: 1MB each
- Maximum: 4 photos total
- No logos, text overlays, or heavy filters
- PNG or high-resolution JPG only
ONLINE PRESENCE
- Official Website (A website is ideal, but a clean, well-organized Linktree is acceptable at the early stages provided all essential PR assets are easily accessible.)
- Spotify Artist Profile
- Apple Music Artist Profile
- Bandcamp (if applicable)
- TikTok
- X / Twitter
- YouTube Channel
METADATA (FOR SINGLES)
- Song Title
- ISRC
- Songwriter(s)
- Composer
- Producer
- Publisher
- Performing Rights Organization (SOCAN, BMI, ASCAP, etc.)
- Record Label (or Independent)
LEGAL & RIGHTS CONFIRMATION
- You own or control the masters
- All artwork is cleared for media use
- No uncleared samples
- All band members approve this release
FINAL NOTE
This checklist is free because artists deserve clarity before spending their money. If most of this checklist is incomplete, you may not be ready to hire PR yet, and that’s okay!
That budget may be better spent on:
- A professional-looking music video
- Updated press photos
- Artwork and branding
- Building your audience organically
A good publicist should protect your resources, not rush to take them.
OUR SERVICES
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Serious about pushing your next release?
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