Music Blogs That Actually Want D.I.Y. and Indie Music

We all know that getting your music into the ears of industry Powers-That-Be is incredibly difficult, but believe it or not, there are people out there actually looking for new music to promote. Here, we offer up a list of music blogs that, in fact, want your music.

Guest post from Ditto Music

Getting your music heard is hard. Getting your music heard by the right people is even harder. You hear so many blogs, journalists and other industry big names complaining about unsolicited PR emails from bands, so it’s difficult to know where to tread. This is why we have set up this blog post, containing info and links to all the influential sites and blogs who not only accept these emails but welcome them.

But before you start emailing, here’s a quick word of warning. Never under any circumstances send a group email. It may save you time, but putting all these addresses into a BCC field and firing over a group email would burn more bridges than it would build. Spend some time looking at each site individually, see what sort of music they are into and try to relate. If you are a sensitive singer songwriter crooning over an acoustic guitar, don’t contact a hip-hop blog. Find them on Twitter, look at their recent articles, and try and find common ground between them and your music.

Below is a list of blogs that are accepting submissions.

A&R FACTORY

A&R Factory is a popular music blog with a wide-ranging readership, including record label owners, publishers, radio stations, PR executives, managers and sync licensing firms from all over the globe. 

INDIEPULSE MUSIC MAGAZINE

IndiePulse Music Magazine is an advocate for the independent music scene, featuring news, interviews, reviews and video. IndiePulse also offers a platform for artists to be heard with its online radio station IPM Radio.

HIGHCLOUDS

HighClouds describes itself as the Music Junkies’ Holy Bible. Originally an online radio station, the site now focusses on album and EP reviews for emerging artists of all genres.

XUNE MAG

Xune Mag accepts submissions from bands and artists of just about every genre, offering emerging, unsigned musicians the opportunity to be reviewed, interviewed and added to playlists.

INDIE SHUFFLE

Indie Music Shuffle is run by a diverse group of people excited about sharing new music. They don’t write bad reviews, so everything you read about is something they like and believe is worth checking out.

CUT THE PAUSE

Cut The Pause is all about new music discovery, covering new artists with blog and playlist features across lots of genres including indie, rock, hip-hop, R&B, electronic and more.

AQUARIUM DRUNKARD

Aquarium Drunkard is an music blog with reviews, interviews, features, mp3 samples and sessions. It accepts all sorts of submissions and covers contemporary sounds with vintage garage, psych, folk, country, soul, funk, R&B and everything that falls in between.

BIRP.FM

BIRP is a playlist aggregator and blog devoted to new and unsigned artists. The site also acts as a hub for a growing community of people that love to share and talk about music.

MUSIC EMISSIONS

Music Emissions was created to present one person’s critical thinking on independent music. Up and coming musician can build a profile on the site in the hope of getting featured review.

AURGASM

Aurgasm is an essential destination for passionate music lovers around the world, featuring an eclectic range of tracks from unsigned bands and solo artists all over the globe.

COUNTRY FRIED ROCK

Country Fried Rock is a one-hour, weekly radio road trip that features some of the most exciting off-the-radar artists talking about and playing the music that moves them. 

DROWNED IN SOUND

Drowned in Sound has everything to keep you up to date with reviews, music news and community posts. The site commisions around 15 album reviews a week from submissions by unsigned artists.

EMERGING INDIE BANDS 

Emerging Indie Bands is dedicated to showcasing the very best up and coming independent musicians from across the globe, review and promoting hundreds of exciting unsigned artists.

FACT

FACT has built up a reputation for featuring some of the biggest up-and-coming artists. They have offices in the UK, US and Australia and their own online TV channel!

KNOX ROAD

Knox Road is your ideal music fix, and sometimes more. Support what you like. It’s pretty simple, really. The website also accepts submissions from unsigned artists looking to promote their music.

HEARYA

HearYa is an indie music blog that gives indie music enthusiasts a destination to cut through the clutter when discovering new music. They’re a community of fans that want to see the music they love reach the ears of new friends and survive.

INDIE MUSIC LIFE

Indie Music Life is an online music archive filled with awesome new bands, featuring a shuffled new music playlist each time the site loads. The site also accepts submission from unsigned band and artists.

KING OF A&R

Kings of A&R is a one-stop shop for information about new music trends and finding new music. The site accepts music submissions from all types of bands and artists.

POTHOLES IN MY BLOG

Potholes In My Blog is an award-winning hip-hop blog based in Phoenix, AZ, and “your lifeline to good ass music” as they say.

METAL INJECTION

Metal Injection offer the latest news and reviews from around the metal world, mainly for metal videos. You can also upload your own videos for the site moderators to consider for promotion.

INDIE MUSIC FILTER

Indie Music Filter is Toronto-based music blog dedicated to finding the best new music available on the internet from the best new up and coming indie bands.

THE MUSIC NINJA

The Music Ninja is a multi-genre music discovery site based in the deep, dark and melodic shadows of the internet.

PIGEONS & PLANES

Pigeons & Planes is a music discovery and the perfect place to go to uncover lots of fantastic new music, whatever genre you’re looking for from anywhere in the world.

SONGDEW

Songdew is a platform for independent musicians to promote their music and reach masses with various opportunities. With a community of 20,000+ musicians and over 1 million listeners, Songdew helps musicians get discovered.

If anyone has any more suggestions, feel free to post in the comment section below!

Good luck!