Do your local newspapers talk about local bands?

Teeny, where are you again?

haha xpost!

Also I think local bands fail to realize that they are a constant presence in the community -- and thus not really "news". Whereas when a band comes to town, that's exciting "news". So Sleater-Kinney, for instance, will get much bigger press when they play anyplace other than Portland. (Or why my band got good blurbs and articles in Vegas and Canada but not much in Portland.)

the weeklies have gotten better although a year or so ago they paid way too much attention to non-local bands. they reversed course on this.

1. Call them, email them, bring them muffins and invite them to your shows. Don't ask for a write-up right away, and don't get your hopes up too high that they'll show up, but make sure they know you exist.
2. Have something to talk about. Yes, it's great that you're in a band, and that in and of itself is interesting to you and your friends. But almost everyone a music writer knows is in a band, so that's almost beside the point.
3. Have a purpose. If you're releasing a record, your chances of getting a write-up have just tripled. Maybe you're heading out on tour, that's newsworthy too. Last show ever, awesome. First show in years, even better. Bands play shows, that's what they do, like Cas says, not really news.
4. If you have a cd, make sure your local music has a copy. It can be a burned copy or whatever, but give him/her a hard copy, don't email them a link to your MP3. Include as much information about the band as possible.
5. Creative/abstract/poetic press releases/bios are delightful, but frivolous. Music writers want facts. They need information so that they can a) tell their readers stuff, b) figure out what sort of questions they're going to ask you. Don't give it all away in the press kit, but give enough to make 'em curious. The p.k. (esp. if you're not well known) is your chance to direct what sort of press you receive, to lead the writer's curiosity in a specific direction. If there's something you don't want to talk about, DON'T put it in the p.k.
6. As a species, music writers love free booze. Even if we just moonlight as music writers after 9to5ing as a $60k/yr exec. Free booze makes us feel special. We remember free booze.
7. Be persistent but not pestering.
8. Don't expect continuous coverage. Most of the time you'll have to wait about a year between write-ups, unless something VERY interesting happens.
9. Don't suck. Even a regular-style journalistic article on a band implies endorsement to many readers, and music writers have this quaint notion that their readers find them "credible." They're wrong, but it's an essential delusion. So don't be a shitty band and wonder why you're ignored.

That is the only thing I've ever read that has ever made me want to move to San Diego.

Of course the Reader compensates for that incredibly well.

Wrong.

This is very true, not to mention completely obvious, and it's amazing how many bands don't think of it. I will NEVER go to your website and download your song. Why should I do your work for you?
(And if you DON'T have a CD, MAKE one. These days, it's easy.) (Also, don't expect me to come down to the lobby so you can HAND your CD to me {much less expect me to invite you up to my office so you can play it for me, or sing me the songs]. Just mail me the damn thing, and let me know when your show's happening, and then shut the hell up. Do NOT call me and ask when you're going to be written about. Do NOT call me and ask for the address of the paper. Do NOT call me and ask if we cover local bands. Do NOT invite me to your show when I haven't heard a note of your probably boring music. Pick up a copy of the paper, okay? And pick up next week's. Or go to the website. If we write about you, you'll see it there. If we don't, you won't. Period.)

how to get attention:

1. do not suck
2. feed me booze.
3. see #1

Oh yeah, another hint: Don't send your CD, like, three days before the show happens if you want a preview blurb to run in the issue before the show. Give us time to LISTEN to it! So much of this is just common sense, you know? But again, you'd be amazed how many bands shoot themselves in the foot, and then blame the paper for it.

http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/ART/ART211/COL020.jpg

The $$$ thing is totally a myth, at least here. Major label bands, even bands signed to indie labels, have no more chance than bands who just put a CD out and do publicity themselves, if they're any good.

Who says they can't do both?? Or that they don't do both? (I go to bars all the TIME at night, just to see who or what music is there. And also because I like to drink. Hell, sometimes I take my MAIL to the bar, and read it WHILE I watch unknown bands. Who usually suck.)
During the day, though, when you're putting a paper out, sitting at your desk is somewhat mandatory to a certain extent, don't you think?

That said, if the artist is the sort of fratboy bar band that thinks they're down with hiphop, funk, and Dylan, put down the instruments and back away from the microphone.

on the other hand, if you did send me your CD and I DID listen to it and like it, there's a good chance I WILL email you back and tell you that, and maybe even give you a few addresses of other writers who might like your band to send your CD too. That actually happens fairly often, actually. almost every day. Just don't EXPECT it to happen; it's definitely way more the exception than the rule.

Bands have been told to make the reporter's life as easy as possible, including:

* coming up with how to describe the songs
* figuring out which songs are the "key" ones
* coming up with a good pitch
* and a host of suggestions for etiquette for dealing with reporters

Now, (and again I'm plalying devil's advocate) to someone outside of journalism, most of these fall under the categories of "writing" and "researching", which are traditionally thought of as roles that the reporter should have, not the subject. (Again, I'm playing devil's advocate -- my day job is at an environmental group, and I'm familiar with having to pitch those stories to reporters as well.)

My point is that a reporter giving advice on how to make reporters' lives easier can easily come off as reporters trying to weasel out of their work.

Most of the local papers - the ones you buy and the freebies - are owned by the same company here in Oxford, so even the mentions of bands in the "what's on" section tend to be the same in all of them, where they occur at all.

obviously bands/artists who want publicity are encouraged to send CDs/email or whatever. that's how it works, and it's a good idea, especially if the bands/artists are good. but if you're going to, haha, "play Devil's Advocate" by (a) blatantly ignoring the fact that anybody who's ever been to a record store knows what a glut of product there is out there, especially now and (b) therefore failing to figure out that since music writers typically--not always, not even most of the time, but especially in the case of people who work at newspapers and magazines, typically--get a lot of this stuff in the mail to begin with and would then probably be glutted with potential review/preview/profile-ables, you're ignoring reality. Quick: how many musicians work at and/or frequent record stores? Answer: Lots of them! If not most. Where does the difficulty in making that connection lie?

seriously, Chris, I want to hear the next great band as much as anybody. but it can be extremely difficult to know when that's going to be, or who it is, and if I'm not given certain basic information I'm a lot less likely to find them. if that means asking you to tell me which tracks to listen to (again, not my suggestion originally, but not a bad one), I'm not ignoring my duties. if anything, it's the opposite.

God Matos, that sounds horrible in a way.

It is, both in a joking ("Shucks darn, all this free music!") and deadly serious ("...and most of it will FUCKING SUCK.") way.