IRC helps promote talented artists, bands and their labels by writing profiles, reviews and features as well as publishing special playlists and mixes. IRC is one of the more well-known music sites where talented independent (and some 'mainstream') musicians and bands can get international exposure right away. This site is accessed by tens of thousands of people a month from all over the world.

Overview
 
In advance, apologies for all of the text, but it has become necessary to set specific submission guidelines. Submissions that do not follow these guidelines cannot be considered. The guidelines may seem strict, even stringent, but, again, it has become necessary to do so.

While there are no guarantees a submission will be featured on the site, every effort is made to do so. Sometimes it can take weeks before a proper submission is reviewed.

Due to the massive volume of emails we get, we will not even see your email if Music Submission: Your Band Name is not in the subject line of the email. Follow-up emails cannot be reviewed.

Any emails related to a business matter must have RE: Business Inquiry in the subject line to receive prompt attention. Music submissions sent with RE: Business Inquiry in the subject line will be deleted. 

Please read all of the submission guidelines carefully and thoroughly. 

Music Submission Guidelines: The Most Important Stuff

When submitting music, please provide either MP3s (more than one please) or a zip attachment (the latter is preferrable, especially when includes band/album photos).

Please submit only MP3s. One-click links (no pop-ups or hoops to jump through) to MP3s that play automatically on a simple, clean download site are OK.

However, the best practice to submit music is to host your MP3s on your own server (then you can see the traffic to your site) and provide the complete URL in your email. Just make sure to keep those links active because people will sometimes still be accessing them many months later (which is a good sign).

The most common reasons submissions are not reviewed is because the wrong formats are sent (again only zip of MP3s or individually attached MP3 files), links to download MP3s or albums are user friendly (pop-up ads, expired links, require signing in/up and having to click numerous times) or the submissions leave out critical information. 

It is not possible to contact you asking for information that is requested below (such as photos, correct music format, web site addresses, omitting song/album names and year of release, etc.).

When including MP3 files, make sure the song title is in the MP3 file name and that it is clear in your submission what album (and year of release) the song(s) is from. The focus of the site is on music from the present year, not past years. When including zip files, make sure to include band name/album/year in the zip file name.

It is strongly recommend that you browse the site to get an idea for what kind of music IRC readers and visitors enjoy before submitting music.

In the body of your submission email, copy and paste the following block and fill it in completely in a legible font (no small or fancy fonts please). The more complete the information provide, the much greater is the chance that your band and music will be reviewed. Musicians and bands featured on IRC have received major recognition, website traffic, even record contracts, gigs and sales.

Your name/position:

Band member full names and instruments:

Each song title/year/album name of track:(for many reasons, including environmental, we strongly encourage digital submissions; must be MP3 format in zip or individual attachment)

Artist/Band home base:

Official website:

MySpace (or other social media, like LastFM) page:

Current record label:

Date Band Formed and how:

Music Sounds Like:

Your Music Genre:

MP3s/Zip Attached?:

Bands Opened For/Venues Played:

We've Been Written About/Reviewed in:

Biggest musical Influences:

Favorite albums:

Favorite songs ever:

A short, unique* bio (150-250 words) about the band (written in third person please; a bio is very important otherwise we have no idea who you are and do not have time to track it down.):

* Please send an original bio, not one that is identical to, or substantially similar to, a bio already published on the web. Already printed bios cannot be used and your submission will not be reviewed. You may incorporate some of the form questions into your bio to make it more interesting for readers.

Include photos (MUST be under 60K and in web display format - preferably JPG - otherwise will not be used) and make sure to include captions and the name of the photographer if you do not own the rights to the photos.

Once you are ready send it all to indierockcafe (at) gmail (dotcom)

Congrats! If you took the time to read and follow these guidelines, we'll see your email! 

Plus, you have demonstrated what it takes to make it in the music business. Attention to detail and willingness to self-promote with integrity and professionalism does make the difference between success and failure in the extremely competitive music industry.

Thanks for your interest in IRC and best of luck to you in your endeavors. Long live independent music!

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Writers, Photographers and Illustrators

If you would like to contribute album, festival, artist, concert reviews to IRC, email indierockcafe at gmail dotcom) with RE: Photos/Artwork in subject of email. This is a perfect way for your work to get exposure to tens of thousands of people every month.

To leave a comment for a posting or a general comment, click on a post on the IRC website and then click on the Comments link. No login is required to leave a comment, but is encouraged.

Readers and site visitors: Help Promote IRC

Thanks for your interest in IRC. We hope to continue to provide great new indie music, and compelling playlists, for you year-round, and appreciate your help in promoting the site on the web, sharing it with friends and whatever else you can think of.

We don't make any money doing this, so your volunteerism, if you will - like adding any post from IRC to Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Stumbleupon, MySpace and linking to IRC from your own site, etc, is appreciated greatly. You're participate helps give us the juice needed to keep this site going. Daily traffic to this site has tripled in the past year, up to nearly half a million page views a month. Thanks to all of the loyal readers and thousands of visitors out there that appreciate what we are trying to do.

You can also help by adding links from IRC to your favorite social networking sites (like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, etc.) and signing up for the “Feed Me Indie” RSS feed and sharing the site with friends.

Other music bloggers and websites: If you'd like to add a link to us please use the following code. Each time someone does this, it spreads the love and makes us want to post more. :)

Indie Rock Cafe
You can substitute whatever anchor text you wish.

If you're linking to a specific page, please use anchor text like "Animal Collective" or "Best New Indie", depending on what the content is. That helps everyone out a lot! :)

How IRC helps musicians, labels and groups

Some artists have written us to say that being featured on IRC has generated interest in their music. Many readers and visitors have left their compliments as well. That’s the whole idea – to make others aware of great music ‘out there’ that they may not otherwise know about or have access to and simultaneously help in any way to encourage new and independent artists.

Labels, musicians and bands: You may send CDs and promotional materials to PO Box 722 Redwood Estates, CA 95044 for us to review, however we encourage digital submissions following the guidelines outlined above. One reason is there is less impact on the environment.

If you do send CDs, please do not excessively package and tape CDs. We encourage everyone to reduce plastic and use recycled paper, cardboard, etc. for all marketing and promotional materials.

Thanks to all of you!

Thanks again for your support and interest in this experiment. We have big plans to bring you more unique features, like expanded playlists based on themes, exclusive interviews with talented indie artists, regular updates of the best new releases and a constant stream of the best songs and albums you probably never heard but will likely be glad you did.

Long live the independent and alternative music movement!

Top links on IRC:

Artists and Groups
Songs/MP3s
New Releases
Best Indie of 2008
Best Indie of 2007
In Dee Mail playlist series