Start a blog. It will help to be involved in the music scene in some way write a blog about the band, do a review on their music make sure you tag them in the post, tweet about them, follow them on Facebook and Twitter. The purpose of starting the blog is to establish some credibility. You are showing that the interview isn’t for your own personal gain and just to have for yourself but that you are going to help the band in some way. Everyone likes a free investment. If a band knows you are going to sit on an interview, without cleaning it up, editing it and posting it, they are not going to want spend time giving you an interview if they are not going to gain exposure or sales.
Find contact information. Your best bet is to contact the band’s tour manager if they are out on the road and if not go after their manager. Either find an email address or get their digits. “You should be enthusiastic about it but not over the top,” says Don Runk WFCF 88.5 host of Kaleidoscope and Underwriting Director. You can also contact the band through email addresses listed on their website, Facebook or Twitter. If they are a larger band, look on their website for their press contact. If they are a lesser known band, you can email them directly. As a last effort contact their record label. This is not recommended because interview requests are easily misplaced which is the nicest way to say those jerks just don’t have time for us little people.
Once you have obtained contact information get ready to put yourself out there and be prepared for hesitation and rejection. When you write your email use this format: Hello Emily, my name is Lauren Luna. I am the Promotions Director for WFCF 88five Flagler College Radio. My station features Gold Motel. I was hoping to set up an interview with Gold Motel at their Orlando show. Please let me know if this is possible at your earliest convenience. Thank you! Lauren Luna
Plan out what you are going to say. Include contact information via email, as well as phone in your signature of your email so they can contact you in the form that is most convenient for them. Dan McCook, station manager for WFCF 88.5, says, “Become a pest. Make them give you that interview because you won’t leave them alone.” If you send an email and don’t get a response a week later, try a different contact at their label, Promotions Company, or management staff, through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or a blog that they may run.
Before you get a hold of someone for the love of all things good make sure you know what you are taking about. Do research. It will pay off. Know all you can about this band, what they stand for and what their goals are. Not only will your interview questions turn out better, but make sure they’re entertaining. You don’t want to bore them and make them feel like it is a chore to talk to you. Make sure you sell the idea of why this interview would benefit them. How many followers do you have? You can post a link to your blog to show them. Are you exposing their music to people who have not heard it before?
Lastly, once you have made contact, keep contact. Whether you interviewing them over the phone or at an upcoming show, do not lose contact. If the show is two months away, email every other week just to confirm that you are still doing the interview and the date and time. It is easy for them to forget.
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