How do access European market?

[smy1]

Matt, I actually think most of the advice here is off the mark.

Here's how promotion works:

- start your own label with website, myspace, etc.
- find the biggest 2 metal magazines in any country
- contact them as a label and book advertisements
- negotiate stories/reviews in return for ads
- repeat

Big magazines quickly legitimize a band in the eye of fans and promoters. It's strange, but that's how it works - mainly because people still think that magazines work in a journalistic way which is utter bullshit (in reality you pay them, they write about you). MySpace on the other hand does not work at all in a quantifiable way. It is a must-have, but it doesn't help to distinguish yourself from the 83439553 other bands (as dcb said above).

Touring relentlessly is a surefire way to waste/lose money, get burned out and not really achieve anything but being the band "that always plays the small shows in the gritty backyard club". For every band that becomes big touring a lot there are 100 who don't achieve anything. Read Henry Rollins' book "[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Get-Van-Road-Black-Flag/dp/1880985764/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259325821&sr=8-1"]Get In The Van[/ame]" for a great perspective on it.

Once the magazine stuff is in place and worked (be prepared to spend a few thousand on that), either try to get a booking agency or try to book yourself on a string of smaller (summer/fall) festivals to maximize the exposure.

 

[Djabthrash]

Hey guys. I have a great idea for you.

Just list here the most read/reviewed magazines, mid sized labels, and webzines, from your country. The info would be awesome to try to spread in other countries, without searching in the fog.

France :

Most read magazines in sort of underground styles :
- Metallian (THE french metal magazine, mostly interviews with big bands but also a lot of starting ones. It's a bit cheesy or kitsch sometimes but it's a good one. A lot of demo reviews and unknown bands interviews.
- Rock hard (actually quite bad, speaks only about the same big bands, over and over, like those guitar magazines. but you can still try, I guess they show some demos too).
- Elegy (Goth/alternative magazine. If your music is not pure metal and is a little electro/groovy/dark, it may interest them as well, dunno)

Webzines :
- I love Spirit-of-Metal.com, I knew at a time the creator, very kind. Most read webzine here
- I used to love Obskure.com too. Nice one, again

I would add the following webzines :

www.vs-webzine.com
www.thrashocore.com
www.metalorgie.com/metal
www.spiritribe.com

Also having stories/news in popular US/worldwide webzines such as Blabbermouth/Metalsucks/Metalinjection can help you get some cred in Europe i guess.

For Finland i think noise.fi is quite a good website. They also have a lot of good magazines there (can't remember the names, i guess the Finns can help you with that).

 

[Torniojaws]

For Finland i think noise.fi is quite a good website. They also have a lot of good magazines there (can't remember the names, i guess the Finns can help you with that).

Here's where I've sent stuff to. If they never reviewed the release, I'll note it in the list, so that you can be aware of it:

----------------
IMPERIUMI:

Jerry Kurunen
Koulukatu 23 C 53
20100 Turku
Finland

----------------
STALKERMUSIC:

Markus Rask
Talvikkitie 3 A 7
48800 Kotka
FINLAND

----------------
SOUNDI:

Metallit
Soundi/Demot
PL 312
33101 Tampere
----------------
INFERNO (demos):

Infernon demot
Aadolf Virtanen
Rengastie 49
37630 Valkeakoski
----------------
INFERNO (albums):

Inferno
Aurinkokuja 9
33420 Tampere
----------------
DESIBELI: (slow to review)

Desibeli.net
Tulvaniitynpolku 3A3
00650 HELSINKI
----------------
HARDCORE SOUNDS: (never reviewed sent albums)

Arto Mäenpää
Kauppapuistikko 24 B 22
65100 VAASA
FINLAND
----------------
NOISE.FI: (slow to review)

Tero Kallio / Noise.fi
PL 446
00101 Helsinki
----------------
METALLILIITTO (one of the bigger metal radio shows in Finland, weekly):

Metalliliitto
PL 110
33101 Tampere

----------------
SUE-MAGAZINE:

Indierockpunkmetalzine SUE
Yliopistonkatu 12 A a 402
20100 TURKU
----------------

KORROOSIO: (never reviewed sent albums)

Aki Nuopponen
Leppäsuonkatu 7 A 25
00100 Helsinki
Finland

 

[ahjteam]

KORROOSIO: (never reviewed sent albums)

Aki Nuopponen
Leppäsuonkatu 7 A 25
00100 Helsinki
Finland

Last review in Korrioosio.fi is from July, so the website might be pretty much dead.

 

[Torniojaws]

Aha. My latest was sent in summer 2008, but the review never appeared The guy keeps saying in Muusikoiden.net that the site is not dead, but

 

[Eddy]

Here's where I've sent stuff to. If they never reviewed the release, I'll note it in the list, so that you can be aware of it:

----------------
IMPERIUMI:

Jerry Kurunen
Koulukatu 23 C 53
20100 Turku
Finland

Expanding this a bit

Material for publishing and review can be sent to Imperiumi using the following addresses:

DEATH, BLACK, AMBIENT

Jerry Kurunen
Koulukatu 23 C 53
20100 Turku
Finland

POWER / HEAVY / DEMOS

Olli Rinnekangas
Taipaleentie 11 B 8
42300 Jämsänkoski
Finland

OTHERS

Mape Ollila
Elosalamantie 2 C 27
02100 Espoo
Finland

Everything will end up in the hands (and ears) of the right people for each respective music style.

 

[StefTD]

Playing live is very important in my opinion.
I saw Mother Superior 2 years ago in a small youth club here, they played in front of 30-35 people.
That show was priced at 4 € for Mother Superior and opener (opener played 50 minutes and MS almost 2 hours)
For everybody who doesn't know Mother Superior-it's Henry Rollins backing band, they recorded
stuff for Daniel Lanois, did some stuff with Scott Ian as far as I know and so on, great musicians with a few records out.
Almost nobody knows them here, and like I said, there were like 30-35 people and I think half of them actually didn't
know the band before and only went there because they're at that location all the time.

 

[JonWormwood]

Good lord awesome info

 

[El_Gato]

Hey guys. I have a great idea for you.

Just list here the most read/reviewed magazines, mid sized labels, and webzines, from your country. The info would be awesome to try to spread in other countries, without searching in the fog.

France :

Most read magazines in sort of underground styles :
- Metallian (THE french metal magazine, mostly interviews with big bands but also a lot of starting ones. It's a bit cheesy or kitsch sometimes but it's a good one. A lot of demo reviews and unknown bands interviews.
- Rock hard (actually quite bad, speaks only about the same big bands, over and over, like those guitar magazines. but you can still try, I guess they show some demos too).
- Elegy (Goth/alternative magazine. If your music is not pure metal and is a little electro/groovy/dark, it may interest them as well, dunno)

Webzines :
- I love Spirit-of-Metal.com, I knew at a time the creator, very kind. Most read webzine here
- I used to love Obskure.com too. Nice one, again

Great idea!!! BUT NOT ONLY FOR EUROPE Very helpful and it takes a little time to look some address too as someone has already posted. Only for reviews BTW




SPAIN


-RockZone
Contact Magazine: rockzone@rockzone.com.es
Contact Web: webmaster@zona-zero.net

-Heavy Rock:
Magazine but I only found myspace address www.myspace.com/revistaheavyrock

-Metal Total (Web)
http://www.metaltotal.com/contacto/


Yep, only these. S-pain, you know

 

[darth_cupboardy]

For more Indie reviewers here in germany, here are some webzines/sites that reviewed my old bands CD. Dunno if they do more extreme metal styles cause i already quit the band when the cd was reviewed and my old band does kind of a metalcorish alternative rock thing.
www.the-pit.de
www.vampster.com
i hope this helps.
I just looked at the pit more closely and yeah they seem to do the brutal stuff too