Pitching in the music industry is a presentation of yourself, music, artist, idea or project and making an offer. It can be an offline speech from 30 seconds to 15 minutes at a showcase festival or online pitching in an email (to radio stations, festivals, booking agencies, etc.)

Pitching is an essential part of the current activities in the music business, and therefore is considered a necessary skill that can and should be developed. The more often you have to pitch, the better your pitches will be.

Vlad Yaremchuk, Academy expert and Programming Director of the Atlas Festival in Ukraine, shared the basic rules that should be followed during preparation and pitching itself. He is sure that the main thing in pitching is to create a good impression that will be remembered. Musicians and artist managers currently have to fight for attention to themselves. So sometimes how you present is much more important than what you present.

• First of all, you should be very confident in your pitch, well prepared and know everything you want to say.
• You should be excited and passionate about your music.
• Your pitching should be personalized. Be sure to research the organization or particular person you will be contacting. You should know what exactly they do, and also show why they could be interested in you. Make a small comment about why you appreciate their work or project.
• Refer to positive experiences with the recipient or their colleagues. You can mention people or a company they know. It builds trust and opens doors.
• Find a better way to describe your art – less than 10 words, something unique and very catchy. For example, unique combinations of genres or your unique background.
• Don’t say bad things about yourself – play on your strengths. Sell yourself – tell them things that make you special.
• Your pitch should be short and concise. Do not exceed 15 minutes if it is a conversation. At the beginning of the email, use a catch phrase, indicate the greatest achievements, write a short presentation, the most important numbers and performances on the festivals that will make the recipient to open EPK.
• Don’t send multiple emails to the same recipient. If you haven’t received a response, that’s okay, it means your time hasn’t come yet. You will have to apply many times before you start working with someone. The only thing that matters is who answered you.
• If you have not scheduled a meeting in advance, find a suitable moment for pitching, use the surrounding situation to start small talk. Ask if they are ready to chat right now.
• Enjoy a casual conversation with them. You are making friends and connections, not just a business.
• Exchange business cards or contacts after offline pitching.
• Be sincere, honest, don’t exaggerate, be yourself. Show interest, trust, respect and value your opponent’s time.
• And finally. There is no limit to perfection, so tools like Deepl, Grammarly, Chat GPT will come in handy to improve your English, especially in writing.

  

*Сreated based on the materials of the lecture by Vlad Yaremchuk