RBN - Suggested Etiquette for Contacting Bands

[The-Dude1212]

all you have to do is go to their official site and most band sites have a "contact info" section with an email address for the band/manager/lable.

Well, I go to margaritaville.com...and find the Contact link at the bottom of the page...and it gives me the links to contact Margaritaville Cafes located around the U.S. So, even if I did want that, the long distance charges would be through the roof.

So...eventually some more digging brought me to mailboat records. I would assume I would e-mail them regarding Buffet? The only e-mail they had that I found was info@mailboatrecords.com, so I'm gonna try that tonight.

As for Springsteen, I clicked the Columbia records link, and after some digging around, found the link that says "Send Feedback". Hopefully I'm doing it right, at least I'll find out soon enough tonight.

So, my lesson to all who are looking to contact their favourite artists:

Don't trust websites. Google that s***.

[Cliphead]

If a major label artist is that hard to contact, leave it to the main Music Store.

[Ayar]

Re: ADBjester

Great breakdown on the financials of RBN. Is this all derived from Harmonix-released information? I haven't been able to come up with that much detail through official channels.

[destruction3402]

Great thread!

[Lizard_King]

i just used Ferocious Q's template to email White Lies. hope it works!

[topperharley]

First off, Jester's post should be required reading for anyone who is contacting bands about RBN. No doubt a lot of them are going to be concerned about the financials, and being able to respond in a logical, intelligent manner will help overcome a lot of doubts.

Secondly, here is the email template I've been using so far:

As a fan of __________, I wanted to let you know about something very cool that's in the pipeline from Harmonix, the company behind the rhythm game Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and The Beatles: Rock Band (and before all of that, Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II). That something very cool is called Rock Band Network, and it's a way for bands to get their music into Rock Band -- and into the hands of a whole new set of music fans. I would love to see some __________ in Rock Band, and Rock Band Network provides the tools to do so.

Rock Band fans are passionate about music, and Harmonix understands that passion. Harmonix employees are musicians, and truly know how to convey the feeling and emotion of the music and of being in a band.

You can read more about Rock Band Network here:

Rock Band Network Press Release

Rock Band Network Creators Website

Rhythm Authors FAQ Page

For a list of companies that can help with getting the music into the game (i.e. the computery, techincal stuff), look here:

Rock Band Network Charting Groups

Any questions that you have can be answered here:

Harmonix Feedback/Support

Please consider Rock Band Network as another method of distributing __________'s music to music fans. In the roughly two years since Rock Band was first released, I have been introduced to dozens of bands that I would probably have never heard of otherwise. And those bands have introduced me to dozens more. I truly believe that being in Rock Band would create a whole new fanbase for the great music that __________ creates.

Thank you for your time.

I tweak it based on whether I'm sending it to the band directly or to their management company, and whether it's a band that has already gotten a song in RB, or one that hasn't yet been so fortunate.

[geo2n2]

^^ That's a great letter, but perhaps it would be better to link to the thread here with ALL the authoring groups listed rather than singling out just one.

[topperharley]

I did.

[lowfatevan]

i sent a message, based on the template to Touch and Go Records and plan on emailing some more labels tomorrow. Has anyone emailed Secretly Canadian, Arts and Crafts, or Temporary Residence? Those are next on my list.

[RockAuthors]

I think you made a great point Apples: don't be too pushy-sales-like and be polite and respectful. I think the last thing we want to be doing is spamming artists and turning them off of rock band network.