How much does music PR cost? What a publicist charges, and what you get

The short answer

In the US, Hypebot's 2023 guide to publicity tiers puts a small first package, with a few pieces of coverage, at $500 to $1,500 a month, and an all-in campaign for indie artists at $2,500 a month and up. It gives no price for a major-label campaign, which it says is usually part of the label deal. DJBooth says you can generally expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars monthly for a publicist's services.

Hypebot calls its figures estimates and says every company has its own system. If you would rather not hire a publicist, our music marketing is a different route: a YouTube campaign plus a labelled editorial feature, from $249.

Read all of these as rough guides, not survey data. The Musicians' Union guide to hiring music PR quotes a publicist who uses a sliding scale, charges more when a label is paying, and starts at £1,000. In the publicist's words: "I'm not aware of an industry standard for charges."

Prices by type of campaign

Hypebot adds that the first tier brings a few pieces of coverage to get you going, without branding, messaging or a full release strategy, while the all-in tier adds that work and, in most cases, much more coverage. If a price looks too low for the work described, ask how many journalists will be contacted personally.

What a publicist does, and does not, deliver

A publicist pitches your release to journalists, bloggers and broadcasters they know, follows up, and reports back. The coverage is earned: an editor chooses to write about you, and that is why it carries weight with fans, promoters and bookers.

It also means nothing is guaranteed. Two artists paying the same fee can end a campaign with very different results, depending on the music, the timing and the angle. A good publicist will tell you before you pay which outlets are realistic for your stage.

Publicity, paid features and paid reach are different things

Much of the confusion about what music PR costs comes from comparing products that do different jobs. This is how they differ:

How the options compare:

The publicist column uses the Hypebot and Musicians' Union figures from the tables above, and the Blue Leopard Media column comes from our music marketing page. None of these is a quote for your release, so ask each provider for the scope and the fee in writing.

Spotify is explicit that any service that promises playlist placement for money breaks its terms, and that using services that sell streams could result in your music being removed. YouTube's fake engagement policy bans anything that artificially increases views, likes or comments. Paid features and ads are legitimate. Paid numbers are not.

Have these ready before you pay anyone

The Musicians' Union's advice is to bring a publicist in early, not as an afterthought. This checklist builds on that advice:

• A release date at least four to six weeks away, so there is time to pitch before release day.
• The finished track or a private link, mastered, with a release plan for any singles.
• A music video, if you want playlist or YouTube attention.
• Press photos: colour, high resolution, both portrait and landscape.
• A short biography and a press release that are well written and accurate.
• Artwork that still reads when it is small.
• A website and active social profiles, so a journalist who looks you up finds something current.
• A budget you can spend without expecting it back from this release.

If several of these are missing, spend the money on them first. A publicist cannot pitch a release that isn't ready. The Musicians' Union also notes that print listings are an easy, cost-free form of publicity, and that event details for print need to be submitted four weeks in advance, so a small amount of free coverage can be lined up while you decide on a budget.

Questions to ask a publicist

1. Which artists in my genre have you worked with recently, and where were they covered?
2. Which journalists, blogs and stations do you actually know?
3. How long is the campaign, when would it start and when would pitching begin?
4. How many singles will you pitch to radio, if any?
5. What is included in the fee, and what costs extra?
6. How and how often will you report back?

Most of these come from artists quoted in the Musicians' Union guide. Genre fit comes up again and again: a publicist with a track record in your genre is usually worth more than a bigger firm without one.

Which route fits your stage

These are starting points, not rules. If you have news that editors will care about, earned press is worth chasing at any stage.

Where Blue Leopard Media fits

Our music marketing is not a publicist campaign. It combines two paid routes: a YouTube campaign that runs your video as Google Ads to people who watch similar artists, and an editorial feature about you, with your name in the headline and your own digital cover, published on one of the publications we work with. Together they start at $249.

You approve every word of the feature, and it goes live within 24 hours of your approval of the final draft. It is sponsored content, as our disclaimer states. You get a Google Ads report every week. We don't sell streams, playlist placements or chart positions, and we don't guarantee them.

If you are planning a release, book the free 15-minute consultation. It is free, and there is no obligation to buy anything.

Send us your release date and video link, and we will plan your campaign and feature around it.