Rock music PR in London
Two lists, run as one campaign. The specialist rock press, and the London media and venue network that gives a writer a reason to take you seriously.
Rock has the most durable press infrastructure of any genre we work in. The magazines still matter, the specialist radio still matters, and the readership still buys records and tickets, which makes coverage worth materially more here than in genres where a placement is a link and nothing else.
What actually helps in London is scene legibility. The city's music press thinks in venues and orbits. The room you play in tells a features editor more about you than any description of your sound. A campaign that can place you inside one of those orbits will always outperform one that simply says you are from London.
A rock campaign run from London therefore works on two levels at once. The genre list reaches the writers who cover this music seriously. The city list builds the local foundation that makes the genre pitch credible, because an artist who already has coverage, radio support and a live reputation at home is a considerably easier sell than one who arrives with only a track.
The rock list
The working level of a UK rock campaign at this price.
Independent, prolific, and genuinely open to unsigned rock and metal. One of the best first targets in the genre.
Independent rock coverage that is accessible to developing bands.
Extensive live and release coverage with a real commitment to bands nobody else is writing about yet.
Rock programming on community and internet stations. Committed audiences who turn up to gigs.
Regional shows, and the established route towards national rock specialist play.
The smaller sites and zines covering British rock. Lower volume, higher reply rate.
The London list
London-based and London-facing media worth targeting alongside the national titles.
The default listings authority for the city. Broad reach, heavily contested, and realistic once you have a show worth listing.
Peckham-based, youth-led and genuinely influential in London's rap and R&B scenes.
Dalston-based with international reach. Extremely influential across electronic and leftfield music.
Central to London club culture across garage, grime, house and bass.
Broad remit and receptive to emerging London artists across genres.
The rooms
The Windmill in Brixton has produced more press-relevant guitar bands in the last decade than any other room in Britain, and a residency there is a story in itself. MOTH Club and The Shacklewell Arms anchor the Hackney circuit. The Lexington and Sebright Arms remain reliable proof-of-life rooms for developing bands. Corsica Studios, fold and Venue MOT cover the club end. New River Studios and Cafe OTO serve the experimental scene. For a step up, EartH, Village Underground, Scala and Electric Ballroom are the rooms that signal an artist has an audience rather than a following.
How we pitch it
Start earlier than you think
Print is where the value is in this genre, and print works three to four months out. A campaign that begins six weeks before release is a digital campaign whether you intended it to be or not.
The live record is the credential
Rock press respects a touring history more than a streaming count. Support slots, festival billings and a real gig history belong at the top of the pitch.
What's included
Rock artist in London?
Send us the track, the release date and where you have played. We will tell you what is realistic before you spend anything.