Artist Resources · Pitching
How to research an outlet before you pitch it
A repeatable ten-minute check on any publication, label, playlist or festival: is it active, does it fit, and who decides there.
5 min read · Updated August 2026 · For anyone building a target list for a campaign
How do I know whether an outlet is worth pitching?
Four checks, ten minutes: is it publishing this month, does its recent output include work at your level and in your genre, is there a named person on that beat, and has it stated how it wants to be approached. Fail any of them and the pitch is a lottery ticket.
Check it is alive
A great deal of published contact data belongs to outlets that stopped operating. Look at the date of the most recent post, not the design of the site. No output in three months means the address probably goes nowhere.
The same applies to playlists that have not been updated, festivals between editions, and labels whose last release predates the pandemic.
Check the last twenty pieces
Recent output, not the about page, defines the beat. Scan the last twenty items for genre range, career stage and geography. If everything is a signed act with a publicist and you are self-releasing your first EP, that is a real signal about the gap.
Note the format they actually publish: premieres, interviews, reviews, list features. Pitch the format they run, not the format you want.
Find the person, not the inbox
A named writer on your beat beats a general submissions address every time. Bylines are the fastest route to that name, and they also tell you what that specific person cares about within the outlet.
Use the general address only when the outlet explicitly asks you to. Some do, and ignoring a stated process is a fast way to be filtered.
- 01Find three bylines on your beat in the last six months.
- 02Read one full piece by each.
- 03Note their stated preferences — submission page, social bio, sign-off.
- 04Pick one name, not all three.
Respect the stated process
Where an outlet publishes a submission form, lead time or policy, follow it exactly. It is the cheapest possible way to look like someone worth working with, and breaking it is the cheapest possible way to be ignored.
If they say no unsolicited pitches, believe them and spend the effort on a target that is open.
Where Virtual Publicist fits
Our directories carry what is published and dated — who a person or company is, what they cover, and when the record was last verified — with the source shown so you can check it yourself.
We do not guarantee an outlet is currently accepting pitches, and we do not publish private contact routes. The ten-minute check above stays worth doing on the shortlist VP hands you.
The short version
- No output in three months: treat the outlet as inactive.
- The last twenty pieces define the beat, not the about page.
- A named byline beats a general inbox.
- A published process is a test — follow it exactly.
- Run the check on the shortlist, not on everyone.