Artist Resources · Positioning
What makes an artist pitchable
The small set of things every gatekeeper checks before saying yes: a clear description, a working link, current images and a date.
5 min read · Updated August 2026 · For artists preparing a release and unsure what to fix first
What do gatekeepers check before they say yes?
Whether they can describe you to someone else in one sentence, whether the music opens in one click, whether usable images exist, and whether something is actually happening on a date. Missing any of the four turns a maybe into a pass.
One sentence somebody else can repeat
Editors pitch you internally. Bookers pitch you to a promoter. If your description needs a paragraph, it does not survive being retold, and a pitch that cannot be retold does not travel past the person you sent it to.
The sentence needs sound, place and a concrete anchor: "Bristol trip-hop producer, first album out in October, previously on the Lost Rivers compilation." Not "genre-defying artist blending influences from around the world."
One link that plays instantly
Every extra step loses people. A private streaming link that opens on a phone with no login, no download and no password prompt is the single highest-leverage asset you own during a campaign.
Keep it live for the whole cycle. Links that expire mid-campaign kill placements you never learn about.
Images that can actually be published
Outlets need high-resolution horizontal and vertical crops, a credited photographer and clear permission. Screenshots, heavily filtered phone shots and images you cannot license are declines waiting to happen.
Two or three current, correctly credited photos beat a large archive of mixed quality. Name the files with your artist name and the year.
- 01One horizontal press shot, high resolution.
- 02One vertical crop for mobile and social.
- 03Photographer credit and written permission on file.
- 04Cover art at full resolution, square.
A date, and a reason it matters
Coverage attaches to events. A release date, a tour, a video premiere, a festival slot — something with a future date gives a writer a reason to publish now rather than never.
"My album has been out since spring" is not a pitch. "The vinyl edition ships on 14 November with two unreleased tracks" is.
Where Virtual Publicist fits
Artist Intelligence assembles the describable part — sound, subgenres, markets, release history — from the platforms you connect, and your Career Brief flags what is missing before a campaign starts.
It cannot take your photos or make a record newsworthy. It tells you which of the four items above are not ready while there is still time to fix them.
The short version
- If it cannot be retold in one sentence, it cannot travel.
- One instant link beats any press kit.
- Publishable images means resolution, crops and credit.
- Coverage needs a future date to attach to.
- Fix the missing asset before adding more targets.