The Unsigned Guide
***I’d like to point out from the get-go, I am NOT affiliated with The Unsigned Guide in any way. It’s just a helpful resource I have used as a musician, and I believe it could benefit you too!
Back in 2009, The Unsigned Guide was a staple of any indie artist’s reading material.
I remember getting my copy each year and carrying it around everywhere I went using it as a reference point whenever I needed venues, magazines or record label’s contact details.
Fast forward to 2022 – it’s not a resource I hear much about, and I’m not too sure why?
The Unsigned Guide has evolved since its humble beginnings.
It once was a yellow pages style directory jammed packed with contact details for any music connection your heart could desire.
In 2022, it is still running, and it has evolved with the times.
The guide is now all online.
The Unsigned Guide now offers easily accessible contact details for 50 areas of the music industry.
It boasts over 8,500 UK music industry contacts.
These range from gig promoters, venue and festival bookers, artist managers and record label A&R contacts to music publishers, press & PR companies and booking agents.
The guide lists contact names, details and an accompanying paragraph of precise information to help you decide how they can be of service to you.
So stop wasting your time going to individual websites to find contact details; it’s time-consuming and not necessary.
What Does the Unsigned Guide Include?
The main heading of the Unsigned Guide are labelled as
- Artist Managers
- Creative & BrandingFinance
- Law & Music Business
- Live, Media
- Music Publishing
- Music Training & Careers
- Record Labels
- Recording & Production
- Selling & Distributing Your Music.
In addition, the Unsigned Guide lets you search for;
- Venues
- Festivals
- Producers
- Rehearsal Rooms
- Distributors
- Training & Tuition
- Radio Stations
- Pr & Plugging
- Equipment Hire
- Merchandise
- And so so so much more
What If I’m Not In The UK?
If you’re not in the UK, I still believe the Unsigned Guide could benefit your music career.
- Record Labels
- Radios, Blogs and Media
- Selling and Distributing
- Music Publishing and Sync
- Music Training and Careers
- Video Design and Photography
These sections all work remotely from wherever you are in the world. They are still valid and necessary whether you are in the UK, Brazil, Australia – all of these sections still apply to you.
Spotlight
A new addition that I had not seen before is the Spotlight section of the website.
The unsigned Guide describe it best:
“Each month, we take the 5 best tracks sent to us by our members, champion them on our Spotlight blog and on our radio show on Reform Radio.”
Artists can submit one track per month to the Unsigned Guide for consideration.
It’s a fantastic platform to be highlighted on, and as far as I can see, it’s free to submit.
Advice
There is also a new advice section of the site that does what it says on the tin, blogs about advice for emerging artists.
These are worth a read.
Even if you have been releasing music for a while, you might find the spark that makes your next release fly.
Unsigned Guide Price
Even better is the price.
I found an email receipt from 2010 to confirm my purchase of that year’s Unsigned Guide, which cost me £32.99!!!
AND I had to wait for it to be delivered in the post.
I feel for the postperson who had to carry that heavy delivery around with them.
Not to mention the tree’s who made the ultimate sacrifice so I could get my listing fix.
Today, you can get instant access to the online directory for (cancel anytime) £5.99 a month!
What a bargain!
I seriously don’t understand why artists aren’t all over this fantastic resource?!
Even if you just took a month’s subscription as you are planning your next PR campaign, the £5.99 for a month would be worth every penny.
So make your job a little bit easier and check out the Unsigned Guide today!
More tips coming soon, Kris – FVMusicBlog
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