“My Advice 2 You”: How to Pitch a Collaboration
This post is about landing a collaboration with your favorite artist. I will share my thoughts on what should be included in your pitch and how to approach a collaboration once you’ve successfully made contact and agreed to get to work. It will be geared toward hip hop artists but these guidelines will likely transfer well to any collaboration pitch across genres and mediums.
Reality Check:
Before you start reaching out to artists, managers, labels, etc. in search of a creative partnership, there a few things you should have squared away, and forgive me if this seems too obvious.
Music/Demos/Drafts: When you reach out to a potential collaborator, your word alone is not going to get you anywhere. You need to have examples of your work attached, linked, or somehow included in your pitch. If you don’t have a handful of finished beats to share with an artist, it is unlikely that you will get a response. If you just have raw musical ideas or demos, that could work too, as long as you can explain your vision and how it is a good fit for your potential collaborator.
Research: It can be assumed that you are a fan of the artist you are contacting for a collaboration, but do you really know their work?
Are they working on any projects currently?
What projects have they released in the past and how is your vision different?
Do you have a fresh idea that will compliment their existing catalogue?
That last thing you want to do is pitch an idea for a single or an album that they’ve already done, or is too similar to a previous release. You are also more likely to get a response if you reach out when they aren’t busy with other projects. Most artists are active on social media so you can tell if they are working or twiddling their thumbs.
Organize your Vision: Figure out what it is you want from this collaboration.
Are doing a single for a multi-song project?
Do you want to do a full album with this artist?
Will it be digital-only or a physical release?
Why them? (Just being a big fan is probably not enough)
It is important to establish clear intent right away in your pitch, this will allow any artist to understand your expectations for the scope of the project. If you have a grand detailed pitch for a complicated concept album, send it as an attachment and provide a shorter “elevator” pitch in the body of your message. You don’t want to burden them with a wall of text, but you also don’t want to write your own ticket to block city with the classic and incredibly annoying: “hey bro, let’s work”.
Be Ready to Work: If you come forward with an earth-shattering concept and dope music, then you might just land a collaboration, but if you aren’t ready or capable of following through on this vision, then you are in for trouble. Pitch something you can achieve.
The Message:
Here comes the meat wagon…
You’re ready to get to work, the beats/rhymes are on point, and your vision for the creative and commercial direction of the album is prepared and ready for consideration. Now what?
In the age of social media everyone is reachable, but certain channels are not the proper place to pitch a collaboration. Most artists have guidelines on how to properly contact them, FOLLOW THOSE. But in the absence of clear instructions here are some general practices to avoid when contacting artists:
Avoid the Comment Section: Don’t put your pitch in the comments section of a social post. If you ask to collaborate in the comments you could look super unprofessional or worse…you could look like an idiot. Or simply a bot.
Avoid Tagging: Don’t post a beat or a verse and then tag the artist you want to collaborate with. Music is a business, and for many artists, it’s their job. Meaningful business transactions rarely ever occur in public online. Don’t expect to get so much as a like for this type of behavior [if you’re lucky <- don’t need this, and doesn’t make sense], in reality, you’re more than likely to be blocked for doing this.
Don’t be too Casual or Familiar: In most cases, your target collaborator has no idea you exist, so don’t act like a long lost friend. Avoid using too much slang to try to sound cool, you end up sounding like you have never handled legit business in your life. Drop any pretentious act or persona and communicate with clarity and professionalism. When a stranger calls me “bro” or “fam” or starts talking to me like they know me, it’s a huge red flag. It tells me they’re not serious and cannot be trusted in a business partnership. Unless you already have a track record of success and reliability, conduct yourself professionally.
Don’t be Vague: “Yo man, let’s work I got some fire for you”. This phrase conveys nothing of substance. Your pitch should unambiguously layout your vision, credentials, and intentions. Include your elevator pitch, timeline, budget, marketing plan, and anything else you have to make the collab attractive to the other party. Putting some thought into your pitch and including relevant details will increase your chances of success.
Making Contact:
The two easiest ways to get in touch with any artist is through social media, or a designated contact form on their website. Depending on the artist you will be working a manager or gatekeeper of some kind before you even make contact, but you might be surprised at how many artists handle these sorts of dealings directly. The common thread here is to remain professional. If an artist has a gatekeeper, it’s because they need someone to filter requests for their time, so having a well thought out pitch can be your key.
Social Media: Instagram and Twitter are great ways to make contact. In the artist bio it usually has an email you can use to contact them for bookings or other inquiries, I recommend using whatever contact method they provide over a DM. DMs often don’t get seen because they have to be approved and, for popular artists, are often lost in a sea of hail-fellow-well-met spam.
Official Website: There is usually a contact form on an artists website, this is generally going to be filtered by another set of eyes before the artist sees it. If there are several contact forms, try to fill out the one that is aimed at generating business requests rather than a general contact form. An “About” page or the website footer might have some information about who represents the artist and how to contact that person, this is a good way to go. Often times you have a better chance of getting through to an agent or manager because it benefits them to give incoming collaboration requests a chance. The more business they drum up for their artist, the better they are at their job.
In Person: Running up on someone at a show or public appearance is a risky move. You never know how an artist or a member of their entourage is going to react. I’ve gone to shows personally and handed beat tapes to people and it has never panned out, but some artists were nice and it led to a great interaction. Others were less impressed and probably threw the tape in the trash. As long as you’re ok with the awkwardness of getting the cold shoulder, and the possibility of being punched in the mouth, in person pitches are an option, but they aren’t a good first choice.
Getting to Work:
Turn my headphones up!
Once you’ve connected and agreed to get to work, there are a few more data points to consider before anyone gets inside a recording booth.
Subject Matter: This might be covered in the pitch, but there could be some specific parameters you want to set for your content. If you don’t want any love songs on your album, let them know now before they take the time to write and record it. Getting somebody to change their work is hard, they have already developed an attachment to it and in most cases it came from genuine inspiration, so it is best to make all of your conditions clear before this happens. If “uh” or “yo” or “check it” are trigger words for you, then you should probably quit; being too picky can cause friction. Compromise can be a good thing.
Hold each other Accountable: “I’m gonna rip this, I got you” is sometimes as far as any song discussion goes. If you can trust the creative output of the artist, most of the time you are right to let them fly free, but if this person is brand new to you be sure to discuss with them their feelings about the music and where they are thinking of going with their take on it. It’s an unfortunate reality to face, but when you are the one reaching out to work, you are putting the other artist in a position of power and some people will take advantage of that, try to hold them accountable and remember you don’t have to follow through with anything that you don’t like just because “so and so” has “clout”. At the same time, as a beatmaker you have to play the role if producer with tact.
Give Actionable Feedback: “I don’t like this” or “this is wack” doesn’t say anything useful and will likely stir up some bad blood. Give feedback that inspires discussion and eventually action, leaving the door open for compromise. I try to make sure I am as detailed as possible about feedback so the artist doesn’t waste their time re-recording entire songs, or going back to the studio multiple times. Most artists will respect your opinion and get to work, others will throw a tantrum. “You’re pro or you’re a noob…that’s life”
In Closing:
These views are based on my actual experience, both reaching out to other artists and being contacted for collaboration. There are no hard and fast rules and no guarantees, but I hope this provides you with a decent starting point to think about your projects with a broader sense of theme, timeline, and intention. If you have any questions for me regarding starting collaborations, deciding on a theme for an album, or anything regarding taking your music to the next level feel free to make contact.
