How to Check Music Links Before Sending a Pitch

List what each link needs to do

Start with the message you’re about to send. A pitch is your request for someone to consider your music for radio play, coverage or another opportunity. Copy the links from that draft into a short list and write the intended action beside each one.

Use clear labels such as “Listen to the single,” “Download the requested WAV” and “Get press photos.” A press kit, also called an EPK, is the collection of music, pictures and release details someone might need for coverage.

Check the recipient’s instructions before deciding what to include. KEXP, for example, asks for streaming and WAV download links rather than attachments. Those are two actions to check: listening on the page and getting the audio file. Other recipients may want different materials.

• Listening link: the correct song plays.
• Audio download: the requested file can be saved and opened.
• Press kit: the details are current and its own links work.
• Photo or artwork link: the approved image and its credit are easy to find.

Sources: KEXP: Streaming and download submission requirements

Build the press kit before checking its links →

Test without your owner access

Opening a file in the account that owns it doesn’t check what someone else can do. Choose a test that matches the way you intend to share it.

For a link meant to open without an invitation, paste the complete address into a signed-out or private browser window. Stay in that browser for the check instead of switching into an app where you’re already signed in. If the page asks for access when it shouldn’t, stop and review the sharing settings.

For access limited to named people, a signed-out test may correctly refuse entry. Test using another account you control with the intended access, or ask a trusted collaborator who has that access to try. A successful test with one account doesn’t confirm that you’ve entered the actual recipient’s address correctly; check that too.

In Google Drive, “Restricted” means access is limited to people you’ve granted it to. “Anyone with the link” allows opening without a Google sign-in. Google also notes that work or school accounts may limit external sharing. Choose the setting that suits the material; don’t open your whole working folder just to fix one press photo.

Sources: Google Drive Help: Link access and download controls

Copy the complete private listening link

If you use SoundCloud for an unreleased song, copy the private track’s link from Share. SoundCloud says its secret links include extra characters at the end of the address and that anyone with the full link can listen. Keep the entire address when pasting it into your pitch.

A label such as “Listen here” can hide a different destination underneath. Check the actual address attached to those words, not just the visible text. If you made the draft earlier, compare its link with the current one you mean to share.

SoundCloud also says resetting a secret link stops the old link from opening the track, and the reset can’t be undone. If you’ve already reset it, update any draft that still uses the old address. Resetting isn’t a routine test step: do it only when you mean to withdraw access through the old link.

Treat a secret link as something a recipient could pass on. If that doesn’t suit this recording, reconsider what you’re sharing before sending it.

Sources: SoundCloud Help: Sharing a private track or playlist · SoundCloud Help: What happens when a private link is reset

Check playback and downloads separately

Press play and listen long enough to identify the song and version. If the pitch promises a clean edit, check the relevant lyric. If it promises a full song, make sure you haven’t linked a short teaser or an old demo.

Then try each download the person needs. Open the saved file, rather than stopping when a download button appears. Check its name, file type and contents against the request. For a photo, open the actual image and find the credit you expect the writer to use.

Google Drive lets owners control downloading separately from opening a file. If a photo previews but can’t be downloaded, check that setting as well as who has access. Choose only the access needed for the intended use; a press recipient doesn’t need editing rights just to receive a file.

Open the pitch links on your phone too. Check that you can find the player and the file labels without your desktop bookmarks. If a page links on to another folder or player, follow that next link and finish the intended action.

Sources: Google Drive Help: Link access and download controls

Make the right mix and file version easy to identify →

Use the problem to choose the next check

Write down what actually happened: “asks for access,” “plays the old mix” or “photo opens but won’t download.” That gives you a specific problem to fix. These checks are starting points, not proof of what caused the error.

Keep dates and release details consistent too →

A small link check, worked through

Here’s a made-up example. Nia Bell and the song Paper Lantern are fictional. Nia has a draft for a local writer with a listening link, a press-kit page and a photo download. The writer’s fictional instructions ask for all three.

Nia tests the draft in a signed-out browser because these particular links are intended to open without individual invitations. The check finds two things to fix before sending.

Give those links a clear message to go with them →

Record the result in one short note

After fixing anything, return to the actual draft and test its links once more. Updating a note beside the draft doesn’t replace an old address inside it. Keep a record of what you checked, how you tested access and which version you approved.

For the fictional example, a note could read: “Paper Lantern pitch — November 11: signed-out desktop and phone check; current mix plays; press-kit details match; approved photo downloads and opens.” Write only the checks you actually completed. If something still fails, leave that issue visible and fix it before sending.

You can keep this check note in AirTrax Notes beside the rest of your release work. Saving the note doesn’t change permissions on SoundCloud, Google Drive or another sharing service. Make those changes in the service that holds the file.

If you change the file, destination or access later, repeat the affected check. When someone who already received your pitch needs a corrected link, send a brief correction through the same conversation, following their contact instructions.

Keep track of what you sent and to whom →

Give the pitch a clear subject line →