How to Keep Your Music Contact List Up to Date

Pick one place for the current details

A name in your phone, an address in an old sheet, and a reply buried in your inbox can all refer to the same person. Choose one main place for the current details. Keep your email thread as the conversation record, then add a short summary or thread link to the main list.

A spreadsheet can work. MusicNSW offers a media contact list template for regional tour promotion, covering places such as radio stations and local publications. You can also use a contact workspace you already have. The useful part is keeping the record current.

Start with the people connected to your next release or show. You don’t have to sort every name you’ve ever saved in one sitting. If you’re still deciding who fits the release, make that shortlist first.

Sources: MusicNSW: Media contact list template for regional touring

Choose contacts who fit your release →

Keep enough detail to pick things up next week

An address alone won’t tell you which song you sent or why you saved it. These fields give you a useful starting record. Put them in columns, or use the same labels in a contact note.

Give “checked” and “contacted” separate dates. Checking a submissions page isn’t the same as sending a pitch. That small distinction helps you avoid treating an unsent draft as a completed message.

Update the note while the reply is fresh

After sending, record the song title and version, date, and route. If a form gives you a confirmation, save it with the record. A confirmation means the form accepted the submission; it isn’t a promise of coverage.

After a reply, write down the request before moving on. “Asked for a clean WAV by Friday” tells you what to do. “Good response” leaves you guessing later. If someone says no, record whether they mean this song or further contact, using their actual words where helpful.

For a team release, name one person to handle the next step. A dated note such as “Alex is sending the requested photo” helps your bandmate avoid sending the same thing too.

Keep the original thread available when you need the full context. Your note should be a short reminder, not a copy of every conversation.

Keep song versions clear when you send files →

Keep the song history when you update the contact

Someone can be a good contact for a future song even when nothing happened with the last one. Keep the old submission date and song title when you update their details. Don’t reset the record to look like you’ve never contacted them.

That history can matter to the outlet’s rules. Fresh On The Net says it won’t accept a track submitted in a previous week, and asks artists featured in Fresh Faves to wait three months before sending another track. Record the relevant song or feature date, then check the current full rules before submitting again.

Keep “no reply” separate from “rejected.” KEXP says artists shouldn’t expect a response and points them to its playlists, reviews, charts, and archive to check for activity. That’s one outlet’s guidance, not a rule for every contact. A blank inbox doesn’t tell you the whole result.

Sources: Fresh On The Net: Repeat submissions and Fresh Faves waiting period · KEXP: Replies and ways to check release activity

Decide whether a follow-up makes sense →

Give old records a clear next step

Before the next round of outreach, check the records you plan to use. Open the official source again. If a person has moved, verify their new role and the outlet’s current route. Keep a dated note about the change so you can still understand the older conversation.

Don’t combine two records just because the names look alike. Check the outlet, role, and contact details first. Two different people may use one shared inbox; one person may have more than one role. For a confirmed duplicate, choose one main record and preserve the useful history before removing the extra copy.

Use these next steps in your notes. They’re suggestions for organizing your work, not automatic actions in an app.

A contact note before and after a cleanup

Here’s a made-up example. The artist, writer, outlet, song, and conversation below are fictional. Lina Moss has a contact called Jamie at a local publication, Side Street. Her old note just says: “Jamie—blog—sent track.”

Lina reads the original thread and checks the publication’s current submissions page. She turns that note into this:

• Current role: Jamie, local music writer at Side Street. Official submissions page checked October 24, 2026; page link saved in the record.
• Previous submission: Night Bus, sent October 16 through the outlet’s form. Confirmation saved.
• Reply: October 20—Jamie asked for a landscape press photo and the hometown show date. No feature has been confirmed.
• Next step: Lina will reply in the existing thread on October 26 with the requested photo link and show date.
• Team note: Lina owns this reply. No second pitch is needed from the rest of the band.

Gather the files for a single-release press kit →

Make the cleanup small enough to keep doing

Try a short check once a week while you’re promoting a release. Start with replies and promised files, then check any details you’ll need for the next batch. Save a larger cleanup for a quiet week. This is a suggested routine, not an industry deadline.

In AirTrax, you can edit a contact’s notes and status, and connect relevant contacts to a release campaign. Put source links, checked dates, and specific next steps in the notes. Use a campaign task when there’s something you need to finish. Check details yourself; saving a contact doesn’t verify that the address is still current.

Finish with a list that tells you who needs a reply, who needs research, and who should be left alone. That’s useful even if you haven’t added a single new name.

Keep your music contacts together in AirTrax →