LATEST INFO ON THE HI54 MUSIC SUBMISSION PROCESS (Mar 2022 Update)
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But if you would still like to read about what the HI54 music submission process was previously (and even more previously), for posterity’s sake, you can find that rambling info below (which was originally published back around November 2021):
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After 2 years of doing a ‘4 days open, 10 days closed’ music submission schedule, in the hopes of finding the right balance between still receiving music submissions and still being able to spend time doing things that have nothing to do with music submissions, I think the main thing I learned is that I need to be spending even less time in the music submission chair. Not because I don’t like checking out new music—I wouldn’t be doing what I do if I didn’t—it’s just that I know I still spend way too much time on it. Especially considering how bad of an ROI music submission time is in regards to monthly food & rent gathering (despite the “cash cow” claims that people who call people like me “gatekeepers” like to make).
I mean, I’ve dealt with over 45,000 music submissions on Submithub since ditching doing music submissions via the even more time consuming old blogger method of email (which I still like to use for non music submission stuff, like having conversations with people about stuff other then my opinion on their track, which I can actually do now that my Gmail inbox isn’t overrun with music submissions) back in February 2018. And dealing with 45,000 music submissions (25,000 of which are the FREE Standard submissions) — that’s A LOT of time spent doing something, even if people think each submission “only takes a few minutes” and shouldn’t be considered as actual human time spent (for example, let’s say that every music submission averages out to taking only 60 seconds to deal with, which most artists would still complain is not enough time, 45k submissions equals 750 HOURS of work — which is over 18 weeks of 40 hours/week!).
But, as I’m sure you all experience back in your own orbits, there’s just only so many hours in a day. And when you factor in the fact that there are also only so many days in a week, and weeks in a month, and so on and so forth, one really has to remember to try & stay on top of how we’re spending our finite time/attention and do a recalibration every now & again. So, on that note:
Starting on November 1st, 2021, The hi54 submithub queue will only be open for music submissions 1 day a week — and that day of the week will be Every MONDAY (but, in case you missed the memo above, I’ve actually stopped taking music submissions altogether, indefinitely).
Submithub is (actually now ‘was’) the only way to directly get something into my headphones*. And, yes, I also accept the free Standard submissions & I listen to everything I am sent on Submithub while my queue is open.
I use Submithub for its streamlined organization & functionality (which I’ve written about before). Also, Submithub lets me turn submissions on & off — which, I’ve come to realize over the years of successfully running an unsuccessful music blog, is something you need to be able to do because otherwise the submissions will literally never stop coming in & it becomes a heavy cloud of unrealistic expectations that follows you around, everywhere you go.
People who send me Email & DM music submissions, I get why you do it, but, I just send back a copy/paste blurb that explains how I handle music submissions these days + a link to my submithub page. Every time. Unless I know the person already, but… sometimes even still, because, if the conversation is really just about me checking out a new release, then my Submithub queue is the best place to get something in my ears and into the process that is involved in my mix tape & mix cd updating. Submithub just keeps everything nicely organized for me (including putting all music submission in one big playlist that files songs away into appropriate tabs so nothing gets missed or forgot) + it also keeps the music submission process separate from my other work/headspaces until I’m ready to log on to Submithub and officially put on my ‘listening to music while considering if I have a blog fit for it’ hat.
Basically, Submithub is a super handy tool for better facilitating the the entire music submission process in a way that actually gets the music listened to AND a decision actually gets communicated. Even if the communication can often end up being a decline, that’s just because of the insane amount of people who are releasing music + the fact that music taste is completely subjective. At least Submithub is not an ever-growing pile of ignored & unanswered emails.
*Apologies for any inconveniences that this submission process may cause for those who are keen on specifically submitting music to HI54.BLOG for headphone consideration (and I especially know that some people don't like Submithub, or just the idea of having to figure out how to use another service is meh). Unfortunately, I’m just one guy with a music blog that doesn't earn enough to spend near as much time as I do on it & I can only make space to listen/reply to so many submissions before that part of having a music blog starts eating time/energy away from other important areas of not just this site, but, more importantly, one could argue, other areas of my life. Submithub helps me treat this stuff like the actual work that it is (which helps me do a better job).•
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So, here’s a playlist that keeps track of all the music I have accepted on Submithub SINCE I STARTED USING THE SITE TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THE MUSIC that I GET SENT, which you can use to check out whether you think my ears would even likely like what your ears tend to like:
And HERE IS A BLOG POST that explains the ways that I share the music I like these days, because maybe I’m not even the kind of music blog you want to be spending time & energy on anyways. It’s ok, I understand. I’m literally just some guy who likes to share things he likes. And I don’t even have a big audience (so don’t be surprised if me sharing your music does not move the career needle all that much, at least not in economically measured ways).
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And here’s the three current HI54 Music Submission options explained further (for those not already familiar with Submithub or for those who just can’t stop reading until there are no more words to read).
• SUBMISSION OPTION #1 - Submitters can choose to pay for a Premium Submithub submission on Submithub (when my queue is open) | Premium credits cost $1 or less, depending on how many credits they buy, of which I receive 50¢ for meeting the criteria of having to deal with + respond to the submission within 48 hours. If I like the song enough to share it on my platform: I have to communicate how and when I will share, a chat is opened up with the submitter on Submithub, and I do not receive the 50¢ until after I’ve shared a link with the submitter to where I have shared the track. If I decline the submission: I have to communicate some brief feedback on why I didn’t like the track enough to want to share it (unless the submitter chooses the ‘90 second listen, no feedback’ option — which is the option I prefer, because, at least for me, the “feedback” is always some version of “my ears weren’t connecting, but maybe that’s just my ears?”). I get paid the same 50¢ for an approval or a decline, therefore there is no incentive to accept paid submissions and it is not “payola” — a submitter is simply choosing to pay for guaranteed consideration and a communicated decision within a certain amount of time (48 hours to be exact, or else they are refunded). It all works much like how people can choose to pay others for their time/energy in any other field that seems to exist without as much controversy (for example, pr).
Or…
• SUBMISSION OPTION #2 - Submitters can choose to send me a FREE Standard Submithub submission on Submithub (when my queue is open) | Standard submissions don’t come with a 48 hour deadline for the curator and submitters are limited to how many Standard submissions they can send in a day + I don’t have to explain why I decline a FREE Standard submission or listen for a set amount of time, the submitter is just notified that the track was listened to and declined (but they can still see stuff like when I listened & how long & etc), which, I think, is still better than being left wondering about an ignored email. If a song is accepted (and I have accepted plenty of FREE Standard submissions) the track gets put into the same ‘approval process’ as the Premium submissions. I listen to EVERYTHING I am sent and all approvals are based on whether a track resonates with my headphones, it doesn’t matter which kind of submission it is. I also don’t necessarily listen to Premium submissions before I listen to FREE Standard submissions, but I do tend to make ‘Approval’ decisions last with Standard submissions because they don’t come with a 48 hour time limit so I can save Standard submissions I’m thinking about until later for making a final decision (but I usually deal with all FREE Standard submission within 1-week of receiving them, as I like to have my queue cleared for the next wave of submissions, because there is always another wave of submissions).
Or…
SUBMISSION OPTION #3- There is a third, often forgot about option, and that is a person can choose to not send me anything at all | For example, instead of waiting until after I decline a track to go “who asked for your talentless opinion anyways?!” it is totally possible to just not ask for my talentless opinion in the first place. I also look for and discover music in my own ways and in my own time when I am not dealing with the music submissions that have been directly sent to my headphones to deal with (so I might still bump into your music out on the internets and like it and share it all the same, regardless of whether I received a submission for you — the odds are just obviously lower + I don’t contact everyone outside of the built-in Submithub approval process to let them know they’ve been added to a mix). And, I know this will sound crazy, but I also like spending time not listening to music that I have to make a decision on + I like exploring albums that came out ages ago that I totally missed out on & sometimes I like not listening to music at all :) So, if option number 1 or number 2 don’t work for you, I totally understand that and I hope that you totally understand that I couldn’t listen to everything people have released & are continuing to release if I wanted to anyways, so I will not be insulted if you come to the conclusion that me & my little blog are not worth bothering with. Genuinely no hard feelings.
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In conclusion
If you still want to submit music for HI54 consideration, my Submithub queue is only open on Mondays and you can click the button below to go to there (EXCEPT that is not actually true anymore because starting around March 21, 2022 I decided to officially stop accepting music submissions entirely)…
…and, apologies for any inconveniences/disappointments, but I can only listen to & share so much music before it all starts negatively affecting other areas of life + I also need to free up more time to figure out / work on another blahg-ing project (which I will hopefully have more time for now that I have removed my hat from the never-ending music submission game).
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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Or you can check out some other HI54 Submithub posts ⇊
