How to Find Music Industry Contacts — A Practical Guide

Finding music industry contacts is easier than it was ten years ago. LinkedIn, Instagram, and a functioning music industry directory give you access to more A&R reps, managers, promoters, and publishers than any previous generation of independent artists had available. The challenge is not finding the contacts — it is knowing which ones are relevant, how to verify they are active, and how to approach them without burning the lead immediately.

Start with what you actually need

Music industry contacts is a broad category. Before building a contact list, be specific about who you are trying to reach and why:

• A&R contacts at labels in your genre — for demo submissions
• Booking agents and promoters — for live performance opportunities
• Music supervisors — for sync licensing
• Publishers — for publishing deals or co-publishing arrangements
• Playlist curators — for streaming playlist placement
• Press and media contacts — for coverage
• Management — if you are looking for representation

Each of these requires a different approach and a different type of contact. Building one undifferentiated list of "music industry contacts" and sending the same message to all of them is one of the most common and least effective approaches in music industry outreach.

Where to find them

LinkedIn. The most professionally appropriate channel for music industry contacts in most categories. A&R reps, managers, publishers, and music supervisors with active LinkedIn profiles are by definition available to professional contact. Search by job title and company — "A&R" + "[label name]", "music supervisor" + "[production company]".

Instagram. Relevant for A&R reps and managers in electronic music, hip-hop, and genres where the industry operates informally on social media. The appropriate approach is to build visible presence before making contact — the same principle as LinkedIn but even more community-dependent.

Industry directories. TYFRA Connect's directory of 5,000+ music industry businesses includes labels, management companies, booking agencies, publishers, and sync companies. Filter by category and location to build a targeted list rather than searching from scratch.

Music industry publications. Music Week, Music Ally, Hypebot, Digital Music News — frequently profile A&R executives and industry contacts. Industry conference speaker lists (Mondo NYC, Amsterdam Dance Event, The Great Escape, SXSW) provide concentrated lists of active industry contacts willing to engage publicly.

Verifying that contacts are active and relevant

A contact list built from an old Music Week directory or an out-of-date article may contain people who have changed roles, left the industry, or are no longer accepting submissions. Before using a contact:

• Check their LinkedIn profile — is it recently active? Does their current role match what you found?
• Check the company's recent releases — is the label still releasing music in your genre? Have they signed any new artists recently?
• Check their Instagram if applicable — are they still active in the industry and posting about music?

Building a targeted list

A targeted submission list of 20–30 carefully researched, verified, relevant contacts will produce better outcomes than a bulk list of 500 untargeted ones. The research time is front-loaded but the conversion rate is meaningfully higher.

For each contact on the list, note: their name, role, and company; their preferred submission format if known; their recent signings or activity; and any genuine connection point that makes the approach less cold (a mutual connection, a recent post they made, a recent signing in a related genre).

→ Find industry contacts in the TYFRA Connect directory