The Unsigned Guide
# The Unsigned Guide

The Unsigned Guide is an online contacts directory and careers guide for the UK music industry. Founded in 2003, and first published as a printed directory, The Unsigned Guide became an online only resource in November 2011. It is produced specifically for emerging bands, artists, music managers, and the UK music industry and contains directory listings covering all aspects of the business from record labels, music publishers, PR companies, recording studios, managers to radio stations, venues, gig promoters, festivals and music distribution.

Listings contain a wide range of contact information containing a contact name, email address, website, social media links, postal address and telephone number. Every listing also includes a paragraph of relevant information about the company or organisation.

## Publishing details

The Unsigned Guide is published by mcr:music. When a printed directory The Unsigned Guide was published and revised every 12–15 months. Now an online only directory the contact listings are constantly updated throughout the year.

### Staff

* General Manager & Editorial: Louise Dodgson
* Brand Partnerships & Licensing: Stef Loukes
* Research Manager: Jamie Hamilton

### Edition details

* North West Edition 1 (2003)
* North West Edition 2 (2004)
* Greater London Edition (2005)
* UK Edition 1 (2006)
* UK Edition 2 (2007)
* UK Edition 3 (2008)
* UK Edition 4 (2010)
* The Unsigned Guide Online (2011)

## Full contents

The Unsigned Guide directory spans 50 areas of the music industry including:

ARTIST MANAGERS

* Artist Managers
* Online Management Tools

CREATIVE & BRANDING

* Artwork & Design
* Merchandise
* Music Photography
* Online Merchandise Services
* Printers
* Video Production
* Web Tools & Hosting

LIVE

* Booking Agents
* Festivals
* Promoters
* Venues
* Live Tools & Resources
* Music Awards & Competitions
* Tour Services

MEDIA

* Radio Stations
* Music PR & Plugging
* National Press/Magazines
* Regional Press/Magazines
* Student Media
* Online Magazines & Blogs
* Regional Music Websites & Forums
* Social Media & Networking

SELLING & DISTRIBUTING YOUR MUSIC

* Distributors
* Digital Stores & Distribution Tools
* Digital Music Players
* Record Shops

MUSIC PUBLISHING

* Music Publishers
* Online Licensing & Songwriting Resources

RECORD LABELS

* Record Labels
* Online A&R Directories

RECORDING & PRODUCTION

* Producers
* Recording Studios
* Rehearsal Rooms
* Mastering/Duplication
* Equipment Hire
* Instrument Shops/Repair
* Online Recording & Production Tools

FINANCE, LAW & MUSIC BUSINESS

* Insurance Services
* Lawyers/Legal Advice
* Music & Business Advice
* Music Industry News & Commentary

MUSIC TRAINING & CAREERS

* Music Training & Tuition
* Industry Seminars & Conventions
* Careers & Jobs Websites
* Online Training & Tuition Resources

### Contributions

The Advice hub is part of The Unsigned Guide which contains an archive of music business news, blogs, industry reports, advice & statistics contributed by music industry organisations such as:

* PRS Foundation
* Arts Council England
* Incorporated Society of Musicians
* Musicians' Union
* BPI
* IFPI
* Association of Independent Music
* BBC Introducing
* PRS for Music
* Music Managers Forum
* Music Producers Guild

### Full UK coverage

The Unsigned Guide's directory listings cover the whole of the UK; split into 11 regions:

* Greater London
* Midlands
* North West
* North East
* East of England
* South East
* South West
* Yorkshire
* Scotland
* Northern Ireland
* Wales

### Search facilities

The directory listings can be filtered by area of the music industry, region and/or city, plus a number of specialist filters for relevant categories including:

* Genres of music (Artist Managers, Distributors, Record Labels, Music Publishing, Producers)
* Capacity (Venues)
* Festival application deadline dates (Festivals)
* Radio plugging service provided (Music PR & Plugging)
* Type of radio station e.g. national, online, regional, local/community (Radio Stations)
* Type of student media e.g. TV station, radio station, magazine (Student Media)
* Type of instruments/courses provided (Music Training & Tuition)
* Type of instruments stocked/repaired (Instrument Shops/Repair)*In-house design service provided (Printers, Merchandise)
* Types of equipment provided (Rehearsal Rooms)
* Types of equipment available for hire (Equipment Hire, Rehearsal Rooms)
* Secure storage provided (Rehearsal Rooms)
* Type of Tour Services provided e.g. tour management, crew, vehicle hire, sound engineer (Tour Services)

### Spotlight blog

Every month The Unsigned Guide publish their Spotlight blog championing the best new music from their talented emerging members.

### Deals & Discounts

Subscribers to The Unsigned Guide to claim exclusive money-saving offers and discounts provided by select companies listed in The Unsigned Guide, covering all manner of services such as recording, rehearsals, PR campaigns, photo shoots, music video production, artwork and web design, merchandise, and more.

