Video Photo Submission Guidelines for 2024

 

DO READ THE SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES VERY CAREFULLY before submitting anything. If you are going to submit something, be sure to BRING IT, as our standards are now much higher for what we publish than ever before. It’s a great opportunity; we reach millions of people each month! Dan can teach you how we have done this right here

Video Submission Guidelines page

 

**Please Read BEFORE submitting a video**

Videos Received Outside the Following Guidelines, Terms and Conditions, Will Be Deleted with No Reply!

Don’t get us wrong, we want your submissions, but only have this ONE chance to explain what works for serious consideration! It is worth the time for you to read, understand and follow these instructions in order to receive global exposure, so strap in, tighten your helmet and let’s go:

 

Even though we have monthly themes, you are welcome to submit those types of videos any time of the year and if any fall into the themes, chances are you will get featured again during that theme’s month. You may submit any genre not listed and even beyond that, such as playing on “non-drums, like pots and pans, a car steering wheel or a table top; you may send videos of home-made percussion contraptions; videos on gear care, videos of lessons—anything!

Here are some suggestions if you are feeling adventurous and want to create a video from a unique location:

On a Roof! (be careful!)
At the beach! (wear sunscreen!)
On Public Transport! (tell everyone to buckle in!)
In your future ex-in-laws’ dining room! (wear a helmet!)
Just on the other side of your neighbor’s fence! (You better get along to begin with!)
In a forest, in a field on a sand dune (Get in touch with nature!)
On a boat! (Ahoy, matey!)
Have fun and lighten up while helping others to do so as well!!

 

First, let’s keep it real:

Please keep in mind that we get 100’s of submissions a month. We cannot respond to every email we are sent due to the volume–we will respond if we schedule your video to be published. Do you need to be one of the best drummers in the world to be on Drum Talk TV? No

However, We prefer material we feel is jaw-droppingly exceptional (we know, this is very subjective). We cannot post everything we are sent, nor can we promise your video will get posted. When you are considering a video to send us, ask yourself realistically: Is this something other people will truly be cranked up about when they see it?

If not, no worries. Keep working on your craft. Go to www.facebook.com/DrumTalkTV/videos to see what we have posted so you know what has worked before. This is the best tutorial we can offer.

If you don’t hear back right away, don’t trip. It doesn’t mean we are not using it. Again, due to the volume, we can run as far as 3 months behind on looking at what is sent to us.

 

NEW TIME LENGTH PARAMETERS!

Facebook is now saying that videos 3 minutes or longer will be shown to more of your followers. That’s right, not everything you post reaches everyone who follows you. However, now that Facebook has instituted “Ad Breaks,” which qualifying pages can take advantage of, only videos 3 minutes or longer can be used for this new feature, so in exchange to encourage people to use it, they are now giving more visibility to any videos 3 minutes or longer, even without the ad breaks feature.

HOWEVER, please be aware that on FB, almost no one watches full videos on Facebook, even if they are only two to three minutes long. This means you STILL NEED TO HAVE YOUR VIDEO BEGIN WITH COMPELLING PLAYING, rather than a long drawn out intro or time ticking away with not much happening. You have 4 – 10 seconds to suck your viewers in!

Facebook is still increasing how much they will limit posts with YouTube links (their biggest competitor), so we will continue to upload natively to our page and not include a link to the full version on YT*. We will tag your FB Fan Page and history has shown that if people want to find you to see more, they definitely will! *Tip: Put a link in your FB page description that asks people to watch your vids on YT, and you should also upload everything to FB as well!

 

Types of videos we accept:

ANY style of drumming and percussion playing is welcome!

We prefer drum solos and warm-up videos. It can also be a performance with other musicians, as long as the focus is on the drummer and it is NOT a “music video.”

Your video certainly does not need to be the fastest drumming, nor does it need to be the flashiest. It simply has to be “compelling playing. For instance, fast and flashy is OK, but lots of drummers and other musicians and music fans also appreciate good solid deep pocket playing. Are you a lint collector? That’s what we call those drummers!

Very subtle playing, and very “Musical” playing is also a biggie on our channels! It can even be a lesson IF and only if there is no advertising or call to action in the video for people to subscribe or sign up. However, you are welcome to show off a technique and break it down.

Your video does not have to be drum set playing! You can send videos of busking on whatever you use, hand percussion, orchestral and symphonic percussion –anything!

 

What we do NOT accept:

No ‘Play-Alongs’ – But ‘Covers’ are welcome. Do not refer to videos where you are playing along to a track as a “cover.” A cover is an original rendition of an already existing song, not playing along with the original recording. There are many technical reasons why we cannot use Play-Alongs, but real ‘Covers’ are welcome!

Also, we do not accept ‘music videos’ where the whole band is playing, unless the video focuses 80% on the drummer or is a DrumCam video. No Exceptions. If you see these types of videos on our channels it is for other reasons. We do not accept them as submissions. We also do not accept videos with profanity or other subject matter not appropriate for ALL ages.

 

WHAT TO INCLUDE:

When you write your email, title it using the name of style of play or genre it is about, that matches the list of genres in the graphic (or other if yours is not listed). Include a very brief description of the video – very brief, as in one sentence. Anything longer than this will be deleted. We get 100s a day and our elves are busy! And write in upper/lower case English for this, your name, location, everything!

Please send your video via a link from a 3rd-party broadcast platform, such as Facebook YouTube or Vimeo, we can download it from there if we use it.

Please do not send links to your video on Twitter, or Tumblr, and do not send us files to download. Please be absolutely sure to include each of these items or we cannot consider your submission.

 

Video Tips:

VIDEO TIPS FOR OUR FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO: Always advise anyone recording with a smart phone to hold the device horizontally, NOT vertically. It makes MUCH better videos, they are not narrow and claustrophobic, you get more in the picture and it is then shaped the way a video player is shaped. We will now accept vertically shot videos, but horizontal provides a much better viewer experience. All qualifying submissions will go on our Instagram as well!

VIDEO TIPS FOR OUR NEW TIKTOK CHANNELS BEING DEVELOPED: You may shoot vertically and videos should be 30 seconds or less! Add “For TikTok” in your subject line with the rest of your subject line info on the submissions form.

Most people only watch a minute or two of video on social media, and less than 10 seconds if it doesn’t grab them right away. Our audience is made up of much more than only drummers and are typically looking to be blown away and entertained by jaw-dropping drumming right from the start, or at least something “interesting” to them. Make it count!

If the most spectacular part of your video is at 4:20, for example, trim your video to begin right before that, otherwise, most of the audience will never see the best part!

Horizontal Preferred
Video-Submission-Vertical-Not-Preferred

It doesn’t fit a normal video player and leaves these margins empty.
Show us more of what you’ve got by recording horizontally!

 

When you record vertically on a smartphone, it looks horrible on video players for YouTube and Facebook, the two largest online social platforms!
If you shoot horizontally, it will work better when viewed on those platforms and still work fine for Instagram abd TikTok.

 

IF WE USE YOUR VIDEO OR PHOTO:

If you submit a video link that we do use, we will download it and play it from our platforms (FB first, and then possibly Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, Vimeo and Twitter at some point.). It will get many more views that way, rather than sharing it or cross-posting. If we post your video, you should follow the comments on the post, made by our Drum Talk TV community–it’s a great way to obtain feedback. Just be prepared to see comments reflecting the fact that not everyone likes everything they see or hear. And let that roll off your back!

If it’s a video of you, provide your existing FAN page link, and we’ll tag it if that Facebook function is operating properly that day—it doesn’t always work. If you do not have a fan page, we will do our best to tag your personal profile page and that works even less often. We will not add website links, YouTube Channel links, or other links. We also will not add “credits,” such has where it was recorded, who edited it, mixed the sound and made you lunch that day.

We are welcoming photos now for a few meme series!

You never know where it may pop up, but you will always be notified! One more likely please is our “Give us one word for this kit!” series. Keep in mind not everyone likes the same thing, so if anyone comments saying what they don’t like about your kit, just let it go. NO VERTICAL PHOTOS, PLEASE! Take photos in landscape mode, horizontally. Here are some examples of that series, in case you haven’t seen them:

Video Submission Guidelines page

Happy Drumming from all of us at Drum Talk TV and thank you for being part of our community!

By Submitting a video or photo you understand and agree to all of the above.

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