GUIDELINES (revised 1/3/2012):

The submission form can be found at the end of this page.  Please read these guidelines carefully before sending us your work!

Thanks for considering submitting your work to the IndieFeed Performance Poetry Channel!  We are always open to hearing dynamic new voices which offer high impact, expressive, risky, and unique poetry for our hungry listeners. 

Unfortunately, due to the number of pieces we receive, we are unable to feature all the fine work we hear.  And although we are open to hearing any work, several factors will highly increase the likelihood that your piece will be selected for the channel.

1. Performance vs. Reading.  Our number one requirement is to hear poems that are "performed", rather than just being "read".  A piece is only selected for our channel if both the writing and the performance are top notch.  Expression, characterization, and passion are key.
   
   
2. Length.  We very rarely accept a piece shorter than two minutes, or longer than six minutes.  Even better is when a piece meets our "sweet spot" of three to five minutes.
   
   
3. Recording Quality.  We prefer professional-quality studio recordings or recordings made in front of a live audience.  Recordings with excessive noise or that sound as if they are made on low-quality home equipment are much less likely to be accepted, even if the poem is exceptional.  Of course, live venue recordings are expected to be less polished than studio recordings, but they too should be professional and clear.  Remember, if the quality of the recording distracts from your voice, your piece will not likely make the cut.
   
   
4. Music vs. Voice Only.  We are open to pieces that contain music, but we expect that the voice and the poetry should remain front and center.  A common problem we see are pieces in which the music overpowers the voice.  In that same vein, if the piece is more "sung" than "spoken", it is not appropriate for our channel.  If that is the case, you should check out the IndieFeed Music channels!
   
   
5. Number of Pieces.  We encourage multiple submissions, up to and including entire poetry albums.  Having multiple pieces available will often help us find the piece or two that best fit our format.  We are able to feature our top poets up to twice each year, and we may select several pieces for future releases.
   
   
6. Additional Work Available.  Our poets should be established enough to have an internet presence where our audience can take the next step and learn more about them.  Ideally, this means a dedicated web page with information such as a bio, photos, written selections, audio selections, tour schedules, etc.  Poets who have products available are also highly preferred, so CDs, books, and chapbooks should be available on the web site. 
   
   If you are a new poet without any of these things available, we suggest that, at a minimum, you establish a social networking (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) page with a few pieces posted.  Simply put, we discourage poets from trying to get on the show before they are well enough established.  There is no substitute for that first impression.

How to Submit. 

1. Electronically.  Once you're ready, you can use the submission form below.  Be sure to fill out the form completely.  We don't charge a fee for submissions to the Performance Poetry Channel.  This process will expect you to have a downloadable MP3 file to which you can provide a link.  MySpace pages are usually not appropriate, since the pieces cannot be downloaded there. Please test your link to ensure that our review staff can download the MP3 of your piece without any problems.  If you don't have a downloadable piece, consider option 2, below. 
   
   
2. Electronically, plus YouSendIt.com.  If you don't have a direct MP3 link available, you can fill out the form below, and then send the MP3 track(s) directly to mongo@indiefeed.com using YouSendIt.com.  This is a free service that will allow you to upload your file directly to us.  IMPORTANT:  Please do not send media files as e-mail attachments!
   
   
3. Via CD.  You are always welcome to send CDs of your work directly to us.  It is best to fill out the form, and note in the "download URL" box that you are sending a CD.  Our address for sending CDs is:

Please note that review times can vary greatly, and are currently running as long as six to eight weeks.  We try to keep up with submissions more quickly than that, but the high number of tracks we review makes it hard to guarantee a faster turnaround.  Feel free to follow up with an e-mail at any time, if you are wondering how long it will be before your piece is reviewed.

Thank you for your interest in the IndieFeed Performance Poetry Channel!  Good luck, and be sure to send any questions directly to our channel manager, at mongo@indiefeed.com.