How to Ask an Artist for a Feature
Published · updated · by Loopin
Nobody agrees to a feature from a description. Send something finished with a gap in it, and the ask stops being a favour and starts being an offer.
Finish the song first, with a hole in it
Send a complete arrangement — mixed, mastered, hook done — with sixteen bars of space where their verse goes. The person can hear exactly what they would be part of and how much work it costs them, which is the whole decision.
An unfinished demo asks them to imagine, and to commit time to something that might never come out. Most features that get ignored are ignored at this step, before anyone has judged the music.
Ask one tier up, never three
Someone with roughly two to five times your audience will consider it. Someone with a hundred times will not, and asking makes it harder to ask again in two years when the numbers are closer.
Track who is one tier up right now and keep the list current — that group changes every six months, and being early to someone about to move is the entire mechanism behind most breakout collaborations.
Say the terms before they ask
Splits, credit, who releases it, who pays for distribution, and whether there is a fee. Putting all five in the first message removes every reason to delay replying, and delay is what kills these.
A standard offer for an even collaboration is a 50/50 writing split on their contribution and release from whoever has the bigger audience. If you are paying, say the number — feature fees start around 100 for artists at a similar level and rise steeply with reach.
What to offer when you cannot pay
Production, a mix, a video, a beat, or the release push itself. Artists one tier up are usually short of the same things you are, and a verse costs them an hour while a mix costs them two hundred.
Be specific about what you are offering and deliver a sample of it in the same message. "I'll mix it" is an offer; a link to something you mixed is a reason to believe the offer.
Give a deadline and honour a no
Say when you want to release. Without a date, a feature sits in someone's inbox indefinitely — not because they do not want to, but because nothing forces it up the list. Three to four weeks is a request; three days is a demand.
If you get silence, follow up once after a week and then move on properly: do not release the song with a gap in it hoping they change their mind. Rewrite the section yourself and keep the relationship, which is worth more than the verse.
Frequently asked questions
How do I ask someone to be on my song?
Send a finished, mixed song with sixteen bars of space where their verse goes, plus splits, credit, release plan and any fee in the same message. Descriptions and unfinished demos are what get ignored.
How big an artist can I realistically ask?
Roughly two to five times your audience. A hundred times up will not reply, and asking early makes it harder to ask later when the gap has closed.
How much does a feature cost?
Between artists at a similar level, often nothing beyond a 50/50 split on their contribution. Paid features start around 100 and rise steeply with reach. If you cannot pay, offer production, a mix or a video — and include a sample of it.