TAP vs Spreadsheets: Why Independent Artists Switch

TAP versus spreadsheets is the practical comparison between running music promotion campaigns from Google Sheets or Excel versus a purpose-built system, covering contact management, pitch drafting, outcome tracking, and reporting.

The useful question is whether your system keeps the contact, pitch and reply together. Consider switching when managing several releases or finding past context starts getting in the way of promotion.

A release creates more than a contact list. You also need the pitch you sent, the reply you received and any instructions for the next track. In a spreadsheet workflow, decide where that history lives and how you will find it alongside the contact record.

Keep the contact's role, show, submission preferences and past replies together so the next release can build on what you have already learned.

This is not a sales pitch disguised as a comparison. It is an honest read of what works, what does not, and where the switch makes sense.

Where spreadsheets work fine

Let us start with what spreadsheets do well enough:

• Small contact lists are manageable in a sheet

• Simple campaigns (one artist, one station group) do not need complex tracking

• Solo artists who can hold campaign context in their head do not need a system to remind them

• Budget-zero scenarios where any cost is a barrier

If you are running one campaign at a time for one release with a small contact list, a well-organised spreadsheet is fine. Do not fix what is not broken.

Where spreadsheets break

The problems start when you scale past one simultaneous campaign. Here is what happens:

Contact data goes stale, and it stays unsorted

Check when each email was last researched, whether the person still holds the same role and which instructions the show publishes for submissions. Keep the source link and date alongside those details.

A spreadsheet can hold those fields, but you need to collect and update them. An address alone does not tell you whether it is still suitable for this release.

Follow the station's published submission route, whether that is a named contact, shared inbox or upload form. Record replies and delivery problems so your next pitch uses the information you have actually received.

What TAP does differently: contact research and recorded outcomes stay with the contact and release. Review the research, submission preferences and past replies before deciding who to pitch.

Context lives in your head

When a producer asks for the next release, record the request with the contact so you can find it when you have another track ready.

In a spreadsheet: maybe a note in column M, maybe a separate notes tab, maybe just your memory.

What TAP does differently: recorded pitch outcomes and replies stay with the contact and release, giving you a history to review before drafting the next message.

Campaign tracking becomes archaeology

Three campaigns running simultaneously. Which contacts were pitched for which campaign? What is the response rate for each? Who needs a follow-up this week?

In a spreadsheet: multiple tabs, colour-coding, filter gymnastics, and eventually a moment where you accidentally delete a formula and lose your tracking.

What TAP does differently: Each campaign has its own outcome tracking. Contacts are linked to campaigns with pitch status, follow-up dates, and outcomes recorded per interaction.

Reporting needs another pass

You want to see how a campaign went. That means:

1. Export the relevant tab
2. Clean up the data for presentation
3. Calculate response rates
4. Collect the good outcomes
5. Format the results
6. Check the figures before sharing

What TAP does differently: review a report drawn from the outcomes recorded with the release and share it via a link.

Spreadsheets versus TAP: the real comparison

The hidden cost of "free"

Spreadsheets do not have a subscription fee. But they have a time cost that compounds:

• Manual contact research and verification
• Campaign tracking maintenance
• Report formatting from raw data
• Data cleanup and deduplication

That can add up to significant hours per month spent on data management instead of actual promotion. For an independent artist, that time is better spent on the music and the outreach that gets it heard.

When the switch makes sense

Based on what I have seen from artists I have worked with, the tipping point is usually:

• Several releases: when keeping their pitches and outcomes separate becomes difficult

• A growing contact list: when research and updates are hard to maintain

• Repeat releases: when you are running similar campaigns quarterly and want to build on previous outcomes

• Reading the room: when you need to remember who said what last time, not just who you emailed

What the switch looks like

You do not have to migrate everything at once. The typical path:

1. Import your contacts: upload a CSV, review the mapping and check the records

2. Run your next campaign in TAP: keep the spreadsheet as backup

3. Compare the experience: is pitch drafting faster? Is tracking easier? Is the report better?

4. Do it again for the next release: if the first one validated the workflow

Your first release in TAP is free. After that, a pack costs £59 for a single, £99 for an EP or £149 for an album. See the current pricing.

Honest caveats

TAP is not perfect and spreadsheets are not useless. A few things to be straight about:

• TAP has a learning curve: it is a new tool, and any workflow change costs short-term productivity

• Your spreadsheet data is yours: you can export everything from TAP as CSV at any time

• Some artists prefer spreadsheets: if your current system works, there is no obligation to switch

• TAP is still developing: try the current workflow with your own release and check that it meets your needs

If your spreadsheet works, keep using it. But if you are spending more time managing data than running campaigns, that is a sign, not a character trait.