Where to Submit Your VST Plugin: Free and Paid Channels

Submit your VST plugin to free news sites first (KVR Audio, Rekkerd, Bedroom Producers Blog, Audio Plugin Guy), then pitch editorial magazines (Sound on Sound, MusicRadar, Ask.Audio), send NFR keys to review YouTubers and podcasts, list on marketplaces (Plugin Boutique, KVR), and use paid newswire (EIN Presswire) only for major releases. Each channel has a different cost, effort, and best-fit.

There is no single place to "submit a plugin." There's a layered map of channels, each with its own etiquette, audience, and payoff. Spraying the same press release at all of them wastes everyone's time and gets you ignored. This guide ranks the destinations by effort and cost so you can work them in the right order — free reach first, paid amplification last. For the full contact-by-contact list, see the outlet directory; for the bigger picture, start with how to promote a VST plugin.

Free news sites: submit these first

Free news outlets are the foundation. They cost nothing, accept self-submitted announcements, and index well — meaning a single post can keep sending traffic months after launch. Hit these on day one of any release, free or paid.

• KVR Audio — The default destination for plugin announcements. KVR runs a free developer portal where you register your company and post your own news. Critical etiquette: their editorial filter strips hyperbole, so write plain, factual copy ("a saturation plugin with three tube models and oversampling") and skip "revolutionary" and "game-changing." Also list the product in the KVR product database so it shows up in searches and the marketplace.
• Rekkerd.org — A one-person news blog publishing 100+ posts a month. It actively welcomes developer announcements and turns them around fast. A short, clear email with a product link, price, and one image is usually enough.
• Bedroom Producers Blog (BPB) — Run by founder Tomislav, BPB is the strongest fit for free and freemium plugins, and it does hands-on reviews rather than republishing releases. If you're launching a free instrument or a freemium effect, this is one of your highest-value targets — but pitch the actual plugin, not marketing fluff.
• Audio Plugin Guy — A plugin-focused news and deals outlet that covers new releases and sales. Good for keeping a launch (and any launch discount) in front of a buyer-minded audience.

Cost: $0. Effort: Low — a short factual blurb, a link, and one image. Best for: Every release, especially free/freemium plugins.

Editorial magazines: submit a story, not a press release

Editorial outlets reach larger and more professional audiences, but they don't run everything. You're submitting for consideration, and the bar is higher. Some republish press releases near-verbatim; others want a genuine angle.

• Sound on Sound — The pro studio-recording magazine, formal in tone. Best for serious studio tools — high-end EQs, dynamics, mastering and tracking processors — rather than a lo-fi tape toy. Match their register: technical, restrained, spec-forward.
• MusicRadar / MusicTech / Ask.Audio — All three accept press releases for editorial consideration. Ask.Audio in particular often runs submitted releases close to verbatim, so a clean, well-written release does real work here. MusicRadar and MusicTech skew toward producer and guitarist audiences.
• Gearnews — Editor Marcus and team explicitly refuse "soulless industry press releases." Pitch a story angle instead: what's genuinely new, weird, or notable about your plugin. If you can't name the hook in one sentence, you're not ready to pitch them.

Cost: $0. Effort: Medium — a polished, factual press release (use the press-release template) plus, for Gearnews, a real angle. Best for: Reach and credibility; serious tools (SOS) and newsworthy releases (Gearnews).

Review YouTubers and podcasts: submit an NFR key

Reviews and demos are where buyers actually get convinced — they hear the plugin in context and trust the host's ears. You don't "submit" here so much as offer the reviewer a free, full-feature NFR (not-for-resale) license and let them decide. Never ask for a positive review; ask for an honest one.

• In The Mix (Michael Wynne) — Michael is himself a plugin developer, so he engages closely with developer tools and the craft behind them.
• Reid Stefan — Mix and plugin reviews aimed squarely at producers.
• Venus Theory (Cameron) — Invites developer collaborations and demo tracks; strong fit for sound-design-heavy instruments and texture tools.
• Benn Jordan — Science-based deep dives; reach out via management. Best when your plugin has real technical substance to dig into.
• White Sea Studio (Wytse) — Honest, sometimes harsh reviews that don't spare "snake oil." Only send an NFR if your plugin genuinely holds up — but a positive word here carries weight precisely because of that.
• Podcasts — Music Production Podcast (Brian Funk) regularly interviews plugin developers; The Mastering Show (Ian Shepherd) suits mastering- and loudness-related tools.

Cost: One NFR license per reviewer. Effort: Medium-high — personalized outreach, NFR keys, and patience (channels work on their own schedule). Best for: Conversion and demos. See how to get your plugin reviewed for the full playbook.

Marketplaces: where the plugin actually sells

Distribution channels aren't press, but they're where submissions turn into sales, and several double as discovery surfaces in their own right.

• Plugin Boutique — A major paid retailer with a large producer audience, sale events, and the Loopcloud/marketing ecosystem around it. Requires an approval and onboarding process, and takes a revenue share, but puts you in front of active buyers.
• KVR Marketplace — Beyond the news portal, KVR lists products for sale and discovery, keeping listing and announcement in one place.

Cost: Revenue share / commission, not an upfront fee. Effort: Medium — application, assets, and store setup. Best for: Reach and transactions; a complement to (not a replacement for) press.

Paid newswire: amplification, used sparingly

Paid newswire blasts a formatted release to a syndication network. It's the one channel that costs real money upfront, and it's optional.

• EIN Presswire — Distributes your press release across its network from around $149 per release. Useful for a major launch where you want broad syndicated pickup and SEO footprint. It does not replace the personal pitches above — newswire is broadcast, not relationship-building, and editors can tell the difference.

Cost: From ~$149 per release. Effort: Low (you supply a finished release). Best for: Flagship launches with budget; skip it for routine or free-plugin releases.

Submission channels at a glance

How to sequence your submissions

Work the channels in stages rather than all at once. Post to free news sites and your marketplace listings on launch day so the announcement is live and indexable. In parallel, send personalized editorial pitches (factual to SOS, story-angled to Gearnews) and NFR keys to a short, well-chosen list of reviewers and podcasts — these pay off over weeks, not hours. Reserve paid newswire for releases big enough to justify the spend. Whatever the channel, the rule is constant: personalize every pitch, respect each outlet's etiquette, and never send the same generic blast twice. For deeper tactics, see press outreach for plugin developers, and when you're ready to manage the whole campaign in one place, SignalChain tracks every outlet, stage, and pitch for you.