Music promotion strategies seem to change every year. And that’s because the music industry is an ever-evolving collection of people trying new things, avoiding what doesn’t work, and repeating what does.
On top of that, every musician has their own personality, makes different music, and has varying access to tools. The basic idea of marketing comes down to this: identify what type of person listens to your music, figure out where they discover music, and get your music into those places. As with any marketing strategy there will be a lot of trial-and-error, but with practice you can get a handle on how to best get your music heard.
We'll look into the best promotion strategies for indie artists today. These approaches work for a lot of musicians — some will work for you, some won’t, and some you may need to tweak to your liking.
1. Update your music website
Updating your website is the first thing you need to do in your music promotion strategy. You need a home on the internet that’s not affected by algorithms. It’s a place your fans can go to learn more about you, find your tour dates, and buy your merch.
It should also be the first thing that shows up when someone googles your artist name, having press release and magazines / blogs placement helps automatically.
Make sure you have an updated 'About' page that helps people get to know you better. This involves telling your story and sharing what makes you and your music unique. Keep your tour dates updated, and make it easy for people to find and buy your merch.
Your music also needs to be available for streaming on your site. This means you’ll need to first distribute your releases to Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms, then embed a Spotify and/or Apple Music player on your site.
We suggest that you embed a Spotify player of your newest release or a playlist of your best songs on home page or release page.
2. Choose the right distributor
Your music needs to be on all major digital platforms so that no matter who discovers you, they can stream your music through their preferred service.Choosing a distributor is more than just picking the cheapest option; it’s a good idea to pick a distributor who offers extra tools.
Pick one of Spotify’s preferred distributors. This means that Spotify recognizes these distributors as reliable and that they offer seamless delivery. Plus, they can give their artists access to Spotify’s tools before the non-preferred distributors.
DistroKid is one of these preferred distributors, and more than 2 million artists use it to distribute their music.
3. Build your email list
An email list is a direct way to contact your fans. And if someone gives you their email address, they’re giving you permission to send them stuff about your music. Do follow up by sending them news about your music.
Every time you release music, email them. Every time you have new shows, email them. Every time you have new merch, email them.
How do you build your email list?
Add a mailing list signup form to your website, and make it obvious. Offer incentives to people who sign up, like sharing unreleased music, ticket discount on upcoming shows. You can even build your list through a pre-save campaign for an upcoming release.
4. Get on playlists
Getting on curators Spotify playlists like Blazin942 helped to show the algorithm that people liked my music. And adding your song or songs to podcast rotation like our 94.2 Blazin playlist help listeners become familiar with your music.
Getting on Spotify playlists can definitely get your music in front of new people. You shouldn’t bet it all on playlists, but they can be a useful tool to get the algorithm’s attention.
How do you get on these playlists? There are a few methods,
First, you can submit your music to Blazin 94.2 for playlists and website placement.
Second, you can go to Spotify and search “@gmail.com” followed by your genre. This brings up playlists in your genre where the curators have listed their email in the playlist description.
Third, you can go to your Spotify profile, scroll down to the “Fans Also Like” section, and click on one of the artists that makes similar music to yours. On their profile, scroll down to the “Discovered on” section to see what playlist has featured their music. Then submit your music to those playlists.
Lastly, you can search keywords in Spotify related to the topics and themes of your music. For example, if you released some songs about booty, you could searched keywords like “twerking” and “ass,” found playlists that include songs on that topic, and get your songs on a couple of those playlists.
5. Engage with fans on social media
When engaging with your fans on social media, authenticity always wins. People can see through disingenuous. So reply to people’s comments and DMs as if those people are your friends. Be someone whom people want to be connected with online.
But what types of content should you post to start the engagement? Well, first the content has to fit the platform. What works on TikTok may be very different from what works on Instagram.
To succeed at any social media platform, you have to be a user of that platform first. This allows you to get an idea for what you like and what you think your fans will like.Pay attention to the content you enjoy, especially content from other artists. Then go make that kind of content but in your own way, using your own songs.
6. Get on TikTok
TikTok has helped indie artists turn music into their full-time careers. How? Well, when you post a video on TikTok, the algorithm feeds it to people it thinks will like that video, not necessarily your followers.
How likely is it that your post goes viral? Probably pretty slim. But every time you post, you’re getting your music in front of people who have never heard of you.
So why wouldn’t you post content on TikTok? What have you got to lose?
7. Play live
Playing live music, for many artists, is the most reliable and consistent way to gain new fans. For upcoming /indie artists, touring has never been a big money-making thing (although it is possible to turn a profit). The main reason for playing live is to gain new fans and promote your music.
Before booking your next live event, we suggest StageIt think of it as onlyfans for independent upcoming and well known music artists. You can perform live anywhere, monetized shows from anywhere with a good internet connection. Fans can interact with the artist by asking questions, requesting songs, and artists can chat with fans. Stageit is a good way to build a fan base and introduce yourself to the public.
Music promotion is just sharing what you made.
Before you start promoting your next release, remember that all of the best music promotion strategies involve identifying who listens to your music, figuring out where they discover music, and getting your music in those places.
Then it’s simply sharing something you made in a way that feels right to you and your music. If you do it authentically, you won’t be sales-y. You won’t be annoying the people who actually like your music. So get out there and share what you made!
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