THIS is How Artists Promote their Music

By Tiara Ogabang

Where to start promoting your music

When it comes to promoting your music, it’s a bit tricky for people who just start out. How do you get an audience? What’s the best way? Do I need to work in the music industry to promote my music?

Music promotion isn’t like it used to be. How are you supposed to get a release? What’s the best way? What if no one has heard about my music?

It’s a question of finding the best way for your music to be promoted and getting people to know about it. It’s a tough job, but you can start small and work your way up to whatever it is that you want.

Develop an online presence

This means don’t just upload your tracks to Soundcloud and expect something to happen. You need to invest a lot of time into creating an online personality and presence. There are many facets to this besides just your music.

An online presence includes:

  1. High-quality images of yourself or your band
  2. Presence on ALL the social media platforms
  3. Artwork or logo of your group or artist name
  4. Create your own website that promotes your music
  5. Create a YouTube channel with all your music videos

However, an online presence is just the beginning. You then need to know some tips and tricks on how to get your music out to the public and create buzz around the music.

Develop an online presence

Create a buzz around your music

Once you’ve developed somewhat of an online presence and you are about to release some music what are you going to do? You’re going to first need to get your music out there, which means use online platforms to put your music in stores everywhere. Let’s go through a checklist.

  1. Form a partnership with an online platform for distribution (e.g. a network like TuneCore)
  2. Have your songs available for all digital stores such as iTunes, Google Play, Amazon etc.
  3. Create a song pre-load on Amazon or iTunes that goes for your songs release day
  4. Create and provide an original video for your song
  5. Include your lyrics on your website
  6. Have a concert and sell tickets on your website

All of these tips are stellar however they still lack a very important element… how do you get new fans? So far we’ve been tackling the basics: how to develop an online presence and how to we promote our music to our followers. But getting new fans who have never heard your music to hear it is another challenge.

Use PR to get your music on music blogs

Music blogs are still a big way artists are introduced to new listeners. There are thousands of blogs that have very active readerships and will be a great fit for your music.

But how do you get your music on music blogs? You can solicit to music blogs and you may have some luck! Many blogs take submissions. However if you want to really jumpstart your appearance in blogs (let’s say you have a BIG release), you really would do well to get some PR.

PR (public relations) is the process of having a publicist pitch you and your music to various blogs they think would be right for you. We own and operate the first online PR agency which we guarantee placements in high-quality blogs with high-readership.

This is a surefire way to get views and listens from people who would have never otherwise heard your music. It is also better than advertising because people actually WANT to hear new music!

If you are really serious about promoting your music you should seriously consider using PR.

Know your demographic

Know your demographic

Nowadays you really need to know your demographic in order to market. Marketing channels will depend greatly on the style of music you are trying to promote and where the fans of that style tend to be.

To be frank, if your music doesn’t cater to a certain niche, it probably won’t make you much money. The more you are faithfully able to reinvent a style the more attention you will get.

Conversational Marketing

The most effective way of marketing your music as an artist is through conversation . You can simply have a Q&A session with your fans and let them know your new songs. This is where you can communicate your personality, which is equally important for listeners to fall in love with your music.

This will establish you as a respectable artist and draw more listeners into your world. You can also host live chats or write a blog to get your name out in the market.

Offline Marketing

The best way to market your music is to share it with your peers. You can hold open mic sessions and speak to people you feel are most important. You can also send CD’s to companies and institutions in a promotional effort.

Create content that is compelling and comes with an emotional appeal. Don’t create a boring playlist. Listen to your fans and give them something that has a message behind it.

Band Partnerships

Use your relationship with other people and projects to market your music. You can show your gratitude by doing surprise concerts or surprise deliveries. This will improve your credibility and help you make valuable connections in the music industry.

This will also help you when you want to play shows. Developing a community around your music is the best way to get people to listen. Before you know it you’ll have a lot of people listening to you.