Music marketing can be a pretty tricky line of work, and there's always going to be lots of other recording artists vying for people's attention.
Chances are you've already looked into some basic marketing moves that can get the word out on your music, but those options are only part of what we'll be talking about here.
We wanted to do some brainstorming and present our readers with some creative ways to market your music, especially to audiences who aren't already familiar with your work.
The internet alone has given independent and up-and-coming artists so many new options for marketing their work and sharing it with people all over the world, but we'll also look at some techniques that have a lot to do with getting out there in the world and showing people what you've got.
So if you're ready to get creative with us, then let's jump right into it.
Put your music on streaming services. As long as you think the quality of your music is where you want it to be, you should definitely definitely definitely make it available on any number of different music streaming services.
This is one of the more common pieces of music marketing advice you'll find online, but it's just too important for us to not include it here.
Putting your music on streaming platforms is actually incredibly easy, at least when you go through one of the many services that make it their job to deliver your tracks to all kinds of streaming services in exchange for a fee.
Don't worry, it's really not that expensive to use these services unless maybe you want to post work from a dozen or so different artists, but in that case, you're basically running your own label and should expect some overhead.
In general, there are just so many advantages to getting your music on streaming platforms. The biggest, of course, is that people will be able to find it easily, whether they've heard you perform in-person or are just browsing around in your genre.
If one or more of your tracks gets picked up and put on a popular playlist, then your work will suddenly get a whole lot more attention, and that kind of attention is invaluable when you're getting started with your music career.
Getting your music played on a major radio station is going to be difficult, especially if you're not already signed to a label.
But online radio is an excellent alternative for many underground artists, and thankfully, lots of online radio outlets like to include underground artists.
This list will get you started in the world of online-only radio, but it's also worth looking around for local online radio stations, especially because they often like to feature local artists during their sets.
Getting in touch can be as simple as sending an email to the right person at the station and starting a conversation. From there, you can get a better sense of how likely you are to get your stuff played on that station.
At the absolute worst, they'll say no and you can move on to the next one. Big deal.
In a best-case scenario, you will get some airplay from a small station and maybe even make some friends with the people who work there.
This could very easily lead to an in-studio performance and other forms of future promotion. Don't count out even the smallest independent station. For many people, these stations are ground zero for finding new and interesting music in a variety of different genres.
It might be your time to be the new and interesting music that everyone's talking about.
No, we're serious. Literally giving away copies of your music to different people can be a good way to give your listener numbers a boost.
We don't mean that you should just take an armful of records and go bother people on the street corner, but having physical copies of your music to give to people who might be interested can be very helpful.
Maybe you'll end up at a party where lots of people are looking around for new music. Or maybe you'll into someone who works as a scout for a label.
In certain scenarios, being able to point people to your music quickly, in a way that's convenient for them, is definitely worth the effort.
At the absolute minimum, you could make up some cards that list your artist name and where they can find your music. Surprise, this is just another great reason to already have lots of your music available on streaming platforms.
How many times have you gone to a concert to see a specific artist but were then introduced to another great artist because they performed alongside the headliners or performed as one of the opening acts?
Or maybe you've been listening to some music from a band you really like only to see in the song title that the track features one or more other artists you hadn't heard of before?
For decades, the music industry has known exactly how to introduce audiences to new artists and even new styles of music.
Through all of it, there has been a big emphasis on a sense of community. After all, plenty of recording artists do indeed hang out and make friends with other artists, and in a lot of situations, that's how headliners find openers for national and international tours.
No matter where you happen to live, there are definitely other artists in your area, and getting to know them and maybe even work with them could be extremely helpful to your music career.
You might end up doing a double release with another artist you admire. Maybe you'll be put on the billing for another artist's upcoming hometown show. Maybe you'll even get to record something for their new record.
