In practice, promoting your music as an independent artist is not as daunting of a task as it seems, despite what you’d assume. Given how expansive our digital landscape has become, there are countless ways to get your music heard and seen by the masses.
With an effective strategy and meticulous planning, you’ll be ready to engage with audiences through a number of channels without feeling burdened by the need to create content or be so active that you stretch yourself thin.
This article will explore five key ways to promote your music, helping you navigate the complex world of music promotion and maximize your exposure.
- Key Takeaways
- 1. Music Streaming Services
- 2. Social Media Platforms
- 3. Music Promotion Platforms
- 4. Reach Out To the Press
- 5. Performing Live Shows
- Summary
Key Takeaways:
- Utilize music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music by developing your artist pages and making playlists.
- Engage with followers on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (X), and Facebook and use the platforms to bring attention to upcoming releases.
- Submit your music to online promotion platforms like Groover to gain exposure and connect with industry professionals directly.
- Reach out to press pages (music blogs, music journalists) to create hype around your music and boost your credibility.
- Perform live shows to connect with your audience and build a loyal fanbase who will want to hear more from you.
1. Music Streaming Services
The best way to promote your music as an indie artist is through major streaming services. In addition to using Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and the like as host platforms for your music to be publicly available, given that these are the places through which new listeners will discover who you are, developing your artist profiles is absolutely crucial.
Your artist pages are the initial contact point between you and a potential new fan, so make sure to include an artist bio, a professional profile photo that accurately represents you and your sound, and a canvas that sets the tone of your page.
A creative way to get more traffic on your profile is by making playlists – particularly ones with unique titles that focus on a feeling or mood. If you’re an artist, it’s likely that your favorite artists have influenced you tremendously, therefore fans of these artists may very well like your music, too.
Create a few playlists that you yourself would listen to, and throw in a song or two of yours in there. It’s worth doing this on every streaming service, as you may reach different audiences on each platform. No worries if all your playlists live on only one streaming service – it’s actually very easy to transfer them from one platform to another using tools like Tune My Music, which lets you transfer all your playlists between music services with just a few clicks. Plus, after transferring the playlist, Tune My Music lets you keep the playlists synced between music streaming services, avoiding lots of manual work on updating all your playlists across platforms. No excuses now!
You can also make collaborative playlists with other artists and playlist curators to expand your reach to a wider audience and promote your music organically. Some user-generated playlists are just as popular as editorial ones, so don’t hesitate to reach out to a playlist curator to collab on a playlist together.
2. Social Media Platforms
Leveraging the internet and various online channels is crucial to promote your music online effectively, and social media is by far the fastest way to get eyes and ears on your work. Make sure to have a presence on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (X), and Facebook to reach all corners of your listenership, and cater content to each platform individually.
The more active you are, the more people will engage with your profile. Engage back and build a rapport with your followers. They will be keen to support you when you make announcements about upcoming projects, and you can promote your music knowing there will already be excitement generated by your existing fanbase.
3. Music Promotion Platforms
In addition to streaming services and social media, submitting your music to online music promotion platforms like Groover can also help you gain exposure. Groover allows artists to connect with music industry professionals directly, whether they be radio stations, record labels, blogs, playlist curators, and more.
The network you will build by leveraging these connections will increase your chances of reaching a wider audience, getting more opportunities, and receiving great advice. Groover is unique in that they host their own events for emerging artists as well. Over 100+ artist showcases have been organized by Groover worldwide, in cities like New York, Paris, London, Brighton, Quebec, and more.
4. Reach Out To the Press
All press is good press! The best way to cast a wide net and reach new listeners is by getting a press write-up. Not only will it create conversation, but it will also boost your credibility tremendously. Find music blogs and websites that specialize in your genre of music and submit your music to them.
Websites that feature artists, do music reviews, and conduct interviews are a great place to get spotlighted, so come up with a brief but concise pitch explaining who you are and what your music is about to send to journalists and bloggers.
These sites’ readers are often very loyal and trust the taste of the writers, so if you get featured, you’ll likely have a new batch of fans!
5. Performing Live Shows
Finally, performing live is the most fun way to get your music heard, and is guaranteed to increase your exposure. Face-to-face connection with fans is unbelievably valuable, and the more you perform, the more personal the connection feels.
As you play gigs locally (and eventually nationally), your listeners will only grow more loyal to you, and will want to know when you’ll be releasing new music. Therefore, you should contact local venues to book a few gigs, or apply to artist showcases directly on Groover so you can get out there and sing live.
As your following grows, you’ll be able to use your shows to tease new music, announce upcoming releases, and use concert footage as content on social media to attract new attendees.
Summary
Promoting your music takes time and effort, but will come easy when you start to get traction. By leveraging streaming services, social media, online music promotion platforms, the press, and live shows, you’ll cover all your bases and ensure that you’re reaching as many people as you can to get your music heard.
Featured image source: Unsplash
