Music marketing is difficult. It doesn’t matter how good your music is, without an audience it’s not going to go anywhere.
There are many ways to promote your music online, but there are also some unconventional strategies you can use too!
This article will discuss 7 simple ideas for promoting your music online.
1) Sign up for a Patreon account and offer exclusive content to fans who pledge.
Giving your fans an exclusive access to your content is a wonderful way to get them involved. Patreon offers you the option of allowing your fans to pledge an amount that they are willing and able to in order for you to create exclusive content.
This could be something as simple as recording a cover song or launching an exclusive project.
Patreon has become extremely popular over the past couple of years and is now one of the most common platforms for musicians to use in order to get support from their fans.
2) Share links to new releases so fans can listen immediately while they browse their feed.
Share links to new releases on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter but also platforms like TikTok and even Snapchat so fans can listen immediately while they browse their feed and get access to quick, exclusive clips that they can’t get on the ‘big sites.’
This will give them a chance to preview your music, which may spark interest in the full album or EP. It’s also an effective way of getting potential listeners excited for upcoming work.
3) Put together playlists that are themed around the season or genre of your choice, then share them with friends on Spotify and Apple Music.
Creating a themed playlist that highlights the best music of a particular season or genre is a great way to introduce people to the music you love. In fact, Spotify published a blog post in which they shared playlists meant for every season of the year – from summer BBQ songs to wintery tunes perfect for curling up with a hot drink and a book by the fire.
In addition to creating themed playlists that highlight your favorite tracks, be sure to share these playlists with friends and followers on various popular streaming services. This will not only help your music gain exposure, but you’ll also impress others by sharing a curated list of songs that have been handpicked just for them.
4) Upload pictures from the studio sessions onto Instagram with captions that tease what is coming up next in your catalog of music.
Uploading behind the scenes studio sessions give your fans a close up look into your life, which can be intriguing to them. This is a great way to get them excited about what you’re working on and connect on a personal level.
Additionally, you can tease your upcoming work by uploading pictures with captions that hint at what is to come in the future. This could be something as simple as “Working on a new song! Can’t wait for everyone to hear it :)” or “Mixing today has been fun – love this one!”
These kinds of posts are a wonderful way of getting your potential fans excited about what you’re working on behind closed doors.
5) Give a song away for free on SoundCloud with a donation button that allows fans to contribute.
Soundcloud is the number one platform for electronic music and has become the go-to place to both discover new artists while also supporting your favorite producers.
As listeners continue to migrate away from traditional methods of purchasing songs (iTunes, Amazon, brick-and-mortar, etc.), this is a great way to attract new fans who are willing to contribute if they like what you’re doing.
Additionally, you can post the free track on your Facebook page or website with a donation button so fans who don’t use SoundCloud will still have an easy way to contribute. This is also beneficial for artists because it’s not only giving away music at no cost, but allows them to generate income through their work.
6) Create an online event or concert series around your music and invite fans who like the same artists to participate.
Having an online streaming event is a great way to create excitement around your music and drive traffic back to it. You can have Q&A sessions, live streams of concerts or collaboarions with other artists in the community, giveaways for attendee, etc.
The possibilities are endless when creating an event around your music. There’s no reason why you can’t include a live element to it and allow people who enjoy the same artists as yourself to come together and contribute.
This is beneficial for both fans of your work because they get an opportunity to see their favorite musicians up close and personal, and to you to keep your performance skills sharp when you’re not on tour.
7) Create a YouTube channel and share videos of covers.
YouTube is a great platform to gain exposure through sharing videos of your music. Whether it’s covers or original songs, musicians have the option to create their own channel and upload as many cover songs as they want for free on YouTube.
To help attract more viewers, consider promoting your YouTube channel on social media whenever you put a cover out – it’s a great way to introduce fans of the original track to your work and online presence.
The great thing about uploading videos of covers is that they can still give you exposure while also allowing others who cover songs an opportunity for their work to be showcased as well. It’s a win-win! You can also include behind the scenes videos of your recording sessions, live performances and more.
Additionally, you can upload original songs to build hype for whatever it is that’s coming up next in your career. This will help give fans a preview before they get the full thing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, there are a number of ways to market your music online, and it’s definitely an exciting time to be doing so. With many platforms available for musicians today, it’s important to take advantage of what they have to offer in order to gain fans from all over the world who can support you through your work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This article was written by Charles Vallena, music expert at www.theguitarjunky.com
Photo by Aleksandr Neplokhov from Pexels