Song promotion strategies are ever-changing, navigating to how to promote music in 2024 can be hard. Record labels back then use to spend millions in music promotion and strategy. Thanks to the internet which created a whole another world where artists can shine independently without burning millions.
Remember the early 2000s when PTP File sharing/Bluetooth was at its peak? it revolutionized the music industry forever. The music industry is growing at a very rapid pace and has been every year since 2013, reports suggest by the end of 2023, global revenue would’ve passed $65 Billion.
Despite this upward trend, only a few have benefitted from this rise in the music industry, to name a few, Drake, The Weeknd, Karol G, and Jay Z have become multi-millionaires if not billionaires, yet there are thousands of undiscovered artists.
How do you make the jump from being undiscovered to competing with the likes of Drake, The Weeknd etc? To start you need to make amazing music, beyond that you need to get your music marketing bang on.
What is Music Promotion?
Music promotion or Song Promotion is one of the important facets of music marketing that helps you in promoting your music, so people are aware of your music, it can be as easy as a promotion by word of mouth, airing ads on TV, or websites.
Here’s how you can Promote Music –
1. Have a website –
If you wish to promote your music online, having a website is a non-negotiable, think of it as a one-stop-shop for everything about you and your work. if I wish to support you through your merch, read about your journey, check where you’re performing this evening, check your tour dates, your website will be my best bet.
Another reason for having your website is that it’s a space where you have total control over what you show.
Okay, so you now know you need a website, but what should that website include? the possibilities are endless, but at a minimum try to include the following –
- Merch Store– If you are in the showbiz, i assume you also need to make some $$$, thats where a merch store comes in, you can sell your vinyls, sweatshirts, tee’s etc.
- Tour dates– People need to see you live, so tell them when and where can they watch you perform live( don’t forget to include ticket information)
- News Hub– This is the section where you announce future tours, new releases, media appearances etc.
- Social links– Make it easier for your fans, to find your social media profiles.
- Contact Infomation– Be it a fan who wants to ask you a query or a huge organizer who wishes to book you, be sure to include an official email, contact form, or some other medium for them to contact you.
- Newsletter Signup– Provide a medium through which people can sign up to your newsletter to build an engaged audience.
2. Create an Electronic Press Kit –
If you want to promote your music, you may not need a record-breaking deal to make it as an artist, but what you do need is support from the media.
Hence why you should have an Electronic Press Kit(EPK). Creating an EPK and sending it to bug publications, radio stations, record labels, distributing them at music festivals etc can help you generate quite a buzz around town.
Now you can just publish the Kit on your website, but the kit should be more than just an extension of your website. It should include-
- Your Bio- To keep it in contact with EPK, your bio is considered as something we call an ‘Elevator Pitch’, it helps to introduce you to someone. try not to keep it more than 2-3 sentences.
- Your Music– There’s a high chance, these people would’ve never come across your music, so try to include your most popular tracks in the EPK.
- Promo Photos– Your promo pictures should instantly hook the person on the recieving end of the EPK, so ensure they’re high quality and in a variety of formats.
- Contact Infomation– Make it easier for people to contact you by keeping all the contact information in one place.
3. Create Social Media Accounts For Your Music –
Gone are the days when the artist behind the music was mysterious, the fans nowadays want to stay up to date with everything.
Having a strong and growing following on Social Media sites like Instagram, Tik-Tok can make all the difference for an upcoming artist. Use your social media wisely and speak directly to your fans, announce tour dates, and build an inspiring community around your work.
4. Create Interactive Content –
Research shows consumers are more likely to think positively about your brand and buy your product (in this case, your music) when they interact with content that lets them engage multiple senses.
- Interactive Marketing/Music Promotion Example 1-
To promote his 2015 album Stories, late Swedish DJ Avicii created a series of Instagram pages and linked them using a “choose your own story” narrative. Each page featured nine images that made up a bigger picture, and when clicked, offered a binary link to the next Instagram page and part of the story. The end of each story represents a track found on the album.
- Interactive Marketing/MusicPromotion Example 2-
“quiet buzz” campaign by Coldplay for their seventh studio album is one many artists can pull off, no matter the budget. Months before teasing their album release, the band posted a picture of frontman Chris Martin wearing a t-shirt with a rainbow-coloured design on it. Not too long after, when mysterious artwork appeared in the London Underground, fans quickly recognized a similar pattern from a few months before. After letting fans speculate, they confirmed an album release a few days later on Twitter, without a single word. Now that’s music marketing.
5. Build A Network To Promote Your Music
Making connections with the right people can go a long way in helping you grow organically, but rather than waiting for them to contact you, you should go out and contact them.
some of the ways you can build a network are-
- Reach out via social media– Find the right people for your field, try to find their socials and send them a casual message, don’t jump the gun and ask them to hire you, rather wait and either compliment their venue or ask them questions about the industry to get the ball rolling.
- Get Facetime– go out there, attend local gigs, perform at open mics, sign up for conferences, simply put be active in your local community.
- Adopt a networking mindset– Try and converse with the right people, collab with a fellow local singer and do a few shows, get your name out there, carry business cards, USB drives and give them to people in the industry.
6. Email Campaigns
Email marketing can be extremely effective for improving your profile, building a community, and making money from your music. Why else do you think so many performers urge fans to sign up for their newsletters?
Do consider the following while planning an email campaign-
- Monetize your mailing list– Add Impactful CTA’s that push the readers to your merch/ticket stores.
- Follow up immediately– Once you see someone has signed up, immediatly send a thank you mail.
- Incentivize fans to sign up– Try offering a free copy of your music, or an exclusive discount code for your merch store.
- Make a schedule, and stick by it– Don’t bombard people with emails, unless you’re announcing something big, an email every couple of weeks should be more than enough, but don’t forget to experiment.
7. Pitching Your Music To Media Outlets
The end goal of your music is to reach new audiences, so try reaching out to publications with an already established audience base.
Make sure to reach out to a brand that resonates with the sort of thing you’re doing, however, as a general rule try reaching out to the following-
- Local Radio
- Local Press
- National Radio
- Industry specific press
- Music Bloggers
- Playlist curators
8. Try Investing In Your Music
Social Media is a ‘Pay To Play’ environment, you pay for improved reach, running ads, just these can improve your engagement significantly, so to sum it up it is worth it to invest in your brand, but it’s not all about investing in social media, you can try hiring a PR Agent that would do most of the stuff for you to generate hype about your brand.
Conclusion
That was all you need to know about the process to promote your music.
This article may have been a bit overwhelming, so I suggest going stepwise, and starting off by making your own website and just following the order.
Once you’ve nailed the basics, try launching ad campaigns and hiring a PR agent.
Hoping to see you compete in the big league soon
Also read about the Marketing Strategy of DJ & Electronic Music Producer Hardwell.
