Promoting music independently can be exhausting since it’s going to take more time compared to signing up with a label. However, it’s not completely impossible, and the outcome is surely rewarding!

If you’re starting out in the music industry and want to get your work across, don’t be discouraged by the process. We’re here to help you get your music get the recognition it deserves. 

Here are 9 ways on how you can promote your music as a beginner.

Create a Website for Your Music

If you haven’t created an official website yet, then you definitely should. The website should have an easy-to-use interface with a design that fully encapsulates your aesthetic and personality. It’s pretty much essential when it comes to building an online presence–your social media accounts should shortly follow after this.

Included on your website are links to your work, images, other social media platforms, and even tour dates. A good way to keep people reminded of your website is by adding a mailing list sign-up form so that they can get updates on your musical journey. Basically, your website should act as the “professional hub” where fans and potential listeners from across the globe can reference from.

Using your Network to Promote Your Music

At first, there may be only a handful of people who enjoy your music. But the more you progress, the more fans will trickle in, and at this point, you need to be clear about who your target audience is. It’s vital to prioritize your current fans when marketing your music, but at the same time, you want to ensure that new people would discover it too.

An effective marketing strategy is staying engaged with your fans and potential listeners. We all know that feeling when our favorite artist recognizes us, which is why it’s important to make them feel noticed and heard. Being responsive can lead to them being more motivated to share your music on other platforms where newer fans can find your music. You can use social media, emailing or text lists, and even just grabbing coffee with your network of people and fans to keep them engaged.

Incorporate a Social Media Marketing Strategy

You’ve made new music, and you’re trying to get the word out. Simply posting it on a streaming platform is not enough. The same goes for performing live and hoping people would drop by and listen. Utilizing social media to your advantage is a great way to ensure that people will listen to your new music and watch you perform live. It’s very easy to connect with people online nowadays, for as long as you’re posting valuable content that’ll attract people to check you and your music out.

Upload content such as themed posts, behind-the-scenes clips, and other kinds of content that’ll help establish your story. You can also consider paid social media ads for a significant boost of engagement, but there’s no complete guarantee that you’ll be receiving organic traffic and long-lasting fans.

Beyond that, you can use “boosted” posts and other digital ad strategies to garner further reach for your music. For example, head over to Facebook Ads Manager, to start running campaigns to your music. As a beginner, you can try running “traffic” campaigns, sending users to your song link, and targeting interests like the genre your song is in, or even famous artists you sound like. This is a great way to get some new ears over to your music.

Get on Playlists

Another way to promote your music is by getting your music on popular playlists on various music streaming platforms. Many people follow playlists to get recommended amazing music that they haven’t heard of yet; it is an excellent way to gain quick exposure to a whole new potential audience. 

If you get on a playlist, potential fans will visit your profile to look for more songs, this is why you want to make sure your entire discography is uploaded to that platform, as it increases more people discovering your music and gaining traction. You can get on popular playlists with Playlister.Club. Playlister.Club allows your music to get discovered placed onto playlists that are listed to hundreds, if not thousands of people. It’s perfect platform for newer artists to get their music discovered!

Join a Community

Let’s face it, you are not alone in this struggle of being a successful musician, there are tons out there, too. Joining communities that are tailored to your niche or genre of music allows you to connect with similar artists and create meaningful bonds with them. 

A community is great because you get to ask for advice and hear different perspectives, so you and the other members of that group are essentially helping one another grow. You can also promote your music (depending on the community guidelines) and hear other musicians’ music too! It’s a goldmine for inspiration, especially if you are experiencing an artist’s block. These groups can also give you support or feedback on your music to help you progress. Of course, you’ll have to return the favor. Some of these groups can be found on Facebook or Reddit. Alternatively, if you prefer building “IRL” - you can head to a local music venue or bar, where you can start meeting people in person; make sure to bring materials like a QR code with a link to your music, or even stickers or other merch, in order to get potential fans and collaborators to be interested in your music.

Collaborate with Other Musicians

Creating a project alongside other musicians is an awesome way to get your name across. If your collaborative music becomes a hit, more people will be interested in looking you up and checking out your other works.

You need to be strategic with your collaborations, though. Try to reach out to artists with huge followings so that you have access to a wider audience. Also, make sure that the musician you’re reaching out to complements your genre so that the collaboration doesn’t look awkward or out of place.

Ask Your Friends and Family

There’s nothing wrong with asking for support from your loved ones! It’s a cost-effective way of promoting your music since you’re not paying for any service or hiring someone to do work for you. A simple tweet or post from your loved ones will reach a number of new people who will potentially find your music interesting. Doesn’t have to be your Dad or Mom, but if you have cousins or relatives that are interested in music themselves that can share your post, they may also have friends that could potentially become new fans. 

Perform Live

Hosting live, in-person shows is a perfect way to cultivate new fans and engage with your current ones. You may not be performing in arenas, but you have to start small, like playing your music in coffee shops or local bars. Performing live is also a great marketing tool since it creates buzz, especially for those who haven’t heard of you before.

This will also give you an opportunity to network with other bands or the venue owner so you can continue playing at that venue or play with the bands you met at other locations. 

Conclusion

Marketing your music as an independent artist requires a lot of effort, but by utilizing the right techniques and strategies, you’re bound for success! Developing a huge fanbase and going on tour are just a few of the many rewarding outcomes of being a musician who knows how to play their cards right. So go out there, it’s time for your music to receive the recognition it deserves.

Promoting Music is Easy at Playlister.club

Ready to promote your music but don’t know where to start? One of the most effective ways to do this is with Playlister.Club; a music discovery platform that allows you to get in front of tastemakers and curators with huge playlists. It was built on the fundamental principle of curation, so if they like your music, it could be shared on playlists to thousands of followers who have the potential to become your fans!

Playlister.Club allows you to get more than just exposure. Your music is displayed on a dynamic dashboard and matched to playlisters specific curation and listening tastes. They can even listen, review and place your songs directly from our platform. You can get discovered on Playlister.club because playlisters can carefully select songs that genuinely match their playlists and music tastes. Never have your music lost in an inbox again! You’ll also know when you’ve been added or removed from different playlists, daily with our Song Tracking tool.

You can also get discovered from our feature Playlist Pulse™! It’s the only chart directly driven by your voice and distributed to thousands of music industry professionals, playlisters, influencers, and media outlets worldwide!

Through Playlist Pulse™, your music selections will be heard loudly worldwide. The songs that are getting the most love on our platform will be featured in our weekly chart and even in our magazine, gaining them a more significant reach and higher exposure

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