Promoting your music is not an easy task, especially when you’re doing it on your own and with limited resources. You’re already creating good music, so how can you get it out there? Each one of the following tools is an extremely valuable way to promote your music and create a space for yourself in the industry.
The only difference between an independent artist with traction and one without is the amount of eyes on their artist pages. Quite simply, if your music is authentic, it is guaranteed to be someone’s new favorite song once the right person has found you. Though it may seem daunting, do your best to release projects and post online as much as possible to develop an engaging social presence.
Think about your own experience as a consumer – are you more likely to become a fan of a new artist when, upon checking them out, you notice that they are consistently dropping new songs and posting regularly on social media? Or when they have very little internet presence with only 3 songs out over the past couple years? The harsh truth is that it’s difficult to build excitement around your music if your fans, new or old, have to play the waiting game. Not impossible, but difficult. Therefore, maintaining a strong social media presence is crucial for engaging and connecting with your audience.
Even if it means recycling content or posting snippets of unfinished music, showing that you are actively involved in your career will go a long way. Engaging with your followers on TikTok and Instagram is an excellent way to show that you are present in the development of your fanbase. Your listeners will feel even closer to you if they feel like they might get a like or comment from you once in a while, or that they discovered you early on. Let them in on your process and they’ll cheer you on even harder.
2. Pitch your music to playlists
Getting your music onto playlists can make all the difference in your career as an independent artist and is a great way to promote music. Playlist placements can:
- Reach wider audiences than you otherwise would
- Generate streams (and in turn, earnings)
- Bring you new followers
- Put you on an A&R’s radar
- Lead to additional playlist adds
- Lead to collaborative opportunities
- Lead to live gig opportunities (opening for an artist)
… amongst many other things.
Editorial Playlists
Editorial playlists are put forward by streaming platforms themselves. Discover Weekly, Rap Caviar, Throwback Thursday, and the like are all Spotify-made playlists. Being included on one is a big deal, as they often have thousands upon thousands of followers who check for new additions regularly. Being included in these editorial playlists can significantly impact an artist’s music career by elevating their profile and increasing their exposure.
How do you get added? You can actually submit to Spotify editorial playlists directly in your Spotify for Artists dashboard! And, depending on what service you use for distribution, you are also able to provide a small song description that your distributor can use to pitch to playlists themselves.
Independent Playlists
There are many people whose job is to personally curate playlists for the masses, as opposed to having an algorithm do it. The playlists these curators put together sometimes have a larger following than big editorial playlists, making them another valuable means of exposure to consider. The enormous benefit to pitching to a curator is that you’re talking to a real person, and can build a personal relationship with them. Promoting music independently is crucial for artists looking to establish their careers without major label support.
Many curators are active on social media, often posting music recommendations on Instagram and TikTok. Don’t hesitate to reach out to someone if you find that your music would fit well in the soundscape they specialize in. If you have difficulty finding their contact information online, you can browse the playlist curators we’ve partnered with to get started. Pitching to a curator will require you to be concise with your message and explanation of who you are and what your song is.
💡 PRO TIP: By briefly describing the song before they listen to it, you are providing a frame through which they will hear the song. Give them an example of a context in which you can imagine someone playing your song: in the car during the summer, while dancing at home with their partner, at a cozy dinner with friends, you name it. The less work they have to do to imagine hearing your song in different settings, the more likely it is that they’ll share it!
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Are you looking to get placed on the best Spotify playlists for your music? ⬇️
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3. Use artist services (Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists)
Make sure your music is available across all streaming services. As an independent artist you are free to use any digital distribution service such as Distrokid, Tunecore, or CD Baby to get your music onto all major streaming platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Youtube Music and more). Find out which independent digital distributor is right for you here.
Claim your artist page and you’ll be able to take advantage of the listening data and insights on how your music is performing that is provided to you by these platforms. On Spotify for Artists, for example, available analytics include:
- Where your listeners are located
- Your listeners’ age and gender
- How many active listeners you have
- How many playlists your music has been added to
- Your music’s streaming trends over time
- What countries listen to your music the most
- What cities listen to your music the most
- Editorial playlist adds
- Streams per week
- Overall streams
You can also make changes to your profile by adding profile and canvas pictures, creating an artist bio, and choosing your own “Artist’s Pick”, as well as submit your music to Spotify playlists, which we’ll explain a little later.
In addition to Spotify, you also have Apple Music for Artists, YouTube for Artists, Deezer for Creators, and Amazon Music for Artists. Sign up for all of them to see how your demographics differ by platform!
Promote your music to the right people by using the data on Spotify for Artists |@macleighton
4. Target the right audience (ads, live shows, content)
Half of promotion is marketing. Now that you have access to analytics on who listens to your music, you can target similar audiences in all your other promotional endeavors.
Ads
The best way to reach audiences that do not already know about you is on TikTok. The second best way is ads. Music discovery does takes place on Instagram and other such platforms, so it’s worth looking into starting a campaign with Instagram and Facebook (they operate under the same ads manager).
Take one piece of content that has performed well for you, ideally a video with a snippet of your song as the audio, and use it as a litmus test by pushing it out to demographics similar to the ones shown on your artist pages. Do not be afraid to try different videos or snippets to see what catches. Start out with a one or two week campaign, and if you target correctly, viewers will be converted to listeners in no time. You can also run campaigns within streaming platforms as well. Spotify has campaign options readily available to you if you are more comfortable letting their algorithm take the reigns.
BE WARNED: Platforms are not as invested in getting it right as you are, and will often randomize the audiences they push to if you do not specify your target audience!
Live Shows
Your artist analytics will tell you a lot about listener location… excellent information if you’re planning on playing a few live shows. Go to where your fans already are. This is advanatageous to you for a number of reasons – it will: solidify your fanbase in that area, be extremely encouraging to see an enthusiastic crowd come watch you, get you great content and press coverage from a show with a great turnout, and make you money off ticket sales! Throw a little merch in there and you’re guaranteed to make waves in the area, whether by word of mouth, increased exposure, or social media posts of your gig.
Content
Use the insights available to you on your social media platforms to understand the following:
- What time your followers are most active
- What days your followers are most active
- What types of posts get the most reach
- What types of posts get the most engagement
- How these stats differ by platform (IG vs. TT)
This information will help you tremendously in knowing when to post, what to post, and who you’re posting for. Keep in mind that your audience on TikTok is very likely different from your audience on Instagram. Opt for more informal, non-promotional content for the former, and more high-quality, curated content for the latter. Cater your content to the platform you’re posting on.
5. Have lots of visual content (music videos, bts)
Try to have multiple videos to go with every song you have out, whether it’s a music video, BTS footage (from shoots, the studio), animations, or anything else that might be eye-catching. Use whatever you can to make content, and have a stock pile of videos to choose from whenever you need to post. Ideally, your videos capture your personality, artistry, and work ethic. Let people in on your world, and use your music in the background as often as you can – you never know which video might blow up. Creating music videos is crucial as they are a powerful form of visual content that can significantly boost your music’s reach and engagement.
Make sure to create both long form and short form videos. They can range from 15 seconds to a number of minutes, depending on where you decide to post them (short form on TikTok and Reels, long form on YouTube). Having long form content also allows you to chop it up into smaller videos to post over time. One music video can be turned into a ton of snippets, and given that volume is the name of the game on TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts, having long videos to work with is a huge advantage.
6. Get press coverage
Take the time to identify media outlets that write about artists similar to you, or that you would like to be likened to. You can find relevant media outlets, blogs & magazines using the filters on Groover and get in touch with them directly through the platform. Don’t go for the most popular media sites right away, as they have a high volume of submissions and recommendations to sort through and you may initially be overlooked. Instead, shoot for smaller outlets to begin with to build credibility. Just as you’d want work experience to build a portfolio, artists want as many press releases and write ups as they can to build a solid list of good reviews. The bigger fish will take notice once you approach them with a larger quantity of past press.
Use the filters on Groover to find relevant media outlets for your music
Also, you’ll have to create an electronic press kit (EPK). This is a file that you can easily send to media outlets and A&Rs that gives a well rounded summary of who you are as an artist. It includes the exact same things your website would: an artist bio, photos and videos of you, footage from live shows, links to all streaming pages, links to/mentions of previous accolades and media coverage, and your contact information. It is a very visual asset, so have fun with the design and make sure it aligns with your visual identity as an artist.
7. Build the right team
Reading through a long list of tasks regarding self-promotion can be overwhelming, but there are always ways to cover all your bases. If you know your own blind spots, you can build a team around you to fill those gaps. For example, if you struggle with content creation, ask someone you’re around a lot to start documenting what you’re doing. If you don’t know how to create an EPK, get someone who’s design savvy to help with the visuals and layout. If you don’t know how to plan live gigs, consider a manager or booking agent to help.
Alone you go faster, but together you go further. Maybe it’s time for you to think about reaching out to managers, labels, or music publishers? These are people who can give you valuable contacts in the music industry, unlock budgets to help you move forward, and take some tasks off your plate so you have more time to focus on your music.
Remember to surround yourself with people who you know truly believe in you. As long as everyone has your best interests at heart, you will be able to go very far.
Having a website is the best way to create a base for people who search you up to get to know you as an artist and learn more about you. In addition to including links to your streaming pages, a bio, photos and videos, past and upcoming show dates, and a contact page, you should also allow people to opt in to a newsletter. Anyone who is interested in it is guaranteed to be a dedicated fan, and having a list of the names of some of your biggest supporters is incredibly valuable to you.
Use the newsletter as a way to make announcements, promote future releases, provide exclusive content, offer early downloads or merch sales, and so much more. As your audience grows, so will the number of people who want to get news about you before everyone else, and have exclusive access to things you offer. Try using services like Sendinblue, Mailchimp, or Revue to create your own newsletter.
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