Do you have great music to share with the world but don’t know how to market it? You’re not alone and marketing your music is one of the trickiest parts of the industry. After all, there’s so much great music out in the world, so how do you ensure that yours doesn’t get drowned out by it all, but instead floats to the top?

Let’s look at four of the best ways to market your music in today’s music industry.

1. Digital marketing is the key to the world

We live in a digital age and with that in mind, it’s important to adapt the way you market your music to the changing audience. With this in mind, the next tactics discussed will be about embracing digital marketing and using various digital channels to reach your audience where they are most active. Now, digital marketing is a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of practices. 

The first that probably springs to mind is social media marketing. Indeed, one of the best ways to market your music in today’s music industry is to make the most of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat. Create a profile and start sharing high-quality content (behind-the-scenes footage, music samples, and interactive content). Make sure you also engage with fans to create a community around your music. We can’t talk about social media marketing without talking about influencers. A great way to market your music is to collaborate with social media personalities (be they Instagrammers, TikTokers, YouTubers, or even popular bloggers). Anyone with a big following in today’s world is considered influential, so pick a few that resonate with your music and your target audience, and send them some of your tracks to listen to. Bear in mind that influencer marketing can be very expensive, so it’s best to start by contacting smaller social media personalities who might be willing to help you in exchange for some good content. For example, a great way to get an influencer to help you market your music is to get them to appear in one of your music videos.  They’re looking for high-quality content for their channel and you’re looking for an audience – why not help each other out?

This brings us to our next point: content marketing, which consists of creating attractive and captivating content to attract a larger number of fans. This includes everything from social media posts, of course, but also blog posts, vlogs, lyric videos ( published on YouTube or another video-sharing platform), interviews, podcasts, concert footage… basically, anything to do with your music that can be published online falls into the realm of content marketing.

Another thing you can do in the digital realm is run targeted digital advertising campaigns to promote your music to specific demographics, interests, and locations using platforms like Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Google Ads, YouTube Ads, and Spotify Ads to reach potential fans and drive streams, downloads, and ticket sales.

Online streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music are also great for marketing your music.

You can run targeted adverts (as we saw earlier) or appear in Spotify’s popular playlists. Once you’ve identified the playlist curators that resonate with you, you can submit your music for review directly by searching for their contact details (either in their playlist descriptions or on their social media profiles). Another option is to use a platform such as Groover, which specializes in connecting artists with playlist curators, making it easier to submit your music to several playlists at once.

To finish off this section, a good idea would be to create a professional website for your music and make sure it’s optimized for search engines. Similarly, use email marketing to promote your music by building a list of subscribers and sending them regular newsletters about your music. 

2. Harness the power of live shows

Okay, we’ve now covered the digital realm, but life doesn’t just happen online and you also need to market your music to the outside world. One of the best ways to do this is simply to play your music. Live concerts offer one of the best opportunities to connect and engage directly with your audience on a more personal level, helping to establish an emotional connection between you and your listeners.

 You can demonstrate your showmanship and stage presence, as well as try out new material and get feedback. 

With that in mind, don’t be afraid to contact local venues for a chance to organise a gig and once you have something booked, share all the information about it on your social media channels and email your subscribers. Some dedicated fans will come, but chances are there will be people who don’t know you yet and were just there for a drink or a coffee. By creating an unforgettable experience for them, you can expand your fanbase to include them. And who knows, they might tell their friends about you – word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools.

Concerts are also a great opportunity to sell merchandise such as CDs, vinyl records, t-shirts, posters, and other branded products. Not only do these products generate revenue, but they also serve as tangible reminders of the live experience and help reinforce your brand.

Now a quick word about busking. Busking is generally legal in most cities and countries around the world, but is often subject to regulations and permits in certain regions. Before you pick up your guitar and take to the streets, find out about local regulations and guidelines to avoid fines, penalties or conflicts with the authorities. Busking is an excellent way of marketing your music because your audience is both wide-ranging and largely made up of people who don’t know you yet and who are discovering you. I mean, Ed Sheeran got his start busking so why not you? 

Once you’ve decided where and when you’ll be performing, post the information on your social media platforms and make sure, when you perform, to put up a sign with all your information and social channels so that people who stop to listen can then easily find you online. The great thing about street performing is that it’s free (minus the permit and any transport) and you can perform in different cities and regions to expose your music to a wider audience. And on top of that, you can even sell your merch such as CDs, vinyls and cassettes while you busk! 

3. Do not overlook branding!

Branding is such an important aspect of marketing your music effectively, but it’s often overlooked. However, if you check out the really successful artists, you’ll see that most of them have or had a very distinctive brand image. Authenticity is important here, and if you look closely, you’ll notice that all they did was build on a style or theme that was natural to them, but which allowed them to stand out. 

Good branding encompasses everything from the style of music you create to your look and goals as an artist. 

Jacob Collier is a good example. He got his start on YouTube posting music videos that quickly went viral and he soon established himself on the music scene as a musical prodigy with a brand focused on innovation, experimentation and virtuosity. If you look at what he releases, you’ll see that he doesn’t really stick to one genre, but mixes them up by combining instruments and devising complex vocal arrangements. The key word in his brand seems to be curiosity, and thanks to this he attracts fans who appreciate his experimental approach to music-making.

See below one of his first videos that went viral that is an arrangement of the song « Isn’t she lovely » By Stevie Wonder. 

You can emulate the way he has marketed his music by sticking to what you like and do best. It’s a bit like creating a niche for your music and by doing that you can build a loyal fanbase and generate more buzz around your music.

Another great example of a strong brand in the music industry is First Aid Kit, a Swedish folk duo made up of sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg. They have a very strong folk-rock sound and a recognisable visual identity, characterised by retro-inspired fashion, a vintage or nostalgic aesthetic and folk-inspired imagery. Everything is consistent, from their album covers to their promotional photos to their music videos. On top of that, the message of their music is also consistent  and their songs are known for their heartfelt storytelling and emotional depth. 

With today’s crowded music scene, a strong brand image is one of the best ways to market your music. It can even lead to merchandising and brand collaborations. First Aid Kit collaborated with TOMS, the shoe company, designing unique folk-inspired patterns and illustrations.

4. Use collaborations to reach out to different audiences

This brings us to our next point, collaborations. Since we’ve already covered collaborations with influencers and brands, in this section we’ll stick to collaborating with fellow artists.

With that in mind, the first thing to do is expand your network. You know what they say, it’s all about having a good product and knowing the right people. You’ve already got great music, but you’re still missing the people? Don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to get in touch with the right people and foster meaningful relationships. 

Let’s say you’ve always liked a particular guitarist, or you’ve just discovered an up-and-coming singer whose voice would go well with yours? You want to work with them on a track but you don’t know how to go about it. The best thing to do is to interact with them on the social media platform of your choice: like, comment on and share their posts and maybe even send them a message to tell them about you and your music. A simple hello can lead to a great collaboration and a whole new fan base to tap into to market your own music, people who might not have discovered you otherwise. This cross-pollination of audiences can lead to increased visibility and new fans for both collaborators. This is especially true if both artists leverage their social networks, websites, newsletters and promotional efforts to amplify the reach of their collaborative project, generating buzz and excitement among fans.

Not only that, but collaborating with the right people can boost your credibility within the music industry and can attract the attention of industry professionals and the media. And for yourself, it can be a great confidence boost as being associated with a well-known and respected musician can enhance your reputation and be an incredibly rewarding experience. 

By tackling these four categories to market your music, you can reach a wide and diverse audience and ensure that your music is heard amongst all the noise.

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