You’ve got great music and you’re sure that it could be a huge success if only it was heard more.
But in today’s oversaturated music industry, music discovery is the real challenge so the question you find yourself asking is : how do I get my music heard? Getting your music heard requires a combination of a strong online presence, strategic promotion and relentless networking.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the best ways and tactics for you to get your music heard.
1. The state of online music streaming platforms
Getting your music heard means first and foremost making it available for people to listen to. To do that, your best bet is to upload it to popular streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud and Amazon Music via an online distributor like Distrokid, CDBaby or Tunecore.
These, in theory, offer independent artists the chance to reach millions of listeners worldwide.
But you’re probably well aware that in today’s crowded music industry, these online music streaming platforms are oversaturated. On average, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of songs are uploaded to streaming platforms every day.
But don’t worry, there are things you can do to tip the balance in your favour and increase your chances of being heard.
Most streaming services use algorithms and understanding how they work is crucial for maximizing exposure and reaching potential fans. From a listener’s point of view, these provide personalised music recommendations. From the artist’s point of view, they take into account elements such as your visibility and engagement.
Chances are you’re an independent musician who hasn’t signed with a major record label and has taken his musical career into his own hands. So with that in mind, what you want to do first is focus on creating high-quality music and making sure your tracks are produced, mixed and mastered to a professional standard.
You also want to optimise the metadata of your tracks, including titles, artist names, album titles and genres to boost your music’s visibility. Make sure you use really descriptive and relevant keywords that accurately represent your music to help Spotify’s algorithms categorise and recommend your tracks effectively. And don’t forget to release good music regularly to build momentum and engage with your audience by encouraging listeners to follow your artist profile, save your tracks to their playlists and share your music with their friends (increasing your fanbase along the way!).
OK, so you’ve got good music optimised on the platform. Now what?
Another thing you can do to get your music heard on online music streaming platforms is to get on a curated playlist (keep your own music genre in mind : hip-hop, rap, folk…).You can do this by submitting your tracks directly to playlist curators or by using a music promotion website such as Groover (we’ll look at these in more detail in the next section).
Finally, the most important thing is not to get discouraged. Despite all your efforts, you may not have any real success on streaming platforms at first, because as we saw earlier, they are over-saturated. Therefore, what you need to do once you’ve done what you can on these platforms is put your efforts into promoting your music outside of them.
2. Get the help of a music promotion company
Remember in the previous section we briefly mentioned getting your music on a popular playlist to increase exposure for your music? Let’s say you contacted a playlist curator directly. At the end of the day, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a response but you shouldn’t take it personally because playlist curators usually receive a lot of submissions, so while it’s upsetting, it’s understandable that they can’t respond to every single one.
Now a good option would be to consider getting the help of a music promotion platform like Groover which can help you get in touch with the right people. And we’re not just talking about playlist curators, you can also contact music journalists, radio stations, record companies and other influential people in the music industry…This can give you a head start and increase your visibility as well as your fanbase. The great thing about these services is that they guarantee that your music will be heard by industry professionals. Not only can this help you cultivate genuine relationships with people, but you can also get feedback from your peers who can provide valuable insight and support. Remember that networking with other people in the music industry is one of the best things you can do to get your music heard, and the key is to get in touch with people as much as possible to create a strong and helpful network.
No article on how to get your music heard would be complete without a section on social media. Social media marketing is huge right now, and with the click of a button you can reach millions, if not billions, of users who can listen and give you feedback on your music.
So as an aspiring artist, you need to get on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and even Linkedin and share your music with the world. Given the number of people using these platforms, it would be highly unlikely for your music to go unnoticed, even with the huge amount of content already available. You will have to go public if you want to maximise your chances of getting your music heard, but make sure you consider the pros and cons of such a decision. And if you do go public, bear in mind that social media platforms are also home to a few haters. A word of advice: ignore them.
Now, as well as getting your music heard, you can use social media platforms as promotional tools. You can engage with your fans and followers and build a strong online presence in the hope of creating a loyal fanbase.
A good tactic would be to create a compelling music video for one of your tracks and post it online (your YouTube channel and other online social media platforms). Who knows, in today’s music landscape, it might just go viral.
4. Collaborate with fellow artists
Nothing forges stronger bonds than going through the trenches together. That’s why collaborating with another artist who’s also trying to get their music heard is a great way for both of you to achieve that goal, and gain a friend and fan in the process. Indeed, by collaborating, you’re both tapping into a different audience and fanbase, and this cross-pollination can really boost your profile on the music scene.
And it doesn’t have to be a collaboration, just reaching out and networking with other indie musicians and industry professionals who are struggling to gain exposure can help you promote your music and get it heard. Indeed, they may share and promote your music with their target audience and niche and if they’re also struggling as indie artists, they’ll be able to give you extra tips on how to get your music heard, things that have worked for them.
5. Play your music live
There’s one great way to be heard and that is singing directly into a microphone. So with that in mind, always be on the lookout for opportunities to perform live because by performing live, you can effectively promote your music and connect with your fans in a more authentic way.
Look for any local venue where you could play a gig and you may even want to consider touring, as performing in different cities and venues can help you reach new fans in various places and build a strong fanbase.
At the end of the day, consistent effort, perseverance and a willingness to explore different avenues are essential to getting your music heard as an independent musician in the competitive music industry.
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