Before the internet came along, the main music marketing strategies for musicians were the radio or good old posters if they couldn’t afford an agent or get a recording/distribution deal with one of the labels.
Thank the cybergods, it’s not the 80s anymore. Without having to spend a fortune (or even leaving your house), you can make sure your music gets the visibility it deserves.
If you are an artist (old or new) we have put together 6 Ways to Update Your Music Marketing Strategies. Since this is music marketing, we have categorized these as OLD SCHOOL & NEW SCHOOL tips for success. (You feel us?)
OLD SCHOOL TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Golden rules to live by in every music era.
1. Follow a theme and create a brand around it
First step for a musician is to make people feel and connect with their music. In order to do this, establish an overarching theme to your music. This can be just for a song or for the entire album or it can be your persona as well that you want people to remember. Something that they can connect with. It is better to pull this from your life experiences. You can then use this theme to market that feeling!
You have to GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING TO REMEMBER
Jay-Z’s hit album American Gangster is based on the movie titled the same.
Ed Sheeran’s latest single Bad Habits talks about his substance abuse days.
2. Play not just live but also virtual concerts
We are seeing a lot of live events coming back this year (Coachella is back) and artists are back to touring around the world. If you are a budding musician who is looking to get your music out, you need to be doing the same thing. Get out and play in bars, music venues, local shows etc.
And, in this day and age, there are fewer people going out to bars to listen to live music. To equalize this, start using any of the live stream tools and start playing for online listeners. Easy way is to organize a private concert for your friends and family. Ask them to invite one extra person each for this home concert. You improve your loyal followers this way. Once you attain a regular audience, start playing on Facebook live, Insta live weekly.
As every successful artist would say, THE GRIND IS IMPORTANT
David Guetta performed for everyone around the world during the pandemic.
3. Behind the scenes/Making
We have all seen some special meet & greets where musicians or athletes meet with their fans to give some kind of backstage experience.That unique experience that’s taped to capture the excitement of the fansis a way to market. Keep a video camera at all times and record jamming sessions, live shows etc. Because you never know when your song will be a hit but if that time comes, you should be ready with your success story.
CAPTURE MEMORIES THAT STIR EMOTIONS
NEW SCHOOL TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Rules that will keep you relevant.
4. Make music with Tiktok, YouTube shorts in mind
This is one of the new age ways to get your music out. It is not mandatory for all songs to have this 30 second bit which can later be used on Tiktok, Youtube Shorts and other social media but if atleast one in 5 songs have this 60 second music, that could elevate your career in a great way. Let your audience feel like the protagonist in their videos with your music playing in the background!
Do not forget to INTEGRATE 60 SEC TIK TOK PIECE TO ONE OF YOUR SONGS
@taiverdes I forget to sleep
♬ DRUGS - Tai Verdes
5. Follow hashtags
As we focus on getting the music out to more and more people, hashtags are still pretty important. There are two ways to engage using hashtags. Create your own hashtags for your brand and combine it with already trending hashtags like #dancechallenge or #tiktokchallenge. This is a way to get your post across to a wider audience. Also, remember that it is not an overnight process. It takes some time to get more views to your content but once you have enough people looking at your content, provide them with a link to your music on spotify etc.
Reach wider audiences using a combination of ORIGINAL HASHTAGS & TRENDING HASHTAGS
6. Build a team and distribute your music across platforms
One of the problems that artists struggle with is how to reach more people. An important way the music industry has transformed in the past 10 years is the ability to provide the artist with the tools to distribute songs. Many times, the artist will not be equipped with the knowledge to handle this all by themselves.
Put your music out on all social media platforms from Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok and many more. Some of the tools you can use are: Landr, tunecore, Reverbnation
Learn more about how you can insert your songs into top playlists. Some companies that do this are Playlistpush, groover.
Do you want to directly work on them? No problem. Come to us. Here at BridgeM, we can help you manage your marketing so that you can focus on making good music.
