Technology and innovation have enabled musicians with a multitude of tools that promise the reach of their work to millions of people.
Regardless, most musicians have the false preconception that just by posting a song to a platform will turn them into Beyonce overnight with just one click, the truth is there is a LOT of work that goes into executing a proper release.
The most important thing was and still is making quality music. Your rhythms have to resonate with fans to create a ripple effect that will transcend you to the limelight and compete with what’s currently up on the radio. Once you start creating quality music, the next logical step is to start promoting it. Unfortunately, a lot of independent artists fail at promoting. Here are the most common mistakes they make.
Lack of a Marketing Strategy
As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” You cannot just go with the flow doing whatever you like and expect it to be a successful marketing strategy. You should come up with an elaborate strategy, set up goals, objectives, and plan out the tactics for maximizing results.
Targeting the wrong audience
You can’t produce music to meet everyone’s needs. When you target the wrong audience, you also waste your time, money, and effort. Which makes it crucial to understand who your audience is and who you are producing music for. Try testing your music on different groups of people and see who it resonates with the most. When you find your niche, try to ask them questions and directions to figure out where you need to improve and what they like about you. The ones that honestly love your music will give you the best possible feedback.
Lack of uniqueness
Every musician has something that makes him/her stand out. Whenever you want to succeed in the music industry, you have to find your unique style and genre. Although it’s said art is learned in museums, try not to copy others as copies usually never stand out and always stay in the backdrops. As musical trends are constantly changing, artists who bring new vibes are the ones who dictate the trends. This is where you should come around and create your unique style. Don’t be afraid to stand out, be yourself. Create uniqueness.
Promoting only on social media
We should never underestimate the role that social media plays in promoting your music. But the important thing here is that you shouldn’t solely rely on social media. Bear in mind that you only reach a segment of a population through social media where there are a lot of other mediums to reach out for a potentially new audience. Instead, try going with a mix of online and offline promotion which includes TV, radio, magazines, to reach a variety of audiences and create a fanbase.
“Despite the launch of rival electronic media such as television and the Internet, radio has been thriving. The average American adult still listens for 1 hour and 45 minutes each day.”
Via Forbes
Spamming
Let’s be honest, no one likes spam. When you try your best to promote a new release, you should take into account that not everyone wants to hear about it every other day. Try to get to know your audience before you send them your music and see if they are interested in listening to it. Comment on their posts and start conversations with them. Building relationships and interesting content for your audience is essential when promoting your music is the best way to go.
You’re not promoting your shows
When you have an extensive number of followers on social media and you don’t use that to promote your next show, why do you need them in the first place? It’s the best way to connect with your fans in person and the more fans know about it and show up the better. Don’t forget to promote your music, merch, and other promo materials at your shows. You might as well sell limited edition signed copies during the shows for your most dedicated fans. Wondering how to even do a show these days? This week, we will be blogging about virtual events and how they’re becoming a trend.
Conclusion
When it comes to music promotion you have to give yourself at least months to prepare for a release and build anticipation before releasing it. Don’t expect the planning phase to be quick, especially if you’re all in by yourself. Make sure you follow these steps and never make the same mistakes twice and you will succeed! Ask for help! The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
We hope you enjoyed the read and can now put in the work. At MusicPromoToday, we try to blog about useful tips, strategies and music marketing techniques every week. If you want us to cover about a specific topic, trend or issue – Contact us or tweet or DM on Instagram and we will reply to you in less than 24 hours!
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