MUSIC MARKETING 101

If you are an artiste looking to make it big or break into the mainstream industry, then you should stay on top of trends, as well as music opportunities and resources that could help in promoting your music better. Regardless of how amazing your music is, without the right marketing tools and tricks, your release will not live up to its full potential. In this article, we outline a few basic tips that can help in marketing your music.

QUALITY CHECK

Before you even venture into marketing, it is important to ensure that the music you are releasing passes a certain standard of quality. Although for a lot of upcoming artistes, good quality is hard to attain due to financial restraints, the key is to get it as close to the best quality as possible. This will definitely impact the reception of the music. A few important questions to ask yourself when considering this:

• Is the song well-written? Is it balanced?
• Is the length befitting for the audience and purpose of the release?
• Is it properly/professionally recorded? If not, how close to a professional recording is it?
• Are my vocals well mixed, with all noises & distortions eliminated?
• Is the song properly mastered? 
• Is the song marketable?

BUILD A SOLID BRAND FOUNDATION 

This is perhaps the single most important aspect of music marketing. Similar to building a house, branding is akin to building a foundation. If the foundation is not solid, the building will not stand. Building a strong brand foundation as an artiste will show people who you are and what you stand for, as it is merely an extension of your own personal identity. It will make it easier for your music to reach your desired market and for your audience to find & connect with you easier.  

CHOOSE WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM TO FOCUS ON

Be realistic with your growth on social media and choose a maximum of two platforms in the beginning. As an upcoming artiste, you may not have the resources to dedicate to more platforms properly. Research all the various platforms for promoting your music and choose the one that best suits the style of your music, as well as your skillset. 

RADIO

Do not limit your marketing to an online market. Radio broadcasting has the potential to increase your reach to larger numbers of people and a much more diverse audience. You are able to get real-time information, as well as gather demographic and psychographic information. This would help you have a better understanding of your audience and you can create music and content they would love.

LOOK AFTER YOUR CURRENT FANS FIRST

It is very easy as an artiste to become obsessed with the numbers and increasing your fan base, however, the secret to effective music marketing lies in looking after your current fans first. It is imperative to build a community of dedicated followers – a tribe. Learn how to cultivate an environment around your brand and your music.