In a rapidly changing, increasingly digitized world, it is becoming more and more simple for people to make music and ensure that it reaches the largest possible audience. However, this is a gift and a curse. While you can feasibly reach more people than ever before, this also makes for a much more crowded field of contenders.
So what can you do to make your music stand apart from the crowd? It all starts with how you present and promote your music. The old days of simply putting music out there and hoping it reaches people have come and gone. The audience’s demands have changed now that the majority of music is consumed via the smartphone.
Visual aids are necessary to grab attention in the modern era. Music video budgets have shrunken considerably, while the sheer amount of music videos being produced have skyrocketed. Having an original music video with an eye catching concept can go a long way towards getting your music into the public eye.
The world has become a much smaller place, due to the influence of the Internet. There are no longer the same limitations to achieving maximum exposure. The online community has turned into the great equalizer. Now, it does not matter whether you are from Los Angeles, New York, Bangkok, Sydney, London, or Cedar Rapids. As long as you produce a quality product, people will come.
The sheer amount of avenues to promote your music online can be overwhelming. You can post music on popular file sharing sites such as Zippyshare, Soundcloud and Sharebeast. Or you can start your own Facebook or Twitter page to get your music into people’s ears. Twitter has become an increasingly powerful tool to share media with the public.
But, Twitter produces over 140 million posts each day. So it is important to optimize and harness its power for your benefit. Be sure to create posts that allow your music to be easily found. Use Twitter’s hash tags, so that the fans who are searching for your material can find it more easily.
The most important aspect of using social media is its ability to break down the barriers between musicians and their fan base. You have a chance to truly connect with people and convey your true personality, for better and for worse. When you arrive in a city to perform or you are performing in your home town, use Twitter as means of getting the word out and speaking to fans directly.
With so many online musicians jockeying for attention, fans want to feel a more tangible connection with the people they listen to. Don’t be afraid to head to the message boards and provide that connection. -Plus, you are also able to meet like-minded individuals who are able to share their own stories for you to learn from.
Creating a profile on several different online music forums gives you an increased chance of getting your music out there, while still enabling you to receive advice and feedback on your material. One of the many blessings of the Internet age is that a musician no longer has to wonder what people think of their recent output.
Instead, they can head to message boards and blogs, posting their music in a place where they can garner almost immediate feedback and see what they need to improve upon. Being able to read the commentary of potential fans and using it as an impetus to improve is one of the most valuable ways to promote your music online.
Be sure to open up the lines of communication with bloggers who specialize in posting your particular brand of music. Building these relationships is key to increasing your overall exposure. This is a community that can make or break an up and coming musician. You should also never be afraid to start your own personal music blog to post your material, if you are failing to make any serious headway with the respected bloggers of your genre.
Take a look around your area and see who the respected promoters are. Try to schedule meetings with them, but take into account that they are doing you a favor by listening to your music, not the other way around. Any relevant promoter in your region is a worthwhile ally to have when it comes to promoting your music online. They have the experience to know what will work and even more important, what won’t work.
Finding the best ways to promote your music online is a trial and error process. It often takes years from even the most talented musicians to reach the audience that they deserve, so it’s important not to become discouraged by early struggles. Online music promotion is just like any other endeavor you will take on in your life, you only get out what you are willing to put in.
A musician who is ready to take their lumps and keep on trying makes it much further than one who is ready to give up at the drop of a hat. Social media only works as well as you allow it to. Just because one song fails to go viral does not mean you should give up trying. One tweet does not make a career. One failed blog submission does not signify overall defeat.
Treat online music promotion like you would a 9-5 job. It is not a means to easy riches and fame, it is a slog, it is a grind. You must be prepared to face rejection and not fold in the face of adversity in order to succeed over the long haul.
