{"id":1625,"date":"2021-04-02T03:12:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T02:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1625"},"modified":"2021-04-02T03:12:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T02:12:25","slug":"things-to-consider-when-marketing-your-music-2019-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/things-to-consider-when-marketing-your-music-2019-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to Consider When Marketing your Music (2019 edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Things to Consider When Marketing your Music<\/strong><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br><br>Introduction<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you\u2019re a musician or singer songwriter and\r\nare interested in getting your music out there then getting involved in some\r\npromotion and marketing is going to be required. At the very least, you\u2019re\r\ngoing to have to get your works on the Internet where people can hear them. but\r\nthe sky is the limit if you want to go further and what I\u2019m going to discuss\r\nhere is just a small, but important, part of promotion and marketing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Every few years I promote some of my music and each time I do I discover new developments that have come about, so, it\u2019s important to qualify that I\u2019m writing this in 2019 so things may well have changed if you\u2019re reading this a year or so in to the future. <br><br>A lot of what I\u2019ll be writing about in this comes from my experience of promoting my latest album, Dangerous Things, and how that experience developed over the months during that campaign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You\u2019ll often hear the word \u201cfree\u201d in relation to help with marketing so right from the start I\u2019ll be open. All of the information I\u2019m offering you here is done so for free, however, if at any stage you\u2019d like to make a donation to me, even if it\u2019s just $1, then I would be very grateful. Outside of that I won\u2019t be asking for any payments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If this post has been useful for you, and you wish to pay me for my time and effort please use the paypal Donate button below to make a payment. Thank you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<form action=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\"><input name=\"cmd\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"_s-xclick\"><br><input name=\"hosted_button_id\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"GZJ8XEU44RKTU\"><br><input title=\"PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!\" alt=\"Donate with PayPal button\" name=\"submit\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypalobjects.com\/en_US\/GB\/i\/btn\/btn_donateCC_LG.gif\" type=\"image\"><br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_GB\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\"><\/form>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where are we Heading?<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Over the last 30 years marketing music has changed significantly and in the last few years it seems to have changed dramatically. 30 years ago, if you didn\u2019t have a record deal your options were very much limited, but then the Internet became a big part of many of our lives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The internet offered ways to distribute music,\r\nhave a 2-way involvement with fans, get media attention, and more direct ways\r\nto sell downloads and merchandise. BUT not so long ago people stopped buying\r\nCDs or downloads in the numbers required for musicians to garner a living by,\r\nand in place of CD sales came streaming services with the promise to musicians\r\nof big bucks if they could get millions of people to listen to their music.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, this is where we find ourselves now.\r\nMusicians are now vying to get streams (plays of their songs on streaming\r\nservices), and to gain some level of celebrity status which they can then\r\nmonetarise via merchandise sales, membership groups, live gigs, media\r\nappearances, or advertising revenues via their platforms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Marketing requires just as much artistry and\r\ntechnical know-how as producing music in the first place, so not surprisingly,\r\nmany musicians try to do a bit, but then give up feeling somewhat of a failure\r\nwhen not much happens. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>What I aim to show through this article is not so much a route to success, but a way of setting things up so you\u2019re open to success and less likely to cause the failure yourself. Now, it will require quite a bit of work initially but once set up you\u2019ll be able to follow a workflow that will integrate with your music making, and that to me, is a good way to work.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">First Things First<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You must have a product that is of a certain quality (This is a very relative value, but I think what I mean is that it must be good enough to be of interest to a big enough audience). What you may think is good enough might not be, and if that is the case, no matter how much you market your product it\u2019s not going to get anywhere. Asking your friends and family to assess your work is not going to provide you with accurate feedback. Unfortunately, this subject area is a big one and not in the remit of this article, but just keep in mind that your songs \/ music must be recorded, mixed and mastered appropriately to your prospective audience, the graphics and writing that makes up its \u201cpackaging\u201d online must work in terms of promotion too. So, take your time and get it right otherwise you\u2019re wasting your time and money promoting it. And on the subject of money, it\u2019s worth keeping in mind that big businesses allocate a lot of their budget to advertising, and that\u2019s even for established quality products, so if you\u2019ve got a budget it\u2019s worth thinking about using a lot of it for promotion too. It\u2019s an easy mistake to spend thousands on getting your product right only to find you can only afford a few hundred on marketing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you really don\u2019t have any money to spend on\r\nmarketing then there\u2019s still a lot you can do but do keep in mind that your\r\npossibilities are somewhat limited. Even so, as we progress I\u2019ll look at things\r\nthat can be done from both perspectives, because of course, just throwing money\r\nat something won\u2019t guarantee success either. There are a lot of contributing\r\nfactors behind success and failure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Keeping Playlists in Perspective<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You\u2019re going to hear a lot about getting your songs on playlists. Whilst it is important to try to get your music on playlists it\u2019s worthwhile keeping in mind several things. The good side of being on a popular playlist is your song will be played more often and therefore you may receive some income from that. The downside is that those people who play your song are not likely to link up with you in any long terms meaningful way, as they might do if they connected with you on a social network or signed up to your email list. After all, they may listen to your song and like it, but whether they spend any time finding out who you are is unlikely as most people play a playlist whilst doing other things. The other issue is this, if your song is taken off a popular playlist then your income stream from it will end too, so it\u2019s a precarious thing to rely on. So while it\u2019s good to get on playlists don\u2019t focus all your energies on doing so, instead try to slowly build up a following who are actually engaged with you and your music through multiple platforms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Email Lists<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I know email lists are important but personally I find them a bit difficult. Firstly, I feel like I\u2019m being a bit pushy when I send out emails and secondly if one starts to get a big list then it will incur some ongoing costs. So, maybe sign up to Mailchimp.com and develop an email list but if you get a large following then assess whether it\u2019s worth the monthly fee to keep it going. It&#8217;s an important platform that&#8217;s worth pursuing, but keep the return on investment in mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Aspirations<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>When it comes to thinking about what you\u2019re\r\naiming to get there are several ways to think about this. Obviously, there\u2019s\r\nthe fantasy version: Millions of sales, mass media coverage, a world-wide hit,\r\nand so on. In a way it\u2019s good to get that out the way, but I would recommend also\r\nthinking about short and long term aims too. One might be involved with a genre\r\nof music where long term isn\u2019t the appropriate approach, but for most artists\r\nhaving a long-term strategy is worth keeping in mind, in fact as we go on\r\nyou\u2019ll see that in many ways the current zeitgeist really does push artists\r\ntowards a long term slow burn development rather than an instant success model.\r\nIn the short term though it\u2019s also worth thinking about what might be good for\r\nthe long term plan&nbsp; too. So, for\r\ninstance, getting coverage on the radio, TV, in the print media, online\r\nmagazines and on blogs and so on is both good for both the long and short term\r\ndevelopment of your profile. The more coverage you get then the more attractive\r\nyou are for further coverage in the future (unless the gap between is so long\r\nno one remembers you).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, maybe exercise number one should be that you write out your fantasy aims, then your realistic short and long term plans.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Here\u2019s what I wrote out for mine:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Fantasy aspirations<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Loads of blogs share my music, I get millions\r\nof streams, I earn a few hundred thousand pounds, pay off my mortgage and pay\r\nfor the next album which everyone eagerly streams again, this time I earn\r\nmillions of pounds, get on TV and radio, get a great record deal, and from then\r\non I write songs whilst other people produce them for me. I then live happily\r\never after.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Realistic Short Term Aspirations<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Sell 1,000 downloads and 300 CDs,<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Get on radio <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Get on TV<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Get in magazines \/ blogs \/ print media <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Add 1,000 fans to FB page<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Get a few thousand shares of songs and videos<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Get a few million advertisement impressions\r\n(appear on a million people\u2019s social media via adverts)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Realistic Long Term (5 years) Objectives<br><br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Raise my profile further by appearing on TV \/\r\nRadio and in articles, then later in the year release my autobiography followed\r\nshortly afterwards by another album (which is almost ready now). Then publish\r\nsome other books which I\u2019ve already prepared, followed by more music.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Once you have written out your aims you\u2019re going to need to consider your tactics, in other words how you are going to try to achieve your aims. This is the bread and butter work that promotional agents can do in their sleep but for most people it\u2019s a mystery. Although, many traditional promoters will do things differently, what we\u2019ll be focusing on is what you can do via the Internet especially via social media. Traditional agents will probably focus on the mainstream media, street advertising, getting articles in national magazines and papers, getting their artists on TV and radio shows too, but for many people those routes are full of barriers because those systems really are part of a commercial machine. Not surprisingly many media and record companies are connected. You can\u2019t blame a record company for buying up a TV station and then using it to promote their artists. It\u2019s the way of the world and it\u2019s not worth getting upset about. At least there are other avenues available now, although one could argue that even in the streaming media world, major companies weald a fair amount of power via ownership. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you\u2019re not too disheartened (and don\u2019t be)\r\nthen it\u2019s time to start looking at the smaller pictures. But before I do, I\r\nthink it\u2019s worth looking a little at the why, before we look at the how.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Why?<br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Have you ever heard a song, seen a picture,\r\nwatched a film, read a book, indeed been touched by any art that changed your\r\nlife or if not your life, your mood or the way you think? If so, then that is\r\nthe gift of art. You might think that you have a gift but to me your gift is\r\nfor others just as much as yourself. So, it\u2019s kind of your responsibility to\r\nget your work out there in to the world so it can interact with people and do its\r\nthing. If you don\u2019t share it then you\u2019re wasting an opportunity to affect others\r\n(maybe for good or bad). Therefore, if you want your work to be imbued by this\r\nkind of meaning then you need to help get it out there. That to me is the why.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Strategies<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Once I decided on my short term aims I had to work out the main strategies. Here\u2019s what I wrote:<br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Main Strategy:<br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><br>Get some reviews.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Create content \/ especially videos and try to\r\nget followers to share free content<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>What can I focus on to get attention, to make\r\nme more interesting from the other artists vying for attention? Focus on the\r\nidea that what I am doing is the beginning of automation in music. Through that\r\ntry to get invited on to current affairs programs or technology programs such\r\nas BBC click.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You probably noticed, there wasn\u2019t much detail\r\nin that bit. When it comes to strategies there tends not to be. It\u2019s the\r\ntactics that have all the details in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, before I set out on my marketing campaign I wrote out a checklist of tactics. This would not be all of them but it was a starting point. Here\u2019s what I came up with. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>The Funnel<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You may have heard of the funnel strategy, if not it&#8217;s basically a system that aims to draw your followers towards certain points that will lead to an objective. That might be buying your album, joining your membership scheme, or it might not be buying anything at all but instead developing the relationship between you and your followers. Normally this is quite an art and will require some effort and time not just learning but putting in to practice. It&#8217;s definitely worth considering especially if you want to get in to marketing to a greater degree. There are quite a few courses in this field, I can&#8217;t really recommend any but via a quick search I found this site that is worth checking out as they offer a lot of free content as well as a paid for  course (costing just under $200) that seems to go through the process step by step in a lot of detail.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicmarketingmanifesto.com\/\">https:\/\/www.musicmarketingmanifesto.com\/<\/a><br><br>It&#8217;s worth doing your homework, maybe find courses on music marketing and then check for reviews of the courses before signing up to them. I did one in 2011 and it helped me a lot, and whilst I&#8217;m still not a millionaire I did manage to increase my fanbase to over 120,000 followers partly because of what I learnt from it.  <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Main tactics:<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Initial main tactics:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Create a release date 3 months ahead of any promotional campaigns as many media outlets take ages to do anything with your release.<\/li><li>Put songs on Soundcloud for private viewing only. <\/li><li>Create CD package.<\/li><li>Create videos for some of the songs on the album.<\/li><li>Create some articles and video content.<\/li><li>Get promo shots done.<\/li><li>Research bloggers and playlists, link with them, engage.<\/li><li>Contact writers and blogs to get some coverage. <\/li><li>Contact higher level media outlets.<\/li><li>Read articles on current marketing trends.<\/li><li>Find, Newspaper, magazines and websites that might be interested.<\/li><li>After Release, post a free song per week on social media and ask people to buy the album.<\/li><li>Sign up to Apple and Spotify for Artists.<\/li><li>Study Branding if you don\u2019t know much about it.<\/li><li>Make sure you have a presence on all the major social networks: Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.<\/li><\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Because those points are so vague they could\r\nprobably be seen more as strategies than tactics, there\u2019s a bit of a blurry\r\narea between them sometimes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, it\u2019s at this point that we shall delve in\r\nto the tactics in more depth, however, we will have to revisit the strategies\r\nlater. In fact, there were strategies I was going to become aware of which\r\nhadn\u2019t even crossed my mind at the start of the campaign. I\u2019ll tell you more\r\nlater.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you\u2019ve created your music album (we\u2019ll talk\r\nabout singles later), you can post it privately on Soundcloud so that reviewers\r\ncan hear it before release. You\u2019ll be tempted to release it as soon as\r\npossible, but don\u2019t. Give it its best chance by holding back whilst you get\r\nyour campaign up and running. Also, put together supporting media such as promo\r\nshots and maybe write up an article that you\u2019d like to have written and use\r\nthat in your press pack as lots of media outlets will want to just cut and\r\npaste what you show them to save them the work of writing something up. There\r\nare article writing services available as well as some reviewers who will take\r\na small fee to come up with copy that you can use in your press pack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you have a website or a blog you can create an Electronic Press Pack (EPK) which you can change during your campaign as you get more coverage, I would seriously avoid creating any paper based press releases nowadays. If you get someone who only accepts printed press packs then print one up for them, but I can\u2019t remember when I last had to produce a printed one. If they demand one, tell them you\u2019ll tell Extinction Rebellion about them if they don\u2019t go electronic.<br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>The EPK<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Your electronic press kit (EPK) is going to be\r\nvery important. If you have a website, you can add content to it as more\r\nbecomes available (e.g. Reviews and media coverage). An EPK should include:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Title including that it\u2019s\r\nthe EPK for \u2026\u2026<\/li><li>Create a very interesting\r\nintroduction, one that will intrigue the reader and make them want to read\r\nmore. On my one I asked if they could tell the difference between music made by\r\nvirtual musicians and real ones.<\/li><li>Release Date<\/li><li>Album cover Photo<\/li><li>Short Press Release<\/li><li>Further information links<\/li><li>Label type<\/li><li>Genre<\/li><li>Sounds Like list<\/li><li>Influences list<\/li><li>Links to music or a music\r\nplayer<\/li><li>Videos<\/li><li>Short and \/ or Long\r\nBiography <\/li><li>3<sup>rd<\/sup> party\r\narticles and \/ or reviews<\/li><li>Links to media coverage<\/li><li>Photo gallery with links\r\nto high resolution images<\/li><li>Online links to social\r\nmedia and streaming services<\/li><li>Contact details<br>\r\n<br>\r\n<\/li><\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You can see my one here: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/dangerous-things-epk\/\">http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/dangerous-things-epk\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Once the EPK is in place you might think you can\r\nstart contacting the media, but before you do that you need to get a few other\r\nthings set up first. Remember also to keep updating the press pack and press\r\nrelease throughout the campaign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, what else do you need to do?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Make sure you are set to distribute digitally on a certain date and if you can\u2019t be sure your music won\u2019t be released on that date, then hold off clicking the finalise button until you get close to you chosen date.<br> <br> If you already have music on Spotify and Apple Music then you need to sign up to their Artist\u2019s program so you can have further control of your artist\u2019s page on their platform. For instance, you can write an about section on Spotify, add images, notify fans of upcoming events, available merchandise, add playlists of your own music and music you like (with your own tracks included) and get useful statistical information about your listeners. Because these systems tend to change it might be better to do a search for Spotify for Artists, and Apple Artists to work out how to sign up and link your personal accounts on those platforms with your artist\u2019s ones. Here are the current links though.<br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/artists.spotify.com\/\">https:\/\/artists.spotify.com\/<\/a><br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/artists.apple.com\/\">https:\/\/artists.apple.com\/<\/a><br><br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Branding<br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It\u2019s also very important to have some\r\nunderstanding about branding, and by this I don\u2019t mean just your logo, but\r\nreally your fans, your own values, and the overlap between their core values\r\nand your own, as well as other information about the type of people who like\r\nyour music. This is a must as it will help you choose who to contact with\r\nregards promoting your work. Just do a search online about branding to find out\r\nmore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you are going to be selling anything, be it CDs, or other merchandise then get the sales pages set up before you contact media as they may well want to check what you are selling is legitimate, plus you don\u2019t want to have a rush of interested fans who can\u2019t actually buy anything.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Social Networks<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Even if you\u2019re not keen on using social networks it\u2019s important to create accounts on all the major ones with at the very least a link to where people can buy or stream your music and some contact details but preferably with some content on too. Make it easy for people to hear your best songs, make them want to connect with you and find out more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I tend to focus on using Facebook which has some drawbacks, mainly it\u2019s not the best platform to share your content on as such a low percentage of your followers will see any of your posts without you having to pay something towards advertising. But it\u2019s a good platform to develop deeper relationships with your followers. Twitter is more fleeting but you might get more people seeing something you post, Instagram is similar to Twitter except it\u2019s more about images, YouTube is good for long term (AKA Long Tail) slow burn exposure, unless you \u201cget lucky\u201d with a viral video then you might get millions of views. While I remember, if your digital distributor offers an option to monetise your videos on YouTube, switch it off as it will stop people sharing your videos as much, and given the amount you\u2019ll get for monetisation of your music is normally tiny on YouTube, it\u2019s not normally worth it, unless you start to get millions of views, in which case switch it on during the viral period.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you&#8217;re not using social networks then you should seriously think about doing so. It&#8217;s not so much that they will suddenly gain you lots of followers or sales, but they will allow you to share your music with others whilst at the same time bring you in to a sphere where you can interact with people who appreciate your music, which adds another meaningful dimension to your creativity. Pink Floyd had written the album The Wall partly because they felt there was a barrier between themselves and their audience which further exaggerated their own sense of isolation, now with social networks you can gain a feeling of connection with others. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you&#8217;re worried about it taking over time wise, then try to weave it between things rather than making chunks of time available when you deal with it as a chore. Also, if you&#8217;re not sure where to start look for tutorials on YouTube or if you can afford to pay to learn then research online courses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Lastly, some social networks appeal more to certain age groups than others, so, bear that in mind when choosing to focus on one in particular. If you&#8217;re music is very current then you might find Instagram more appropriate, whereas if it&#8217;s a bit more &#8220;retro&#8221; (in other words doesn&#8217;t sound like any artists who&#8217;ve had a hit in the last 5 years) then maybe focus more on Facebook and Twitter.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Uh Oh\u2026 I\u2019ve got something important to tell you<br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This was one of the developments I came across.<br><br>Up until recently many music artists have been following a marketing model that has its roots in the past, but now there\u2019s a different way to think about it, I mean, about it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, in the past most artists wrote a load of songs, recorded, mixed and mastered them, created an album and released a few tracks as singles, then released the album to a fanfare, promoted the album, did a tour, had a break then started all over again. Well forget that, especially if you\u2019re not signed and not part of the big commercial mainstream machine. Of course, if that&#8217;s working for you then forget the bit where I said &#8220;forget that&#8221;&#8230;. just carry on, but&#8230;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is the new model.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Write a song, mix, master and digitally distribute it so that it goes out to Spotify, Apple, et al. Then create a bit of a stir on social media, try to get it on playlists, reviewed and then the next month or so (when your next song is ready), repeat as above. If you want, after releasing 3 or 4 songs, when you get to the next one release them together as an EP and once again go through the same promotional process. This way you are continually keeping yourself in the minds of your fans. Once you\u2019ve got 10 to 12 songs ready, master them and release them as an album (maybe with 2 or 3 new tracks that you haven\u2019t released previously). A good reason to release an album is mainstream media companies prefer to interview you  or feature your work when there is a new substantial release, so an album will give you a good excuse to get some extra attention, even if it is not being released as a CD. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Part of the reason for using this multiple release process is Spotify will only look at putting one song per release on its new release type playlists, so this maximises the chances of getting on one, which may get you some extra followers, listeners and exposure. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>What I\u2019ve been thinking is that maybe it\u2019d be worth using one of the digital distribution services that charge an annual fee for the singles (such as Distrokid) and a one-off fee service such as CDbaby for the albums, but I\u2019m not sure if that might cause some complications. The problem with the annual fee services is (I think) that once you stop paying the fee your music will get pulled from the digital distribution companies, so after you\u2019ve left your mortal coil and can\u2019t pay the fees anymore your legacy will disappear too. I\u2019m not sure of the longevity of the one-off fee companies either, but it\u2019s something to bear in mind if leaving a legacy is important to you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>For me, this whole change in approach seems\r\nbetter. Up until recently I\u2019ve spent a couple of years on each album, but from\r\nnow on I\u2019ll be working on the regular release model. It\u2019s definitely worth\r\nthinking about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Digital Distribution companies to check out:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Please do a search for digital distributors as I can\u2019t guarantee these are the best:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.CDbaby.com\">http:\/\/www.CDbaby.com<\/a>\r\nOne off payment for each release<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/distrokid.com\/\">https:\/\/distrokid.com\/<\/a>\r\nyearly subscription for unlimited releases<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amuse.io\/\">https:\/\/amuse.io\/<\/a>\r\nAmuse (never used them but they offer free distribution. Check them out\r\nproperly before signing up though)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Take care to check out if the companies require exclusivity, especially if that might be an issue for you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Here\u2019s an article about some of the companies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/financesonline.com\/best-music-distribution-services-companies\/\">https:\/\/financesonline.com\/best-music-distribution-services-companies\/<\/a><br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who you gonna call?<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I used to spend a lot of money buying music\r\ndirectories and wading through them to find the appropriate media people to\r\ncontact when trying to get interviews and reviews. There are still directories\r\navailable and they may be useful but even without them you can find people to\r\ncontact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The first obvious route is to do searches for blogs, magazines, newspaper reviewers, radio and TV programs that feature your genre of music, then once you find them go through the programs to find who plays similar music and might be sympathetic to your work. Once you find them you could send an email with a message that shows you\u2019ve listened, read or seen their program, and think that your work might be of interest to them. You may get a reply but I think it might be at a ratio of 100:1, so don\u2019t get your hopes up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>What might be more worthwhile doing is working out which ones have a medium sized audience, if it\u2019s just 30 listeners is it worth all the effort? But if they have 100,000 will they even notice you? But let\u2019s say they have a few thousand in their audience then that\u2019s probably worth it and they may well be interested in interviewing you too. BUT even then, sending them a direct email is still unlikely to get you anywhere. Instead why not find them on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and try to link up with them on there. Again, don\u2019t send them a direct message, but interact with their posts every now and again, never be pushy or post links to your stuff on their posts, instead, just slowly build up a repertoire with them. If you can, then be as genuine as possible. If you don\u2019t click with each other then maybe just move on but keep connected with them, you never know what the future might bring. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you\u2019re releasing a song every month or two\r\nthey\u2019ll probably have a listen at some point and slowly you\u2019ll become part of\r\ntheir world. Once you\u2019ve done that, you might find that a direct message after\r\na few years of being connected might get a response. You might even find they\r\ncomment on one of your songs and that could be a let in to ask them if they\u2019d\r\nlike to do an interview, they might even ask you first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>As you can see this is a long game, but there are some quick-fire roots worth looking at too.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Submithub<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Submit hub is a website that will allow you to make contact directly with blog writers, playlist curators and record labels directly, albeit for a small fee (a dollar or two) each time. When I first came across them I was not only sceptical but I felt resentful. It felt like a con. But on further reflection I saw it a bit differently. First of all, it acts as a music directory for free. So, you can put in what type of music you\u2019re creating and a list of blogs, labels and curators will come up, who you can then check out in more detail to see if your music really is a match for them. You can then upload one of your tracks to the site and submit it those parties you think might be interested in it. You\u2019ll have options to request feedback, but I\u2019d say set it to feedback not being very important, that way they tend to listen longer (it tells you how long they played a track for) and by doing so they will often leave feedback anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Once again this is a way to build up\r\nrelationships with these bloggers and curators, because in time they will get\r\nto know you, especially if you submit songs to them occasionally. Because I\r\nused to send out discs to people I feel that $1 or $2 to actually get a song\r\nlistened to is not bad. But do make sure you check out anyone you send your\r\nsongs to in depth otherwise you might be just wasting your money. A lot of them\r\nhave very low acceptance rates, but at least you know they had a listen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screen-Shot-2019-09-01-at-23.34.53-192x300.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-936\" width=\"323\" height=\"504\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>On my rounds of finding short cuts to get on\r\nplaylists I kept on coming across websites where they asked for permissions\r\nregarding one\u2019s Spotify account. I wouldn\u2019t ever consider doing such a thing\r\nand certainly recommend you do not either. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Whilst they state \u201cConnecting to Spotify is used for verification only. By clicking this button you agree to provide your email and name for Indiemono to use for marketing purposes. You can opt-out at any time.\u201d I wouldn\u2019t take the risk.<br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Useful videos about Submithub, and contacting playlist curators <\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Music Marketing Strategies | How to Promote Your Music On Youtube \u2013 How I got over 100k plays\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jZZNN9bfHqo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To Succeed In The Music Industry | Setting The Right Goals\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RiImXHII9co?start=8&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Submithub \u2013 Reading My Song Rejections\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JlcSa4pZum4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why SubmitHub Sucks\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ImzkAuAu4jg?start=977&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"IS SUBMITHUB WORTH IT?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n8_aMrFSbdQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SubmitHub - Review + Our Meanest Rejection!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YDQuGpHjziQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Chartmetric<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Chartmetric is a website that offers certain free tools that can be very useful when you\u2019re trying to find Spotify curators who have playlists with similar music in to yours. I can\u2019t easily go through the process of how to do this myself here, but I\u2019ll post some links to videos that can do just that at the end of this section.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I tend to use this technique every now and\r\nagain and it\u2019s definitely worth getting it under your belt as a useful\r\nresource. By the way unless you\u2019ve got money to burn don\u2019t&nbsp; bother even looking at the Chartmetric paid\r\nfor service, it\u2019ll probably make your eyes bleed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>As you start to find your way around Spotify\r\nand its playlists you\u2019ll begin to get an idea how it might be useful for you.\r\nEvery song you write may well have the potential to appeal to different\r\naudiences so just looking at genres might be a bit too limiting. For instance,\r\nyou may create a song that is great to exercise to, whilst another you create\r\nmight be good for a marriage ceremony, so thinking outside the box is a good\r\nway to approach this area.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Here are some other things to consider:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Do some searches with\r\nkeywords that fit your genre and musical style. &nbsp;<\/li><li>And then, start compiling\r\nsome of the best fits into a spreadsheet. <\/li><\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Include the playlist name, a link, the follower\r\ncount, the owner, and any contact info you can find. It\r\nisn\u2019t&nbsp;too&nbsp;difficult to get in touch with&nbsp;Spotify playlist\r\ncurators&nbsp;since most link up their accounts to Facebook.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I\u2019ll post a link to a spreadsheet I use in the resources section<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To Get On Spotify Playlist And Contact Curators | Spotify Hacks\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2ormsCkiSzA?start=611&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Spotify Hacks: How To Get On Spotify Playlists\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bCKd3kI1K_Y?start=425&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Pitching Your Songs to Independent&nbsp;Spotify Playlist Owners<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Of course once you find a playlist that you\r\nthink might be a good match for your song then you\u2019ve got to try to contact the\r\ncurator and persuade them to add it. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It\u2019s not always easy to contact curators directly from Spotify, but you can use information in Spotify to do a bit of detective work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So go to Spotify<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Write something in the search field e.g.\r\nDriving Music<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Then find the &#8220;See all&#8221; link near the word &#8220;Playlist&#8221; &#8211; A list of playlists should appear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Scroll down and click on one of the playlists\r\n(check the follower amounts as some might be too small and some too big)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>One you click on the playlist you\u2019ll see who\r\nit\u2019s created by<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Click on their name and you\u2019ll go to a page\r\nwith more details about them<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You can try a few things from that point, such as copying their name then searching for them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Google etc&#8230;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Be careful NOT to Direct message them at this\r\npoint but instead see if you can link up with them and then give it sometime,\r\nmaybe even months to see if any engagement occurs organically.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Sometimes though a curator may have some kind of invitation to submit songs to them, often with a link to Submithub. In that case, you can fast track your application if you wish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you do end up getting in to a dialogue with\r\nthem, then compliment their playlist, and maybe suggest a song or two (not your\r\nown) that you think would fit. Pitch your music only&nbsp;after&nbsp;you get an\r\nauthentic dialog going. Remember, they are people too with their own agendas,\r\nso treat them with respect. Also, keep in mind that someone with a playlist\r\nwith a few thousand listeners will be much more open to you than someone who\r\nhas hundreds of thousands of followers. Once you get a successful track record\r\nyou can start moving up. It\u2019s worth bearing in mind too that playlist owners\r\nare always looking out for new tracks to include. So it\u2019s likely that if you\r\nget some placements on other playlists, you may very well get included on\r\nothers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Spotify is not the only music streaming service\r\nbut it\u2019s probably worth focusing on it at first while you find your feet then\r\nstart looking at the other services such as Apple Music, Amazon, Topsify,\r\nDigster, Filtr, Reverbnation, Deezer\u2026 as time goes on it\u2019s worth trying to find\r\nas many other companies as you think you can handle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There\u2019s nothing stopping you from creating your own playlists too, if you strike the right chord you might end up with millions of followers too. It goes without saying that you could create playlists of your own music but you should also include creating playlists based around a theme in which you include a few of your own tracks within a selection of other peoples\u2019. If you do that it\u2019s worth modifying it at least once a month and trying not to have too many tracks by one artist. I was told that Spotify are more likely to list playlists that follow those rules but that might just be BS.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Whilst we have been focusing on Spotify in the pre-release section of this article it\u2019s probably more realistic to think of Spotify as a continual promotional tool, so for pre-release and afterwards, it should be part of your weekly routine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Whichever streaming service you focus on it\u2019s a good idea to create banners for your social networks which have a call to action to follow you on Spotify or whichever one streaming service you prefer. You can see mine at <br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Simonmarksmith\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Simonmarksmith<\/a>. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>By having a banner with a call to action on you are continually reminding your followers to check you out or follow you on that streaming platform. Likewise creating links to your artist\u2019s streaming page on every blog you write, or under any video you put on line, on your website, your Facebook page, on Instagram and so on, over time people will start to follow you if you ask them to. After three, four, or a hundred times, they\u2019ll get the message\u2026 oh, if you have an email list\u2026. You know\u2026 include the call to action on your emails too.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Refresh and update<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you have a website start to incorporate pages about your upcoming album, including preparing sales pages and information about the album or singles. I also paid \u00a320 for a year of having a smart link via Hearnow, it\u2019s a convenient and nice looking page that acts as a central hub for your album. <a href=\"https:\/\/hearnow.com\/\">https:\/\/hearnow.com\/<\/a> . If you already have social networks set-up then start incorporating or posting information about your upcoming release. Especially ones like YouTube, make sure your videos relating to the album are positioned on your channel in an appropriate way.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Backing tracks, instrumental and karaoke<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Before releasing your work it\u2019s worth considering making mixes of your songs without the main vocals on and versions with no vocals or backing either as the non-vocal ones may be useful as backing tracks, not just for live performances but maybe some media situations, and the completely instrumental ones can be useful for use on films and TV. If you think your music might suit that then approaching music libraries might be worth considering. You might also want to create some karaoke versions of some of your songs on YouTube or Smule (more about Smule later)<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>The Next Level<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>During your 2 or 3 months of marketing before\r\nthe album\u2019s release you will hopefully have managed to get some coverage on\r\nyour local radio, papers, and possibly TV, you may also have got one or two\r\ntracks reviewed by some music bloggers, and hopefully got on a few playlists.\r\nIt might not seem that big to have only got that far, but by doing this you\u2019ve\r\nlaid the ground work for going for higher level platforms, and other media.\r\nEspecially if you\u2019re thinking of releasing another album in a year or so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Even if you haven\u2019t got any coverage it\u2019s worth thinking about the next level, especially if you have something that\u2019s of interest within your branding. (WARNING: Linking up with a charity gets used a lot so maybe avoid that unless you really do have a fascinating link with it)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you look at what other artists do to get attention you can start to see how it works. If you\u2019re going to try to get on national TV, radio or in the papers then you need to come up with a great idea. Maybe note down any ideas you get, or ones you like when you see others\u2019 ideas in action. History is full of publicity stunts, so keep an eye out for variations you can use.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Release Day<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Hopefully you\u2019ve created a bit of a buzz. It\u2019s\r\nnow time to release the album.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>On the day of release it\u2019s worth having a bit\r\nof a fanfare (literally), maybe hold a party in which you perform a couple of\r\nsongs, invite loads of people, spend a bit of money on food and drink, make it\r\nentertaining, (maybe invite other acts and their supporters too). The main aim\r\nis to create a bit of a buzz and a positive association to you. If you can\u2019t\r\nhold a party how about doing something live on Facebook or YouTube, or release\r\nyour latest video.&nbsp; Try to do something\r\nto mark the occasion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Other things to help create a buzz.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Whilst approaching the release date it\u2019s worth filling the void with useful pursuits such as creating videos and populating social media with tantalising content. This is something to pursue after the release date too.<br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Videos<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Videos are often the best form of introduction for someone who\u2019s never heard of you before and it doesn\u2019t have to cost you a fortune. It just has to be interesting, not just to your fans, making it interesting to people generally will bring new fans to you too. Sometimes content designed just for fans is good too, but keep both types as options. Often or not, smartphone videos often out-perform slick ones on Facebook.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Also, consider uploading your videos directly\r\nto Facebook, rather than posting a link to a video you put on YouTube as it\r\nwill deliver significantly more reach, so unless you\u2019re specifically building a\r\nYoutube channel, upload your videos to both YouTube and Facebook.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There are so many ways in which you can utilise\r\nvideos, so keep note of what other people do and any ideas that spring to\r\nmind.&nbsp; An exciting, interesting and\r\noriginal music video has the potential to go viral online, even if the track\r\nisn\u2019t a hit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Don\u2019t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to creating a video for your latest release. Traditionally, though, you could play a live session on Facebook; take requests or test new tracks. Engaging with your fans directly about your music will create a sense of personal investment between you and those involved. You can also give people a behind-the-scenes look at your recording process, rehearsals, anything your band is up to that might be interesting to anyone who has liked for your page. You could even do monthly live online concerts taking cover requests from fans and sneaking in a few of the new songs. The fans who get their requests sung will probably be more inclined to share the video too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>When you do create video content always remember to put a link to any songs featured in it, and just as with an image, watermark the video in a corner maybe, so that people can find you if they view it. Likewise, always put links to videos with any songs or images from videos posted anywhere. For instance, putting interesting stills from the video (or screenshots) on to Instagram tends to draw people to the video it came from. This process of putting links from content to social media pages or websites is known as cross linking, and is worth the extra few minutes it takes when posting something. Keep in mind that everything you post, every page you make, every link you post should do a job for you\u2026. In other words, there should always be a purpose that gently leads those engaging with it towards an end goal, such as connecting to you on a social media platform or maybe just buying something. Without cross linking that will be much harder to achieve. So everything you post should always have a link to your platform with it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Once you\u2019ve posted your videos it\u2019s often worth\r\npaying to advertise them. The reason why I say this is not so much about\r\ngetting people to watch the videos but just to get the name of your act in to\r\npeople\u2019s minds, especially on a few hundred thousand people\u2019s Facebook pages\r\nwho might not click on the link but subconsciously see your name on their page\r\nin the advert so in that way you become more established. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you have an email list maybe send out an\r\nemail about the video, adding an interesting side story might make people watch\r\nit and share it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Videos often make getting your music reviewed or added to other people\u2019s blogs a whole lot more likely, so it\u2019s worth making videos if you can. If you make a good video then often you can share it in related forums, for instance I had included bits of art created with a certain piece of software in one video, so I had a good excuse to share it in a forum for users of that app. Every little helps! Here\u2019s a link to that video in case you\u2019re curious <br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dangerous Things Simon Mark Smith (With Lyrics)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GLngcIzZ0jM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><br>Videos also lend weight to your credibility so when approaching media outlets, a good video may well help develop a sense of trust in terms of your professionality, unless your video is rubbish of course. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Whilst YouTube is the main video social media\r\nplatform there are others worth posting to too such as Vimeo, Taz, and loads of\r\nothers, but maybe just focus on one or two to keep your workload down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I posted a few videos on Smule. Smule is a karaoke site where people including celebrities post videos of themselves singing along to backing tracks. People can then come along and sing duets or solos on those tracks. If you think your fans might want to come and sing a duet with you then that might be a good way to create a bit more engagement. Or, they might just want to see you making a fool of yourself, as I did in the one below.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Here\u2019s one I did with James Blunt\u2026 excuse the out of tune signing.<br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Simon Mark Smith sings &quot;You&#039;re Beautiful&quot; with James Blunt. Please excuse the out of tune bits\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ns3-9zx-T7c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><br>If you perform live, then you can also&nbsp;make a promotional video&nbsp;for each show or tour you do. That way fans can relive the gig they attended or just enjoy what they missed. Don\u2019t forget to always post your event dates and music&nbsp;available online in as many places as possible. Some artists sell recordings of each concert on a branded usb memory stick, that might be a way to make a bit of money if you have large enough audiences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>MAKE STORIES WITH YOUR MUSIC<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Both Facebook and Instagram have made \u201cStories\u201d\r\navailable. This allows you to post content that will only be available for 24\r\nhours. I\u2019m not sure how the limited time aspect will help much accept to make\r\nsomething more precious because of its short life span, but if you think it\r\nmight be of use then you can find out more here:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-buffer-marketing-library\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\nhttps:\/\/buffer.com\/library\/instagram-stories\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>REPURPOSE YOUR COVER ART<br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Your album or promotional artwork can be used\r\nwithin your web design; social posts; merchandise items like t-shirts, mugs,\r\nand posters; and much more. Thus, becoming a part of your branding or \u201chouse\r\nstyle\u201d Try to think out of the box in order to put you artwork to extra use.\r\nMaybe a cheeky line from one of your songs might look good on some underwear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create a Twitter campaign<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you have a largish Twitter Following it might be worth devising a campaign in which you aim to get a lot of engagement and maybe even asking your followers to help promote you, for which they will get some kind of reward (free downloads won\u2019t probably cut the mustard). Here\u2019s something I did. I asked my followers to send a video in which they sang along to one of my songs, which I then included in the music video. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>How about offering to include fans videos in your next music video &nbsp;if they send in a video of them doing really cool dance moves to your song in a fantastic location. There&#8217;ll be instant promotional potential because all those included will be sharing the video.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Create an Inner Circle Group on Facebook<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Whilst pages are very useful on Facebook it\u2019s also worth having a secret group which you only add dedicated followers to. You can have much more interaction them and this will bring about a deeper real connection between you all. You can also test new songs, album graphics and other ideas and get genuine feedback.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consider Making a Series of Graphics with your Lyrics on<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Do you have some powerful lines in your songs, if so why not put the words next to a graphic and see if people share it? Don\u2019t forget to put a link and name with it so people can find you. All the major social networks will be good platforms to share these on, especially Instagram and Pinterest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Advertising<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I have over 120,000 followers on Facebook but\r\nif I post something maybe only 200 people will see it and 20 will react in some\r\nway. However, if I advertise, even just for a few $ then I will not only get a\r\nmuch higher reaction ratio but the adverts will appear on many thousands of\r\npeople\u2019s pages thus getting me some very cheap exposure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The other thing to consider when advertising\r\nis, do you want to just get people to \u201clike\u201d your post, or do you want them to\r\nclick on something and interact with it in a different way? The whole\r\nadvertising thing is a complicated area and is worth your while reading up on,\r\nhowever one thing I would say is set your costs low and see if that gives you a\r\ngood enough response. If Facebook suggests $10 for 3 days, I\u2019d probably do $2 in\r\ntotal over two days. Most musicians aren\u2019t selling a particular product, they\r\nare the product! And that requires the cultivation of building oneself up as a\r\nbrand so that people will then come to you because of your celebrity. It\u2019s the\r\nsame with paintings, the same image is worth a lot more if it was made by a\r\nfamous artist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It\u2019s very easy to just click on the Boost button on Facebook when you post something, and that\u2019s all very well if you want to get a few more likes or views of what you\u2019ve posted but getting to understand the ad manager in Facebook may well get you far better results. This is a big subject but worth getting some tuition about on YouTube or via a search. For musicians, it\u2019s a bit more difficult because our main product (our music) is no longer what sells, in fact we pretty much have to give that away in order to connect to our audience, and then either sell it again as a physical collector\u2019s piece later, sell merchandise, sell tickets to performances or get money because of our &#8220;celebrity&#8221;, possibly via paid for media appearances or advertising. If you\u2019re a cool brand you could advertise cool clothing, or if you\u2019re seen as knowledgeable and trustworthy then your approval of a product may be worth paying for to a manufacturer. &nbsp;Think of those famous people you see advertising \u201cMasterclasses\u201d online, that\u2019s exactly the kind of thing I mean.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There are many ways you can advertise and on\r\nmany different platforms, so always keep it in mind as an option if you need to\r\npush something a little, even if it\u2019s just your own profile for the long game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">INSTALL YOUR FACEBOOK PIXEL<strong><\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I am not that knowledgeable when it comes to Facebook Pixel so I can\u2019t advise you much on that, however, if you can use it then do so. I\u2019m not sure why but all those in the know say to do so, so it must be good!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>AFTER DISTRIBUTION<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There might be a lot of waiting around during both the run up to the release and afterwards, unless of course stardom has come to you in sudden big jolt. But for most of us the period of promotion is a bit laborious. I personally would much rather be writing and recording songs, but marketing is a must, so one must plod on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There is also a limit to how much you can push\r\na new album, after a while it will get tiresome to keep hammering the world\r\nabout it, so maybe push it hard for a week then let it gradually go down a few\r\ngears over the ensuing weeks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is probably why the new model of marketing\r\nhas become more popular, instead of telling everyone about your album for a few\r\nweeks every few years, now you can tell them about your new song every month or\r\nso. Also, the strain of promoting an album can be dispersed to a weekly\r\nroutine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Luxury<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Have you noticed how the words luxury and\r\ndeluxe are now used a lot when it comes to selling things? Luxury care home,\r\nluxury apartments, deluxe sofas. You may also have noticed Deluxe edition\r\nalbums, or Limited edition CD packs and so on. Well if you can\u2019t beat them,\r\njoin them. Why not create a luxury bundle of your CDs including a limited\r\nedition numbered and certified CD of your latest album, maybe include something\r\nspecial like the original artwork framed and offer it for sale for $500. I\r\nincluded some art work with a few limited-edition CD packs and they sold for\r\nover $100 each. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/dangerous-things-signed-cd\/\">http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/dangerous-things-signed-cd\/<\/a>)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>During the Quiet Times<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There are plenty of things you can do during the quiet times such as add some of your songs to other music platforms like Myspace, create karaoke versions for YouTube, research radio stations online and have a good listen to some of the shows to see if you can find a way in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>As you contact bloggers, radio stations,\r\ncurators and so on it\u2019s worth keeping a record of who you\u2019ve contacted and what\r\nhappened. I will link a spreadsheet you can use and modify for your own needs\r\nat the end of this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Just as you accept you have to mix your music maybe start getting in to a routine when you finish a song (well at least you think it\u2019s ready for release), why not look to get it reviewed, think about which curators might like it and submit it to a few on Submithub, maybe contact your local radio station and see if they have a new music slot, maybe they\u2019ll give you an interview or let you play the song live. Also, keep in mind that college radio, web radio stations may well be interested in premiering a song for you, especially if you can show a link to them. For instance, maybe it\u2019s about an experience you had in their town.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Agents and Record Labels<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you start to make money then it might be worth contacting an agent who deals with similar type artists to you or who want to, because it\u2019s their job to help make you more popular and get you paying gigs. And if you&#8217;re looking to get signed, agents are a huge asset because they have connections within the industry. If you\u2019re looking to get signed then it\u2019s an agent\u2019s job to negotiate for you, especially as most of the larger labels don\u2019t accept unsolicited demos, whereas an agent can get your foot in the door. Also, if they specialise in getting gigs then an agent might be worth the cost. Of course, a lot of people aren\u2019t focused on getting a record deal but a record label can help take care of promoting your music and selling records, which will take some of the pressure off you. But this is a complicated area full of pitfalls so I won\u2019t spend much time on it, only to say that if things are getting too big for you to handle, then maybe reach out for help via an agent or maybe a record deal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There are some digital record labels and net-labels such as 8Bitpeoples and Monstercat and there are some digital distributors who also offer record deals to acts they like, so it might be worth looking them up too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Conclusion<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>As you can see there is a lot you can do to help yourself get media attention and market your work, of course it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll get much success but at least you can give it your best shot. You can also see that marketing requires a lot of commitment so if you aren&#8217;t able to do it all maybe focus on what you can do, and if possible try to get some help, either from professionals or from supporters who are able to do things correctly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Creating a routine will help keep things bobbing along so try to keep things in perspective and dedicate a few hours every week to promotion, I often find that breaking out of the music making schedule helps give me a fresh approach to the music when I come back to it, so one doesn&#8217;t have to see it as the enemy. It&#8217;s a bit like having a break whilst you backup your data, you do back up your data don&#8217;t you \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Don\u2019t forget if this has helped you and you\u2019re willing to send me some money for my time and efforts here then please use the donate button below. I was just thinking that one could argue that if what I\u2019ve proposed above was so good then I wouldn\u2019t be asking for money. The idea that success is only measured in acquiring great wealth and fame, is somewhat skewed. The downside of this idea is that most people will not get to be that successful but that doesn\u2019t mean that they are all unsuccessful. It\u2019s a very rigid way of seeing things that judges people so harshly. For most artists, the drive that keeps them creating is the creative process itself, so to feel degraded because they are not the best, or commercially extremely successful does a lot of harm to many people&#8217;s self-esteem. You could say the same for people in many other realms too. So, to me, I see promotion not just about commercial success but also about giving our works a springboard in to the world where who knows what effect they\u2019ll have. Our talent creates gifts for others. Gifts that may be received in ways we may never be aware of, just as those artists whose works moved us were unaware of their effect on us too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<form action=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\"><input name=\"cmd\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"_s-xclick\"><br><input name=\"hosted_button_id\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"GZJ8XEU44RKTU\"><br><input title=\"PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!\" alt=\"Donate with PayPal button\" name=\"submit\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypalobjects.com\/en_US\/GB\/i\/btn\/btn_donateCC_LG.gif\" type=\"image\"><br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_GB\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\"><\/form>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Please find below a list of things covered\r\nabove plus other resources. I hope this has been of help. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Thank you<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Simon Mark Smith<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Please like my Facebook page at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Simonmarksmith\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Simonmarksmith<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>List of things to consider doing<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Set a budget, or at least think about how much\r\nyou are willing to spend on promotion<\/li><li>Make a list of your fantasy aspirations and\r\nrwalistic aspiration both for the short and long term<\/li><li>Create a list of mission objectives<\/li><li>Work out your main strategy<\/li><li>Work out main tactics<\/li><li>Create a release date 3\r\nmonths ahead of any promotional campaigns as many media outlets take ages to do\r\nanything with you release.<\/li><li>Create some articles and\r\nvideo content.<\/li><li>Get promo shots done.<\/li><li>Create an EPK<\/li><li>Sign up to Spotify for Artists and Apple Artists<\/li><li>Put songs on Soundcloud\r\nfor private viewing only. <\/li><li>Create a call to action in your social network\r\nbanners<\/li><li>Start creating a list of contacts \u2013 use the\r\nattached spreadsheet or create your own<\/li><li>Create an account with Submithub<\/li><li>Sign up to the free version of Chartmetric<\/li><li>Start contacting playlist curators<\/li><li>Incorporate your new album in to your website<\/li><li>Consider using Hearnow.com as a centralised\r\nsmart looking webpage as well as your own one.<\/li><li>Organise your YouTube Channel<\/li><li>Make mp3 versions of your album songs<\/li><li>Make backing track and instrumental versions of\r\nyour new album\u2019s songs<\/li><li>Consider creating karaoke videos of some of your\r\nsongs<\/li><li>Consider contacting music libraries<\/li><li>Study Branding if you\r\ndon\u2019t know much about it.<\/li><li>Read articles on current\r\nmarketing trends. <\/li><li>Make sure you have a\r\npresence on all the major social networks: Facebook, Spotify, Instagram,\r\nYouTube, and Twitter<\/li><li>Contact local papers, radio and TV stations<\/li><li>Start to research and contact for national radio\r\nprograms that might play your music <\/li><li>Create videos for some of your new album\u2019s songs<\/li><li>Post videos to multiple platforms<\/li><li>Create merchandise, use album art work, don\u2019t\r\nbuy too much!<\/li><li>Create memes with your lyrics and graphics<\/li><li>Create social media campaigns and do some\r\nadvertising<\/li><li>Create and utilise a secret group for your\r\nfavourite fans<\/li><li>Learn about advertising<\/li><li>Learn about Facebook Pixel<\/li><li>Create deluxe edition CD packs<\/li><li>Create karaoke video versions of your songs and\r\nput them on YouTube<\/li><li>Research bloggers and\r\nplaylists, link with them, engage.<\/li><li>Contact writers and blogs\r\nto get some coverage. <\/li><li>Contact higher level media\r\noutlets.<\/li><li>Find, Newspaper, magazines\r\nand websites that might be interested.<\/li><li>After Release, post a free\r\nsong per week on social media and ask people to buy the album.<\/li><li>Do you need an agent or a record deal?<\/li><li>Start to get in to a regular routine whenever a\r\nsong is ready for release<\/li><\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>List of ongoing things to consider doing<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use a spreadsheet to keep\r\ntrack of what you\u2019ve been up to<\/li><li>Every new single should be\r\nsubmitted for review and playlist consideration<\/li><li>Use Chartmetric and\r\nSubmithub to find curators who may like your music<\/li><li>Build up relationships via\r\nsocial media with media personnel including radio DJ\u2019s, playlist curators,\r\nmusic bloggers, music libraries, Music TV presenters, journalists.<\/li><li>Study social network marketing\r\nand keep your eye out for developments in practice. Also study branding.<\/li><li>Use your secret group for\r\ndirect fan feedback<\/li><li>Advertise a little but\r\noften when a new song is released<\/li><li>Create video content \u2013\r\nkeep it short, make it very entertaining<\/li><li>Never push hard, be\r\ngenuine and &nbsp;keep doing your thing<\/li><li>Don\u2019t forget, this is\r\nabout sharing your gift before worrying about money and fame. &nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><br>Further Reading<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Good article about Spotify<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/newartistmodel.com\/tag\/independent-spotify-playlist-curators\/\">https:\/\/newartistmodel.com\/tag\/independent-spotify-playlist-curators\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Check out info here<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdbaby.com\/musician-guides.aspx\">https:\/\/cdbaby.com\/musician-guides.aspx<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/music-blogs-that-want-your-music\">Music Blogs That Want Your Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Good video for contacting curators<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To Contact Spotify Curators To Get Added To Playlists\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u-O3eBhJI-U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/5-important-rules-when-you-submit-music-to-blogs\">5 Important Rules When You Submit To\r\nMusic Blogs<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fortheloveofbands.com\/\">https:\/\/fortheloveofbands.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicmarketingmanifesto.com\/\">https:\/\/www.musicmarketingmanifesto.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ram.org\/music\/making\/tips\/marketing.html\">http:\/\/www.ram.org\/music\/making\/tips\/marketing.html<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/how-to-get-your-music-on-discover-weekly-and-release-radar\">https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/how-to-get-your-music-on-discover-weekly-and-release-radar<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/10-top-instagram-tips-for-musicians\">https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/10-top-instagram-tips-for-musicians<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/10-essential-social-media-tips-for-musicians-and-bands\">https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/10-essential-social-media-tips-for-musicians-and-bands<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bandzoogle.com\/blog\/how-to-promote-an-album-12-essential-strategies\">https:\/\/bandzoogle.com\/blog\/how-to-promote-an-album-12-essential-strategies<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-music-industry-how-to\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ovyT5xnqJz\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicindustryhowto.com\/music-marketing\/\">Master Music Marketing In 2024, The Art Of Getting People To Listen To Your Music!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Master Music Marketing In 2024, The Art Of Getting People To Listen To Your Music!&#8221; &#8212; Music Industry How To\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musicindustryhowto.com\/music-marketing\/embed\/#?secret=hUQJGpQyyQ#?secret=ovyT5xnqJz\" data-secret=\"ovyT5xnqJz\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-noise-creators\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\nhttp:\/\/noisecreators.com\/2016\/06\/21\/a-list-of-40-sites-that-will-help-you-license-your-music\/\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-millennial-mind-sync\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"jxE9G48d5g\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.millennialmind.co\/top-sync-licensing-music-libraries\/\">Top 46 Sync Licensing Music Libraries 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Top 46 Sync Licensing Music Libraries 2024&#8221; &#8212; Millennial Mind Sync\" src=\"https:\/\/www.millennialmind.co\/top-sync-licensing-music-libraries\/embed\/#?secret=t5wbQ5ppCM#?secret=jxE9G48d5g\" data-secret=\"jxE9G48d5g\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-disc-makers-blog\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"mpOSsDMjNH\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.discmakers.com\/2019\/07\/a-release-strategy-to-fill-your-yearly-calendar\/\">A release strategy to fill your yearly calendar<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;A release strategy to fill your yearly calendar&#8221; &#8212; Disc Makers Blog\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.discmakers.com\/2019\/07\/a-release-strategy-to-fill-your-yearly-calendar\/embed\/#?secret=9UpnXkHtG3#?secret=mpOSsDMjNH\" data-secret=\"mpOSsDMjNH\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/how-to-get-a-google-knowledge-graph-for-musicians\">https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/how-to-get-a-google-knowledge-graph-for-musicians<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/ChristianMusic\/wiki\/playlists\">https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/ChristianMusic\/wiki\/playlists<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u2028\u2028<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/blog\/making-a-music-video-how-to-commission-a-director\">How to Commission a Music Video Director<\/a>\u2028\u2028<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dittomusic.com\/sell-your-music\/vevo\">How\r\nto Get Your Music Video on Vevo<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Music Library List<br><br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Here\u2019s a list of music libraries in case you want to check any of them out. Some of them might be dodgy so check what others say about them before getting involved:<br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/audiojungle.net\/\">AudioJungle<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.songtradr.com\/pro\">SongTradr<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.productiontrax.com\/contribute.php\">ProductionTrax<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/help.pond5.com\/hc\/en-us\/categories\/200073753-CONTRIBUTOR-FAQ\">Pond5<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marmosetmusic.com\/contact\">Marmoset<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/new-artist\">PremiumBeat<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pond5.com\/sell-stock-footage?ref=MuscoSound\">Pond5<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.audiosparx.com\/sa\/alliance\/\">AudioSparx<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/audiojungle.net\/become-an-author?ref=RoaringLionMusic\">Audio Jungle<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tunefruit.com\/users\/sign_up\">TuneFruit<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.audiomicro.com\/register\">Audiomicro<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.productiontrax.com\/contribute.php\">Productiontrax<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/luckstock.com\/pages\/author-tutorial.htmlref=MuscoSound\">LuckStock<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themusicase.com\/join-as-a-composer\/\">theMusicase<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/app.musicsupervisor.us\/users\/sign_up\">Music Supervisor<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yookamusic.com\/licensors\/how-it-works.aspx\">YookaMusic<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/muziko.com\/library\/register\/composer\">Muziko<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pumpaudio.com\/artists\/index.php\">Pump Audio<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/contact.html\">Shockwave Sound<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.atriummusic.com\/submit_music.html\">Atrium Music Group<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicloops.com\/contact.php\">MusicLoops<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/magnatune.com\/info\/submit\">Magnatune<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/indigimusic.com\/submit_indigi.htm\">Indigi Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.soundscapemedia.com\/submit.php\">Soundscape Media<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/freeplaymusic.com\/SubmitMusicStep1.aspx\">Freeplay Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/new_composer\">Premium Beat<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beatsuite.com\/help\/become-a-composerco-publisher\">Beat Suite<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beatpick.com\/artist\/submitNewMusic\">Beat Pick<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>i<a href=\"http:\/\/www.istockphoto.com\/sell-stock-photos.php\">Stockphoto\/audio<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crucialmusic.com\/my\/account\/new_indie\">Crucial Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/artists.audiosocket.com\/\">Audiosocket<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicdealers.com\/got-music\">Music Dealers<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/us.audionetwork.com\/content\/our-music\/a&amp;r-submissions\">Audio Network Production Music\r\nLibrary<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"mailto:ryan@scorekeepersmusic.com\">Score Keepers<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/my.jinglepunks.com\/artists\/new\">Jingle Punks<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/composers.melodyloops.com\/\">Melody Loops<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.millionducksmusic.com\/signup_artist.php\">Million\r\nDucks Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.libertylicensing.com\/artist\">Liberty Music Licensing<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/musync.com\/have-music\/\">Musync<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/artists.tunesociety.com\/\">Tune Society<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.royaltyfreeheaven.com\/Faq#q11\">Royalty Free Heaven<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/contributors.fliktrax.com\/\">FlikTrax<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.warnerchappellpm.com\/contact-us\/#com\">Warner\/Chappell Production Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.soundimage.eu\/articles\/292\/music-composers-submissions.html\">Soundimage<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.partnersinrhyme.com\/contact\/contact.php\">Partners\r\nin Rhyme<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.deepeastmusic.com\/\">Deep East Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mibemusic.com\/submit-music.html\">MIBE Music<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/support.audioblocks.com\/customer\/en\/portal\/articles\/1504010-can-i-sell-my-content-to-audio-blocks-\">Audio Blocks<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.audiosparx.com\/\">Audiosparx.com<\/a> <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/jinglepunks.com\/\">Jinglepunks.com<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/\">Premiumbeat.com<\/a> <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.railroadtrax.com\/\">Railroadtrax.com<\/a> <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Spreadsheet links<br><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Download a spreadsheet to record your promotional contacts on<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Promo-Database-example.xlsx\">Excel 2019 Version<\/a><br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Promo-Database-example.ods\">CDS Version<\/a><br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Promo-Database-example.csv\">CSV Version<\/a><br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.simonmarksmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Promo-Database-example.pdf\">PDF Version<\/a><br><br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If this post has been useful for you, and you wish to pay me for my time and effort please use the paypal Donate button below to make a payment. Thank you.<br><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<form action=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr\" method=\"post\" target=\"_top\">\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"cmd\" value=\"_s-xclick\"><br>\r\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"hosted_button_id\" value=\"GZJ8XEU44RKTU\"><br>\r\n<input type=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypalobjects.com\/en_US\/GB\/i\/btn\/btn_donateCC_LG.gif\" border=\"0\" name=\"submit\" title=\"PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!\" alt=\"Donate with PayPal button\"><br>\r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_GB\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"><br>\r\n<\/form>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Things to Consider When Marketing your Music Introduction If you\u2019re a musician or singer songwriter and are interested in getting your music out there then getting involved in some promotion and marketing is going to be required. At the very least, you\u2019re going to have to get your works on the Internet where people can&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-promotion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1627,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions\/1627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simonsdiary.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}