What’s the reason you got into music? We doubt it was because you’re passionate about networking and promotion. However, as we’re sure you understand, these are necessary evils, and you won’t get far without them.
For most aspiring artists, networking usually means getting yourself physically out there. Traditionally, this includes attending festivals, conventions, and various other events to strike up a chat with the people in the biz. The fruit of these interactions should ideally be long-term connections.
The approach described above is no doubt practical, but it is also very laborious. Not to mention, COVID has rendered mass live events impossible for the foreseeable future.
So, today, we’d like to explore the options that you as a musician have to expand your music industry connections and fanbase without much legwork. These are the things you can do online, from the comfort of your home, and still, yield some results.
We’ve created several categories of what we feel are the best tools and methods that make linking up with your peers and fans online super easy. And now, without further ado, let’s see what they are.
Influencer Marketing Tools
The influencer marketing industry has grown from $1.7 billion in 2016 to a whopping $9.7 billion in 2021. With those numbers in mind, you can imagine how useful it would be to connect with as many influencers as you to promote your music.
Now, when you hear the word influencer, what’s the first thing that pops into your head?
An Instagram model? Sure, but that’s only a tiny piece of the entire picture.
Influencers are also folks who have large followings on Spotify playlists, YouTube, and Soundcloud. Now, these channels are something that should interest a musician.
OK, so what’s the easiest way to link up with influencers in your industry?
The answer – influencer marketing tools. Here’s how it works:
These services contain databases of social influencers across multiple platforms. You then select the media and the niche(s) most relevant to you and pitch your music to the influencers. Having your song promoted by a social media bigshot can be the difference between fame and obscurity.
Ideally, as a result, you’ll connect with several influencers who genuinely like your stuff and possibly have free promotion in the future.
Music Promotion Services
Sometimes, there’s no way around legwork, but the good news is that you don’t have to be the one to do it. Hiring professional music promotion freelancers has never been easier, and the best part is – it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.
Such services probably won’t get you significant music industry connections, but they’ll introduce your music to a larger audience. Your songs will get promoted on the three major platforms – Spotify, YouTube, and Soundcloud.
The people offering music promotion services are usually digital marketing experts, well-versed in one or all of the aforementioned platforms. The methods being used may differ from person to person, but the methodology should not be your concern.
The only thing that you need to be on the lookout for is whether the engagement you’ll be receiving is organic or not. You want the former, of course.
Analytics Tools
In the age of data, comprehensive analytics are necessary for making the right decisions in the music industry. Just imagine the possibility of knowing which of your tracks are getting the best response and on which platform. That’s precisely what analytics tools for musicians will enable you to do and more.
Some tools can even tell you how your music is doing on radio stations and which regions like what you’re doing the most. Another helpful feature of these services is tracking your competitors and seeing how they fare across platforms.
OK, so how can this data be used to expand your connections?
Let’s say that one of your tracks is doing well on Spotify or YouTube. You can then look for artists from your genre with similar numbers of plays/views and contact them saying something in the vein of:
“Hey, I think your music is great, and I noticed that we’d got a similar amount of listeners, so why wouldn’t we promote each other? Or perhaps collaborate?”
Any reasonable person would say yes to this kind of proposal. They would get exposed to your audience and you to theirs. If everything goes well, you’ve got yourself a new connection/business partner.
Having fellow musicians as friends or acquaintances can bring you loads of benefits, the most one being – they could help you make even more connections in the industry.
Conclusion
That would be all we had in store for you today, and now we’d like to leave you with some final words.
No matter how well you can utilize new technologies to promote your music online, having genuine human connections is still, and will probably always be, irreplaceable. And remember, the best relationships are those where your professional and personal interests coincide.
