The music industry is bigger than it’s been in any point in history, and this has been something of a double-edged sword. While access to professional production standards and social media marketing has certainly made it easier to get a platform for your music, it’s also flooded the market, and made it extremely competitive.
With this in mind, getting enough exposure as an artist takes a slightly different approach. Here are a few effective methods of getting your music heard.
ATTACK ON ALL FRONTS
If you’re serious about getting your music career to take off, then you’re probably getting all the exposure you can using social media. After setting up a platform on Twitter, YouTube Instagram, SoundCloud and anything else that lets you share media, you should be doing everything possible to boost those likes and followers. After that, make sure you’re not neglecting the lesser-known platforms. There may be an unsigned artist playlist which you can get on, and leverage to reap in more fans. Once your popularity begins to take off, set out a strategy of attacking on all fronts, and ensuring that no social channel gets neglected or becomes inactive.
Keep a uniform and personable voice on all your posts too, so that your fans know it’s you they’re talking to no matter how they receive your promotional messages.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
As I mentioned in the intro of this post, the music industry is becoming oversaturated with so many independent artists out there competing for people’s attention. You’re not going to be much more than drop in an ocean, so it’s more important than ever to think outside the box, and play around with more creative ideas.
Of course, you’ve probably got other responsibilities aside from your music, so you should make writing and refining your original tracks a priority. Having said that, it’s important to support your online platform with unorthodox, less musical things. If you’re a metal artist and there’s a pop song that everyone’s raging about, do a cover of it. If you have friends in your home studio, think up a funny little skit that you can post to your social profiles. Sometimes a simple studio update can be hugely effective for keeping people interested.
The possibilities for getting exposure go way past releasing great music, so get creative and start thinking outside the box!
OUTSOURCE
Again, with the sheer amount of competition out there these days, using paid advertising to dangle your music in front of your target market could be a great way to gain exposure. You might scoff at this, thinking that you’re too poor to initiate any kind of effective marketing. I’m not suggesting that you take out a loan for thousands to pay for a marketing campaign and hope that you see big returns.
However, you shouldn’t disregard the idea of paying a little money for some social media advertising. Targeted ads can be hugely effective for drawing in people who are interested in similar artists, and will usually give your social media presence a nice little booster.
