BRVC Team
- Apr 29, 2021
- 5 min read

Music Marketing Strategies For Artists On The Rise

The rise in digital media has positive and negative effects on the music industry.

On one hand, it’s easier for artists to make and promote music, connect with their fans, and turn a passion into a profit.

On the other hand, it can be difficult to navigate social media content creation and public relations.

You don't have to do it alone! Keep scrolling for resources for monetizing your music, promoting your music on music platforms, and using social media to connect with your audience.

For answers to specific questions about creating a promotional strategy, pitching to the media, or becoming an entertainment publicist, please schedule a 60-minute strategy call here.

Monetize Your Music

We've all heard the horror stories of the entertainment industry. Some of our favorite artists have struggled to be paid properly and struggled with ownership of their own music. That's why more and more artists have opted to make music as independently as possible.

These services allow you to have full ownership of your music rights and they will increase your music’s reach.

Here are Soundfly.com’s go-to tools for monetizing your music, whether you are a new musician or not:

🎵 CD Baby - This is what you want to be investing in if you want to see your music on Spotify and iTunes. CD Baby makes it easier for people to get access to your music, ultimately growing your fanbase.

CD Baby also allows artists to tell their own stories. Check out this article written by #BRVCClient Call Me Ace.

🎵 Amuse - Amuse offers a free distribution service, so if you are very new to the process and don’t have much money to spend this is a great tool for you.

🎵 DistroKid - This distribution service offers unlimited distribution for a flat annual fee of $20 with no commission. This can be beneficial for you if you plan on putting out a ton of music each year.

🎵 TuneCore - If analytics are a must for you, this is the distribution service you want to go with. Similar to DistroKid they offer an annual fee, but it scales depending on how much you release music.

🎵 Spotify for Artists - Spotify now lets you upload your own music to their platform which is very beneficial if you are on a tight budget, but it is still recommended that you go through a distribution service.

🎵 Bandcamp - This tool offers you a marketplace to sell your music online. Offering personalization throughout the whole process including letting your fans listen to a sample song, if you are looking to sell your music this is the place to go.

🎵 Big Cartel - Straying away from digital goods, if you are looking to sell physical goods to go along with your branding, this is a great place to start. They offer the first five products free, so you can get a taste of what your fans are getting before you spend a dime.

🎵 LuckStock - This service differs from a distribution service because they focus on licensing and have a high 50% fee. But this comes with a non-exclusive contract allowing you to still promote your music anywhere you want.

So, if you need help distributing your music, licensing it, or even selling it these are the tools you need! However, there are other important aspects to music promotion such as the use of social media platforms.

Use Social Media To Promote Your Brand

It's not up for debate, you NEED to have some kind of social media presence to grow your brand as an artist, publicist, event planner, or host in the music industry. People want to see your shows and events, your personality, and the behind-the-scenes look of your business.

How To Set Up (Or Revamp) Your Profile

For starters, make sure all of your social media accounts are promoting your latest music in the bio. This is key to getting your music out there because when people click on your profile one of the first things they do is check out your bio.

For example, take a look at Justin Bieber’s social media profiles. His new album JUSTICE just dropped and what is the first thing you notice on all of his accounts? That’s right, he is promoting it as much as he possibly can!

Justin has links on all his social platforms leading you to various music streaming platforms that have his newest album. He also updated his cover photo and profile picture to match the album cover on Facebook. And his Instagram has a story highlights section dedicated to his new album too.

Once you have updated your social media profiles, you can now focus on content creation.

What does content creation look like for a musician? How can you keep your followers in the loop and keep them constantly engaged?

How To Create A Content Strategy

We’re huge advocates for creating mini campaigns with your social media content instead of randomly posting. Every piece of content should be intentional. It’s easier to stay intentional with a content calendar. This way you can track what you post and evaluate your content performance.

For more tips on building a content calendar, check Out This Article From Symphonic Blog.

If Tik Tok isn't part of your promotional strategy you're doing it wrong. Check out this article for more information on Tik Tok's licensing deal with Universal Music Group.

For tips on actually creating content for your social media, please check out “How To Level Up As A Side Hustler, Freelancer, or Business Owner.”

Relate To Your Public

How To Build A Community

Why do your fans follow your social media accounts in the first place? Because they like you and your music! Give them an inside look at what happens before a show or post a clip of you live at a show performing.

Billie Eilish’s Instagram consists of fashion posts with a mix of behind-the-scenes and performing posts too.

Here’s a post from her performance captioned “AMAS last week.” Your fans want to see you performing and they want to get an inside look at your life, and you are able to provide them with that through the use of social media.

Here’s another example of using social media to post videos of you performing. Ariana Grande posted a clip of her at a concert, including a clip of a fan screaming at the start. This was a great way to incorporate your fans into her content as well.

How To Develop Your PR Strategy

Eventually, you will need a publicist to help you craft your brand messaging, book your media appearances, and help you with your overall promotional strategy. Until you’re ready to hire a PR professional, check out this article tips on crafting your DIY PR campaign.

Whether it’s through a newsletter, your social media profiles, traditional music promotion, or a strategy that combines all three, it is important as a musician on the rise to constantly think about how you could be promoting your brand and music.

How To Know If You’re Ready For A Publicist

Eventually, you're going to need to hire a publicist to help with your promotional strategy. How will you know you're ready? (Read The Article Here.)

Promote Your Brand & Get Expert Strategy

If you're seeking to promote your brand, connect with potential fans or clients, network with your fellow music industry professionals, AND get expert advice for your business problem points--we'd love to have you.