If you are an upcoming artist, you have probably tried different strategies of music promotion – from music distribution to playlisting; publishing to influencer marketing; blog publication and other forms of music promotion.
However, most upcoming artists have predominantly focused on chasing streams without success or meaningful impact on artist’s career. Hear this! Streams will not blow you. The media will.
Template for music promotion
1 Music distribution
2 Playlist push
3 Submit for featured placements
4 Register with soundscan (Optional)
5 Presave campaign
6 Music publishing
7 Social media hype
8 TikTok promotion
9 Radio promotion
10 Blogs and interviews
11 Create a viral video
While the template above can be described as the most comprehensive checklist for music promotion, consistently making headlines could be the masterstroke in redefining an artist’s musical pursuit.
The truth is there are so many good upcoming artists out there. There are many of them that, if woken up from sleep, would deliver solid freestyles back to back. Yet, most are struggling to get the attention they deserve. That is not farfetched from their focus of music marketing – always chasing streams.
Aside from an artist making good music, staying in the news, for the right or wrong reasons, is a guarantee to making the artist more popular. I say wrong reasons because there’s definitely no bad publicity as far as this industry is concerned.
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Ruger and BNXN had a burst up on Twitter recently. That could have earned them some headliners which also benefits their respective brands.
Music sales don’t just happen. It happens when the artist is popular – whether it is about getting back-to-back gigs or collaborating with the big guys in the industry or perhaps racking up millions of streams across DSPs, the artist must be fairly known. You gotta do what you gotta do.
While ‘staying in the news’ is vital, another potent strategy to push an artist to the limelight is branding. Most up and coming artists often focus on pushing out their music without branding the man behind the music. It is one mistake too costly.
Hear this! No matter how phenomenal your sound is at a particular time, no show promoter would ever consider engaging a tattered looking artist. Little wonder artists spend fortunes on their looks. Branding is a serious aspect of music business.
Apart from the show promoters, DSPs and associates are equally going to relate with the artist based on his popularity and brand.
So, here are some strategies that could boost the popularity of the artist:
1) Always make the news headlines at all cost
2) Be confident
3) Fake it till you make
4) Be consistent
5) Take calculated risks
6)Always put out positive images about your brand, and
7) Always do good music.
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