If you’re an independent musician and you don’t have a music PR team backing you, you’re going to need to get a bit creative to make a name for yourself. The world is constantly changing and so are the ways we interact with each other, so you will need to keep up to date with the best ways to advertise yourself. That being said, sometimes the old ways still work. The following are some great ways to make as big a slplash as possible.
1. Find Your Community
As 2020 has found us becoming more hermetic than in previous years, communities of artists and fans exist primarily online. On platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, there are a multitude of creators and fans alike who can interact with each other, voice opinions and share their art.
Find your people and immerse yourself in this online community, but do not approach it in an entirely self-serving attitude. After all, communities should be communal. Bring up other artists by sharing their work that resonates with you, engage in discussions and be open-minded and charitable towards others. You exist in a community for the benefit of others as much as for yourself. By acting accordingly, you will not only reinforce a community that will be a home for your music, but the music of others now and in the future.
2. Get Personal
People are more likely to support the artists that they feel a genuine connection with. When artists present themselves away from the veil of fame, or how they appear in manicured music videos and show that they aren’t so different from anyone else, it gives them a more human persona. One of the best ways to do this is using Youtube. Post testimonials, opinion pieces, links to causes that are important to you, anything that will add a dimension to your personality. Show yourself dealing with annoyances, struggles, or even something that you just find funny. Doing this will also show vulnerability. Gone are the days of the rockstar being an untouchable god on Mount Olympus, and thankfully so. Invite people in, be passionate, be a goof, just give fans something to grab on to. At the risk of sounding cynical, this bond will translate to sales.
3. Non-Musical Content
Non-musical content is incredibly important. Besides showing a more personal side, as mentioned before, it helps to bridge the gap between musical content releases. Since you may only be releasing official material every year or so, you will need to keep yourself fresh in your fans’ minds.
One good type of non-musical content is a “day in the life” video. Document yourself running about your day, completing errands that may have to do with the material that you are releasing. Maybe going to the pressing plant where your record is being manufactured. Get some food, get lost along the way, open a window into your life.
Other good forms are Reddit “ask me anythings (AMAs), throwback photos/videos, gear rundowns, recording methods and shout outs to groups or companies that enrich your life.
(Related: Awesome Content Ideas That Will Grow Your Fanbase On Social Media)
4. Take Advantage of Influencer Marketing
This is definitely a new fold in the discussion about music PR. Influencers are people who, for one reason or another, have caught the interest of the public at large. A lot of people know their names without really knowing what they do. Some are jetsetters, trendsetters, or just personalities. The important thing is that they release a LOT of content. A great way to get your music out there is to piggyback on their already staggering list of subscribers.
Most of these influencers are quite easy to get in touch with. There will usually be a contact prompt during one of their videos. Furthermore, these influencers are always looking for new music to soundtrack their videos without breaking the bank. If you voluntarily send them music and clear it to be used in a video free of charge, it’s going to be a much more enticing offer than for them to pay out of pocket to clear a song by a more well-established artist. In addition to having your song provide the soundtrack to one of these videos, you should get a written credit in the info portion of the Youtube page. This will make it easy for viewers to pinpoint your song, and find it on streaming services.
Twitch is also a good platform to explore. Reach out to popular Twitch streamers and offer your music for their gaming videos.
5. Physical Promotion
The internet has become completely saturated as far as music promotion, so it might be worth your while to employ some of the old tactics, like good old flyering.
This tactic can fall under the description of “fake it until you make it.” The funny thing about flyering is that nobody sees a flyer and says to themselves, “I gotta check out that band I’ve never heard of!” What flyering actually does is it gives you the appearance of having “made it” and being a band that somebody should care about. Flyering takes patience, a lot of hard work and more than a few trips to the local Kinkos. If you keep at it for long enough, people might start thinking to themselves that you are someone they ought to pay attention to. It’s a strange method, but it can work.
Aside from flyering, get stickers made, or limited run merchandise. This will create a frenzy for your brand and will get more people coming to your shows, and more traffic at your online merch store. A band t-shirt is always a good form of promotion, because it says that your music is good, or cool enough to replace a name brand on an article of clothing and people will wear it proudly.
6. Employ a Single-Based Release Strategy
Although you might be an album-minded artist, the truth remains that the internet, in its current state, is a single-based world. One of the best assets to today’s artists is the Discover Weekly playlists curated by Spotify’s algorithms. It can be a huge boost for your music if you get included in one of these playlists, as it broadcasts your song near and far and reaches people that would otherwise be oblivious to your existence. If your release rollout is single-based rather than album based, you can potentially be included in more of these playlists and reach more people.
Single-based rollouts allow you to release a track every week or so which will keep your name a trending topic. You will have constant output throughout the year in the form of single songs. By releasing an entire album on a select day, even with a 6 week rollout, you are severely limiting the exposure that you could have.
People are met with a lot of content online. By having your name come up on a regular basis, you have less risk of being forgotten. If you release a song every 6 weeks, or so, your name will appear a lot more than if you make a big release day and that be all.
7. Keep It Local
No matter how far out you broadcast yourself on the internet, a lot of your support will come from your hometown. Make yourself known locally. Play lots of shows, even if they’re not the most glamorous endeavors. FInd your peers and make yourself part of your community. Reach out to other bands and artists that you identify with. Be enthusiastic about music in general and be proud and supportive of others.
Go to record stores and give them your album to sell. Many stores will have a local section where your album may have a better chance at being seen, rather than deep in the stacks sandwiched between Perry Como and the Commodores.
Organize shows and events. Become a fixture. A face you can always see at shows, no matter how big or small. Artists that support other artists and their community are the glue that holds a scene together and when people see you putting your whole self into something, they will want to support you as well.
8. Email Lists
Allow fans to subscribe to newsletters so they can follow what you’re up to. This will also foster a special relationship between you and your fans, as it gives the feeling of exclusivity when something is sent directly to them.
Email lists also give you the ability to sidestep the dreaded algorithms of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Content is more likely to be seen and interacted with on these platforms if it has a popular name attached to it. For example, you are more likely to see an ad, or a video from Harry Styles than from some fledgling songwriter two towns over. The only way you can compete with this system is through spending a lot of money to have your content sponsored, and even that does not guarantee your content will rise to the top. An email, on the other hand, eliminates you going through any sorting process other than time sent. It’s an old method, but one that should not be overlooked when trying to engage with fans.
(Related: Why Every Band and Musician Needs a Mailing List in 2020)
Conclusion
Having a music PR firm or music publicist at the helm of your rollout strategy is a huge asset, but it’s very costly and it may not be in the cards for a lot of artists. Maybe sometime down the line, but if you’re still trying to make ends meet with your personal life you might have to take matters into your own hands. It’s a lot more work, but with some patience and a bit of good luck, you might find yourself in the large print on a festival poster soon!