Angela Tyler of Bandzoogle published an interesting article about ways to make sure your new music gets the attention it deserves and helps to get your fans all excited for the release date. She shares a number of marketing strategies. (The full article: https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2023/03/5-creative-ways-to-m ake-a-new-music-release-stand-out.html) Here is a summary... Perhaps you've been there, excited to release something that the rest of the world wasn't. That isn't a measure of your talent, and it says nothing about you as a person. It almost always means, however, that you lacked a strategy and thus a way to get your music out there. Hiring a publicist can help you build a fan base, but doing it yourself can be enjoyable and rewarding. First and Foremost: Create A Strategy Create a simple press plan in Google Docs, complete with outlets, angles, and a timeline. Begin with a timeline to create deadlines and plan accordingly, then consider the themes surrounding the

As a Christian musician, you likely want to share your music with as many people as possible. One way to do that is by creating an Instagram account and posting your music on it. However, coming up with the perfect Instagram post for your music can be tricky. Here are five tips for writing an attractive Instagram post for your Christian music song that will attract more visitors. (Plus a Bonus Tip  that explains how to create stunning videos like the one in this post!) 1. Use high-quality visuals One of the most important elements of an Instagram post is the visual content. Whether it's a photo of you performing, a piece of album art, or a video of your song, it's important to use high-quality visuals that are clear and engaging. Avoid using blurry or low-resolution images, as they can be off-putting to potential listeners. Our Top 10 tips for high-quality visuals on Instagram: Use high-resolution images that are clear and crisp, with vibrant colors and good lighting. Avoid usi

As a Christian musician, you likely want to share your music with as many people as possible. One way to do that is by creating a blog and sharing your music on it. However, coming up with the perfect title for your blog can be tricky. Here are five tips for writing a catchy Christian music blog title that will attract more visitors. 1. Keep it simple When it comes to blog titles, simple is often better. A long and complicated title can be difficult to remember and may not be as effective at grabbing people's attention. Try to keep your title short and to the point, and make sure it accurately reflects the content of your blog. 2. Use keywords Including keywords in your blog title can help it appear higher in search engine results, making it more likely that people will find your blog. Think about what people might search for when looking for Christian music blogs, and try to include those words in your title. For example, a blog about worship music might include the keywords "

I came across a  blog post  by music producer and recording artist Matti Charlton where he evaluated SubmitHub, PlaylistPush, and Musosoup. His review caught my attention because I am familiar with all of these services and wanted to compare his findings (as artist) to my findings (as curator / promotional channel). I must admit that we share some similar thoughts about these services! This post includes some practical tips to help you make the best use of the opportunities that you may come across. (tl,dr:) I.m.h.o. the only service really worth the money is SubmitHub, but finding the right tastemakers on SubmitHub will take time (and money). UPDATE - January 22, 2023: I have added and commented on a response from Musosoup at the end of this post. SubmitHub basics There are various types of channels on SubmitHub. In essence, the channels break down into the following categories: Radio/continuous streaming - play your music on e.g. (Internet) Radio stations, YouTube live streams, etc.

Because Spotify is the world's largest streaming platform, it's no surprise that scammers have made a business out of taking advantage of unsuspecting musicians.  In this blog post, I'll break down the factors that influence playlist quality, additional factors that you may have access to (e.g. Spotify for Artists), and aggregated patterns/trends that are common among fake playlists. Vanity Indicators Followers, playlist descriptions, "Discovered On" presence, and so on are examples of forward-facing indicators. Because of the importance of these indicators, many people think they're a good measure of the quality of a playlist. The ratio of profile followers-to-playlist followers At least one profile follower for every 100 playlist followers is a healthy ratio. This growth is due to traffic over time or the popularity of the so-called 'follow-gate' services used by some playlist curators.  You should be extremely cautious of any curator that has a larg

Maybe you've heard this before... "I tried using Facebook ads to expand my Spotify, but it wasn't working for me. How can I grow the right way?" I personally don't like Facebook ads because I believe that Facebook is more concerned with making money for itself than with helping you. But Facebook is still where most of the 'eyes' are (including the eyes of your target audience), so that is where you need to increase visibility. So let's try to maximize every dollar we spend.  Before I forget, don't 'boost' your posts on Facebook! 'Boosting' posts on Facebook is like flushing money down the toilet. Facebook just takes your money without any lasting results… Facebook has more than 10 campaign objectives that align with business goals, such as increasing sales, leads, brand awareness, and more. Boosted posts are only optimized for engagement which has no correlation to growing sales or brand awareness among other goals. They'll get

Benefits of leaving your comfort zone 😀 TikTok  is much more than 'just' a social media phenomenon. TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos, on any topic, and has become is a must-have marketing tool for musicians and record labels. Songs that have been out of the mainstream for decades can also rise up organically on TikTok. It's become a platform that's fueling massive music success. In fact, major labels are now using TikTok metrics to assess the potential of a new artist or upcoming release. As a result of TikTok music promotion activities, more and more artists are seeing significant increases in streams on other platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, as well as success in traditional media. You've most likely heard Lil Nas X's " Old Town Road Remix " several times. For the better part of 2019, the song's viral moment was unavoidable. However, before riding his way into the spotlight,

It is difficult for emerging artists to find a marketing approach that suits their ambitions, needs, and means from the many marketing options available to them. In the past, radio play could only be secured by big-name musicians on major labels who had large networks of influence. Despite all of the social media and online streaming platforms that we have today, having your songs played on the radio continues to be an essential component of any music career. The big question is, how do you get radio play? What makes radio exposure so important? The rise of social networks and new distribution channels (Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and other streaming platforms) has brought both opportunities and challenges to music promotion. Everyone can leverage these platforms because they are free. Nowadays, it is possible to distribute your music on most streaming platforms at a relatively low price. On the other hand, reaching potential listeners is more complicated because it's hard to com

During some of the informal conversations we have with Indie artists, we often hear questions regarding what it is that they could do differently to get their music noticed.  In todays article, Kapa Freeman addresses one of the biggest challenges that many Indie artists are facing and is actually stagnating the growth of their music careers.  Happy reading! Why is it so hard to get your songs noticed? by Kapa Freeman  One word holds back more songwriters than anything else... It delays some music careers by years.... It destroys others. I'm speaking from experience. It took me 15 years to figure out that my first publishing deal could've happened 15 years earlier. Unfortunately, there was one word that was keeping my songs from the quality I needed, if I wanted anyone to take me seriously. So what magic word kept my music career in limbo? The word is "multi-tasking." I made the classic mistake that most indie songwriters make.... Trying to do it all! It took me forEVE

Are you a Christian music artist? Do you want to build a larger audience for your music? In this 5 part series, we will explain our music marketing strategy for exponentially expanding your fanbase. In part 5 we are sharing our final tips and wrapping up this series of posts. Use a Mailing List Having a newsletter that people can join is one of the best ways to not only communicate with fans, but to also build up relationships with them and turn those relationships into profitable ones. Once people visit your website, the last thing you want them to do is to leave and never return again. This is where mailing lists come in! If you can get people to sign up to your list before they leave, you’ll have their email address. From here you can communicate with them on a weekly basis, and remind them about you and your music. It may sound old school, but email is arguably still the most important tool at your disposal for marketing your music. The top reasons to have an email list are: You ow

Are you a Christian music artist? Do you want to build a larger audience for your music? In this 5 part series, we will explain our music marketing strategy for exponentially expanding your fanbase. Today, in part 4, we share tips on pitching to music blogs and playlists, and we go in-depth on the value and proper use of genre tags. This post contains a serious amount of information that you may want to print and save somewhere.  Next week, in part 5, we will be sharing our final tips and wrapping up this series of posts. Pitch to music blogs and playlists Getting publicity for your music can easily become more than a full-time job in itself (just ask any publicist), but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start gaining traction on a smaller scale. The most important thing to understand when pitching to music blogs and publications is that it’s not just about having great music — it’s about having a compelling, unique story that their audience will care about. Assets like professional pre