So, you (or your band) have a finished work or, at least, have a plan to get to that point. But what are you going to do with that? In this article you'll understand how music promotion can help, using music marketing strategies - from actions without the need for investment, to those in which some resources are necessary. After all, why not thinking in terms of gradual growth, right? Even though the term "music promotion" is usual in the business, it may sound strange for the artist. But let's begin by saying that there is nothing wrong in thinking that way. On the contrary, this way of working will sustain your career. Therefore, follow this line of thought: a band is a brand and the songs are the products of that brand. The brand can only survive by selling its products, so it has to be structured like a company or a business. Thinking like this is primordial for music promotion, and that will be clear in the next paragraphs.
First step of music promotion: artist branding
If your job as an artist is a brand, you will need a "face" for that brand. Even though not every artist is familiar with marketing terms, "branding" is one of the most used words of this sector. In the music business. branding can help you understand several characteristics of your own work, like how subtle is your music (more rock or more folk, for example), what social class is it focused on, in which venues can it be played, to which playlists it belongs, and so many other factors. Music promotion can absolutely use many of the tools that are commonly utilized in marketing by companies of other sectors. And that includes some tools that help with branding. Some more complex ones - like empathy maps and archetype mandala - to something more basic - like the creation of a persona. Let's go for an example of persona formation. In order to do that, answer the following questions:- What is the person, inclined to listen to your music, generally like?
- Will this person listen to your music in the car or in headphones riding the bus home from work.
- Would this person follow a playlist that has your music on it?
- Does this person prefer romantic lyrics or something that talks about day-to-day stuff?
- If he or she was an artist, who would he or she be?
Is branding important for music promotion?
Branding not only is important, it is fundamental. Your audience needs it to have something to relate to, to know who you are and where you can take them. It's an important topic, involving the journey in which your music will take the listener, including places of affective memory. And that represents a very effective marketing strategy. Look at the images to understand better:
The image on the left reminds us, clearly, of country music. The image on the right, however, makes us thing of jazz. But notice that are not only the elements in the images that are telling us that, but also the lighting and many other factors. To the left we have something more natural, like real daylight. To the right, a more intimate lighting, warm and artificial, like at a jazz club.
Now imagine, for example, that you are starting your Instagram music promotion for your jazz project. Which image would you use? The answer is clear.
Applying artist branding
The definitions you get from artist branding, will even help you understand how to make a band logo. Because only that way you can know what colors to use, what's the better font for you, if you will need a slogan next to your logo and many other things. In a more confined scenery, you can also think of segmentations connected to your branding. Remember that we talked about your band being like a company and your music being the product? Now think that all your music are a whole line of products (an album) and that line of products is directed to the identity the company. But with some slight diferences that point to that specific segmentation of your work. All that will help you with album cover design. Think strategically. You create your own identity. Meaning that you possess the rhetorical resources that will lead the audience to recognize you. But now you are in a battle field. You have been recognized so you need to defend your identity. The good part is that the audience won't suspect you - the artist can only lose credibility by doing or saying something wrong. So that is the principle of battle: the audience has recognized you and is now open to everything you show them. What you need now are resources to reinforce who you are and what your mission is. You will need material.Your material
Now you know who your audience is and how they see you. This is great for music promotion! You have enough material to go on with the developing of your actions, in other words, your music marketing planning. We'll see next some resources you need to create, before moving on to promotion.What is an elevator pitch?
The meaning of this expression is to sell an idea in a quickly and effectively. Like an elevator going up. It means you have a short period of time to get your listener's attention to your work, or even to get the listener to consider having a conversation with you. This concept is clear, for example, in TrueView In-Stream advertising videos on YouTube. Those that we can skip after five seconds. Even though the time of this example is shorter than the time in the elevator pitch concept (30 to 60 seconds), the idea is the same: to draw and catch the audience's attention, so you can later on pass the information. Elevator pitch can also be used in a form of a short text, in which the goal is to make the reader listen to your music. Depending on the platform you are using, the text can change in length. But the main idea is to create curiosity in a direct and quick way. That way this short text might also be part of your artist's bio in a google knowledge panel for artists. That's that little snippet that Google shows when you search for an specific artist. You surely know it, it looks like this:
To have this you must have a verified profile on Google and create your Wikipedia page. Follow our article's guidelines and you'll have it done in no time.
That means that after you defined your audience or your persona, write a short text inviting the reader to experience your product. Which characteristics of your music can create curiosity and an interesting experience to live? What's the difference from your band to other bands in the same genre? And from bands with the same target audience as you? Besides, which information, contained in your band's history or in your music, you can pass on quickly to make them more interested in your material?
Create your own argument and save it. You will need it to guide your music promotion actions and also to create some of the following material.
If you want more specific info and examples of elevator pitch you should check our article what is an elevator pitch.
Press kit
Before you know how to do it, first you have to understand what a electronic press kit is. It consists of the material to go along your press release and is sent to the press. That will help you to get organic social media - in other words, unpaid promotion - something not very present in music promotion strategies. To elaborate this material, besides making a really nice release, respect your branding and use the elevator pitch to get attention. Keep in mind that the people who receive your material, might get many others just like it, so you must stand out. It can be by making it personal - with the name of the receiver - or with some sort of gift that comes with the kit. Obviously, you will need some investment to make your press kit, but you can get to something viable with creativity. A press kit is, in the end, a gathering of specific material created based on your band. A few pictures of a great live performance. Some posters of concert in famous venues. A video of one of your songs. An essay telling the band's history or your music career. A compilation of interviews. A collection of album and single covers. Think about all the material you can gather and make a reduced version of that: that's your press kit. The release must be in there too, so when you get contacted by the press, with that material in hand, they can choose what to promote about your band.Internet: the greatest stage for music promotion
Independent music has certainly gain a lot from the growth of the internet. Before that, all the music business was centralized on record companies and there was not enough room for everyone. Nowadays, besides freely promote your work, you can also make your music available in the same platforms used by mainstream artists. That is, with little to no investment, your music can be on Spotify, Deezer and similar streaming services. It can even be in the same playlist as better known similar artists. The internet can make your music available to the audience and it is a fundamental tool for music promotion, consequently, the internet can also make possible for you to sell your music on those platforms. With a high number of "plays" of your music, you will not only monetize your work, but also increase your chances of being in official playlists liked by your audience. Check out next, some of the areas where you can act in that respect.