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How to promote new single – Make your song stand out
September 25, 2023 •
10 min read
You can have the best song in the world, but nowadays, that's not enough – you also need to know music promotion. The music market is saturated with thousands of new songs every day, and unfortunately not all of them are going to become a success. Independent artists must learn the basics of how to promote new single in order to increase their chances of making it. This way, you'll be raising awareness for your new track and putting it on the radar.
In order to effectively promote your music, it must be available on streaming platforms. Services like Magroove distribute to all the major Digital Service Providers (DSPs) such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and Amazon Music. Music streaming has made it easier than ever for new listeners to discover your track. But for that to happen, they must first find your music in the thousands released every day.
Learning how to promote new single yourself
Record labels used to be responsible for marketing new tracks but presently, most of them won't sign an artist unless they already have a proven fanbase. And for that to happen, artists must take every chance possible to advance their music.
Of course, there exist companies that can market your music for you. But upcoming artists have few resources as it is. It's best to learn to promote your single yourself and save the money. Another advantage of doing your own music promotion is that you can have a better feel of how the audience reacts. The hands-on approach helps assess how your career is doing and the general reception to your music.
To know how to promote music, it's essential to know the audience. Statistics such as gender, location, age, and much more can help you create an effective music promotion plan. Take advantage of streaming services' analytics to better understand who your audience is.
Create a hypothesis on who your target audience is. It's not an exact science: you can make this based on assumptions, but make sure to also take into account the demographics presented to you as well as any relevant statistics. Your theory will tell you who you're trying to reach. Then, artists can break down possible places in the digital landscape where they may hang out, and pitch your song to them there.
Pre-saving a song is like pre-ordering a product before it comes out. When a fan pre-saves, they're signing up to receive the track once it's actually out. The moment the song goes live, it's instantly added to the fan's music library.
This is specially relevant for streaming platforms that work on algorithmic bases, such as Spotify and Apple Music. Artists that have music with a bunch of pre-saves garner attention; and the more buzz a song gets, the more DSPs' algorithm will deliver it to people with similar interests.
Create a pre-save link you can promote across the web: your fans will pre-save your song and give it a boost. Share it across social media and ask for friends and family to organically promote the link. This increases streaming number and engagement as well as builds the hype and momentum for your track before it's launch date.
To create a pre-save link for your song, it's imperative to schedule your release ahead of time. 30 days after submitting the song is recommended so you can also plan and carry out your music launch campaign. After you've submitted your song to Magroove and scheduled its release ahead of time, go to your "My releases" page in your Magroove For Artists account. Then, click "Pre-save" on the gear button on the right-hand side.
This creates an URL with all the main DSP pre-save links for your release. Now, your fans can choose which streaming platform they prefer and save the song so it's on their music libraries the day of the release. You can even customize your URL with a personalized theme and message.
Pre-saves can also give you data insights. And once again: understanding your audience is key to knowing which strategies to use when learning how to promote new single.
Playlist pitching: More visibility for your music
If you wish to make your song available for pre-save and schedule it about 30 days ahead of the submission date, you have enough time to plan an effective campaign for your track to do the best numbers it possibly can. You also have the opportunity to use this time to pitch your song to popular playlists.
Playlist pitching is, simply put, asking for playlist creators (whether they are privately owned or editorially curated by the DSP) to showcase your song inside a playlist similar to its style or mood. It can aid in how to promote new single, as it'll be in one of the app's playlists. This can give your song a lot of visibility – Spotify editorially curated playlists, for instance, have millions of listeners.
Pitching your song to Spotify and private playlists
Only 20% of tracks pitched to Spotify succeed and get in their editorially curated playlists. As an artist, you want to be one of the lucky few to have your songs showcased in these popular playlists. To pitch your song, Spotify recommends submitting your song at least 7 days before the release date – so take advantage of the time you scheduled ahead if you made your song available for pre-save.
To submit your song for playlisting on Spotify, access your Spotify For Artists account. Look for "Music" and then "Upcoming". Once you're there, click "Playlist pitch". A form will open up for you to fill with the details of your track. In the "describe your song" box, make sure to shed light on your song's mood, creation process, and the message behind it. If you have any upcoming gigs, tour plans, or reviews, also include them; do your best to sell yourself as a professional artist to Spotify.
While private playlists are sometimes overlooked, they also have a massive influx on listeners and a huge impact on music overall. However, there is not only one way to pitch your song. Curators may ask for money to showcase your playlist, for instance. Others can ask for cross-promotion across platforms. Some don't ask for anything, just that your song is good enough and matches the purpose of the playlist.
Be professional when pitching your song to private playlist owners as well. Curators may have their contact information available. Reach them through e-mail, social media, or through a form, if they have one available. Just like in Spotify's pitching, sell your song and try to make them see how their playlist would benefit from having your sound in it.
Social media for artists
Social media has, undeniably, become an essential part of our day-to-day lives. If you play it right, it can also be a major aid when it comes to getting your music across the internet. You probably already have a social media account – but it's a good idea to create a professional one for your music career as well.
Be strategic with how you go about promoting your song on social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter. Look for your core audience: there's a bigger chance that they'll be interested in your music than people you find by just aimlessly adding everyone and spamming your song's link.
It's possible that the people that want to listen to your music have a lot of interests similar to yourself. Go to online spaces that you frequent to hang out or even to discover new music: that's the best place to promote your stuff.
Build connections with other media outlets as well. They already have an established following and their fan bases respect their opinion. No need to wait for your following to grow: reach out to blogs, Instagram pages, critics and others. They may be looking for music such as your own to share with their followers!
Social media is an online dreamscape. There, people tend to show the best side of themselves, with aesthetically pleasing pictures that showcase the specifically curated image they want to display to the world. Don't underestimate the power of aesthetics: brand yourself as a professional and always look to communicate what you want the audience to perceive your artistic persona as. 
There are many social media platforms, and it's important to know which ones are preferred by your niche. Your branding should be cohesive across all platforms, but understand that some contents are platform-exclusive. You wouldn't post the same thing to TikTok and Twitter: they have different aims and different ways of interacting with the community, one being a short video app and the other focusing on text.
Having an active presence throughout the apps can seem overwhelming, so creating a content schedule helps in keeping everything organized. Plan ahead your month of posts across the social media platforms you choose as the most important for your career and stick to it: it's essential to learn how to promote new single. Stay on top of the content you create on each individual app and be consistent: social media growth, most of the time, doesn't happen in the blink of an eye.
Instagram is one of the most versatile social media apps out there. From Gen Z to Boomers, they're all there: there is a wide array of diversity of communities. Your content can be casual, showcasing your day-to-day with tons of behind the scenes and exclusive content for die-hard fans. Promote music on Instagram and use it to get information to your fans as well. Maybe even tease unreleased music and release snippets, and remember to always interact with fans.
You can also post press shots, album covers, and give your audience a little insight into your biggest inspirations and motivations. Music video snippets can warm up the audience for a big launch, and artists can even do a merch giveaway if they want to attract attention to merch or exclusive items.
TikTok
TikTok is a video platform that grows more and more each day. As an artist, TikTok is a great social media for artists to cultivate their audience. Always add your music to videos and urge your fans to do the same. Creating a trend or even a TikTok dance can garner attention and make people mass produce videos, doing all the promoting for you.
Like Instagram, you can also post exclusive content and try to form a closer bond with your followers. Make sure to interact with artists similar to you and try to build a relationship: you can promote each other's music and garner even more followers.
Twitter
Unlike Instagram and TikTok, Twitter's focus is not on images or videos but on text. It's no use trying to bypass the social media app's preferred format: and Twitter users prioritize short texts over lengthy videos or audio.
Engage with your followers in order for people to be interested in your content and try to build a bond with your community. Ask them questions like what they want to see next, give your opinions on popular topics, interact with other people's content and keep it lighthearted. The more people that interact with you, the more buzz your song will receive as you learn how to promote new single.
Facebook may be discredited by the younger generations, but the reality is that millions of people still use this social network on a daily basis. You can create a professional account alongside your personal one; there's thousands of analytics and demographics you can take advantage of. There's also space to create groups and engage with fans, and you can also create events so your fans can RSVP to your gigs.
Facebook – as well as it's cousin from the Meta universe, Instagram – is one of the best apps there is to give your music visibility through the use of paid advertisement. Facebook music promotion relies on what the app already knows about the habits of its users. Its algorithm will promote your song directly to the people interested in your niche.
Conclusion
Promoting music may seem like a daunting task at first. But to someone willing to learn how to promote new single, there are many ways to go about it. Knowing your audience and catering content to your perception of the fans is essential. Always remember to keep it consistent and be patient: most of the time, results don't come overnight.
Magroove offers a variety of tools for artists in this pursuit. Demographics to help you understand your audience, pre-save links and, of course, hassle-free, efficient music distribution. Take advantage of what is offered and reach for the stars as you promote your music.
