A lot of artists decide to go the independent route these days, and there has never been a better time in the history of the music industry when it was easier to do so. Easier doesn’t mean easy, however, and for every independent artist that breaks through, thousands fail. While building a fanbase in a totally organic way is something that every artist dreams of, the truth is, you’re in the business of music, and you have to work on marketing if you want to get your name out there. Here are some great marketing strategies all independent acts should consider.
Know Where Your Audience is
This is probably the most important part. You will need to work on your analytics and start gathering information on your audience. Most online platforms for musicians will allow you to get advanced data on where your audience comes from. Some will even tell you when they first stumbled on your music.
This could be significant. If you notice that quite a few found you on YouTube, for instance, then this would be a great time to spend a few pounds on YouTube ads. You will now have the chance to show ads on videos from other popular artists that are in the same space as you and get access to their audience.
Work on Playlist Placement
One of the best ways to gain some traction is to be featured on popular playlists. If you want to get on one, the first thing you have to do is make sure that your music is on the streaming services in the first place. The easiest way to do so is to work with a distribution service like DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby that will distribute your music to major streaming platforms for a fee.
Next, you have to work on promotion. If you already have a big fanbase, you could start building lists geared towards them and wait until they get popular. However, you could also make things much easier for yourself by working with a specialised service instead.
People like NowListenPR, work specifically on DSP promotion and will pitch your music to the right curators. This will give you a chance to build organically and ethically. They’ve worked both with independent acts and major artists such as Selena Gomez, Stefflon Don, and Marshmello, so they have a verifiable track record. This could be all that it takes to get your music in front of a targeted audience tailor who will then share those playlists and give you even more exposure.
Respect Your Day One Fans
Your original fans are the ones that will form your base. These are the ones you won’t have to market to; they’ll market for you. They are also the ones who are most likely to be with you till the end. This is a very valuable asset to have, and one you shouldn’t squander.
You not only have to make sure that your music stays authentic and on-brand, but you have to take steps to engage your real fans and make them feel special. It could be as simple as polling them on things like where you should be going next or what your next single should be. Some people call it fan maintenance, and it might not sound very exciting, but maintaining that fanbase will be essential when you don’t have much of a marketing budget.
These are just a few marketing tactics all recording artists should try. They will allow you to build your audience in a natural, but strategic way.