Mind Your Music Business: How To Get People To Actually Listen To Your New Music

You put your heart and soul into these lyrics, you’ve recorded the music, and you’ve got it mixed and mastered. The music goes live and you share it online. Now what? 

Too many artists release fantastic musical projects just to see them flatline with little to no views, streams or engagement. Today we’re sharing some tips and strategies to implement before, after, and during this crucial time to garnish and maintain attention for your new music release.

How to max out on this release opportunity:

New Photos/Album Art

A picture is worth a thousand words right? Some new high quality, high-res, photos, or interesting album art can go a long way when it comes to grabbing attention. If you have a new project coming out, taking some nice new photos can go a long way. Think of Madonna or David Bowie and how they used their image to peak the curiosity of both fans and press. Something creative and eye-catching can let fans know something new and different from you is coming. 

To take it further, you could collaborate with a well known photographer for some cross-promotion. Share some behind-the-scenes shots to begin generating hype before the new photos come out.

Album or track art can be another great way to grab some attention and collaborate with an artist for some more cross-promotion. They’ll be excited to have their work featured somewhere and are likely to share.

Music Videos 

Never underestimate the power of visuals through storytelling. A new music video is a whole event in itself that can create hype during and after the excitement of your music release. Creating clips of the music video and behind-the-scenes footage can provide hours of prolonged promotion.

With today's handheld technology making a music video is easier than ever, and collaborating with a videographer could be another form of cross-promotion. A simple lyric video can create a deeper connection with fans and a bump in streams, if you link the song in the description of the video.

Reddit and Facebook Groups

Finding community is key for a long and successful carrer in music, both physically and digitally. Facebook might not be as popular or “hip” as other forms of social media, but it does have “groups'' that are a concentrated collection of users who are interested in particular subjects.  Instead of only posting to your music page or your personal page, you can find groups on DIYmusic. Your city’s music scene all probably have a Facebook group who are looking to share local, new, good stuff.

Just like Facebook, Reddit has subreddits for everything, including new music from unsigned artists, so get online and do your research. There’s subreddits that even break down genres like hip hop, lofi, rock, and more. These groups are great because they are communities who have a taste for exactly what your cooking up.

QUICK TIP:

Be sure whenever you're joining some kind of Facebook group or forum you read the rules before posting so you don’t get kicked out, and please, engage on posts from others as well.

Radio/TV

Believe it or not there are still radio stations that play local and up-and-coming artists, and local news stations that have musical guests, including college and listener-supported radio stations. They are a fantastic way to reach an audience in your immediate area. Find out online how they like to take their submissions. Some stations only take CDs, so sending them an email with your mp3 is going to be a bad first impression. You're going to waste their time as well as yours. 

Presale

A presale gives fans the opportunity to purchase and/or save the music before it’s available for download until the specified release date. This allows you to generate and gauge interest and possibly generate income before you even release the new music. If you run a presale campaign properly, it not only engages your current fans but can help get the attention of some potential new fans.

Presale campaigns are a cool way to remind your current fans that you’ve got some new music coming out. Some artists couple it with exclusive merch items like vinyl, hats and beer koozies to encourage release-day listens.

Bonus!

Plan ahead and Don’t Stop!

Get yourself a calendar or scheduler to work from so you hit your milestones before your music is out and avoid burnout. Carve out some time each week for dedicated work on your release. Once the music is out don’t stop sharing it with friends and family. Become relentless!

For example, to schedule 1-2 hours sending out press releases, or 30 minutes looking at photo edits, can really give a project a professional feel. You need to find a little time to work on the development of you professionally as an artist. Create a new press kit with your new photos, your music video, and blurb about the new music all ahead of time, so you can enjoy watching everything roll out, as well as be present and engage with people as they share and comment.