Ways To Promote Music in 2020

In this article, I list the various ways in which you can promote your music.

I will start with the more common, but by no means the most effective methods.

Hire a PR

I question the value of this at the best of times. Yes, there are good PRs out there, but I question the value of getting features on blogs and zines in general. It’s very indirect and expensive. Great for ego, but not for making an impact on one’s business / career relative to cost.

DIY PR

I prefer this approach in general, not just because it’s cheaper, but because it forces you to build your own relationships, which will pay off in the long run and won’t cost you money every time.

+ What NOT to do when promoting music

+ How to find music bloggers, playlisters, and curators to submit songs to

PR Platforms

I like PR platforms like Musosoup and Submithub for the following reasons:

I know when someone has listened to my submission
It takes a lot of the administration away (Emails)
It saves A LOT of time and money

Direct Marketing

This is my favourite for a handful of reasons.

It focusses on having a direct relationship with the audience
It doesn’t require anyone else to say “yes”
It gets you closer to building an actual business
It’s YOUR audience. Not someone else’s

One fan at a time

This is definitely more of a mindset thing, but it’s important. Every single one of your fans is a completely different human being.

When you think about it this way, you focus your energy more on relationships rather than just followers.

One fan at a time can simply involve literally asking people on an individual basis if they would like to join your mailing list because you have some “really cool things in the works and would love to keep you up to speed”.

Now imagine you have 50 fans. And they each spend $200 per year with you. That’s 10k per year! Good start, right?