It’s important for up-and-coming songwriters and musicians to consider every possible avenue for earning more royalties. Here is a brief list of ways you can attract more listeners and finally land your first breakthrough single.
Connect with Fans on Social Media
If you haven’t already, make your presence known on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Use these channels to keep fans up-to-date on when you’re playing and where to watch videos.
Don’t just talk at them; talk with them. Engaging in two-way conversations will help you get to know fans and build a loyal following. Comment on their photos and posts, too, and post links to your streams and playlists, encouraging them to like, comment, and share.
Use Email to Connect with Fans
Social media is an important and necessary tool, but it’s not always the most reliable. Ever-evolving algorithms and individual user habits might keep some fans from seeing your content.
Email is the best way to reach your listeners on their schedule and alert them to new content on social media and streaming channels. Marketing companies like MailChimp can help you create and manage monthly newsletters sent to fans’ email addresses so you can keep them up-to-date.
Be a Platform Agnostic
Don’t overlook smaller and more international streaming services when considering where to make your music available. Spotify may have the biggest audience overall, but savvy music listeners are on all kinds of platforms now. Your music should be there too. Do your research on streaming services and make yourself available wherever someone might be looking for new music. The more places listeners can find you, the more opportunities there will be for your music to be found.
Know the Power of the Playlist
One of the most popular ways to discover new music on any streaming platform is by finding, making, and sharing playlists. For example, Spotify’s “Today’s Top Hits” playlist alone has more than 27 million followers.
Grabbing the attention of popular user-created playlists is another way to spread the word, but the magic doesn’t happen overnight. Start by getting verified on Spotify; this will give you a wealth of extras, including the ability to share your own playlists directly with fans.
Engaging with other curators helps get your music into the headphones of as many people as possible and could attract the attention of Spotify’s in-house team. And don’t forget to ask your distributor to pitch your songs to the “New Music Friday” playlist and any other influential playlists in your country.
Covers Can Help Listeners Find Your Music
Most streaming listeners use the search function to find artists or songs they want to hear. Recording and posting a fully licensed cover of a well-known song may help attract new listeners looking for more than one version of a song at a time. In addition to curated playlists of your own songs, a playlist of songs by your favorite artists and influences is another way to attract new fans. You can even drop one or two of your own songs alongside your favorites if you like.
Reach Out to Music Writers, Bloggers, and Influencers
Once you are up and running on a few streaming platforms, driving traffic to your music and getting the word out to music writers and bloggers is another important step that shouldn’t be skipped. An article featuring an embedded link to your song can mean more streams and attract the attention of curators and programmers for major new music outlets like Starbucks.
Ask Your Fans to Spread the Word
Back in June of 2018, Australian boy band 5SOS topped the Billboard 200 and kept Beyonce and Jay-Z’s new album Everything is Love from debuting at number one. They did it by launching an all-out campaign with their sizable and passionate fan base once they found out they had a shot.
While you may not have as many fans (yet!) as an Australian boy band, you should still ask your fans to help you spread the word. Encourage them to make playlists and share your songs with friends. If you have a web page, offer buttons and downloads with links to your streams to help them get the word out.
While these are only seven ways you can bring recognition to your songs and earn more royalties, the bigger theme here is making sure you’re doing the work to get your music heard. Take the time to do your research, find where your song can do the work for you, and be the number one advocate for your work. Remember: share, share, share.
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