5 important branding tools any modern musician must know
It is not enough to just make great music as an artist if you are looking to promote your songs and build a fanbase. Your image, your brand, and how you appear online are just as important parts of the equation to effective music promotion.
Wherever a listener hears a new song they like today, it is pretty much a given that they will eventually search for the artist online. This is a golden opportunity to keep them interested and secure a real fan. Therefore, it is absolutely important to manage your online presence and make sure it is easy for your fans to find you on their music platform of choice.
You also want to make sure that you match their interest in your songs with content they will like. Striking the balance between appearing serious about what you do while adequately representing your music and the image attached to it is key.
Here are five must-have branding tools any modern musician needs to promote their music online.
Song Digital Distribution
Digital Distribution companies are a relatively inexpensive way to have your music professionally placed on stores such as iTunes, Google Play, or Amazon and music streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, Rdio, and many more. Distributing your music this way will allow you to reach a much broader audience past do-it-yourself services like Soundcloud and Youtube and also carry the benefit of immediately bringing revenues from royalties and sales.
The most established companies include CD Baby, Symphonic Distribution, <a href="http://www.tunecore.com/index/sell_your_music target="_blank">TuneCore, ReverbNation and many more.
You can find a great blog post on Ari's Take with a detailed comparison of what is out there what is out there.
Social Media Music Promotion
Hypebot offers some interesting tips on how to best use social media as a musician. The givens are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, but it does not hurt to try out any new service you come across - many artists have broken through by becoming early adopters on these platforms.
Concert Discovery for new musicians
No matter where you are located or the type of music you play, local concerts are happening with plenty of fans who might like your music. Concert discovery sites and apps such as Live Nation, Bandsintown, and Songkick, are places where fans are specifically looking to discover new artists. However, these platforms are not just restricted to ticket sales - by joining them, you can also sell merchandise, receive fan feedback, and more.
Music Hosting Websites
Even if you don't know web development, that should not stop you from having your own website. Music hosting websites such as BandZoogle and BandCamp let you easily create your own page on the web where you can host music and share updates with fans.
Music Promotion / Ad platforms
Quite often you will have an amazing song that just needs to simply get heard by more people. Ad platforms could work if you have the budget, but keep in mind that you have to design an advertisement that will hopefully get enough people intrigued to click and hear your song out.
However, one great alternative is using Feature.fm. With just an MP3 and album art, you can play your song directly in music streaming services to a specific audience of your choice. Each play costs around 7 cents, but you are not charged unless the song was listened to for more than 30 seconds. Furthermore, if the listerns enjoy the music and share it or add it to playlists, the resulting organic plays are completely free. This is a great tool to invest in your song to go viral.
Do you have any other services you reccomend? Let us know in the comments below!