I’m no expert in marketing. My approach has always been: do what you love, tell people about it, then do it some more. I’m a musician with a band that consistently makes music, but most of my promotional experience is with my business. Since the beginning, I haven’t been calculated in my approach. I’ve lived by trial and error. However, with all of that said, I believe I have learned a few things over the years! Such as:
You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
If you want to get your name out there, you need to make a good first impression. If you don’t, you won’t get a second opportunity. I’ve made mistakes in this area. When I was in my twenties, our band would record songs in our practice space, put them on cassettes, and send them out to our local music magazines. Every now and then we would actually get a positive review, but most of the time they would just rip us a new one. Why? The recordings were half-ass at best. I was under the naïve impression that a music producer was going to listen to our recordings, hear our potential and make us into rock stars. I eventually learned it doesn’t work that way. To get noticed, the recordings you make need to be fully realized musical statements. Both the song and the recording need to be good. It has to be worthy of being released on a national scale and ready for radio airplay.
Not only do you need to have a strong recording, you need a strong visual presence too. In this age of YouTube, everyone and their mom is uploading stuff online. If you want people to take you seriously, the quality of your work has to stand out. There are many ways to stand out. Making a high quality recording and video is one way. Some people pull publicity stunts to get their name out there. Some people say lewd things. Others make sex tapes that get “leaked”. I don’t know anything about all that stuff! I’d recommend just making good art.
Pack a Club
So you really want to get your name out there? Try making a great recording and an awesome video. You’re going to need to spend some money to do that. Promote them and get a gig. Gigs matter because in the end, none of your hard work in a recording studio or video production facility (such as mine in Minneapolis) will count for anything if you can’t pack out a club. Music doesn’t sell like alcohol. If the only people showing up at your gigs are your mom and your girlfriend, this isn’t going to work out. The minute you sell out First Avenue – that’s the minute you’ll get attention. There are a lot of ways to get people along to your shows. Look at this video for some tips:
http://www.musicmarketing.com/2008/05/top-10-ways-to.html
Get a Million Hits
In the digital world, getting a million hits on YouTube is the same thing as packing a club – and it’s just as important. If your song and video are good, people will watch it and share it. Maybe it has a chance of going viral! There are all kinds of ways to promote your video. Google ads, Face book ads, banner ads, email blasts, etc. Take a look at this blog for more information:
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2016/03/10-techniques-for-promoting-your-music-video.html
If you’re a new artist, you’re in a great place. People are always looking to discover new songs. Come out strong, come out as a professional and use your anonymity as a strength. You have just one shot to make a first impression. Get it right and the world will be at your feet.
