Music Promotion: Best Music Marketing Options to Promote Your Music

The phrase “music promotion” is open and vague, and it can mean almost anything these days. Everything from a well-thought-out social campaign to standing on the street corner with fliers counts, but for the sake of this article, we’re focusing much more on the former option.

Music promotion simply means you’re spreading the word about your art, but these days, when professionals in the industry use the phrase, they’re usually referring to campaigns that involve social media, YouTube, streaming platforms, and paid advertising. These projects are usually put together and implemented with several people working with the artist, either on their own team or as hired guns.

When selecting a music promotion service, there’s a lot you want to keep in mind before you pull the trigger and hire. You want someone who listens to your music and comes to the table with suggestions based on you, your look, and your art.

You also want someone who proposes items you wouldn’t have thought of yourself or programs you don’t know how to operate. If all they say is that they have a few suggestions for your social media, that’s probably not what you need. If a company steps up and lays out a plan that involves pitching Spotify playlists, creating tons of social content you never considered, and spending money on advertising on Instagram and Facebook, hear them out!

Essentially, you’re looking for expertise beyond your own, as well as a team that will put in the hours to do your music right.

There are a lot of people out there who claim to be working in “music promotion” who are just out for your money, so be careful! I could write a complete article on just what to avoid when looking for help in this realm, but I’ll stick to the most glaring red flags that you’re sure to encounter when searching for help.

If a service absolutely promises you a certain number of new followers on social media or placement in a high-profile blog, be wary. Even the most connected Publicists can’t guarantee a profile in a magazine or a spot on a TV show, as things change all the time. Also, when looking at social media, anyone can buy followers or likes, so those numbers-based promises aren’t as impressive as you may think.

Instead, demand only that they work hard and smart for you. That’s all you can ask!

The best music promotion companies are always looking for business, but they’re still selective. If their website suggests you call them or email to start a conversation about working together, that’s a good sign. If all they want is a link to your music and your credit card info, it means you’ll be receiving the same treatment everyone else gets, and this isn’t a business where cookie-cutter plans work.

If you’re willing to take a chance on someone just getting started in the music promotion game, that’s up to you, but if a company claims to have plenty of past successes to their credit, check them out! What bands or musicians have they worked with? What did they get them in terms of social media, PR, or streams? Ask for concrete examples, and possibly even to contact previous clients.

Again, many music promotion companies are looking for new clients, but not many actually do a lot of outreach, begging for work. If the brand finds you and slips into your DM with a boilerplate message you can tell was sent to many others, don’t bother. They need you a lot more than you need them.

A lot! In fact, you may soon find you need to start cutting back on your music promotion efforts, as you can literally spend all your time promoting your latest single, instead of writing and recording new music.

The first thing you can (and should) do on your own in the music promotion realm is to share your latest releases on social. Now, this doesn’t mean you should tweet once that your single is out and move on. An entire plan is needed, and you want exciting content for all platforms. You’ll want to tease a release, share it frequently when it drops, and then find interesting ways to continue to promote it (but not be annoying) in the days and weeks following its arrival.

You can also spend some money on ads on social sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, though if you’re going to go this route, do your research first. These processes can be a little complicated, and it may be best to let a team you eventually hire handle this instead.

There are two answers to the question of the best day to release music: Friday, and any day other than Friday.

Friday is when every major artist releases their new singles and albums, as it’s the beginning of the tracking week. From Friday at midnight until the end of the following Thursday is when companies like MRC Data (formerly Nielsen) collect information about sales, streams, and radio play. Billboard then uses all the data to compile the weekly charts. If you want to have a shot at charting anywhere, stick to Friday.

If you’re not quite at that level yet, you may want to opt to release music not on a Friday, as it’s less competitive. By avoiding that day of the week, you have a better shot at grabbing people’s attention, as you won’t be up against the latest album by Taylor Swift or the Justin Bieber single.

There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to how often you should release music, but these days, the industry moves faster than ever. Unless you’re one of a select number of Singers and bands, you can’t go years in between sharing tunes, as the public will simply move on and you’ll lose momentum. You can space things out when in between albums…but not much.

Every six weeks or two months is a good schedule, especially if you’re mixing up the kind of songs you’re delivering. You don’t have to dole out a huge single every two months, but maybe adding in remixes, acoustic cuts, demos, B-side, album tracks and the likes can help you fill up that calendar.

Artists choose singles using a number of different methods, but ultimately, what matters most is what you feel. Do you love this song the most? Does it get stuck in your head? How do your bandmates feel? Have you played it for your friends and family? What are their thoughts?

Basically, your single should be the song that has the best shot at attracting an audience and becoming a “hit,” whatever that means for you at this stage in your career. Typically, the songs that major artists select as their singles are the ones that are the catchiest and have the best shot at dominating radio waves, so think like them!

There are a lot of ways to promote your music, and almost as many websites and platforms on which to do it. So where’s a musician to start? As you begin this process, you should at least consider the following outlets, as they have helped countless other artists in the past.

Advertising on social media is one of the most effective ways to reach out to people who don’t already know you and your work, if for no other reason than it’s where millions (no, billions) of people spend hours every day. Why wouldn’t you want to put yourself in front of them?

One of the best things about advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is that you can start small, spending a few dollars a day, or budget hundreds, maybe even thousands for one project. You can play around and see what works, and go hyper-specific. Try it out!

Yes, there are ads on Spotify, and you can get in on that game as well. If you do an ad on the world’s biggest streaming platform correctly, the person on the other end hearing what you’ve come up with will enjoy it and perhaps even click through to find out more about you and your new song. Focus much more on the music than talking, as this is a streaming music platform, after all.

If you’re going about handling advertising yourself (instead of working with a team), you should investigate Show.co. The company can help get your advertisement not just on Spotify, but far beyond, reaching more traditional platforms like Billboard, Rolling Stone, and even Pitchfork.

Ads are just the beginning when it comes to Show.co, and if you have the time, creativity…and the money…you can do so much more for your latest song or album on the site. In fact, it may soon become your go-to stop when it comes to promoting whatever you have coming next.

Yes, you want airplay on radio…but you may also want Radio Airplay! The company focuses on a music platform called Jango, which is another internet radio service, and while you may not be familiar with it, that doesn’t mean it’s not reaching millions of people!

Radio Airplay may not be the first stop when you’re headed down the music promotion road, but it deserves to be included.

Soundplate is all about getting unheard music to those who curate important playlists on Spotify, Deezer and the like. The good news here is that the platform is free and easy to use. The bad news? That means everyone else and their mom will be trying it out as well.

Since it doesn’t take much time, you should absolutely submit your singles for inclusion on a number of well-trafficked playlists, but since there are hundreds, or maybe even thousands of others doing the same thing at the same time…don’t let your hopes get too high.

While some companies focus on one type of music promotion, SubmitHub is looking to help musicians tackle it all in one go. On SubmitHub, an artist can look to get their latest single featured on radio, blogs, Spotify, you name it. Now, you do need to learn a bit more about the platform in order to do it well, and you should be submitting your art months in advance, but if you can get everything in order, this may be your best bet for one-stop music promotion shopping!