Music Promotion: How Can I Promote My Music?

Pink-haired female musician using her laptop outdoors for music promotion

Author: Caleb J. Murphy

Last updated: Jul 19, 2023

Caleb J. Murphy is a songwriter/producer based in Richmond, VA, whose music has been on ABC, NBC, NPR, and in hundreds of indie film projects. His advice for musicians has been featured by Digital Music News, Bandzoogle, BMI, and ASCAP. He also sends a twice-monthly newsletter called 5 Things To Help You Keep Going that features five resources from the internet that will help indie musicians.
FULL BIO

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Importance of Music Promotion
How To Avoid Scams
1. Do thorough research
2. Beware of unrealistic promises
3. Don’t pay for playlist placement
4. Look for transparency
5. Verify contacts and connections
6. Be cautious of unsolicited offers
7. Check for real engagement
8. Read the fine print
9. Ask for recommendations
10. Trust your instincts
Use This Music Promotion Checklist for Each Release
1. Create the artwork
2. Schedule the release
3. Register the song(s) with a PRO
4. Create a video with the cover art
5. Create a Spotify Canvas
6. Upload the music to alternative streaming sites
7. Submit to playlists, blogs, and radio stations
8. Pursue sync licensing
9. Use email marketing
10. Register with SoundExchange and a publishing admin company
11. Create short-form content for social media
12. Collaborate with other musicians
The Best Music Promotion Services
1. SubmitHub and/or Groover
2. PRESSED PR
3. Tom Dupree III Agency
4. Cyber PR
FAQ

The Importance of Music Promotion

We all just want to make great music that gains traction on its own. But for most indie artists, that’s not how it works. So much of building a music career involves music promotion.

Ever notice how artists that you think stink get so much fame and success? Yeah, it’s because they had great marketing.

So if you’re serious about having a career in music, you need to spend time promoting your music. If you’re a small artist trying to grow your fanbase, you should follow the 50/50 rule: spend 50% of your time making music and 50% of your time on music promotion (and music business in general).

It may not be what you imagined a music career would look like, but it truly is like running a small business. What you’ll find, though, is that you don’t mind doing the music promotion because 1) you’re excited about the music and 2) it’s furthering your career.

What is the meaning of "music promotion"?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

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.

How To Avoid Scams

There are a lot of predatory people and companies preying on uneducated and naive musicians. So here are some tips to avoid music promotion scams…

What are the different types of promotion in music?

Hugh McIntyre

Marketing and promotion in music touches so many websites, platforms, and kinds of media, it can be difficult to keep it all together. Here’s a quick rundown of the most important “types” of promotion:

Advertising
Social media
Email communication
PR
Radio

Do thorough research

Before paying a music promotion service, research them extensively. Look for reviews, testimonials, and experiences from other artists who have used their services. A legitimate and reputable service will have positive feedback and a track record of helping artists.

Beware of unrealistic promises

Be cautious of services that make extravagant claims, like guaranteed fame, millions of streams, or instant success. Success in the music industry is a gradual process and depends on numerous factors.

Don’t pay for playlist placement

Some services promise to get your music on popular playlists in exchange for payment. But never, ever, ever pay anyone for guaranteed placement on a playlist – this is always a scam and against streaming platforms’ terms and conditions. Your music will be removed from Spotify etc.

Look for transparency

Legitimate promotion services should be transparent about their methods and pricing. If a service is vague about their approach or doesn’t provide clear information about their fees, it could be a red flag.

Verify contacts and connections

If a promotion service claims to have contacts with major industry players, try to verify these connections independently. Be cautious of services that cannot provide verifiable references or contacts.

Be cautious of unsolicited offers

Be cautious of unsolicited messages or emails from unknown individuals or companies offering music promotion services. Legitimate services typically don’t reach out to artists out of the blue.

Check for real engagement

Some services offer social media promotion but use fake accounts or bots to inflate numbers. Look for genuine engagement and real interactions with their posts before committing.

Read the fine print

Before you sign anything, always read the terms and conditions of any service or agreement carefully. Be aware of cancellation policies and refund options, should you need to terminate the service. This is your music career, take it seriously.

Ask for recommendations

If possible, seek recommendations from fellow musicians or industry professionals about reputable music promotion services they have used and had positive experiences with.

Trust your instincts

If something feels off or too good to be true, trust your instincts and proceed with caution. Take your time to make an informed decision rather than rushing into a potentially harmful situation.

Hey, what do you think about trying our new Music Career Helper Music Career Helper really quick? It’s totally free and could help get your career moving fast! Give it a try. It’s totally free and you have nothing to lose.

Use This Music Promotion Checklist for Each Release

Here’s a checklist you can go through with each release. It will set you up to make the most of your single, EP, or album, making music promotion so much more natural and effective.

What are the best music promotion services?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

SubmitHub and Groover are effective ways to get your music on playlists and featured on music blogs. You can also check out PR companies, like PRESSED PR, Tom Dupree III Agency, and Cyber PR.

Create the artwork

Fortunately, artwork is very easy to create these days. You can use services like:

Canva
Adobe Express
DALL-E

Schedule the release

Go through a music distribution company to deliver your music to Spotify, Apple Music, etc. Deliver your music to every streaming platform available – being everywhere is part of good music promotion.

Register the song(s) with a PRO

This is not so much music promotion but it ensures you collect all the royalties owed to you. A PRO is a Performance Rights Organization, which collects nd distributes royalties generated from the public performances of songs. Here are the top PROs you can register with:

BMI or ASCAP in the United State
SOCAN in Canada
PRS in the United Kingdom

Create a video with the cover art

Create a video that’s just the cover art with the song playing behind it. This is for your YouTube, your website, and to post on your social media profiles. You can use iMovie (Apple devices only) or Lightworks.

Create a Spotify Canvas

A Spotify Canvas is the short, repeating video that plays while you stream a song. And having Canvas increases a song’s shares by 145%.

Upload the music to alternative streaming sites

Upload your song(s) to SoundCloud and Bandcamp and set them as private, then publish them on release day. Also upload the video with the cover art to YouTube and schedule it to be published on release day.

Submit to playlists, blogs, and radio stations

Getting on Spotify playlists not only gets your music in front of new people, but it also tells the Spotify algorithm to feed your music to more people.

Here are some ways to get on playlists:

SubmitHub
Groover
Find playlist curators via hashtags, like…
- #songrecommendations
- #underratedsongs
- #musicdiscovery
- #songsuggestions
- #songsilike
- #spotifyplaylist

Pursue sync licensing

Sync licensing is when you give permission for your songs to be used in a TV show, commercial, movie, or video game – and you get paid a fee for it. Not only can the upfront payouts be in the 5 to 6 figures, but it can also be great exposure.

Use email marketing

Email marketing is still a thing, and people still hear about new music from artists they follow through email.

Some of the top email marketing services include:

MailChimp
MailerLite
ConvertKit
Klaviyo

Register with SoundExchange and a publishing admin company

SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties for “non-interactive” streams. This means the listener can’t choose the music, so this would be on platforms like Pandora, SiriusXM, and Beats 1.

If you’re not already registered with a PRO, a publishing administration company can collect your performance royalties. But they also collect performance royalties from foreign countries even if you’re registered with a PRO, and they collect mechanical royalties.

How can I promote my music with no money?

Hugh McIntyre

Music marketing and promotion work better with resources, such as money, but if you don’t have a dollar to your name, you can still try to get the word out there! If you’re stuck with little to no cash but want the world to hear your music, here are a few ways you can promote your work:

Social Media – It costs nothing to post, though you may need to learn how to create content.
PR – It takes an enormous amount of time and effort to proceed with an effective PR campaign, which includes reaching out to the media to discuss your work. Many people hire companies to do this, as they have the expertise and the time to do so, but it is possible to do it on your own for nothing.
Playlists – Whether on YouTube, Spotify, or other platforms, there are ways to reach out to those who compile these important lists and ask if they’ll feature your work–and most of them are free.
Word of Mouth – While not the most effective way to become a star, one person telling another about an artist they just discovered will always be valuable.

Create short-form content for social media

Right now, short-form content is the best way to get your music in front of new people. This is because the algorithms these days feed your content to everyone who may be interested in it, not just your followers.

How do you know what type of content to make?

Look at artists who make similar music to yours that also do well on social media. Then pull inspiration from the type of content they make. Borrow their content ideas, but make them your own using your artist voice.

Here’s an effective way you can create short-form content across all your profiles:

Create a TikTok
Download the TikTok without a watermark (with a website like SSSTIK)
Repost that video on Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, and YouTube Shorts

Collaborate with other musicians

Collaborating with other musicians can be an effective way to get in front of new people. When you release a song with another artist, it’s cross-promotion. Your name, voice, and vibe get in front of the other artist’s fans, and they get in front of your fans.

Can I pay for music promotion?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

Simply put, yes, you can! You can’t necessarily buy all the different kinds of promotion you want, such as a feature in Rolling Stone or plays on the local radio station, but you can spend money to secure some promo for your work.

Online Advertising. In addition to promoting your art on social media via posting about your work and reaching out to individuals, you can also help get the word out there with a bit of money. Advertising on platforms like Facebook is usually inexpensive and easy to figure out, so why not spend a few bucks to push your latest tune to the masses?

Media Outreach. If you have something new to share, such as a single, video, or album, it might be time to mount a full PR (public relations) campaign. After doing a lot of research, you can actually do the work of reaching out to Journalists, Podcast Hosts, magazines, newspapers, and TV and radio stations yourself, or you can hire a company to do it for you.

Influencers. This is another instance when you can either do your own research or work with someone who knows this world well to find influencers who are popular on social sites like Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok and pay them to feature your new single in some way. They might review it, include the tune in some kind of video marketing post or perhaps just share the cover and a snippet.

Groover is a service that allows musicians to upload their music and pay to reach out to certain outlets, playlists, influencers, and more, get their music listened to, feedback guaranteed and potential opportunities. We tell you more about Groover further down in the article.

The Best Music Promotion Services

Here are just a few music promotion services that seem reliable. But remember, do your own research. Make sure they’re a good fit for you.

Who can I hire to promote my music?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

You could start with your current fans. Find people who are ecstatic about your music and see if they’d be willing to put in some time to promote your music. Next, you could hire a PR agency, like PRESSED PR, Tom Dupree III Agency, and Cyber PR. Just make sure you do own research and don’t pay anyone until your 100% sure they will do their best to deliver results.

SubmitHub and/or Groover

In my experience, SubmitHub has been the best way to get my songs on Spotify playlists and for getting blog write-ups.

The way it works is, you pay to submit (this is not pay-to-play) your music to playlist curators, music bloggers, radio stations, and even indie labels. Then curators accept or reject your music based on their taste and preference.

Groover works pretty much the same way as SubmitHub. It even has a similar price.

PRESSED PR

I’ve seen artists I follow and respect use PRESSED PR’s services, so I know they’re at least not a scam.

Tom Dupree III Agency

Tom Dupree III is a musician who also helps artists through his YouTube channel. So I know his PR agency is worth checking out.

Cyber PR

Ariel Hyatt is well respected in the indie music world for her music industry strategy and advice. And she started Cyber PR, so it’s definitely worth looking into.

FAQ

How can I promote my music?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

Create an email list. In the era of social media, some musicians have decided that email newsletters are a thing of the past. Sadly, they’re missing out, as they are still one of the best tools with which to reach those fans that matter most. The only people who will sign up for your newsletter are superfans, and you don’t want to miss telling them what’s new!

Use social media. You should already be on social media as an artist, but if you’re not, make sure you create accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok if you want to promote your music overseas as well. Then, learn best practices and how these sites work and start posting and communicating with the world.

Get on streaming playlists. These days, millions of people discover new songs and artists they eventually fall in love with via popular playlists on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Competition for space on some of the most-listened-to options is fierce, but it’s not impossible to reach them! Work with a company that specializes in this kind of promotion or do a lot of research and attempt it yourself, but don’t count on scoring a win the first time.