Independent Artist? here‘s how to promote your music and get it heard

Your pal Mikki here, at your service as your hype woman to pump you up on getting your hot tracks discovered! I know you put your soul into crafting those sick beats. Now it’s time to get them heard by new fans who will crush on your sound as hard as you do – and don’t forget, leveraging effective music promotion strategies is key to making your music stand out in the crowd.

But spreading your music as an indie artist without a big label budget can feel overwhelming. Where do you even start? Well, lucky for you I’m serving up some tasty promo strategies covering Spotify playlists, TikTok influencers and music blogs!

These bad boys are your ticket to getting your gifted grooves in front of ears thirsty for what you’re bringing. Implement just a couple consistently and watch things take off. You got this!

First Things First – Quality Jams!

Before we dive into promotion, let’s chat mindset real quick. The core fuel to your success always needs to be focusing on writing the truest, most authentic songs that light YOU up inside. Don’t worry about chasing the mainstream or changing your style. Channel what makes you unique!

Spending time improving your vocal delivery and production skills is also huge. Don’t rush releasing tracks before you feel proud of the results. Once your music is speaking to your soul, then shift focus to spreading it far and wide. Now let’s get to it!

Spotify Playlists

Think of awesome Spotify playlists like your gateway to new obsessive fans! Curated playlists focused on specific genres like metalcore, vox pop, boom-bap beats or banjo bluegrass are BASED on connecting certain sounds with people already craving them. So if you submit music to these Spotify playlist curators and getting added is your chance to directly reach those niched listeners.

Start researching playlists that fit your style on Spotify and peep their followers and description vibes. Once you spot some solid targets, figure out how to contact the curator. Their socials might be linked. Then hit them with a polite message pitching yourself and asking very nicely if they’ll consider your song. Check out this article about Spotify playlist submission for independent artists.

Services like One Submit are clutch for pitching tracks to a TON of Spotify playlists at once too. Patience pays off – even one or two strong additions can get your music rolling to fresh, engaged ears. Getting cozy on the right playlists is like a warm hug for indie artists. Milk that algorithm, baby! Read more about the best Spotify promotion services.

Influencer Power on TikTok

TikTok might seem silly or confusing if you aren’t hip with it, but trust me – it has become massively influential for breaking songs and artists. Over a billion people use it! And its addictive algorithm basically ensures any viral post gets seen by a gazillion users.

So hooking up with TikTok creators in your music niche with big followings can get your tunes blasting out through their vids to swarms of new potential supporters. TikTok music promotion is essential to spreading your tracks on TikTok. You can DM them, but most bigger influencers expect some payment to feature songs. Still very worth it though!

Make sure to produce your own fun TikTok content with your music too. The more folks organically make lighter videos featuring your song clips, the more momentum it gains to get recommended automatically by TikTok’s system to relevant users. So encourage shares! Read more about the best music promotion services available for independent artists today.

Blog Buzz

While they may seem old school, blogs and music media outlets focused on emerging artists in your niche are still a powerful force. To grow your hype online and off, you wanna net some press. And bloggers crave discovering rising talent to cover – it’s their purpose!

So do your research to make a hit list of blogs that cover artists similar to your vibe. When you’ve got new music coming, reach out individually to each one with a nice intro email. Send them a private song link or music kit to check out. Offer any quotes or insights they could use too. Don’t spam press releases. Building real relationships here goes far. If they vibe with your sound enough, they’ll hype their coverage. Even one or two blog co-signs can catch fire via social shares!

Fan Growth Strategies 

Okay, time for some fan-boosting secrets! Contests, giveaways and sales tactics always rev up your audience, get them actively engaging with you online, while snagging new followers. Develop these promo muscles!

Run giveaways offering merch, gift cards or show tickets in exchange for follows, tags and shares. Hype up remix contests too – fans create new versions of your song to win prizes. Direct access and exclusives through Patreon tiers also hook superfans happy to directly support your career.

Lastly, collaborating with artists in your niche helps tap into each other’s audiences. Share your work and promo content across all socials and YouTube. Guest post on each other’s blogs. Interview each other. Cross-promo expands your powers.

Phew, that was a music marketing download! Just rinse and repeat a few of these strategies over time. Be patient and persistent. Getting your music discovered takes continual hustle as an indie artist. But you SO got this! Now get out there and slay!

Let me know if you’ve got any other music promo questions, fam!