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Post by bellyshere on Dec 13, 2020 19:23:51 GMT
I was wondering today how small artists go about promoting their music online. I suppose the best route is getting out gigging but can you get lots of listeners without doing this? There are lots of people charging to promote you but are they just taking your cash? Anybody ever done their own promoting with any success?
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Post by Matt Milton on Dec 14, 2020 9:48:34 GMT
Tough time to try to do so as everyone by necessity is doing everything online, including all the big established names. On the other hand, everyone is in front of their screens much more.
I would start with your genre of music. Where are the musicians similar to you reviewed? Where/how did you hear about the last really good singer-songwriter you got into? Find the music blogs that cover your genre, or similar artists. Which music magazines cover your sort of music? Which journalists?
There's a lot of BBC local radio specialist shows out there. Try to target those shows, those presenters, those producers, the friends of those producers.
I wouldn't bother paying for promotional services. I say that even though I used to do freelance music PR! But when I used to do it, I had a lot of music journalist contacts (I was Reviews Editor of a monthly music magazine for about 10 years) and though I say so myself I was quite good at writing press releases; plus I was conscientious about it, in that I never did it for anyone I didn't think was really really special, so I did go out of my way to try to make sure music got heard by the music-mag writers and radio DJs I wanted to target. I have no idea who is reputable in music PR today and I don't think music PR is very good for people starting from nothing, as it were: they're much better at capitalising and expanding on someone who's already part there.
The only thing I would pay for is Facebook targeted ads. They are cheap and you can get good at refining them. I've never used them myself (don't have anything to promote!) but friends of mine have used them with uncanny precision. If you want to promote your album to, I don't know, "Nick Drake fans aged 35-50 based in the Tonbridge area", then Facebook will allow you to do that.
Are you on Bandcamp and Soundcloud and Twitter and Instagram? Make sure your Bandcamp tags are appropriate and that you come up in the right genre pages. Do you have a YouTube channel that you add to regularly? Doing the occasional cover can hook people in. Think laterally: do a YouTube video reviewing your guitar, or comparing some different string brands, get that in the title of the vid, but play one of your songs as part of the review or whatever it is, and be sure to tell people it's a song off your album, with a link. Get a mate to interview you in a video.
Look at what the musicians you like are doing online and copy them.
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Post by bellyshere on Dec 14, 2020 10:29:43 GMT
Cheers man. I’m more trying just to get more people listening to my music. I’ve done the bandcamp tags thing and the odd you tube video, but I’m old and nobody wants to look at me. Music blogs are a good one. I’ll give that a go.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2020 11:39:46 GMT
Thanks for that Matt Milton. I'm not ready to put myself about yet but it is very useful to know for when that time comes.
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Dec 14, 2020 15:02:16 GMT
I second Matt Milton's suggestion of sending your stuff out to local BBC and other local genre-specific radio shows. I managed to get one of our songs played on one of the big BBC Radio Scotland music shows, and if I can do it believe me anyone can. Local radio stations are often looking for artists to come in and play sessions, which is worth exploring too. Your stuff is worth hearing!
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Post by bellyshere on Dec 14, 2020 22:07:18 GMT
I second Matt Milton's suggestion of sending your stuff out to local BBC and other local genre-specific radio shows. I managed to get one of our songs played on one of the big BBC Radio Scotland music shows, and if I can do it believe me anyone can. Local radio stations are often looking for artists to come in and play sessions, which is worth exploring too. Your stuff is worth hearing! The problem with my stuff is it’s real Lo-fi and does radio like that? It’s nice hearing your own stuff played on the radio. My old post punk band The Wick Effect got played on French and Greek radio a bit and that was a buzz. I just need my ego stroking a bit. A bit like stroking a dog and it wags it’s tail. Woof woof!
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Dec 14, 2020 22:28:59 GMT
It’s probably a case of checking out all the radio shows you can to see which ones play your kinda stuff. I sent loads of cds out and we only got one play that I’m aware of, but it was on a popular Americana show so a lot of people would have heard it, which was pretty cool. If it makes you feel better I listened to your recent album again a couple of times today - I really like your songs and the lo-fi vibe.
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Post by bellyshere on Dec 14, 2020 23:24:12 GMT
It’s probably a case of checking out all the radio shows you can to see which ones play your kinda stuff. I sent loads of cds out and we only got one play that I’m aware of, but it was on a popular Americana show so a lot of people would have heard it, which was pretty cool. If it makes you feel better I listened to your recent album again a couple of times today - I really like your songs and the lo-fi vibe. Thanks man. Wags tail. (0:
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