Technology comes with a wide array of possibilities, even in the realm of music distribution. Nowadays, you do not need to send your demos to endless radio stations or record labels to get your music heard. With today’s tools, you can compose and record your own music, upload it to the internet, and even monetize it.
There are several platforms where you can promote your songs or albums and make them easily available for millions of people all over the world to hear and enjoy.
In choosing the right platform, however, you have to know your objectives and target audience. Whether you are aware of it or not, different platforms serve different purposes.
Instagram, for instance, is perfect for raising awareness, promoting teasers, or for strengthening your brand as an artist. The best thing about most online platforms is their interconnectivity. You can embed links to an account that will redirect users to another app or page.
For other important ways to make sure that your songs can be accessed by your audience on almost all platforms online, check out the 7 steps below.
7 Steps To Release Music On All Platforms
1. Use a Music Distribution Platform
There are many music distribution services available to make the process of widespread music distribution easier. Some services get paid based on the number of songs you want to release while others take a cut of your royalties.
TuneCore, for instance, is a music distribution platform that allows you to get your music on all the major audio platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc. You can create your account and release your songs through this platform to over 150 digital music stores.
What’s great about TuneCore is that you can sell your songs and get 100% of your earnings. You just need to pay a flat fee per year. Aside from song earnings, you will be able to distribute and share your tunes easily which then gives you the potential to gain more fans and thus play bigger live shows!
2. Post Your Video Single to YouTube
The best place to release your single video is through YouTube. You can post the official music video, a lyrics video, or just a video of a static image if you haven’t recorded an actual video yet. Content on this platform is the easiest to share and has the potential to go mega viral if you create something that intrigues people’s interest.
Be as creative as possible when creating your music video or even your album cover. Creative concepts never fail to lure in audiences, provided that the concepts are within the guidelines of YouTube or any other community.
Your YouTube account can be your vantage point. You can embed or share the links of your song or album to other accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. Viewers will begin to comment, review, and discuss your video, thus generating a buzz.
This is one great way to promote your song or album, especially if you’re a first-timer in the field of music advertising.
3. Maintain Active Social Media Accounts
Releasing your music online necessitates having well-maintained active social media accounts. Since social media sites vary in terms of user demographics, it is best to maintain as many as possible. Choose the ones with a large base of users. Social media sites are the most convenient venues to sync all of your other platforms, including blogs, websites, YouTube videos, and so on.
Furthermore, social media accounts give you greater flexibility in posting content related to your newly released single. Your posts keep the fire burning. Remember to focus on concise and powerful content.
This could be short clips of your music video or maybe even bloopers of the video creation process. I’ve also seen some artists break down exactly how a song came to be. Everything from their first idea (recorded on their iPhone), to eventually creating the first demo, to finally the finished product.
Doing these types of things will set you apart from other artists and build a relationship with your audience.
Create a dedicated account for your band (or just yourself if you’re a solo artist). Try to use the same handle across all social media platforms and share content through each social media platform to build a bigger audience on each one.
4. Use Apple Music to Promote Your Song
When you want people to get a taste of your music, you can upload a song as an Apple Music instant-gratification track. You’re allowed to release one song and customers can download it once they purchase a pre-order (such as an upcoming album of yours).
Once the pre-order purchase is made, the instant gratification track will automatically be downloaded so your new fan can have a listen. This is a great way to reward people who are supporting you to provide them with unreleased music before anyone else gets a chance to hear it.
Although Apple Music is a great platform for Internet radio broadcasting and managing online media libraries, it is limited to Apple users only. According to Business of Apps, Apple Music had 88 million subscribers as of 2021. Uploading your music to Apple Music, therefore, gives you a very wide reach, especially when used in conjunction with all of the other methods in this list.
5. Upload on Soundcloud
Soundcloud is an online community where music lovers upload, like, and share songs and albums posted by other users. The great advantage of posting on Soundcloud is focus and relevance. Unlike other platforms, Soundcloud‘s main focus is music. You can be assured your audience are all music enthusiasts who not only appreciate music, but also respect the artists, especially the newbies.
You can upload your songs on Soundcloud and once done, you can embed the link on your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accounts so that it can be listened to by anyone and everyone. This is a great way of promoting your songs without spending any money.
6. Create a Blog and Website
The platforms mentioned above are rented. If ever Facebook, for instance, shuts down, your following vanishes. Fortunately, there are sites that allow you to create your own website and blog. WordPress, Weebly, and Ghost are examples of self-hosted sites.
You are at your own liberty to describe your album or discuss the inspiration behind your songs. This sparks the interest of your target audience, encouraging them to buy and share the exciting news with their friends. Plus, self-hosted sites can also be linked to your social networking site profiles.
7. Use Email
Some forms of direct advertising just never get old. While community-based sites, self-hosted sites, streaming services, and other platforms are subject to a search engine’s algorithm that may not prioritize you and your songs, direct emails are almost guaranteed to reach your target audience.
If you have an existing fan base, you may ask for their email addresses to keep them informed on upcoming releases and shows. This method is a little bit tedious, especially if you don’t have somebody doing this for you but it is totally worth the effort.
Final Thoughts
Make use of both the free and paid tools I’ve listed in this post to release your music on all platforms. There are pros and cons to each platform but figuring out what your audience connects with the most is super important.
For starters, I’d always recommend using a music distribution service. These services will make your life so much easier and you can choose to either pay a flat fee or a percentage of your royalties. Both of these options are great for musicians just starting out.
Also, remember that your success on the social media platforms I’ve listed can only be maximized by the amount of effort you put in. You have to deliver quality content both in the form of media (audio and video) and text.
Also, keep your target audience interested with frequent promotional initiatives. Don’t just stop at uploading a video and wait for people to buy your album. Be aggressive and continue to invest your efforts in marketing.
Lastly, try to emphasize timing. Split test and research when the best times are to release social media updates to your audience by the engagement you receive. Try not to post song releases on the weekends or during major holidays as most people aren’t as active online during these times.
Do all these things and in due time, you will reap the fruits of your promotional labor.
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