So, you’ve done it. You’ve spent long hours writing your lyrics, crafting the perfect instrumentals, and have completed and distributed your album! It’s living on all major streaming platforms - Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music - and you’re now waiting for the streams to roll in.
Wait, but let’s be honest. It’s never that simple.
You’ve now got to promote and market your album! How else are you going to land new listeners and fans? When considering your promotional strategy, it’s easy to spiral about the marketing expenses involved. Fortunately, we live in a digital age, and there are a TON of amazing (and mostly free) resources at your disposal. That’s why we’re here - to point out some of our favorite, must-use tools. Let’s get into it.
Spotify for Artists is a free platform provided by Spotify that allows you to customize your Spotify profile and access vital data on playlist additions, number of streams, and number of followers/listeners. Spotify for Artist’s customization tools allow you to optimize your profile by editing your bio, becoming a verified artist, customizing your profile picture, and sharing playlists.
You can also add custom artwork with Canvas, Spotify’s feature that allows you to add 3D graphics, videos, 2D graphics, and mixed media, giving your music the perfect visual touch when shared on Instagram Stories.
HubSpot is a customer relationship management tool that musicians use to construct, carry out, and optimize a marketing strategy. You can centralize all of your email, blogging, social media, and advertising efforts and utilize HubSpot’s free marketing templates and resources.
You can start building out your email campaigns and access valuable marketing insights today with HubSpot’s free account.
Pro Tip: We recommend kicking off your time on HubSpot with their free Social Media Marketing course!
If you have a tour in the works or are actively booking local shows to promote your album, Bandsintown is a must-have. Bandsintown alerts users about upcoming tours and shows their favorite artists are playing. You can easily manage your shows and promote your music through your gigs. Fans can also leave reviews on your Bandsintown profile to give their two cents about their show experience. Talk about easy testimonials.
This one is probably self-explanatory, but we gotta stress the importance of having a presence on TikTok. Sharing your music on TikTok and creating short-form video content around your songs is an easy and effective way to reach a worldwide audience. Hundreds of songs have gone viral thanks to TikTok, putting smaller artists in a global spotlight.
We recommend jumping on current TikTok trends (or even creating your own) to boost your initial engagement and follower count. And, of course, make sure you’re distributing your music to TikTok - you can’t go viral on TikTok without putting your music on the platform!
As you prepare promotional social media posts, design flyers, or edit music videos, consider going easy on yourself and using Canva’s free drag-and-drop design tools and templates. Canva has thousands of professional templates, images, and content you can use or edit to your liking.
If you aren’t much of a designer, Canva’s free Design School is around to teach you proper design techniques, color theory, and branding practices so you can move forward with the knowledge you need to create beautiful album covers or social posts.
Consistently learning, making connections, and putting yourself out there is crucial for all independent artists looking to grow. With Venice, you don't have to go far to accomplish all three of those career-musts.
Our Professional membership is focused on YOUR growth, offering independents features like:
✔ Unlimited distribution (Release your music and build your fan base with our distribution platform! We include the features and insightful data other distributors up-charge you for.)
✔ 25+ digital and IRL events each month (From online AMAs, to live showcases, to virtual summits, to exclusive live streams with the move makers in music - our members have the opportunity to attend events online and in-person throughout the year.)
✔ Sync consideration (The more ways you can monetize your music, the better! Submit your music for TV, film, game, and ad placement)
✔ Networking with artists, producers, managers & more (Making connections in the industry is everything! From our online community groups to our social events, get to know, learn from, and share your music with our worldwide community.)
✔ Weekly feedback from industry professionals (We want to help you grow! Hear from our Artist Services and Sync team to get feedback through listening sessions and office hours and more every week.)