This changes everything. Over the course of many posts, we’ve established that I can get potential fans from Facebook and Instagram to my latest release on Spotify for about $0.20. Today I’m going to make a case for paying $0.50 to do the same thing from within the Spotify app instead. Let me back up……
How do I promote my music to streaming? You’d be forgiven if you thought it was 100% Facebook and Instagram ads to Spotify. I’ve written about Facebook Ads many times, and they’ve become my most popular posts. The biggest challenge is getting potential listeners off Facebook and Instagram and over to Spotify. Wouldn’t it be…
Did you know that each time your song is streamed, it generates a mechanical royalty that is not paid through your distributor? You need a publishing administrator like Songtrust to collect it. For a $100 setup fee and 15% commission, Songtrust will help you sign up with a PRO (ASCAP, BMI, SOCAN, IMRO, etc) if you’re…
I don’t talk about YouTube much, but it’s my top priority right behind Spotify. Most of my videos consist of music over static cover art, yet I’ve managed to accrue 15.2K subscribers, and I add another 250 or so every month. Still, I’m no expert. Over years of tinkering, I’ve landed on an ad campaign…
I gave up on Spotify playlist pitching services. They just aren’t worth it. First off, there’s the risk of bots, which could get you booted off Spotify. Every service denies using them, but what human would choose to listen to unthemed collections of random songs by unknown artists? And yet there they are, sometimes with…
Tunespeak is a loyalty platform for musicians where fans earn points by performing various actions like streaming tracks, watching videos, and referring friends. Those points serve as entries in a raffle. The more points a fan accumulates, the better their chances of winning a prize. I reached out to Chris Rhein, the Head of Artist…
I haven’t had much luck with influencer marketing, but that hasn’t stopped me from trying! Since writing about Breakr earlier this year, I’ve done some cheap influencer campaigns on SubmitHub. None of them moved the needle in any measureable way, but my experiences have all been positive. When the SpaceLoud team reached out and offered…
Until recently, I only dabbled in influencer marketing. It seemed promising but daunting. To do it right, I’d need to research influencers across multiple platforms and determine which ones align with my brand. Then I’d have to figure out how to reach them. A cold DM? Comment spam? Next comes the really awkward part: negotiating…
Email is my #1 promotion tool. Always has been. I’d been using FanBridge since 2012, but it didn’t integrate with the WooCommerce shop I added to my site earlier this year. Mailchimp did. Moving all of my FanBridge subscribers to Mailchimp would’ve cost me $99/month, so I chose to maintain two accounts: FanBridge for “fans”…
It’s been over two years since I wrote How To Promote Your Music with Facebook Ads, and it’s still one of the most popular articles on the site. I’ve learned a lot since then, and I’m still learning! The truth is, the platform is constantly evolving, along with the Ads Manager interface. It’s hard to…
In March of 2016, I published what quickly became my most popular post: These 59 Music Blogs Will Listen to Your Song, Guaranteed. Four years later it’s up to 1100+, and also includes radio stations, YouTube and Twitch channels, Spotify playlisters, and Instagram influencers. Jason Grishkoff, the founder of SubmitHub, walked me through the submission…
Your new music video cost $2000 to make. One week after its YouTube premiere, it has 134 views. What to do? You could share the link on your socials for the seventh time, at the risk of annoying your friends and family. But even if they click through, the lack of social proof is unconvincing….
Three weeks ago, I received the following email from SoundCloud with the subject line “You’re invited to an exclusive promotional opportunity.” I immediately created a campaign to promote the opener from my new album: As it currently stands, creating a campaign is relatively straightforward, though the option to choose between simple and advanced targeting is…
You’ll recall from my last installment that streams don’t equal fans. Two campaigns yielded 180K streams, with no obvious boost in followers. Keep those results in mind as we break down my two Spotify PR campaigns with Midnite Blaster, which should ring a bell if you read my article on SoundCloud promotion. Vicky Edward, who…
John Gold, founder of Hypeddit, recently published a course called Fans on Demand Formula, promising a thousand new fans in one week. I put it to the test! Well, kinda sorta. I took three weeks, and experimented with different audiences more than any sane person would dare. But hey, I completed the training and am…
It’s always a good sign when a Spotify PR company rejects your song. It means they’re selective, a prerequisite to establishing fruitful relationships with influential curators. Virtuoso Music rejected my first submission, so I sent them three more. To my relief, they approved one of them: We really love “In Motion” and we think that has a…
Spotify launched their Ad Studio platform early last year. I was giddy with excitement. For the first time, I could make potential fans hear my music. If they liked it enough to click through, my entire catalog was at their fingertips, AND I’d earn royalties on every play. Maybe I’d even earn enough to pay…
Drooble is a social network for musicians. Like Facebook, it has a news feed with comments and likes. Like SoundCloud, it has artist profiles, radio, charts, and playlists. And like Fiverr, you can pay for things like radio play, news feed exposure (Artist/Tune/Video of the Day), and even professional services like mixing and mastering. The…
I would never buy fake plays, and I strongly suggest you don’t either. You risk getting your material taken down, your account suspended, or worse. When I received an email from Vicky Edward of Midnite Blaster, an electronic music marketing agency based in Melbourne, Australia, I was skeptical. She assured me that their SoundCloud promotional service is…
You’re probably familiar with song share links that direct fans to the music service of their choice. For example, here’s one for my last single: There are several free and paid options. I can’t say that I’ve tried them all, but I’m partial to Feature.fm Smart Links. It’s comprehensive yet easy to use, and offers several advantages…
A few weeks ago, I stumbled on this giveaway from Taylor Davis, and was blown away by what I saw: With almost two days left, she racked up over 3K entries, just by giving away a few CDs! All that social media action probably cost her $100 — $50 for the CDs plus shipping, and…
Playlist Push promises to help independent artists get their music on Spotify playlists, and gives playlist curators a way to monetize their music discovery. As of this writing, they have 242 curators across 60 genres with a total of 8 million followers. Campaigns start at $185 and run for two weeks. The price increases with genre popularity,…
Patreon consumed my last year. Between launching my page, promoting it, and delivering on what I promised to patrons, there was little time left for other musical or marketing activities. These days, most of what I make from my music comes from patrons. Starting at $1 per month, they get exclusive first access to new…
UPDATE: I gave Playlist Push another whirl in March, and they’ve come a long way since I wrote this. You won’t miss anything if you skip straight to my latest review, Playlist Push Revisited. My Spotify numbers are weak compared to my other social stats. I hover around 1200 listeners and 3600 streams per month….
That's all, folks!
That's all, folks!