There used to be a time where independent artists struggled to produce and distribute their music against major record labels that controlled the music industry. The advent of social media and rising popularity of music streaming services has made it easy for anyone to popularize their music with little to no professional help. Social media platforms like Spotify gives people the scope to share their musical talent with others. If anyone wants help to beat the competition, he can purchase Spotify monthly listeners, which can generate more growth in the long term.
Platforms To Upload Your Music
The following are platforms that you can easily share your music creations. By establishing a presence on multiple music streaming services you can reach more listeners.
Apple Music
Launched in 2015, this is Apple’s streaming service for both music and video. It offers an extensive library of music for subscribers to listen to, and aspiring artists can hire companies that upload music to Apple’s servers in exchange for a portion of the revenue. You can buy Apple Music views to promote videos you created specifically for the platform. Keep in mind that while iTunes sells music for you, Apple Music pays for each time your music or video is played. The app is available on multiple operating systems and has millions of subscribers worldwide.
Spotify
Although Spotify is run by a relatively newer company (compared to Apple Inc.), they are the market leader in music and audio streaming worldwide, with control of a third of the market. The platform allows users to pay to upload their music, without the need of a third-party. This gives you complete creative control and allows you to collect 100% of the revenue that Spotify pays.
Note that although Spotify identifies itself as a streaming platform, you can think of it as a social networking platform as well. Listeners can share music and playlists, attracting more listeners (and generating income). Create your own playlists to promote your music in this way.
YouTube
You may have already heard of YouTubers, but did you know that many cover artists and aspiring musicians share their music solely on YouTube? People spend an enormous amount of time on YouTube, making it the perfect place to promote your music.
Of course, for success on the platform you would also need to add video to your music, but do not get discouraged. If you’re camera shy remember that the video doesn’t necessarily need to be of you – it can be anything, an animation, or a nature video. Collaborate with someone that is good with a camera, or do it yourself. YouTube pays according to hours watched, so you will get paid every time someone listens to your songs through the app.
SoundCloud
It is an audio distribution platform mainly focused on music. Several well-known artists started from SoundCloud, and it is easy for anyone to use their applications to upload their music on their own. Their service is similar to Spotify, albeit less popular. The advantage of using SoundCloud over other services is that you can create unique URLs for your music to be embedded on your personal website.
Social Media Marketing Strategies
To increase your earning potential, you should be marketing your music. Of course, as the entire process is online, social media is the perfect tool to use for your marketing strategy. These are a few tips for social media marketing:
- Use multiple platforms to reach a wide audience.
- Diversify the type of content you use for promoting your music. As in, use audio, video, and photos as promotional tools to share on social media.
- Interact with your audience and engage them with polls, challenges, and in other ways. For example, you can ask them to design an album cover for you, or ask their opinion on covers you already have designed.
- Post regularly, even if you don’t have any new music tracks. Your social media pages should only contain only about 30% direct advertising of your music. The remainder of your content should serve the purpose of consumer engagement.