There are over 24,000 professional musicians trying to make a name for themselves in the U.S., and that doesn’t even count those who don’t write “musician” on their tax forms. It’s not easy to get a start as a band. But by using these eight highly effective marketing strategies, you’ll be playing sold-out shows to screaming fans in no time.
The music industry in 2024 is all about streaming. If you want to get more listeners, get your music on a streaming platform.
Luckily, one of the largest streaming platforms in the world is also one of the easiest for bands to get their music featured. Spotify has over 406 million active monthly users, and they make it easy for bands to add their music using the Spotify for Artists dashboard.
Just sign up, upload your music, and start building your audience. You can also submit music directly to Spotify curation teams to get your songs featured on other popular playlists and grow your fanbase even more. If you get enough plays every month, you could even make some money!
You’re a musician, not a marketing guru. And even if you are a master of marketing, you can’t spend all your time on marketing because you have to make new music. That’s why it’s helpful to hire a manager to handle your marketing strategies.
It might cost some money, but working with a manager or promoter is a great way to continue building your audience without taking your focus away from the music. Let someone else handle the promotion, so you can work on creating new and exciting tunes for your fans.
Social media is a band’s best friend in the modern age. Every time you play a killer show, you’ll get more and more followers to your page. Even better, everyone who follows your page already likes your music, so every time you play a show or release new music, you can make a post or two on your social media feed and instantly get the word out!
However, creating an effective social media marketing strategy is more than just scheduling a post now and then. You have to create regular, high-quality content. Remember, social media is huge. Over half the world’s population is on social media! You have to compete with a lot of other bands and content creators for attention. Make sure your content is just as good—if not better—than theirs.
You should also schedule posts regularly. Attention spans are short in 2024, and you don’t want your fans to forget about you! Posting about three to five times per week is considered ideal for most social media marketing campaigns.
While that might sound like a lot of content, it doesn’t all have to be music. Show your band’s personality with fun behind-the-scenes videos or even gear rundowns. Anything to keep your band front-and-center in your fans’ minds.
The main downside of social media is that your reach is limited to those who follow you. Depending on your budget, it wouldn’t hurt to boost posts or create social media ads. They’re an inexpensive way to extend your band’s marketing reach beyond just your followers and hopefully pick up some new fans in the process.
Live shows are easily one of the best ways to market your band. It has been true for decades, and it’s still true in 2024. The energy and emotion of a live show is a guaranteed way to gain new fans, even if they might not have initially been interested in your sound.
If you want to grow your fanbase, play as many shows as you can! People can’t resist a good performance. One good show and you can increase your band’s following by dozens or hundreds of people.
Plus, you never know who might be in the audience. There could be an influencer with millions of social media followers or even a record label executive looking for the next big act. Even a good small show could make your band blow up in ways you didn’t expect.
Keep playing shows and try to level up your performance each time. Try to get bigger venues, play with more popular bands, and put on higher-level productions.
It’s also a good idea to play outside your hometown. Yes, it’s a great town, but there are fans farther away too who are looking for your sound!
Of course, live shows are only an effective marketing method if people actually show up. That’s why it’s important to promote your shows.
Even though we might be in the digital age, there’s still no substitute for the classic concert flyer. A well-designed concert poster can attract tons of attention on the street and around town. You don’t have to get followers or email addresses; passersby simply see the poster, think how cool it looks, and put your next show in their calendars.
If you’re not a designer, that’s okay. There are tons of concert flyer templates online to help. Just find the template that works best for your band, fill in the information, and download the completed flyer. You’re ready to hit the print shop and start distributing right away. You can also post the flyers to your social media channels for a little extra marketing efficiency!
You might think Spotify or Apple Music are the biggest music streaming services on the internet, but they’re tiny compared to the true music giant on the block.
While other streaming services are lucky if they hit a couple hundred million subscribers, YouTube Music is sitting with a comfortable lead at a whopping 2 billion active music subscribers! If you want to grow your band’s audience base, start a YouTube channel.
YouTube is great for all kinds of content. You’re not just stuck with recorded music. Show your fans who your band really is by posting various forms of content:
The key to a successful YouTube channel (or any social media channel, for that matter) is to post high-quality content. Use a good camera with audio capabilities. Your iPhone’s mic won’t capture your band’s sound as well as a quality external mic. If you want more fans, you have to do it right!
Want a quick and fun way to extend your fanbase to people who otherwise wouldn’t have heard your band? Collaborate with other artists or musicians.
When you collaborate with another band, you get access to their entire fanbase. And, if you do a good job, they’ll become your fans too!
Not only is collaborating with other artists a great marketing tactic, but it can also help you create new and exciting content. Other bands might think differently about the creative process than you do. When you work together with someone else, you can blend your styles to boost creativity and create music you’d otherwise not be able to.
At the end of the day, the best way to market your band in 2024 is to release regular content. Whether it’s via social media, releasing songs on your Spotify channel, or playing new songs live, new content is what keeps your current fans around and engages new fans.
Never stop writing and performing new music. When you become complacent, so do your fans. Continue to release quality content regularly to keep your fans active and engaged with your band. That’s the only way to gain traction and grow your fanbase.
Tell the world about your band.
Your band makes great music, and it’s about time it was heard by the world! The best way to market your band in 2024 is to take advantage of the various digital channels available, play plenty of live shows, collaborate with other musicians, and hire a producer or manager. But the most effective thing you can do to promote your band is to release regular content to keep your music fresh and relevant.
2024 is your year. Follow these tips, and you’ll be playing sold-out shows to screaming fans in no time!
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