A New Label Story - Part 3: How to promote your music?

Music promotion spreads your music, grows your fanbase and brings forward your career. In 2021, you have numerous opportunities as an artist to take your promotion into your own hands. Today we will show you numerous tips on how to promote your music the best way possible.

If you missed the previous two parts of "A New Label Story", feel free to catch up. In the first part we talked about digital distribution in general and in the second part we explained what you should look for in your first release.

Before you get started: plan in enough time for the release of your products. Promotion doesn't work overnight and don't stress yourself with too short deadlines. 
We recommend a minimum of 4 weeks - the more time you take, the better.

Verify your channels: Make it official on every platform

Verified pages are the best way for you to manage your presence on different platforms. A verified page gives you a trusted presence. Make the respective artist pages your own. Upload a photo and your bio to Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon. Customize the different platforms carefully and let your listeners know who you really are. Good music promotion means placing your releases / your sound wherever fans come into contact with your music.

Create Content on Social Media

Social media remains a key player for artists. As with the music platforms, it is also important to verify your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok account. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook continue to be places where artists can creatively distribute and showcase new music. Whether it's images or videos, artists can market their new track along with their aesthetic and personality through social media. It's just important that musicians recognize what type of content is appropriate for each platform. While Instagram offers feed posts, stories, IGTV, Instagram Live and Reels, Facebook has fewer post options but a huge user base. On Instagram, Stories are very popular - so why not set up a countdown for your  next release?
TikTok, on the other hand, is an important platform for discovering new songs. Maybe one of your tracks will also go viral and be used by influencers for their videos.
Finally, the release of a good old music video on YouTube is also a good thing. Once you have a finished music video, you have a lot of material that you can publish. For example, you can upload clips from the video to other social media platforms.

Get on playlists

To reach more listeners directly, you can pitch your track on Spotify & Co. This can get your track in an official playlist (eg: Techno Bunker) and thus reach a completely new audience. There are some things you have to keep in mind though: 
You can only submit one track per release. So if you are releasing an album or an EP, you should think about which track is most likely to be picked up by playlists. Also, you can only submit music that has not been released yet. You should upload and submit your tracks to playlists at least 7 days before the release date, but ideally weeks before the release date.
The curators at Spotify and co. have to work their way through thousands of playlist submissions every day. So the earlier you apply, the greater your chances are of being heard. Post the features and playlists that you’ve been added to and don’t forget to tag the platforms that support your music.

Use our promotion tool kontact!

With our own built-in dig dis! promotion tool kontakt!, you can send your new release directly to your contacts. You can create and set up your own promo pools (email list) with kontakt! and your friends and acquaintances can directly give you feedback on your music. This feature is included for free for all dig dis! clients. Get feedback on your music before your release is published to the stores. Have we caught your interest? Sign up here.

Get in touch with your label or distributor

Often your music distributor also has the option to pitch your releases for features or playlists. Let them know the story behind the artists and the tracks.

Website, Blogs and press articles

This part is a bit more advanced, but in any case also a very good way to promote your music. To make sure that your fans can always find you online, you should create a music website with a custom domain name. Your website should be a one-stop shop that includes all of your latest music, your artist biography, upcoming gigs & events, and more. 
You can use your website to promote your music online by announcing new releases, adding your full discography, and generating interest in your live shows.
Writing a blog is also a great way to provide insights to your career, and regular updates show that you are an active musician. Blogging about your music not only builds a closer relationship with your fans, but it can also have a positive impact on your website's search engine optimization. 
Write blog posts about your music every  or every two weeks without too much self-promotion. It can be insights into your creative process, compilations of new music you like, or personal stories about your life as a musician. Remember, you can also use the content for newsletters or social media updates.
Online music magazines or well-known music blogs can also publish articles about your stories and posts, which will increase your reach.

It's a lot of work. But with the right strategy, you can market your music on your own terms and successfully distribute it in a way that suits your vision.
That's why good music promotion is part of making music. And the further you get ahead, the better things will go for future releases. Your fan base will grow and so will the reach of your audience. We hope these tips helped you.