When trying to promote yourself as a musician or promote your band it is like starting up a business and getting noticed which is why, when starting out, we should look at the 4Ps Marketing mix of:
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
What Product are we selling? In music, the question is What is the genre/sound of the music? What makes the product unique and new to you? As musicians, we need to look to see if we have a different sound or similar sound to someone else but we need to find a way to make it our own.
When it comes to Price we just need to find the right price as that is what customers/fans/listeners look out for, if it is expensive for new artists they probably will just leave it. What is the right price?
Place is where are we distributing our music? If we take a look at socials, for example, the majority of Tiktok users are aged between 16 to 24 but 74% of adults use Youtube. We need to look at the target audience to get the optimal location for us.
The last and final P which we will also be focusing on is Promotion. The way to get noticed is by putting ourselves out there as musicians and our music. The place and promotion of the 4ps of the marketing mix really work together for us as musicians which will be shown through 3 of the ways that we can distribute music, that we will look at today.
Social Networking:
Social Networking is one of the most popular uses of peoples phones and a daily occurrence in peoples lives which is why to be noticed and promote ourselves we need to bring ourselves to the people. The main goal of social media is to bring people together which for a musician is a strong aspect as it will bring musicians and fans together, breaking down a wall that is close to interaction. Before social media, we had to wait for record labels and managers to set up meet and greets or radio appearances but now it’s faster than before and in control of the performer to be ourselves, get our music and album out and talk about merchandise and concerts. Everything is to hand and with different social platforms, to reach different age groups, musicians can use a variety and increase their following. It is also cost-effective! Unfortunately, there are some downsides to this method of distribution like some posts don’t meet everyone and that it is used by nearly every artist out there but the positives definitely overshadow the negative.
Website
What is the first thing we do if we need to find something? We search it on the internet. Which is a perfect place to put updates, blogs, merchandise, songs as any relevant search will bring up the website. Websites are like a one-stop location full of the necessary information about the musicians that aren’t on social media. A lot of people looking for performers or people to represent may not look at them twice if they only have social media. This is cause social media comes and goes and it makes you look more professional and dependable as we have taken the time to sit and create the website and its content. Websites also give us more control of the content and what people see where and when.
Maintaining blogs/Vlogs
Taking a step back for musicians and not shoving our music in peoples faces is an important aspect of our success. Bringing something different to the table like a vlog or blog. They are a great way of connecting to people in a different, sometimes more interesting way. It gives a way for fans to see us in a different light, see us in a different context from just listening to our music. It can also allow us to share our knowledge of other aspects of music or our lives. As a fan have you ever thought about what inspires your favourite artists or their journey to where they are now? We can also share the equipment we use to give fans an insight into that side of us as musicians too. Then this is a perfect way of promoting ourselves as people and artists in a way that our fans can get easy access to the information without them hunting for it and keeps them interested.
References:
Renderforest.com. 2020. 15 Music Marketing Strategies for Aspiring Musicians. [online] Available at: <https://www.renderforest.com/blog/music-marketing-strategies>[Accessed 2 April 2021].
Newberry, C., 2021. 25 YouTube Statistics that May Surprise You: 2021 Edition. [online] Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Available at: <https://blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-stats-marketers/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
Patel, N., n.d. The 4 Ps of Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide (With Examples). [online] Neil Patel. Available at: <https://neilpatel.com/blog/4-ps-of-marketing/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
Evans, Z., 2015. How Social Media and Mobile Technology Has Changed Music Forever. [online] Social Media Week. Available at: <https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2015/08/social-mobile-changed-music/#:~:text=By%20utilizing%20social%20media%2C%20musicians,in%20the%20ways%20the%20wish> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
Duncan, L., 2020. Do Musicians Need Social Media? The Shocking Reality - Music Industry How To. [online] Music Industry How To. Available at: <https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/do-musicians-need-social-media/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
Robley, C., 2015. Musicians, do you NEED to have a website?. [online] DIY Musician. Available at: <https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/musicians-do-you-need-to-have-a-website/#:~:text=Most%20industry%20experts%20agree%2C%20musicians,whoever%20is%20visiting%20your%20site> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
Magnetic Magazine. 2017. Music Marketing: Why artists And Producers Should Have Their Own Website. [online] Available at: <https://www.magneticmag.com/2017/05/music-marketing-why-artists-and-producers-should-have-their-own-website/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
n.d. [image] Available at: <https://optinmonster.com/best-website-builders-for-small-business-compared-pros-and-cons/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
n.d. [image] Available at: <https://www.socialchamp.io/blog/vlogging-vs-blogging-how-to-pitch-perfect-one-for-a-powerful-social-media-marketing/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
KUSEK, D., 2018. Why blogging is still one of the most powerful music promotion tools. [online] DIY Musician. Available at: <https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/why-blogging-is-still-one-of-the-most-powerful-music-promotion-tools/#:~:text=Blogging%20gives%20you%20a%20way,gives%20fans%20a%20connection%20point> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
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