The internet has changed the way musicians do business. Whereas record companies were once the ones to say what was trendy and what was not, the internet puts you firmly in charge. Want to gain an audience? You need a following on platforms like YouTube and Spotify.
The big names who gained fame online before a record company even looked at them, is long, but it includes names like Justin Beiber and Lorde. The former is known for his viral YouTube videos while the latter used Spotify as the platform to gain international prominence.
We’ll focus on Spotify today. How can you build an audience that ultimately pays for your CDs and reserves places at your concerts? As always, the key is in your following. Before anyone watches your video or listens to your track, they want to know that it’s already popular.
Is it a Catch-22? Not necessarily. If you’re willing to spend a few bucks on getting your name out there, the sky could be the limit.
Going Viral Means Getting off to a Great Start
It’s everybody’s dream. You post your track, and suddenly you have a few hundred thousand, even millions, of hits. In a few very rare instances, that actually happens organically. But in most cases, you’ll find that going viral needs a bit of help from your fans, and maybe even a professional boost that puts you in the limelight.
Although your music is the clincher, the real deal happens before anyone listens to your performance. Even if it weren’t for search engines that pick out and highlight what everyone is watching and listening to, you still need the “everyone” before you get the individual attention you want.
Put yourself in any internet user’s shoes. You’re bombarded with “check this outs” from just about every angle, and you have a limited amount of time to do the checking out. Let’s say you’re faced with a Spotify track that only 10 people have played and followed. But you’re also offered one with 100 plays and follows. If you only have time for one, which one would you choose?
Pulling Out All the Stops: How to Get More Spotify Plays and Follows
You know it’s a numbers game before your music gets any attention, let alone the attention it deserves. An obvious place to start is with friends, family, and existing fans. Send out a newsletter, add a link in all your social media platforms. Hope for hits, follows, and shares.
It can give you exponential results. For example, if one fan shares with 10 friends and 5 of them take action and share with their friends who in turn share it with THEIR friends, you’re in luck! Your audience just keeps growing.
But, if those friends of friends see your 10 plays and decide it’s not worth taking a closer look, you’re getting nowhere beyond your existing circle. Maybe it’s time to manipulate things in your favor.
Yes! I’m talking about buying those follows and plays on Spotify. Sounds unfair? It’s only unfair if you don’t do it! Spotify promotion is cheap and effective, and you can bet that if you aren’t doing it, others are. Get the hundred – or thousand – hits you need to get folk excited and following your music. It doesn’t even cost what you’d have (unknowingly) paid a record producer to promote you in decades past.
Do You Want Fame? It’s Up to You
Not so long ago, a musician’s success or failure rested with record companies. They decided who to spend their marketing revenue on, and if it happened to be you, you just sat back and enjoyed a growing fan base.
Your teeny tiny royalties per album sold or public play were only a small portion of the actual revenue your record company enjoyed. So, you paid for the privilege of being marketed, and so did those who didn’t enjoy the limelight in the same way that you did.
Today, it’s really up to you. You can be a great musician, but if you aren’t a great online marketer, you aren’t going to make the big time. Online marketing is a numbers game and more is always better. It’s called “social proof,” and you want it working for you.
So, even if it means splurging 10 dollars, even 100 dollars, on getting more plays and follows on Spotify or other platforms, you might want to consider putting your money where your mouth is. Great track? Where’s the social proof?
Your friends, family, and fans can only do so much – maybe you need to boost those numbers a bit. After that, your music does the rest, and your new fans open their hearts and their wallets.
Need more evidence? Try boosting your stats with a little help from the pros. It’s cheaper than you may have expected, and the results you achieve could be spectacular! A little promotion goes a long way, and good marketing ultimately sells albums and concert tickets. Feeling awkward about the paid hits? You’re only guiding people towards something that will give them pleasure. That’s why you play, isn’t it?
Courtesy of Rona Sinclair