A couple of decades ago it was unlikely that an aspiring musician would have the opportunity to record their own music. If you were in a band and you wanted to record an album with a proper sound, you would have to sign with a record label that would pay the advance for you to make an album. Advances in digital recording in the last decade have made it possible for musicians, even with a modest budget and the right skills, to make something worth listening to. While it’s great that musicians now have the ability to record in the privacy of their own homes, it has saturated the market with a glut of music on the internet that would take endless hours to sift through. Luckily, if you’ve recorded something worth listening to, there may be a couple of ways you can stand out from the crowd and get your music heard.
1.Music streaming services
Nowadays, more and more people subscribe to different online music streaming services like Spotify, MOG and Pandora. Many musicians may not be aware that submitting their music to these online services is often a very simple process. For example, to submit your music to Spotify, you would need to license your music through an artist aggregator like CD baby or Ditto. Services like this also allow you to send to other digital services like Itunes or Amazon at the same time. The process for submitting your music can vary for each streaming service, but from what I’ve researched, I haven’t found one that’s too difficult to pull off.
2. Social networks
If you haven’t already, it’s integral that you join as many social media outlets as possible. Everybody knows about Facebook and Twitter, but there are also other sources like Pinterest, Bebo, Netlog that could be a valuable way to promote your music. There are many exciting ways to market your music through social media. Think outside the box so that people can be interested and involved with your music. For example, bring a video camera to your band’s recording sessions making a new album, then post the videos on YouTube, then go to Facebook to tell all your friends about it.
3.Radio stations
Don’t forget about the power of radio stations. The good news is that there are many small independent radio stations on the Internet that you can submit your music to. Services like shoutcast and live365 have thousands of radio stations you can try submitting your music to. Obviously you want to send to stations that cater to your genre and have a decent amount of listeners. Sirius radio has over 20 million subscribers, so be sure to send them your music.
4. Sound Cloud
If you haven’t heard of Soundcloud yet, you should start taking advantage of these services. Soundcloud is a service dedicated to letting people distribute and listen to sound files. It is unique in that it allows artists to have their own distinctive URL which they can then insert into their own website. It is also very easy to integrate with Facebook and Twitter. If you are a paid member, you are given more hosting space and can distribute it to more groups.
5. Get a review
Hopefully, other people will appreciate your music as much as you do. That is why it is important to submit your music to different magazines and websites. A good review on a popular website like “pitchfork” can catapult a band from playing local bars to being on a national tour. Small mix tapes, drowned in sound, and the club av are just a couple of places you should be sending your music.
These are just a couple of things you can do to get your music heard. There is a lot of competition out there, but if you make quality music and use the methods that are available to you, you will surely be listened to.