In today’s day and age, there are thousands upon thousands of websites and apps available tailored towards promoting music – but how can you know which ones the best ones to use are?
As time moves on, trends inevitably come and go. For instance, once upon a time, the Myspace website was all the rage for upcoming artists, bringing bands like The Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen into the limelight.
While that website may have died out years ago, the idea behind it still lives on to this day. Now in 2020, it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to promote your music online, utilising social media platforms and DIY website builders.
Join us as we take a detailed look at some of the best websites and apps available to get you seen and heard by the masses. The days of handing out printed flyers are all but over – in today’s day and age, it’s all about going digital.
1. Website
Having a great website that represents who you are as a band or an artist should you priority number one. After all, websites are where all the other systems in this list will link to, providing your fans with an all-in-one platform that tells them all your latest goings on.
2. Blog
While on the topic of creating your own website and keeping fans regularly updated, starting your own blog is a great way of providing them with a regular source of information. Whether you post about your upcoming rehearsal, recording or touring dates, your creative process or any album reviews you’ve had, fans love to be kept up to date with fresh content.
3. YouTube
Videos seem to be everywhere in 2020 so why not jump on the bandwagon?
YouTube is the number one music streaming service on the internet and the second-largest search engine globally. It’s one of the easiest ways for fans to see and share your music, and can lead to a much greater reach. Plus, making videos can be a ton of fun and provide a great outlet for all your creativity.
4. Instagram
You may think that Instagram is only about pictures and photo sharing but, used in the right way, it can be an excellent method of building your brand as a musician. Plus, since it’s owned by Facebook, it’s super easy to share your Instagram posts on your Facebook page, which will keep two sets of followers happy in one go.
5. Facebook
Talking of Facebook, while its popularity may have peaked and troughed as time’s gone on, it still remains by far and away the biggest and most powerful social network available. In fact, having an artist’s Facebook page should be a close second on your priority list when it comes to building your online presence.
However, despite Facebook’s prowess, updates to the social media platform’s algorithm over the years has made it increasingly difficult to get content seen by fans organically. Therefore, unless you have a budget set to pay for your posts, you may want to focus on sharing content on other platforms first, since they should give you a greater reach.
If you do decide to go the paid-post route to promote your music though, you’ll need to get comfortable with Facebook Ads Manager. This powerful tool can be highly effective but can also come with a fairly steep learning curve, so it could be one to hold off on just yet.
6. Soundcloud
In a similar way to YouTube, SoundCloud is a website and app which offers an incredibly easy way for fans to hear and share your music. Since it is so widely used by musicians as well, it can be a great way of both getting to know your competition and potentially collaborating with them.
The system also features helpful tracking software, making it easy to see how well your songs are performing.
7. Twitter
If you’re looking to keep your fans up-to-date on a very regular basis, Twitter is the best port of call. Depending on the news your fans want to hear, tweeting can be a great outlet for sparking excitement for your upcoming show and starting conversations with your fans.
Whether it be through posting news about your setlist, sharing thoughts on relevant trending topics, or hosting Q&A-style sessions, Twitter offers a whole host of different ways to keep your fans engaged.
Thanks to Lewis Humphrey, the author of this blogpost!
