In the 21st-century, marketing is the most vital aspect if you want to make a career in music, it’s even more important than the music itself. Growth in technology has made it easier than ever to make music and people are capitalizing on it big time. Out of every 10 people 1 is a musician nowadays, I just made up that number, but it’s sort of true at least in some demographics, even if the number is 1 in 100 still that’s a lot of musicians and in these, millions of musicians want to make music a career, so every one of those millions wants to be heard. In this situation getting heard becomes far more important than making music.  But still, to make it a career the music at least has to be music, it doesn’t need to be deep or best in class but at least decent, so the best bet is to aim for music you like because if you like it there will be at least a million people who would vibe to it as you do.

What is Fan Engagement?

Fan Engagement is when you or your brand forms a deep-rooted connection with your fans. This is ideal for most artists in order to have a sustainable music career.  Music consumption revolves around Fan engagement, 1. A person listens to your music for the first time, 2. if  he/she likes it they browse through your catalog, research for you on various social media websites, form a bond, 3.  becomes your fan, and listen to your old music and waits for the new one to drop, share your new releases, 4. Repeats 3. Until the bond is strong. Music marketing revolves around all these aspects and it’s necessary to keep all of these things in check.

Approaching 1st-time listeners

• Pitch to music blogs: you can find various music blogs on the internet, Chose one blog that promotes the music that resembles yours and pitch your music, this is a great way to get discovered by a new audience, who already likes the kind of music you make.
• Upload videos on YouTube: You can make ‘How I made it’ or ‘How to’ videos on YouTube. You can share your journey with other people describing the process that was involved in the making of your music or you can make how-to videos guiding people on how to do a skill that you already have. For example: How to pitch correct a vocal performance, How to sing/rap like a professional etc.
• Write Blogs about music: You can share your experiences in blogs, discuss some subjects that you want to share about music, share some tips and tricks, etc.

Bonus: you can also make a Blog X Vlog where you make a vlog on youtube describing your day in the life of a musician and then write about it in your blogs.

Making 1st-time listeners your Fans

• Have your socials ready: Have all your relevant socials ready, it’s advisable to have as many social media accounts ready as possible, but if this is something that’s too much of a work for you then it’s advisable to pick one of the social media platforms and have that ready. When a person listens to your music for the first time, and if they like it they want to know more about who made it and where they look for your social presence and if it’s appealing now they are even attached to your social platform forming a stronger bond.
• Have a catalog of cohesive music ready: One song will hardly make a 1st-time listener to a fan. It’s better to have a catalog ready to increase your chances.
• Be consistent with your work: Be in the clout, Be in the eyes of people. People have many choices to choose from when it comes to music so, it’s important to be consistent with your work.

Final thoughts

Music marketing is the backbone for ‘making it in music’ this is not necessary if you just want to make amazing music and you don’t care if you earn from it or not, but in order to earn from your music you have to market it to get heard, to form a brand so people know who you are, so they offer you a gig and you can be a full-time musician.