As a DIY musician in a music-drenched world, it can be hard to know how to get your music heard.
We want to help out with that. So here’s a list of four things you can do right now to increase your reach and make a bigger impact.
Make Playlists
Playlists are the new version of radio stations. People follow certain playlists because they typically share high-quality music from a specific genre.
So what you can do is make your own playlists to get your name out there. And this tactic works on Spotify, Soundcloud, and YouTube.
What you can do is start your custom playlist with a song by a well-known artist in your genre, then make the second song one of your own. Then fill the rest of the playlist with other artists you love and share it on social media.
This way, you can get your music in front of people who like the style of music you make
Harness The Power Of Instagram
There are two ways of using Instagram to get your name in front of new fans: geotags and hashtags.
When you geotag a photo on Instagram, your location appears in between your name and the picture.
Why do this? Well, now people looking for posts in a certain location (usually their own) may happen upon your post. This then connects you with potential fans in your area,
To geotag a post, simply select the option “Add Location” when creating a new post.
The other big way to get your name out there via Instagram is through hashtags. People can follow hashtags and will see content anyone posts using those hashtags.
So, for example, if you use the hashtag #indierockband, people can see the most recent posts with that hashtag as well as the top performing posts.
With these two super easy and free methods, you can get your music in front of a ton of new people.
Do Cover Songs
Recording and releasing cover songs is a tried and true way of getting your name in front of others.
This could be recording a studio version of a cover song and putting it up on Spotify and Apple Music, and it could be shooting a live performance video of you playing a cover song. In either case, you’d have to first get the proper permissions from the rights holder.
The reason this works is that people search for songs they love on YouTube or Spotify or some other streaming service. Let’s use the example of “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles. If you have an audio or video version of you covering “Here Comes The Sun,” it’s possible that people can stumble upon your version.
Busk (And Use Custom Drum Heads)
Busking is maybe the oldest way of getting your music in front of people. Go to where people walk and hang out and just start playing music for them.
It’s almost like your forcing people to listen to your music (and if your music is good, they should be happy about it).
If you’re a drummer or you play with a drummer, one thing you can do to up your busking game is to get a custom drum head with your artist or band name on it. People walking by may not hear you say your name, so it’s best to make your name impossible to miss.
And if you’re a guitarist or bassist, we also have custom amp grill cloths that can help you jump out a bit more.
Either way, we can help you make the most of your busking.
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Caleb J. Murphy is a songwriter and producer based in Austin, TX. He’s also the founder of Musician With A Day Job, a blog that helps part-time musicians succeed.