I have worked on a wide variety of genres as a music producer and mix engineer. Some artists are a bit more straight-down-the-line and you can easily classify their sound. Other artists lean in very unique directions.
As a mixing and mastering engineer I enjoy the diversity of these projects. I’m also the last stop before someone releases their music to the world and so I sometimes get questions about releasing and marketing an artist’s music.
No One Likes My Music
A couple of years ago I was working on a very unique electronic project. It had elements of ambient, tribal and spoken word. Once I’d finished up the mixes I got an email from the client saying that they were having trouble finding the audience for their music.
Let me stop right there and say this is NOT uncommon. Your family and friends are generally not your audience unless you’re making a very popular style of music that is accessible to a wide range of people. This can certainly play tricks on your mind if you’ve got well put together but quirky sounding songs.
You make music you love. That’s what is the driving force behind writing, recording and releasing your songs. But not everyone is in the tribe that loves your music.
Tribes Still Exist
Think of sports teams or famous athletes. They have a tribe of people who love what they do, tell others about how great they are and will go and will watch them play whenever they have the opportunity. Some are more diehard than others but they have made a choice that they love this team/athlete and they are interested in their career.
It’s not hard to transfer that over to music. So what do sports teams and athletes do to gather their tribe? They participate, they make themselves visible BUT they also know that not everyone is going to be in their tribe.
Find Your Tribe
You need to find your tribe as a songwriter by getting out in front of your people. This means you need to think about what the people would look like in your tribe. Who are the people standing up the front of the gigs? What else are they interested in other than your music? Who are the diehards and what makes them love what you do so much?
If you’re just starting out and haven’t released music it can be helpful to show it to all your family and friends. BUT try and determine the genuine “I love this” responses from the “Wow, that’s really cool that you made this” responses. If they’re friends and family you know them pretty well so you can try to see if there is a pattern to those who really connect with what you do.
It Takes Time To Build A Tribe
If you want genuine engagement with your music – not paying for streams or on a playlist that uses stream farms – it’s going to take time. It’s also going to require investment from you if you’re an independent artist.
I release music myself so I know how it feels to get to the “finish line” on a writing and recording project but then realising that the new project of “getting the music in front of people” is just starting. That’s the reality of it, you worked hard getting the music done so it only makes sense that it needs to get out there so your tribe can find it.
Finding your tribe rather than “here’s a song, do you like it?” is a much smarter way to use your time. So take the time to think about who is in your tribe and work out how to tastefully get your music in front of them.
The Takeaway
If you’re anything like me you’ve got a pretty full schedule and you know the value of having a life outside of whatever you call work. I try to make things simple when it comes to marketing music. I ask myself “what one thing can I do today to put my music in front of my tribe”. It can be as small as reaching out to a friend you know might like your song. It might be as big as finishing a music video for your latest song. Whatever it is, try to do 5 things a week to put that song, EP or album in front of people who might want to belong to your tribe.
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