What is music buzz?
Music buzz is the promotion or marketing of a song, album, or other musical work. It can be achieved by using different methods including social media accounts, blog write-ups, endorsements, street marketing, and music videos.
The idea behind successful music buzz is simple: If you have something that people want to listen to, they will talk about it.
If you don't know how to create a buzz for your music then you're out of luck...
A music career without an organic buzz is not a music career.
Let's look at how you can use organic buzz to increase the popularity of your good songs today!
How to recognize and measure "buzz"
Now to ensure that you're really seeing success and can generate buzz then we need to have some system in place to measure our progress.
We will need some key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure growth.
Here are important KPI’s to measure your viral growth
- Royalty income amount
- Follower growth
- Messages in inbox
- Social shares
- Song downloads
- Streams increase
I say it's best to focus on 2 to 3 KPI's and focus on those ones for each campaign!
As indie artists, we can't be scared of data. It's the building block to our music career!
Want to get your music on active & relevant playlists that actually get results?
Get your music heard now 👇
Using Boost Collective is a big way you can grow your buzz!
Be prepared to promote your new music
Even if you are an aspiring independent musician or music artist, you still need to market yourself.
The music industry has changed. The promotion of your song goes hand-in-hand with the creation of your song. In the world of TikTok and content, your music output is the input for digital creators.
That's why new music promotion has flipped a LOT!
It is not enough for you to write a catchy tune and think, "This will be great!"
You need to know how to promote your music.
With this in mind, the promotion of your song is just as important as its creation.
You need to do everything that you can to get your songs out there.
A good portion of your upcoming release should focus on creating an organic buzz with your fans.
You need a strategy to build a music buzz
Not every song is a winner!
Creating organic buzz is like digging a gold mine.
Sometimes you'll find gold and sometimes your hit coal...
But the more campaigns you run, your chances of hitting gold increase!
A great strategy will set you up to find the most gold.
It's just as important to know WHY you generate buzz - as much as HOW to create a buzz for your music.
How to make a solid music marketing strategy
How to make a great music promotion strategy to build organic buzz
- Define your end goal
- Design a process to accomplish the goal
- Find people to help promote your upcoming release
- Select channels/platforms for music promotion
- Set a timeline and posting schedule for the upcoming release
- Measure your progress and to-do's
- Be flexible and open to feedback for the upcoming release
Note: you need to understand that new music doesn't have to be performed in the same place as everyone else.
It can be promoted via a podcast or a YouTube channel series, to get more fans you need to think differently about your upcoming release promotion.
Keep testing and you'll find what works for you!
3 ways to Create an Organic Buzz in the Music Industry
Let's start with the low-hanging fruit. (We have more advanced strategies later in this blog!)
Here are 3 simple ways to generate buzz in the music industry
- Make connections with industry influencers
- Leverage social media
- Go viral
Making connections is the first step if you're hoping to promote your great music.
Not only does this help you grow your audiences, it allows you to meet other musicians and learn from them.
If you don't know how to create a buzz for your music, you can learn from your network.
Build relationships with random people every day. Soon, they'll turn into your bigger audience.
Let's go viral, baby! Virality is one of the most effective ways to get people's attention as a musician and make sure they're listening to your great music.
Should you create buzz, or go viral?
The first step in promoting your music is understanding the difference between viral and buzz.
Viral, which is short for "viral marketing," refers to any type of promotion that uses social media accounts to get people talking about your music or website. Buzz, however, is the term used when promoting your music without excessive social media platforms.
This distinction is important because one type of promotion might not be useful for your particular situation.
For example, if you're a pop singer who wants to go viral on YouTube, you will likely have more success if you focus on virals rather than buzzes.
This is because YouTube encourages people to share videos that have a high number of views and likes.
Your Parody or comedy music video can go viral with YouTube channel shorts.
If you're looking for a way to promote your music without using social media then buzz might be a better option for you.
To spread the word about your song by giving it some playtime on Spotify playlists, Influencer campaigns, press releases, etc.
Knowing how to create a buzz for your music is not the same as knowing how to go viral.
How to make your song go super viral!
The first step to virality is to prepare your song for the market. Take the time to figure out what your listeners are looking for, and how they are connecting with your music. Plan a strategy for releasing the music in a fun way, that gets people to share!
A great way to reach a bigger audience in a short period of time is with viral video content. (I don't necessarily mean a music video.)
A study has shown that people are more likely to share content when it's paired with music, so it's an effective strategy for advertising your band.
Get your friends and network to use your sound on TikTok, and get the algorithm to bless you!
Run an email campaign to build buzz
In order to build buzz and excitement for your music, you should run an email campaign.
A buzz email campaign is a powerful tool you can use to generate leads, build your brand, and increase awareness of your band.
Here's how to create a buzz for your music through an email campaign:
- You need an effective subject line.
- Tell an entertaining/funny story
- Make a clear call to action
(The call to action can be a song, music video, artist website, etc.)
It should be intriguing enough that people want to read the email, but short enough that they won't get bored before downloading the content.
The more people in your email list, the more effective your email campaigns will be!
Collective fan data to build your email campaigns:
- Phone number
- Full name
This is an effective way to reach as many people as possible and get them excited about your upcoming show.
This way you can see how other musicians have been successfully using these types of campaigns.'
How to build your artist email list
This strategy allows you to send out personalized messages to a set of people who are interested in your brand.
5 ways to build an email list to promote your music
- Collect emails selling merch
- Set up an artist's website
- Use tools like Solo.to
- Host a contest
- Run a giveaway
This strategy is all about getting your message out there to the people who are most likely to buy from you.
You can use social media, targeted advertising, and a variety of other promotional strategies to grow the list.
It's easy for this strategy to be effective because it's so simple.
It's worth the return on investment when fans buy merch, support shows, support Patreon, etc.
Build a buzz through local music gigs
Music gigs are great for generating buzz (organic buzz, I'm talking about!)
Here are the benefits of live performances and organic buzz
- Fan base growth
- Make friends with local talent
- Paying gigs pays cash!
- People love live music
- Collect clips to use in your music videos
- Playing gigs increases your confidence in the music business
There is no such thing as wasted fans.
Word of mouth is huge for local organic buzz!
Playing shows is how artists have been making money for the past 20 years.
Booking agents handle the touring management for the most part.
Playing live shows is great for content marketing and earning money.
Research all open mic nights in your area, and get to work! Become friends with venue owners, and talk with anybody at the event.
Making money off your streaming music is possible, but royalty money is a long-term plan.
Most talent doesn't see streaming money results for the first 3 years.
SMS campaigns can help push new music
Want to learn how to create a buzz for your music in one message?
Let's talk SMS.
SMS marketing is a powerful tool that can help you reach your target audience.
An SMS campaign is a type of promotion strategy that uses text messages to deliver marketing information to a target audience. It is generally seen as a more cost-effective and scalable way to reach many new fans.
The power of this form of advertising comes from the ability to send short, quick messages with great detail at a low cost.
With text messages, you can easily give fans the information and songs they need, without friction.
How to run an SMS music marketing campaign
Let's run some Text markeitng!
Here are 10 reasons SMS text promo rocks at promoting music!
- Establishes Your Brand
- Promote your music with ease
- Enhance artist's Brand Identity
- Receive immediate feedback from fans
- Data analytics are provided
- Encourage organic engagement with fans
- Maximize fan base reach without effort
- Promotes your music events & concerts
- Effective audience retargeting
- Grow music video plays
You can create a unique text-based campaign that uses emojis and other fun images to entice people to opt in for more information on your band's social media pages.
This is a great way to build credibility while recruiting new fans at the same time.
Never forget: you have numbers, and you'll have to use them to stay relevant to music fans! 🔥
You'll have to test it out and keep using it to find out what strategy works best for you.
Create buzz through your artist's website
Music websites are a great way to generate new music buzz!
For example, if you are planning on selling music or merchandise through your website, then it's probably best to build a website rather than just a Linktree.
A music website might be better suited for people who want to share their passion with others and use the site as a hub for their social media presence.
Top 5 reasons you should launch a music website
- Website owners can sell fantastic merchandise and collectible items
- You can sell music NFT's
- Monetize through Google Adsense
- Make cash through Adsense
- Artist websites help build a bigger audience
- Pop up on search engines
Fortunately, many services can help you build one!
Hey are the top four artist website builders:
Additionally, establishing a website means that you can start a blog!
A blog is a great way for you to share the new music that you love with others.
It's time to turn your passion for music into something profitable and fun.
How to promote music online with social media
In this post, we'll look at the main social media platforms, as well as how you can use them to grow your business.
5 awesome ways to promote your music over social media:
- Reply to tweets to cultivate new fans
- Make it a TikTok sound to go viral
- Add your music to the Instagram music library
- Host Instagram giveaways
- Team up with TikTok influencers
Your music quality should be your most valuable asset. More than any promo.
If you want people to like and appreciate what you do, then your music has to have a positive impact on them. You can't create buzz with crappy songs.
What can help get new fans?
The first thing is having an awesome song or album with a catchy hook that will stick in their heads (this is called a hit). Music fans also like well-produced content; they'll share it because it's well-crafted.
The product comes first. People listen to good music ONLY!
They don't necessarily need the most popular songs or first album, but if they're interesting enough they'll probably enjoy listening to what you have to offer.
Try mixing your genre, or collaborating with another artist that has more fans.
The point is, that it's important to share quality content with others that are interested in your music.
This will let them know about your new music, and they'll be more likely to want to follow you on social media.
Getting discovered in the music industry
As a musician, it’s important to get your music discovered.
But how do you do it?
Here are some tips and tricks from successful artists that can help you get your music heard by new fans.
3 strategies for getting discovered and generating buzz as an independent musician
- Request your music on radios
- Submit your music to Spotify playlist curators
- Submit your demo to record labels
Can I submit my music to the radio in 2024?
Most radio stations across the country will take requests for live shows. These are mostly pre-recorded shows that usually begin at midnight or noon on weekdays and run until they close in the evening.
Don't neglect Spotify distribution as well!
One of the best ways to get your new music heard on Spotify is to submit it to popping Spotify playlists.
If possible, try networking with people involved in a record label.
An artist's record label is one of the most important parts of their business. It can provide a tremendous amount of support in terms of marketing and promotion.
Essentially, the label is doing all the work for you: putting out your new music, giving you exposure, and basically creating your brand recognition.
How to run a giveaway contest for your music
Running a music giveaway is a great way to share your music for free with new listeners!
There are so many ways to do this, and it's easy to choose which one works best for you and your audience.
Start by considering what your giveaway will be about.
- New album release
- A new single
- Merch drop
You should also think about the prize or prizes you want to offer, as well as how you'll distribute your songs.
Don't forget to think about the cost of your giveaway and how you're going to cover that cost!
You'll want a budget for giveaways, so make sure you include this in your planning process.
Consider offering prizes or music merch discounts for people who share your giveaway on social media.
local vs global music buzz (why local matters.)
There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding between global and local music buzz.
Global music is when music is shared internationally, typically recorded on a larger scale than local music. It can be performed in the same style as local music and sometimes can be more popular or have more listeners across the globe.
Global music fans generally gravitate to famous artists. rather than independent artists.
That's why being labeled as "underground" will stunt your new song promotion, and keep you a small independent artist forever.
This is why you must create buzz for your new song in many ways.
Every idea and every genre should be tested. That's the word.
The benefits of generating global buzz
The first benefit of global music is that it's easier to find.
If you're a fan of something and you hear it on television or in the movies, chances are it's going to be found online too, with no digging around.
That means more people will listen to your music and more people are likely to connect with your brand because of it.
Global buzz is often considered to have a wider appeal than local music... But it doesn’t always sell as well.
It's hard to build a global community, due to cultural and geographic differences.
With a global buzz, you're competing against Drake, Kanye, and all those artists on the global level, whereas with local it's easier to rise the music industry ladder.
The benefits of generating local buzz
Local music can be found right here in your town or city.
It’s often made by people who live and breathe music, and they often have a connection with the music they play
Here are the benefits of local buzz over global:
- Local shows sell more easily than global tours
- Local connections are more fruitful
- Local buzz is easier to spread
It's much better to start local than leveraging those connections into a global buzz with your music!
If your music genre is esoteric by nature though, you may not see local support.
At that point, you may have to invest in good music videos and find fans globally.
Music blogs and press releases build buzz!
Musicians have always been in demand by fans.
Whether it’s in the press, on stage, or in the studio, there are always opportunities for musicians to get their name out there through public relations.
Researching the press you want to reach is a key step in any marketing campaign.
To reach the media, you need to understand what they are looking for.
Not every music blog is the same!
The best way to get media coverage is to come up with a story that’s interesting and engaging. The more compelling your story, the more likely you are to get coverage.
How to get media coverage
Here are a few tips to help you get media coverage as a musician
- Make a compelling story
- Find the right publications
- Reach out to small bloggers
- Make an electronic press kit
- Promote your past blog coverage
If you have something on your mind, reach out to journalists or social media influencers and see if they're interested in covering something you're working on.
They'll be more likely to share your information with their followers and help you build an audience.
Creating buzz and building hype by going live
As one of the leading forms of digital promotion, live streaming is a type of promotion that is just starting to gain popularity in the music space.
5 reasons musicians need to Livestream:
- Live streaming helps the algorithm
- You can get instant feedback from your audience
- Live streaming helps provide a unique level of intimacy
- develop a relationship with your new fans that can last a lifetime
- Live streaming builds hype for shows & concerts
You can share your music with a broader audience and it's also a way to interact with your fans interactively.
As an artist, live streaming gives you the ability to market yourself directly to your audience on social media and other platforms.
The most organic form of communication!
You don't have to worry about having a big, expensive camera setup and other equipment.
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