Bands, musicians, and songwriters have one big problem. That problem is getting over the hurdle of being unknown. In addressing being unknown, they have to find answers to two questions more than any others:
- How do I get more people to listen to my music?
- How do I turn listeners into fans?
Table of Contents
Getting More Listeners
Discovery. Before listeners can become fans, they first have to discover your music. Of course, you can sit back and wait for them to find your music, but you will likely be waiting a long time. By waiting, you are giving away any control you have over your fan base because discovery is the first step a listener takes in their journey toward becoming a fan.
When it comes to helping listeners discover their music artists need to do far more than upload their music somewhere online. Their music needs to be more than just “there”. More than “available”. People need to be aware that your music exists. They need to know where and how they can access your music.
To drive this, you need to first identify your audience(s) and reliably get your music in front of that audience on one or more platforms.
Getting More Fans
Listeners need to discover that they love your music. They need to feel an irresistible pull toward your music. They need to feel a hunger for your music that cannot be satisfied.
As the artist, you need to feed them. You need to guide them along the route between being a listener and being a fan. It is up to you to create fans. Later in your career, you might be in a position to have other people make this happen for you, but unless you are paying people, and until you have super fans, no one will care as much about you having a fan following as you will.
You will need to know the stages that your fans will go through on their journey from not knowing you to being a massive fan. You will need to understand the journey and what moves people along that journey. You will need a process that describes that journey. You will need a mechanism that allows you to automate that journey (where possible). You will need to supply content that meets the needs of that journey.
So far so good.
If you do these two things you will set yourself far above the majority of other independent artists. That in itself gives you a significant competitive advantage.
Related Articles
Do you want to find out more about independent music artists here on Songstuff? If so, you can find articles and interviews on our Indie Music Blog page.
Read more about the music business and music marketing in the Songstuff Music Business Articles.
Useful Links
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Are you looking for advice about writing songs or writing lyrics? Recording or music production? Or maybe your music is ready for release and you are looking for help and advice about releasing and marketing your songs. Check out our library of music articles and tutorials:
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In addition to our extensive article library and tutorials you can discuss writing songs, recording and music production as well as how to release and market your music, and building your fan base in the Songstuff Music Community.
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