Most musicians move on too soon. They put all their creative focus on the next release. Or they only promote their latest work, neglecting all the songs that came before. But taking your attention off your older tracks is a mistake. Because there are three big reasons why you should continue to market ALL the music in your back catalog. Why your old music deserves new attention: The first and simplest reason? Good music is good music. While YOU might be focused on your recent stuff, your older releases will still be brand new to most of the world. Next, your back catalog is a source of reve ..read more

Not all viral attention is good attention. You can attract actual fans by showcasing your music in a way that’s visually-optimized for social. Or you can chase trends on Reels & TikTok that hurt your music’s reach in the long-run. How exactly do social trends hurt musicians, you ask? Well… Here’s one cautionary tale about a friend of mine who had a video go viral — all for nothing: View this post on Instagram A post shared by ReverbNation (@reverbnation) Why social trends make bad music content Social platforms have shifted from being follower-focused to recommendation-focused. It ..read more

Here’s the sad reality: Most musicians neglect their email list. Even though (and customers!) Sure, it’s easy to remember the big announcements — new album, an upcoming tour, the latest video launch. But then we ignore our lists the rest of the time. You can write an email in minutes How can we keep our audience engaged year-round? Simple: Send more emails! “But it takes forever,” you say? Well, remember: Emails don’t have to be long. A few sentences can be enough. In fact, sometimes the shorter the better. Stumped on WHAT to write about when you don’t have an upcoming release, concert, or vid ..read more

Music may seem like an extroverted artform. But many famous musicians are introverts! Introverted producers, songwriters, and artists find inspiration AWAY from crowds. So if you’re an introverted musician, certain networking events, artist meetups, and industry conferences that are designed to provide motivation and excitement can actually leave you feeling drained. Unless you arrive with the right mindset, a plan of action, and the willingness to step away when needed.  Here are 5 ways introverted musicians can lessen their stress around public events: 1. Come prepared  Have a few ..read more

Have you checked if your music got pulled from Deezer!? Because they just removed…  [WAIT FOR IT]  … twenty-six… …MILLION… …tracks! I repeat: 26 million tracks were just removed from Deezer in an attempt to “declutter” its catalog. That’s roughly 13% of ALL the music on their platform. What music was removed from Deezer? “Useless” tracks. That’s according to Deezer’s outgoing CEO, Jeronimo Folgueira.  In practice, this meant the removal of 26 million tracks that were either: Noise tracks Mono-track albums Music by “fake” artists Or streamed ZERO times in the last 12 months I j ..read more

Are you sick of making “content” when you’re supposed to be sharing songs?  Tired of chasing social trends when you should be mining inspiration?  Have you almost forgotten you’re a songwriter, because the world keeps insisting you need to be a “creator” first?   Well I have some good news for you: Songwriter Katie Dahl’s two best-performing posts defy most of the conventional wisdom around social media and music marketing. She saw the highest engagement when she decided to simply… be herself! Vulnerability as a superpower in songwriting AND music marketing As a marketer, I ..read more

I watched hours of trending singer-songwriter content on Reels and TikTok and here’s what I found: What seems to works best for singer-songwriters in 2024? Performance videos! But that’s just one of the commonalities I noticed. In the post below you’ll see a highlight reel of a dozen videos by singer-songwriters that: Were recommended to me algorithmically Instantly caught my eye Which made me turn up the volume to hear that they… Sounded good They all had some impressive engagement happening as well (likes, shares, comments), which served as a kind of social proof enticing me to check out w ..read more

You work hard on your music. Once it’s released into the world, you want people to know it exists, find it easily online, press that play button, and love what they hear so much they’ll listen again.  That can happen, of course. It happens all the time.  But with endless amounts of new music being released, and with endless amounts of social content designed to keep us viewing and scrolling, it usually doesn’t happen all on its own. To gain traction with your music, you need to: Actively communicate Make people curious about your music Entice them to take a chance on you And make it ..read more

Viral music success today is achieved through ACTIVE release strategies.  An active music release lets people make something NEW from your music. Or allows them to easily add your track to something THEY are already doing online. Both active and static releases are important for modern music launches. Active releases are great for growing your audience and creating a sense of participatory excitement. Static releases serve your true fans because they are the truest form of your artistry. Let’s explore each kind of release strategy a little deeper. What’s the difference between active & ..read more

Spotify’s annual report on music economics is now out, and the latest Loud & Clear claims the music industry is growing at a healthy pace. But it’s always worth reading these things with some skepticism. What’s good for “the music industry” can be very different from what’s good for individual artists. So let’s look at Spotify’s headline numbers and ask ourselves what they mean, if anything, for our own music. The top findings from Spotify’s recent report: Spotify paid $9b to rights-holders in 2023 This set the record for the highest payment to the music industry from any single retailer ..read more