Ipshita Guha
Music is an integral part of our lives. The evolution of digital tools and apps has enabled us to embed music in an engaging way to make our primary offering psychologically stimulating for the audience (=motivating them to act favorably). The digital gurus tout this as the age of the digital economy.
Let us look around us and mull. Your yoga practice video has some kind of soothing music in the background and so does your meditation track. When you are presenting a concept or idea or any report using a slide deck, you naturally reach for some embedded music to break the monotony. If you are making a TikTok video or uploading some pictures or video to Insta, you tend to jazz it up with some audio. Am I right?
The use of music in advertisements, corporate presentations, pitch videos, team motivational talks, etc. is rife. Almost everyone reaches for customized music to suit the mood, tone, and theme of their activity.
The audience and market for music ‘users’ and hunt for talent online are growing. Statista’s data shows that the global recorded music revenue has risen from USD 14.8Bn in 2011 to USD 23.1Bn 2020.
Music is an integral part of our lives. The evolution of digital tools and apps has enabled us to embed music in an engaging way to make our primary offering psychologically stimulating for the audience (=motivating them to act favorably). The digital gurus tout this as the age of the digital economy.
Let us look around us and mull. Your yoga practice video has some kind of soothing music in the background and so does your meditation track. When you are presenting a concept or idea or any report using a slide deck, you naturally reach for some embedded music to break the monotony. If you are making a TikTok video or uploading some pictures or video to Insta, you tend to jazz it up with some audio. Am I right?
The use of music in advertisements, corporate presentations, pitch videos, team motivational talks, etc. is rife. Almost everyone reaches for customized music to suit the mood, tone, and theme of their activity.
The audience and market for music ‘users’ and hunt for talent online are growing. Statista’s data shows that the global recorded music revenue has risen from USD 14.8Bn in 2011 to USD 23.1Bn 2020. Consumption of music in various forms has grown due to –
Music and songs are not just about vocals. There is a serious demand for instrumental music too. Talent hunters need ‘music’ resources for movies, streaming series, orchestra, theme weddings, birthdays, and even funerals to exude a sense of personalization and exclusivity.
As the demand for music is growing, so is the supply. The market space is awash with talent, one better than the other. Competition is cut-throat and like any other form of content, the buyers must ‘find’ the music. It is not enough to be good at your art if you are nowhere to be found by your right target audience. Your talent must be at the forefront.
If you belong to this industry in any form such that you can be termed as a ‘producer’, you should read this post.
This post will put the whole ‘promotion and marketing’ thing into perspective. You will have a clear game plan on how to conquer the digital expanse step-by-step and inch towards your niche – the place where your target persona will find you and engage. Because you are not creating music for 7 billion people!
You must spend some time and read up the information-rich resources on this site. It will help you get your portfolio up and running real quick.
It is similar to SoundCloud in many ways. One of the things you might find is “It is free”.
If you look deeply, it is not that free. They will charge a share of your sales. And I think that’s ok because any other mode of advertisement, promotion, and distribution would also cost you.
When you are a one-person team at the beginning, you are most concerned with sales and revenue. Bandcamp’s emphasis is to generate sales and not build awareness through social media. That you can anyway do through other SOME platforms.
It is the “Google.com” of all things audio and visual. If I want to look up any clip, video, or music; I will go to YouTube and search.
Have you checked this link?
If you want to distribute your art using Amazon Music or Spotify you will need the help of Digital Music Distribution. These providers will enable you to upload your music onto these targeted platforms.
All are not free. Some of the service providers charge a small fraction of fees.
You should explore this option after you have gained some traction through other online platforms and have a growing audience. Amazon Music and Spotify will be the ideal platforms to create a multiplier effect.
The 3 sites discussed in the previous section are Phase 1.
These 2 sites should be your Phase 2.
The digital strategy to market your art should have an anchor and that is the omnipresent website. Think of your website as the hub of a hub and spoke model. All your digital assets should be connected to your website.
Try to maintain your name as the domain name. You are the brand. I will advise against using some inspired word or phrase unless you are Led Zeppelin or The Who. Even Elton John’s domain name is www.eltonjohn.com. Keep it simple and easy to remember.
SoMe promotion is indispensable. You are expected to regularly update and post. Set up a content calendar to create content in bulk and post over days or weeks. There are paid subscription tools to automate your social media updates but that’s for later.
Marissa Meyer is a New York Times bestselling author known for her works such as The Lunar Chronicles & The Renegades Trilogy. She also hosts a podcast called The Happy Writer Podcast where she talks to other authors and their work. A podcast is an emerging digital asset to build engagement. Your audience can connect with you as they drive to work or travel by public transport. I listen to podcasts while doing the laundry or the dishes.
I may sound repetitive but I implore everyone to get a hang of basic SEO. On-page and off-page if not technical SEO. SEO is a building block for online digital strategy success whatever be the scale of your initiative.
Art in any form is a challenging deal. Competition is cut-throat and talent is overflowing. Digital opportunities are growing exponentially. Your job as an artist is to independently promote and market your creation using a harmonious digital marketing strategy. Create evidence of your talent for your audience. Build a loyal connection.
The English author A. A. Milne had said “Organizing is what you do before you do something so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”
Here is a quick checklist for you to organize your digital marketing strategy:
What will be your plan of action to harness the power of digital media and create a niche for your art?
I would love to know.
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I write about small businesses, health, and life as I see it on Medium, LinkedIn, and my website.
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
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