How Does Music Marketing Work?

The events sector has suffered from the pandemic. As a result, many concerts have been canceled or even postponed. Until today, the promotion of an artist is more and more challenging as the public is in a perpetual quest for novelty. It is therefore essential for musicians to develop a marketing strategy adapted to their audience. Why not take advantage of the craze for streaming platforms? Spotify and Apple Music are the most popular in the market. They make it possible to reveal many talents and to listen to our favorite artists. In this changing and competitive environment, how does music marketing adapt?

The music industry has undergone many changes, in particular following the covid-19 crisis. Physical sales: of records and CDs fell considerably in favor of digital with the rise of streaming platforms. Streaming revenue is growing very rapidly, and for the first time in 2018, digital overtook physical. And for the first time as well, streaming accounted for more than half of the industry’s revenue.

Despite everything, music remains a lucrative market, with a turnover of billions of dollars. 

But music is above all an ultra-competitive market where artists and producers must use their creativity and originality to stand out. Ideally, each artist should bring their musical project to life as a “startup” would, or as an independent entrepreneur. The artistic aspect goes hand in hand with the commercial aspect, so it is only natural that the marketing strategy around the artist must be optimized and carefully studied before being implemented.

GOALS

Music marketing has several scopes. First of all, it is a career accelerator. It can both shed light onto the project of talents lurking in the shadows, or give a boost to certain artists whose careers are surfing on a momentum. 

Music marketing also makes it possible to create a link between the artist and his community. The fans are asking for this proximity with their favorite singers, DJs or artists. In this sense, social networks can be extremely faithful allies, thanks to their potential to make a track viral. Instagram is clearly one of the most popular ones, with an interaction rate 3 times higher than Facebook.

Finally, music marketing is also an “audience creator”. Music promotion agencies can establish solid loyalty and acquisition strategies, which allow, for example, to boost the number of views on videos. A solid presence on social networks is essential to build a network, participate in events, concerts, or even be recommended at festivals worldwide.

If artists want to adopt a good strategy in order to retain their fanbase, they have every interest in betting on their visual identity. An artist who is just beginning his journey, who has no professional support and who does not represent a brand will above all want results that flatter his or her ego. 

It is therefore essential to develop a strong brand identity and thus think outside the box. 

Among the tasks of a music promotion agency, one of its main services is just that; building a well-reflecting visual identity for the artist they are working with. From an artist’s stage name, to visuals like album or single covers/artworks, each piece of the puzzle plays a role in the long run. 

Of course, a complete marketing strategy will also involve having an up-to-date website and a strong presence on social networks. It is important to establish a strategy for retaining fans once they find and follow you. From offering exclusive content to fans, organizing contests, lives on Instagram or YouTube, or even artists-fans meet-ups, every idea is beneficial. 

Music promotion agencies are therefore there to best deploy artists’ marketing strategy into every channel available in the music industry. 

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