You’ve composed a song yourself, and now you want to share music you’ve made with the world. But just how do you go about getting your music out there?
Thanks to the internet, there are now many different ways to connect with music listeners around the globe. Back when I was a singer and sending out demos in the 90's, you're only option was sticking a tape in the post.
There are however other traditional methods which are effective. By exploring many different methods of sharing your music, you can maximise its exposure - and hopefully grow your own fanbase. This post lists a few different ways to share your music with the world.
Play your music privately to friends and family members
A good place to start is by playing your music to close friends and family members. This may help you build the confidence to then share your music with strangers. Alternatively, depending on the reaction, you may decide that it’s better to tweak your music before sharing it further.
If you’ve written a song that you plan to perform live, consider arranging a private performance for your loved ones. If you’ve recorded a song that you’d like to share with the world, consider playing them a file or even sending them a file to listen if you don't want to do it live.
Book a gig and play your music live
Live music performances are a great way to expose your music to strangers. Look into local venues in your area and try to book your first gig.
You could start by supporting another local artist in a small venue such as a bar. Alternatively, you could look into open mic nights or even consider busking.
Upload music to music streaming platforms
There are many different music streaming platforms where you can upload your music. Some of these platforms will pay you per stream, while others provide no payment but can still offer exposure.
Some of the most popular music streaming platforms to upload music include:
Spotify
YouTube
SoundCloud
Bandcamp
Apple Music
Amazon Music
TIDAL
Deezer
Pandora
Share your music on social media
Social media is another great place to share your music. One of the most popular ways to do this is to share links to your music on music streaming platforms. However, you can also upload music directly to social media platforms - often by converting the audio file into a video first (this guide at https://setapp.com/how-to/convert-audio-to-video explains more).
You can share music privately with people you know via your Facebook profile. Alternatively, you can create an artist page on Facebook and share your music with friends and strangers. Twitter is also another great platform to share your music with friends and strangers. And then there’s TikTok where you can share snippets of your songs accompanied by videos.
Record a physical single/EP/album
Selling physical music can be a great way to make money from your music, and a great way to build exposure. You can burn your music directly onto a CD, or look into vinyl pressing or cassette tape recording.
Physical copies of your music could be sold via a website or via social media. You can also sell them at live gigs.
Sell your music to advertisers/TV shows/movies
There are advertisers, TV show producers and even film producers out there who may be looking for music just like yours to use within their media. Some people may hear this music when watching the advert, TV show or film and may end up looking it up out of curiosity. It’s a great alternative way to gain exposure.
Just how do you connect with people? Well, you can either contract advertising companies and producers privately, or you can try sharing your music on specialist online marketplaces. You can find an in-depth guide on how to do this here: https://republicnetwork.es/en/sell-music-videogames-ads-movies-tv/.
Get your music featured in playlists
There are many popular spotify playlists that specialise in promoting new music - usually from specific genres or related to specific themes. If your song is added to this playlist, it could get you a lot of exposure.
To get your song featured on one of these playlists, you’ll have to contact the owner of the playlist. Some playlists will provide detailed information on how to do this such as sending music via email or messaging via social media.
Encourage podcasts and radio stations to play your music
Podcasts and radio stations can expose your music to hundreds or even thousands of listeners. However, getting featured on their programme may not always be easy - especially when trying to get featured on a popular podcast or radio station.
There will usually be a specific process for submitting music. This typically involves submitting an MP3 file via email or via a form on a website. You can also hire a radio plugger to submit your music to a range of different stations and podcasts.
Get blogs and magazines to write about your music
There are many blogs and magazines dedicated to sharing reviews and written features on new music. These are read by many avid music fans and could be a great place to share your music.
As with radio stations and podcasts, getting your music featured in these media outlets isn’t easy - especially popular music blogs and big publications. You can usually submit a link to your music via an email. Writing a press release and hiring a PR company could increase your chances of getting your music featured.
Pay to play your music as an advert
You can also share your music as an advert. This could involve sharing an audio snippet of your music as a Spotify or TIDAL advert (such adverts are often unskippable). Alternatively, you could share a video of your music as an advert, which could be displayed before other videos on YouTube (these adverts may be skippable).
The process of publishing an advert varies depending on the platform. You may be able to pay more to display your song as a longer advert, as an unskippable advert or simply to increase its reach. On many platforms, you may be able to fine-tune parameters to ensure that your advert is reaching the right audience.
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