How to amplify your music career after your 1st release

So, you’ve released your brand new single, EP or album ... what happens next?

With 40,000 tracks added to streaming services such as Spotify every day, you need to begin pushing your tracks however and wherever you can once they are out there.

Luckily, there’s a plethora of sites, blogs and release strategies you can use to get as much promotional life out of your music as possible. Here’s how to start... 

BBC Music Introducing

BBC Music Introducing has helped many artists assert themselves, offering a springboard to radio play, festival line-ups and more. All you need is a UK address and your finished track.

From there, you can upload it to their system, it’s listened to by the BBC team, then passed to your local BBC radio. From there, it can get played on the Introducing show. This can lead to industry exposure as well as BBC Radio 1 play and even the chance to perform the Introducing stage at Glastonbury.

Fresh On The Net

Release Strategy

If you’re releasing a body of work, you don’t want to give your audience everything all in one go. So think strategically about how you release your latest creations.  

If it’s an EP or album, you can treat every track a little like a single and spend time promoting each one separately, maybe releasing video content or behind the scenes info about each song. 

If it’s just a single, use any of these techniques - but spread them out and refrain from giving everything to your audience in the first few days (even if you’re really excited about it!)" 

Video Content

If it’s feasible, a music video is the perfect way to push your newest release! It’s best to space out the music video release from the audio so you can get as much return from your content for as long as possible!

If a music video isn’t something you’re thinking about just yet, make a lyric video. Or even performing the song at your webcam is a great way of pushing and prolonging the lifespan of your release.

Submit Hub

Submit Hub has been known to have it’s pro’s and con’s - but this can be a great way to get your track on choice Spotify playlists and up the Hype Machine charts.

Once signed up, you can use the site to submit to blogs and playlists across the world. You can filter out each blog by the number of followers, engagement and feedback quality.

Remixes

If your music or band lends itself to it, maybe you could commission a remix.

Some artists get DJs and producers to create a new version of a song - but some artists even remix the songs themselves to give the tracks a new life. Make sure you spread out a remix's release and give people enough time to have heard the original track. There’s been plenty of times where a remix has sometimes become more popular than the original. 

Live Session

A live session is a great platform for showcasing your music, again in a new, exciting way, especially if this in video form. It’s also a good way of showing people who you are as a performer too.

Some artists will play the track as it is, others will completely reinvent it - it's up to you what you do with it.

Blogs

There’s so many music and culture blogs who are looking for content and your music might just fit the bill.

Some are obviously more influential than others, so if you’re looking for tastemaker blogs, start with The Line of Best Fit, The 405, Clash and follow in the footsteps of some of our alumni. Most blogs want to premiere a track, so if it’s already out on Spotify, a lot are still open to premiering videos and remixes too.

Online Ads

You’re probably already using social media to push your release, which is great!

Sponsoring the right posts and starting ad campaigns is a step in the right direction to attain more reach and get your music heard by more people.

You don’t have to chuck hundreds of pounds at a post to make efficient adverts. You can use as little as £1 with a precise demographic and get a successful ad all the same." 

Online Communication

Karma means you get what you give. When you interact with more people online and share their work, it all comes back around. Share stuff you love and begin building relationships with musicians, artists, videographers, etc. and expand your network.

If you share their work, they’ll share yours. But keep it authentic, there’s no point excessively sharing everything. Let your listeners know who you are and what you love and the algorithm will thank you. 

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay