There are very few artists who are relatively comfortable with never selling or having their music listened to. Music innovator PJ Harvey famously said that he wouldn’t exactly mind if no one listened to his music, and he considered recording an album just to hide it from anyone else. She just wanted the satisfaction of creating it just for her.

Regardless, making music is the main part, but this HAS TO BE accompanied by music promotions, unless you find solace in just making music and calling it a day.

Unfortunately, music promotions are difficult, arduous, time-consuming, and cause intense headaches. There are formulas, sure. Get a press kit. Build a social media network. Press an album, create a bandcamp page…etc. These strategies are staples of modern music, and there will come a time when they may be less useful. The ever-rotating nature of the internet makes music promotions a tricky subject to plant a long-term, cohesive label.

But if you’re here, there’s probably one of two main concerns for you. 1) DO IT 2) MAKE MONEY

They usually come on hand. And using some of the products we’ve tested and recommended in various articles (including one of our favorites for artists trying to make it the Music Marketing Manifesto… seriously, kick ass). You have to use something like this to get tips and tricks from the experts, build a fan base, and hopefully make a living. I mean, that’s the goal, right?

However, music promotions start with an audience. Before going too far, you need to know if people like your music. This sounds like such an obvious and quirky aspect to mention, but it still amazes me how many bands and artists develop these somewhat huge marketing campaigns, only to realize that no one really likes their music, and no amount of Marketing coups will result in successful. Sure, music is subjective, but quality is a standard. But the bottom line is, if you’re struggling to find even a small, modest audience (without a single marketing dollar invested!), you might want to pursue making better music (or find a part-time job).

Now that the middle part is out of the way, we can focus on expanding out. You can get a medium audience by contacting marginally popular blogs to review your album. Maybe contacting some independent record labels for feedback or sending songs to friends. You can promote that by posting on Facebook, developing a YouTube account, and trying to reach people more easily. It bears repeating: if you can’t find interested people, the bottom line is that your work just isn’t up to scratch and a little more work on your craft would be time well spent.

If you managed to find an audience, you’re already beyond the vast majority of bands who can’t come up with a tune to save their lives. You can write a hook! People will listen to whatever experimental hipster odyssey you’re developing! Congratulations! Now, he can begin the music promotion aspect of his now-confirmed career.

A music promo, as a noun, is a kind of press kit for information about an artist. It collects history, genre, releases, photographs, awards and of course, the music itself. By mid-century, press kits became formal packages for DJs on record label radio, and have consistently involved the inclusion of a more digital package. Music promotion can be physical and will certainly help your work stand out, but it can also be digital. With a low budget, you can build a website, build a bandcamp page, build a Facebook, build an email, and back all of these sources with consistent content. This is your music promotion, built on the gift basket strategy of decades past.

The most important thing to keep in mind when creating your music promotion strategy is that you don’t want to promote innately bad music and you want to KNOW YOUR MARKET. Things like the Music Marketing Manifesto can help you with that. That being said, establishing a modest audience on its own merits is incredibly satisfying. Then you can take the next step in building your music promotion plan, send it out into the world, and hope the benefits make you the next Coldplay.