Music marketing as a DJ or producer is incredibly important. The foundation to any successful career within the music industry is undoubtedly making amazing music, but without making use of promotional tools, it can be challenging to scope out your target audience. However, effective music marketing can often come with a steep price tag that isn’t always affordable for small creators.

Thankfully, there are plenty of free ways to promote your music that will actually help you build your fanbase. Below, we’ll discuss the importance of marketing your beats and share five effective ways to promote your music.

Can’t My Music Speak For Itself?

Far too many artists limit themselves by thinking that their music is “good” and should automatically attract an audience. It’s not that great music isn’t important – it definitely is! But in a world where over 60,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify every single day, even great music gets swept under the rug. 

If you want to compete within the business, you have to put some power behind your promotion. By all means, it’s key to focus on polishing your sound and skills first. But once you’ve built up what you sound like and where you want to go as an artist, it’s time to start promoting your music.

That means building a brand that surrounds the universe of your music. What does your music look like visually? What does it feel like in tone and text? What do the people who listen to your music enjoy doing? These are all questions you’ll need to answer to be successful as a well-known musician.

You’ll likely have to put some dollars behind your music promotion over the course of your career, but feel free to get started with some of the free strategies listed below. 

5 Free Music Promotion Strategies That Actually Work

Music promotion is a must for every musician. Here are five music promotion strategies that you can use immediately to grow your audience: 

1. Be Consistent On Social Media

This sounds simple, but so few indie musicians take this advice seriously. TikTok alone has broken out artists that otherwise didn’t have footing. And the best part? Social media is free. It may take up some time, but algorithms can help you determine what branding strategies help resonate with an audience best. Commit to posting on a regular basis and interact with others within your community to build your network. You have to give love to get love. 

2. Contact Playlist Curators

Playlists are a major part of the DSP ecosystem, especially on platforms like Spotify and BPM Supreme. Many curators keep contact information in the description of their playlists, so take advantage of this opportunity to pitch!

Share tracks that you feel would fit within a particular playlist, and keep your pitch short and to the point. While playlists don’t always convert to full-blown fans, they can allow you to get some help from more powerful algorithmic playlists once you garner enough organic attention.

3. Sync Opportunities

Pitching to music supervisors can be fruitful, but also remember there are plenty of sync opportunities on the smaller scale. There are sites that connect artists with curators for free in exchange for permission to use your music in content. You can also get crafty and reach out to YouTubers or other creators that may need some unique music to soundtrack their videos.

4. The Power of Collaboration

Simple collaboration still remains one of the most effective ways to promote your music. When you work with an artist who has a similar sound to you, you’re able to cross-pollinate audiences and as a result, grow both of your audiences.

5. Make Use of Distribution Tools

Remember that you don’t have to go at it alone! Both independent and traditional distributors provide assets and services that can help promote your music. For instance, independent distributor Distrokid provides independent artists with free promotion cards and an internal community called Slaps for networking and promoting your music. 

If you’re signed to an independent or major label, make sure your team knows the key selling points of your song. You might be able to earn sync deals with the right framing of your music, and if you’re bringing eyes to your tunes via social media and online DSPs, your label is more likely to put promotional power behind you.

Bonus: Study Other Artists

Ultimately, the best way to build your promotional strategy as a small artist is to analyze how you and your friends interact with music. The next time you feel compelled to take a deep dive into a new artist, ask yourself what’s drawing you to their music outside of the sound itself. Is it the cover art? The artist’s style? Reframe these points as areas to focus on within your own career.

Hopefully, these free music promotion strategies make it easier for you to get the word out! With the help of these tools, you’re sure to earn some new fans. 

About the Writer

Kate Brunotts is an audio engineer and music producer from New York City. When she’s not writing about music, producing music, or singing and songwriting, Kate helps others realize their unique sound, whether through a fresh mix, new instrumental approach, or total rework of a particular sound.