The 10 Best Online Platforms to Promote Your Music

Do you want to get your music heard by more people? Do you want to sell more downloads and merchandise and have larger audiences at your shows? A sound strategy to promote your music online appears to be the key for many independent artists these days.

In the old music promotion model, artists would spend hours (days even), creating a mixtape, preparing for one shot with a record label. Music promotion has now transformed into a place where the artists can put in their own work to build a following across a variety of platforms.

Despite the many tools available to artists, it’s still just as hard to get noticed by record labels and most turn to self-publishing to make sure their music is released. To get a leg up, here we share some of the best online platforms to promote your music, giving you a very real shot at your chance in the limelight.

1. Promote Your Music With Your Own Musician’s Website

The first thing you’ll want to do is to create your own website. This is really easy to do using websites such as Wix Music or WordPress. This should be the hub to where you direct all your listeners, no matter what platforms you’re promoting on, so they can have all the up-to-date information they need, as well as a chance to buy your music.

2. Promote Your Music On Your Musician’s Blog

Hand in hand with the point above, start a blog about your upcoming and ready-to-boom music career. All you’ll need to do is write about your music life, the things you’re up to and just get people to follow your journey. The more followers you have on your blog, the more people will know about you as an artist and the music you create.

3. Promote Your Music on Social Media Platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

This is such an essential part of success these days. Whether you’re sharing your blog posts, your website, your music or even your music videos, it’s essential that you have some form of social media account.

Some of the best include Facebook and Instagram, but you may want to consider platforms like Snapchat and Twitter. This will probably be the most popular way for you to connect with your audience and fans.

4. Promote Your Music on Online Radio platforms such as Last.fm and Pandora

You may think online radio is dead, but it’s far from it. Websites and platforms such as Last.fm and Pandora, are more popular than ever before and it’s a great place to get your music played and out there to audiences that you might not have been able to reach in the past.

5. Promote Your Music on YouTube

YouTube is a must, and I simply can’t stress enough how important it will be for you to get your music on the platform for the masses. Despite all the live streaming services that are available, YouTube is still the number one music streaming website on the internet.

This is such a beneficial website since new users will be able to find your music and it’s also a great place to host your music so it can be shared by your existing fans effortlessly. Make sure to add tags to your uploads based on relevant keywords that people search for.

6. Get Your Music Featured on Other Blogs

Research all the music blogs that relate to your genre. Then, contact them and send them a copy of your demo. If the blog likes your music, they may choose to feature you on their blog. The more followers your chosen blog has, the more people that are going to be aware of your music.

This is a very popular method among musicians and some of the leading blogs may receive countless demo tapes every day so it may take a while for them to get back to you, if at all. Just make sure that your original message is compelling and makes blog owners say ‘wow’. Make sure that the blogs you reach out to are relevant to your genre and audience.

7. Promote Your Music on SoundCloud

SoundCloud is another one of the biggest music streaming websites and is a great place to host your music and get it found by fans who are looking for musicians like you. It’s free to set up an account with premium options available for an increased download limit and higher visibility on the website.

The website holds a very large online community and is used by internet users and music lovers from around the world, making it a great way to get your foot in the door.

8. Promote Your Music (and sell it) on Bandcamp

Bandcamp is a unique music-based website that can help you to convert listeners into dedicated fans. There are two features in total that can help you boost your music career. Firstly, there’s the plain and simple feature of being able to upload your albums and music tracks for either a free download or a paid download.

Secondly, you’ll also be able to build your mailing list in exchange for a free download. This can help you stay in contact with fans of your music while promoting extra content for them to download and enjoy in the future.

9. Promote Your Music on on Streaming Music Services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal

There are a TON of online music streaming websites online. Some of the biggest include Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music, among many others. If your music is granted access to be played on these websites and services, you’ll be able to earn royalties from each play, and you’ll also be able to advertise your tours. But how do you get your music on these services? Digital Distribution Services (see below)!

10. Promote Your Music Using Digital Distribution Services such as CDBaby and Tunecore

One of the most effective yet overlooked ways of getting your music into the mainstream is by uploading it to digital distribution services. Nowadays, the majority of people will listen to their music through music streaming services, some of the most popular being iTunes, Spotify and Amazon. To have the ability to promote your music on these platforms can help you to gain fans from all over the world. Using digital distribution services such as TuneCore and CD Baby, you’ll be able to upload your tracks to over 150 music streaming services, all using a price limit and package that matches your budget. You may even make some money if your tracks get popular on these platforms. These services, in particular, are free to sign up and you only have to pay for the services that you’ll use.

Question of the Day

In your experience, what are the best online platforms to promote your music? What has worked for you and what hasn’t? Leave your response in the comments section below.

Author Bio

Rachel Summers has been a social media manager for seven years, working for a variety of companies, both big and small, including Revieweal, a leading custom writing service. In her freetime, Rachel also helps and advises a variety of small businesses and start-ups on their social media strategies.