Thursday
May162013
May 16, 2013 Cut Through the Noise: 3 Simple And Effective Ways for Musicians to Get Noticed
Written by Lukas Camenzind
Smart musicians know that their career depends on building a loyal relationship with as many fans as possible. But before you can start to build that relationship, you have to get people’s attention…
So how do you cut through the noise?
Well, here’s a simple rule: What stands out gets remembered and talked about. What blends in gets forgotten - or worse - goes unnoticed.
If you want to be remembered and talked about, here are 3 simple and effective ways to do it:
1. Use Stunning Visuals
We live in the age of visual culture. Social networks like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and others are built around images. Images are effective because they capture a message or emotion that we can experience in an instant (that’s great because everyone’s short on time). When you bundle your music with beautiful, awe-inspiring visuals, people will not only notice, but also pass it along. Make your visual appearance a priority - it’s one of the simplest and most effective ways to get more attention.
2. Give People What They Already Want
Whenever you’re trying to motivate someone to take a specific action - like listening to your song, or signing up for your email list - you need to give him or her a good reason to do so. That means you have to offer something they value (or are at least curious about) in return.
Unfortunately your music alone is usually not enough - even if you give it away for free. You need to offer what your ideal fan already wants - before he/she knows you exist.
Here’s an idea: Record a cover version of a popular song and make it sound different: play a rock tune with no guitars, or a jazz version of a rap song. The original artist’s fans will be curious to hear your version - now you’ve got their attention.
3. Inspire Or Enrage
Don’t try to please everyone. If you don’t stand for anything - why should anyone care about what you have to say? Are you an atheist? Write a controversial song about it. By alienating some, you’ll connect more deeply with others. Plus, when you tap into high-arousal emotions like inspiration or anger, people are more likely to take action. Whether you’re evoking positive or negative feelings - make sure you get people fired up, and they’ll pay attention to you.
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Hi, I’m Lukas and I have two passions in life: music and marketing. If you’re a talented musician, I want to help you reach and engage more fans, so that you can have a successful career in music.
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Reader Comments (4)
Lukas,
I enjoyed your brief and tightly written post on how to get noticed, and I agree with almost everything that you stated. I do, however, wish that more people would mention the "issue" of copyright infringement when recommending covers. Great headline, by the way... really grabbed my attention.
Hey Will,
Thanks for the comment. Good point about covers:
If you're giving away a cover, you need to clear it, and consider the cost for the license
Great three points. I have to say I agree with all of these, especially the last one. You only have to look at a few YouTube comments sections to notice how much time people will invest in defending or destroying a music video, random clip etc.
Recently I read many comments on YouTube concerning the new Boards Of Canada album, after being somewhat disappointed by their direction with it. It was all very supportive as you can imagine, although I did feel the type of audience had changed a huge amount since their earlier years, which was quite interesting. While feeling a little lost through always the mass following each other, I switched to another YouTube channel and to a completely different genre, only to find almost the same comments there too, which made me smile.
I think it shows, at some level at least, how our behaviour is in these sorts of situations across many many genres and situations. Learning from this, understanding how to use it positively can really help.
Great read, thanks for sharing it.
Cool, thanks for the comment, Martin.