Promoting Tracks on the Internet - Some Do's and Dont's

Andy Gordon is a member of the Music Producer’s Guild and is passionate about all aspects of creating and recording music.  He regularly releases uplifting dance and pop tracks on Soundcloud as under the name Big Wedge of Cheese.

Over the last few days I’ve been spending time going through posts by musicians on the web and Facebook groups. While doing this, I’ve also made a list of ways we can improve the way we post (and essentially market) our tracks.  Some of these are obvious - but believe me, I’ve seen the same mistakes over and over again! I thought I’d share my list of observations with you all.  I hope you find this useful.

1. Engage with others.  If you just post and run, people won’t listen to your tracks.  Instead play a few tunes and post some comments and click the ‘Like’ button where praise is due.  This is mutually beneficial… others will receive your encouragement and valuable feedback - and people will notice you and your commitment and might go on to play your tracks.  Additionally, you might get some inspiration for your next track.
2. Avoid making the first line of your message any of the following:  “Download this now!”, “Buy this now!”, “Follow me on Facebook”, “Please check out {track name}”, “Check out my track {track name}”.  These phrases are either too demanding, sound desperate or are exactly what everyone else is writing.  Stand out from the crowd by trying subtly to entice the reader to play your track.
3. In your post, explain what style of music you’re offering, what is unique about it and why you’re passionate about it.  Add a little humour, if possible.  But keep it short as you need to grab the reader’s attention quickly.  It’s a delicate balance.
4. Don’t just paste a link.  I’ve spotted that this type of post is the least likely to receive a ‘Like’ or comments.  It also smacks of laziness.  Readers have little information to go on so they won’t listen unless they’ve already had some exposure to your music.
5. I prefer to use Soundcloud links.  Tracks on the ReverbNation site (and in their widgets) initialise very slowly so people give up waiting for the track because they think it’s not working.  Tracks start faster on Soundcloud on the web and on Android/iPhone apps.  (In case you’re wondering… I am not being paid by Soundcloud to say this, just a fan of their platform!)
6. If you’re after exposure, don’t post your tracks on sites that expect people to create an account before they can listen.  People don’t have time for this and your track will be ignored.
7. If you’re offering a download on Soundcloud, ensure MP3s are tagged and of high quality.  The file name should also be in the format ‘Artist Name - Track Name.mp3’.  This way when people come across the file on their hard drive at a later date, they will know exactly what it is - otherwise you’ve lost a potential fan.  It’s really irritating to find an untagged track called ‘aaaa3.mp3’ on my hard drive.  Why should your fan rename and tag it for you?
8. Ensure your tracks have fully faded before the track ends.  Cutting off early or before the reverb tail has finished is sloppy.
9. On Facebook post videos as Facebook videos - you will get more hits, believe me! The videos start playing right away as the user scrolls through the news feed.  People are far less likely to click on a YouTube link.  You can add a link to YouTube inside your message too - but for Facebook posts, primarily use Facebook video.
10. When posting links on Facebook, delete the URL from the message once the link preview has been recognised.  Leaving URLs (especially long ones) in the message text looks messy and unprofessional.
11. Check that your links work! To be sure, use a different browser that is not logged in to your Soundcloud/YouTube profile so you get the same behaviour as your readers.  This will eliminate problems with private tracks.
12. Where possible, post under a Facebook profile name that matches the artist name of the track.  It will then look like someone from the act is connecting with the audience, rather than a random person posting the track.  Also your profile name is an advert wherever it is seen in posts.
13. Don’t write in CAPITAL LETTERS - ever!
14. Spell check your posts.
15. Choose a suitable and professional-looking track image.  The image should convey something about the track and music genre.
16. If your track isn’t mastered, then perhaps put ‘(Unmastered)’ in the title of the track if you like – but don’t write ‘Unmastered – Sounds sh1t’ because it’s too negative; it starts the listener’s experience on the wrong footing and won’t encourage people to listen.  If it really does sound ‘sh1t’ then it’s not ready for posting.
17. Further to the previous point, don’t use bad language in posts.  It’s not cool.
18. Take on board feedback from people.  If people bother to give you feedback, they are trying to help you succeed.  Don’t be defensive.  Respond by saying you appreciate the feedback and will use the advice to help you going forwards.
19. Don’t randomly post your track as a reply to other people’s posts (unless they’re requesting tracks).  It’s just spam.  Think about whether you’d like it if people did it to you.

Please add any other suggestions or feedback in the comments.  I think this worthy of a good discussion as promotion is a very important part of what we do as musicians.

Andy

https://soundcloud.com/bigwedgeofcheese

Comments

[Paul Loeb]

This is a good article. I just posted some more tips here on Digital Music News: 10 Ways to Get Your Music Heard

[Anne Leighton]

Great piece, Andy.
There are ideas here that I didn't think of as a promoter.

All the best.

[Aynsley]

Hi Andy, Thanks for posting these great tips - very helpful! So true - artists must do everything they can to stand out, engage their fans, and not come off as annoying or boring! I also recently was reminded that "creating curiosity" with our fans is another great way to invite ppl into a conversation. How true about avoiding CAPS at all cost lol . Please keep these posts coming.

[nosaM]

One additional question. What is your viewpoint on artists tagging people in posts on Facebook? Should an artist Only tag people who are directly involved in the project? OR is it now socially acceptable to tag 99 random people just to get their attention? I began this debate a few days ago and Id love some input.

[Jared KF Jones]

NosaM,

I personally don't even allow randomly tagged posts on my timeline. It is annoying, and unprofessional.

[Jhonson Jenifer]

very interesting article, “Promoting Tracks on the Internet” I only heard of the term and did not figure it our, well explained, promiting tracks next big thing