Time To Spend Some Money

“Nothing in this world is free?” Sound familiar? How about “It takes money to make money?”
Both are relevant and important to your musical efforts, no doubt about it.
Many musicians adopt the idea that all they need to do is make the music and wait out for the fans and the money, but this is where the business side of the music business comes into play.
You are going to need to put some money into your own PR efforts to gain serious momentum in the music industry. It all comes down to social media and how you play the game, and although art is not a pay-to-win experience, it is a pay-to-play one.

By now more than a few of you have secretly cursed someone for not acknowledging your greatness, your product, or anything related to you on Facebook (I know I have), and it wasn’t until I started digging a bit further that I found out about this word called “algorithm”. You see, Facebook, along with every other social media service, favors those that either post a lot, or the ones that pay to have their posts seen.

You can post “I have created the absolute best rock album of all time!” (which for posterity reasons I suggest that you don’t), and you might only have ten people out of your four hundred friends even like the status. It isn’t their fault for not liking your status, they simply don’t see it. So now that you have a few dollars to spend towards you music, I suggest that you pay for some targeted ads on Facebook. This means that you bring your music to the people, your people. If you sound like Nine Inch Nails, then post “For fans of Nine Inch Nails”, and of course the same goes for any other comparison you can make. It might be cool to sound like a band that no one has heard of before, but that isn’t going to place your music in front of all the people that you hope to eventually hear it; so go big or go home.

Next, invest in some merchandise, hoodies, stickers and more, and send some of those items out to some of those who join your bands mailing list. They will appreciate the show of respect and they will also tell everyone about it, and trust me, word of mouth is the best form of PR out there, no matter what industry you are in.

Still have a few dollars left in the band fund? Next on the list is booking a show or two in the city next to yours. Start branching out if you have been playing the same haunts for a while, and expand your musical influence a bit further. All too often bands and musicians get comfortable with their usual fans showing up at their usual places, allowing for a predictable and positive turnout; but that is not how you create momentum. Ask your people to tell others about your upcoming show, and if you have a bit extra to spend, why not create a social media ad to target that particular city?

One more thing to consider is updating your live show photos, and if you want something worth sharing, make sure to pay a pro photographer for an hour of their time (three if you consider editing). Everyone knows how to shoot, not everyone knows how to shoot well.

These few ideas are a great primer when it comes to self-promotion and making use of the limited funds you might have.
Be creative with your efforts and don’t be afraid to see how far your bloated piggy bank can take you.

Are you looking for music promotion? Empire Music Promotions (www.empiremusicpromotions.com) offers result based campaigns aimed at helping you build your own musical empire. Submit your music today!

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