Do you want more listeners and fans of your music? 😃
We struggle as music artists to get our music heard. And when people finally listen to it we hope they like it so much that they follow us on Spotify and other channels.
In the best case scenario they end up becoming fans of our music, meaning they come back for more music as soon as we release new tracks.
That’s the dream, that’s the goal, I’m sure you’ll agree with me? So then the question becomes: how do you increase your fanbase? 🤔
Hello, Mike here again from Masters of Music, and today I will share my best tips on how to reach more potential listeners and get more fans of your music. Let’s go! 😃
My Artist Story
I have been a music composer, producer and artist since my first published track in 1998. And most of that time I have published music to…”crickets” (no one cared).
You know when you are really proud of the music you just created, and then when you finally get it out to all the music platforms, no one listens to it…I’m sure you can relate to how sad and frustrating this feels. 😥
But…I finally started to gain momentum and growing my listener numbers and fanbase by using the following strategies I will share with you now! 😃
Tip 1 – Focus on 1 Style
My first artist name is my own name Mikael Baggström, and I have published music in all kinds of styles on that artist profile for many years, so I never stuck to 1 main style of music. And the result is that it confuses both the listeners (and potential fans) as well as the algorithm. So what did I do? 🤔
I created several artist profiles all within 1 main style of music, so that when people find one track, they can keep listening to other tracks in my portfolio on Spotify etc. and it all fits the same overall genre, style and mood. Let me show you what I mean.
Here’s all my Spotify artist profiles, and I publish my music to a different one depending on what style of track I make. Check out my artist profiles on Spotify. 😊
1. Dark Domains
Style: Dark Music
2. Dreamspace Music
Style: Ambient Music
3. Bardstorm
Style: Fantasy Music
4. Njordic
Style: Viking Music
You don’t need to create several artist profiles if you don’t want to. But if you only have 1 artist name, try to at least stick to one main genre, style and mood for the vast majority of tracks you publish. You don’t want to confuse your listeners, or the algorithm.
Tip 2 – Spotify Playlists
Playlists are the king of music consumption these days. People, including myself and probably you too, love to listen to playlists in various styles depending on the mood and atmosphere you are looking for at the moment.
Now in the best case your music will be added to all kinds of playlists, but you want to give a push to make that happen. And the best way to worked for me is to create your own playlist. Focus on 1 style and mood per playlist so that all tracks inside it fits together, and include both your music and a lot of tracks from other artists in the same style. The algorithm and potential listeners will love you for this.
Check out my Spotify Playlists. 😃
Tip 3 – YouTube Mix Tapes
In the old days people made mix tapes of music in one style. Some of you probably never listened to an actual tape of music, but I’m sure you have listened to the modern digital version of a mix tape on YouTube: a music playlist video. Basically a long YouTube video which simply is a number of tracks mixed together into a playlist.
For example: let’s say you have produced 10 lofi chill-out tracks. You can then put them into a video editor and place them one after another. Add a nice picture that fits the style, and export it as a “music video” to upload as a YouTube Music Playlist video on your channel.
Here are some examples of YouTube Music Playlist videos I created:
- 1 hour of Dark Ambient Music
- 1 hour of Dreamy Fantasy Music
- 1 hour of Relaxing Piano Music
Tip 4 – Make Covers
Making covers of famous music is one the best ways to reach a new audience, and this goes on any platform, but I especially recommend to use this strategy on YouTube.
Let me give you a practical example: back in the days I had a Rock/EDM artist project together with a friend. And when we published our own original music we got around 100’s of views per video on YouTube. Then when we made a cover of the “Top Gun Movie Theme”, that video got over 100’000 views. We tried another cover of an old famous EDM track, and it’s currently at 240’000 views!
What’s your lesson here? Well, using the music cover strategy may seem “boring” to you as an artist, since all of us wants to create our own music and art. But man, covers can be so effective that you simply should not ignore this strategy! 😎
Tip 5 – Connect as You
Most music artists today are “invisible”, meaning the listeners don’t really know who you are, what you look like, your story etc. So simply by connecting in a real way, being you, will take you to the top 1% of music artists in terms of “connection with your audience”.
You can connect in so many ways, on any social media platform, for example:
- Showing fans “behind the scenes”
- Sharing your Story in VLOG videos
- Playing an instrument/singing in a video
- Making any type of Meme or Fun videos
- Simply chatting with your audience in a video
The main point is to let your fans in, make them connect and relate with you more as both an artist and a human being. Make them care about you as well as your music! 😊
✅ More Resources for You
- Music Courses: https://mastersofmusic.net
- Music Playlists: https://nordstarstudio.com
👍 Thank you for Reading
More tips & tricks to level up your music success are on the way. 😊
Sincerely
Mikael “Mike” Baggström
Composer, Musician, Artist