Making music is downright expensive. On top of recording and production costs, plenty of artists shell out thousands of dollars to market their music. While there’s certainly a time and place for this, emerging artists can take advantage of free music promotion tools to get the word out while cultivating their budding audience.
We’ll share 5 of the best free music marketing tools for musicians and discuss a couple of music marketing best practices. These tools are designed to help you promote your music without you having to empty out your wallet, so be sure to give them a go!
5 Free Tools To Market Your Music
These tools can be set up within a matter of minutes and are entirely free. Check out these tools for promoting your beats:
Daily Playlists gives artists 25 free credits a month to submit to independent playlist curators directly through their platform. If you have a playlist that has more than 100 followers, you can also list on the site as a curator. Curators are able to gate playlists via song adds and profile follows, so the site is an excellent hub for musicians and curators alike to earn new listeners.
Thematic is another free resource that connects independent artists to YouTubers and other content creators. Their listing service is entirely free, and you’re notified whenever your song is used in a video or piece of content, making it easy to thank the creator directly or continue the conversation:
An EPK or Electronic Press Kit can really help you stand out as a professional musician when pitching to blogs and playlist curators. Sonicbids offers a fee EPK creation tool so that you can quickly build one and embed music videos and streaming links directly into your EPK.
One of the most underrated tools for independent artists is online feedback forums. These are excellent places to promote your music, earn true listeners, and network with other artists. You can use platforms like Reddit and Discord, or if you’re a Distrokid user, check out Slaps!
This isn’t necessarily something you can sign up for, but it’s worth mentioning that Spotify’s algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly, Release Radar, Daily Mix, On Repeat and Repeat Rewind, and Spotify Radio.
There isn’t one way to “trigger” these playlists but there are ways to increase your chances on landing on them. For one, it’s important to consistently release music. Spotify needs to collect data on your listener base so it can feed your songs out to more people. Work on crafting quality music and earning genuine listeners. Encourage your audience to add your music to their own playlists and follow you on the platform.
Anecdotally, I’ve seen songs start to get picked up on Algorithmic playlists somewhere in between 10K to 20K streams. Everyone will have a different experience but know that if you can help your music reach certain thresholds, the algorithm will kick it and give you a boost.
Bonus: Social Media
It goes without saying that most artists need to be posting on social media in order to break through to a mainstream audience. While this can feel limiting for some, remember that it’s an entirely free form of promotion that can have a real impact on your livelihood as an artist.
In today’s age of music, you can feasibly attract a major label or a substantial fanbase of your own by putting in the work to build a following. That’s not to say that this process is easy, but it does present possibilities that previous generations of artists simply did not have access to.
If you’re not building a presence for yourself on platforms like TikTok, it’s time to get started.
Best Practices For Marketing Your Music
Marketing your music is an art in itself. Here are some of the best practices for successfully promoting your music:
Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
When it comes to investing your energy in anything, it’s wise to diversify your efforts. That means using multiple marketing tools at once and recognizing that each platform presents opportunities for a whole new audience. There isn’t just one thing that is going to bring your music into the limelight.
Be Consistent
If there’s one thing that many artists fall short on is being consistent. In a music industry so heavily dependent on algorithms, it’s all the more important that you are consistent in your creation and marketing. Make a schedule that you can commit to, but if possible, find a way to connect with your fans on a daily basis.
Quantity Breeds Quality
It’s always ideal to create quality content, but don’t forget that making a lot of content can help you get to that viral idea faster. Not only that, but most algorithms reward creators who post quality creations consistently. Use your content as a way to improve, don’t wait to improve before making content.
Collaborate With Artists
Another “free” way to help promote your music is to collaborate with other musicians. There’s nothing like the power of cross-pollination, so do your best to make music with other like-minded artists.
Hopefully, these tools make it easier for you to find your audience! Enjoy making the most out of these free marketing tools.
For more free stuff, check out our latest piece featuring 9 free plugins for producers.