Advice for Baby Bands - From a Media Manager
I’m breaking out of my extended writing hiatus to give you all some long awaited FREE advice. A LOT of people have reached out to me, asking for help on getting their music heard and it’s really a lot easier than you think. So why should you trust me? Well, I’m definitely not saying you have to. I am giving out FREE advice after all. However, I do this as a job. While I’ve been told I should charge upwards of $500 for all of the information I’m about to give you, that’s just not my vibe. Also, as a disclaimer: This is just a personal blog - there will probably be grammatical errors I don’t really care. I’m just trying to get this information out there so y’all can have it!
A little background on me, for those who don’t know. I was a Digital Media Manager for Lauren Records and Know Hope Records, two independent alternative record labels. Digital Media Manager is basically a catch all title for someone who does most or all of the digital media work at a label, or at least it was for me. I wrote band bios, website and newsletter copy, PR, did playlisting, social media management and more. I also was an editor and journalist for The Alternative for a couple of years. Currently, I am a social media manager whose videos have racked up close to 10 million views this year alone. I’ve worked a lot of different angles in the music industry, and have had a lot of help along the way. So I would like to pay that forward to all of you. While I am no expert in the field, I do think a lot of this information would be super helpful to a baby band.
The music industry has changed dramatically in the last 5 years. There is a huge focus on social media. This is where a lot of bands struggle the most. But why? This should be an era where it is easier than ever to get your music to the biggest crowd possible. So why is it so hard? Is the algorithm really out to get you? Do you have to pay for social media managers, ads, and publicists to be seen and heard? NO, NO YOU DON’T. What you need to do is ACTUALLY PUT IN THE WORK.
I have literally worked with bands who do not even post on social media when their new song comes out. If you don’t care about your music being heard then why should anyone else. If you can’t afford to hire someone to get your music out there, you have to put in the work. Touring and playing shows is simply not enough anymore. It was never really sustainable in the first place if we are being honest with ourselves. Social media is a black hole. The algorithm is really a mystery to even the most well trained social media managers. You have to be able to come to terms with that. Not every post is going to be a winner. If you post consistently you may have one post go viral out of 250. You need to let the view and like counts go. People start to give up and completely abandon social media because it’s frustrating. Trust me I get it. It’s just the name of the game. You can’t let it get to you. What you need to focus on is community building.
There are so many bands that have gone viral on social media only to be completely forgotten about a year later. While going viral and having a lot of views and followers can help you with a lot of things, it’s not the only thing that you should be focusing on. Think of selling literally any other product. Part of the marketing funnel is engaging and nurturing the “customer” to get them to make a “sale”. Look I’m not trying to say your fans are transactional either, I’m just trying to break it down in super simple terms. In order to have a long lasting career, you need your fans to actually give a fuck about you. You need to go to local shows your band isn’t playing. You need to interact with people online. You want people to like you as humans first and foremost. Being approachable nurtures relationships that in the long run will get you way further than one viral tiktok. Actually connecting with one hundred fans on a deeply personal level is so much better than getting ten thousand people to watch your video and forget about you in 5 minutes. There is so much more to marketing than the social media tunnel. And I want to remind you that I am not saying social media is not important, you just don’t need to put as much pressure on it as you think you do. That will be your ultimate downfall.
So what are easy things you can post on social media without selling yourself out or doing a stupid dance? One of the easiest things I do that is super helpful, is saving posts in folders that I can view later. As I am already mindlessly scrolling on Instagram, if I see a trend or a video I think I can recreate in my own niche I save it to an “Ideas” folder. When I am ready to make content I go back to that folder and see what I can create. I only save videos or posts to that folder that feel genuine and authentic to me. You do not have to sell yourself out to be likeable on social media. In fact, it usually turns people away when they can tell that you aren’t being your authentic genuine self. Something else I tell people to do is to find 5 accounts that they like. This could mean you like their aesthetic, their messaging, their content, etc. Go back through these accounts and pick out the similarities or things you like about them. That will get you started with an easy posting template. Post show flyers, repost things fans tag you in, share what your lyrics are about, post an acoustic video, do an AMA. There is so much free educational content out there, utilize it. There are music industry accounts that will literally give you 10 ideas for your next post, you just need to seek them out. The key is, you can’t let the algorithm consume you. You have to come to terms with the fact that spending an hour on a post is not going to get you thousands of views. It’s usually the posts you don’t think anything of that will go viral. Just let it happen. Post genuinely, but make sure you are actively engaging with your fans in the meantime. Lastly, make sure you are using keywords that describe your sound in every video you make and in your bio. SEO is king right now and that one little thing will help so much.
The next major thing you need is a GAME PLAN. Lucky for you, I’m going to give you a template you can use on your next release to stay organized. Plug in all of the relevant information for your next single or album release. Keep this in a google drive, so everything is organized and easily accessible.
ARTIST
ALBUM
RELEASE DATE
BIO
PROMO PHOTOS
PHOTO CREDIT TO
LINK TO PROMOTE (pre-order/pre-save link, etc)
BANDCAMP
SOUNDCLOUD
LYRICS
TRACKLIST
SONG NOTES FOR EACH TRACK
ALBUM DOWNLOAD
ALBUM ARTWORK
SINGLE #1
ARTIST
TITLE
RELEASE DATE
PRIVATE STREAM
YOUTUBE IF APPLICABLE
SONG NOTES
VIDEO NOTES
TOUR DATES
Now some questions I urge you to answer before you start your next release cycle:
WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT - Why should people care about you? What are you doing in your community that sets you apart? What do you offer to the music industry that isn’t being seen or heard right now?
2-3 SENTENCES ABOUT ALBUM - This is so you can send it quickly in an email or DM to journalists.
FOR SINGLE RELEASE - QUOTE ABOUT SONG - Same as above.
WHAT KIND OF COVERAGE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR - GIVE UP TO 4 WEEKS IN ADVANCE - Do you want a premiere, an interview, a feature on a weekly playlist? Be specific when you reach out to people. Make sure you are sending your music to journalists at least a month in advance. This gives you time to follow up, and gives them time to write. Most journalists have other part or full time jobs. They need time in advance to write and send to their editors.
WHO DO YOU LIKE TO BE COMPARED TO / SOUND LIKE
2 BIG ONES 1 SMALLER BAND - These things are to help you figure out good RIYL headlines for your emails
2-3 WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND - Make it specific but unique so people are intrigued to actually listen to you
MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO WRITE SOMETHING - Make sure when you send your music to someone for coverage it’s super concise. It is much more likely they will listen if you are quickly able to convey your sound and message. Especially if it is a quick weekly write up, the writer is not going to want to email you 5 different times to get the assets they need.
FOLLOW JOURNALISTS AND INTERACT WITH THEM - How do you find people to cover your music? Easy. First start off and check out your following list. See if you are already following journalists. Go to their following list or to a publication’s website you like and check out the staff they have listed. Find a band that sounds similar to yours and see who wrote about them, that journalist will probably like your music too. Do research on who they have written about in the past. Compliment their work and interact with them. Say, “I saw you liked X, we are similar to them, it would mean a ton if you checked us out.” You can invite them to a show if they are in your city.
AIM FOR SONGS OF THE WEEK/NEW MUSIC FRIDAY ETC LISTS INSTEAD OF SINGLE PREMIERS - THEN YOU’RE ON PLAYLISTS WITH OTHER ARTISTS - Speaks for itself - Helps your algorithm a ton.
It’s more rare for a random person to find you from premiering a new song because they don’t know you - why would they care to click on it.
Remember press isn’t everything - you’re only doing it really to add to your report card.
Make it about music & culture - You should be contributing something positive to the larger community or else people really don’t care - What are your influences outside of music? What do you do for fun outside of music? How does that influence who you are as a musician?
What do you want your band to be known for?
What do you want to avoid or not do?
What is your main goal?
SPOTIFY:
Make sure to download the Spotify for artists app. On the app, make sure that you are submitting your new single for playlisting at least 2-4 weeks in advance. When it asks you for information about the song make sure to include how you’re going to get fans to listen on Spotify. Mention if there is a music video, a premiere, if you’re touring, etc. Make sure to use all of Spotify’s free features.
Make sure all of your socials are updated as well as your streaming service platforms.
Make some playlists with bands that you want to be associated with, share them, get fans to listen to them. It all helps with the algorithm.
SOCIAL MEDIA GOALS:
You also want to post to get NEW people to listen. Saying “we have a show coming up” only advertises people who already know or follow you! If they don’t know you, why should they go? Make sure you balance nurturing your current audience and trying to find a new one.
So who is your audience? How do you feel like you can get to them? Who do you think is listening to your music? Who do you want to listen to your music? What kind of content are they consuming? How can you grab their attention or get on their algorithm?
How can you repurpose content/make content to appeal to new listeners? A picture of you playing a show? No one cares, especially not people who have no idea who you are - it’s not going to attract new listeners (if that’s your goal). Find new ways to repurpose old content.
Think of marketing from a fan perspective - how do you find new music, what would make you follow a band?
And with that, we come to a close. I think that this can all feel overwhelming at first, but with a template and plan you can tackle it one step at a time. Remember, at the end of the day it’s about what feels genuine and authentic to you. These are just some tips to keep in mind when you are feeling stuck or ready to try to take your music to the next level. I do hope this is helpful to people. Let me know what questions you have or tips you would give someone else. Thank you for spending your time with me and reading this as well. More to come in the new year :)