To make it in the music industry today, having a strong online presence and brand is essential. Between streaming platforms, social media, and connecting with fans digitally, building your profile online can help new artists gain listeners, get booked for gigs, and advance their music careers. Here are some top tips for UK musicians looking to establish themselves and grow their audience online.
Create High-Quality Recordings
One of the most important things new artists can do is make professional, radio-ready recordings of their songs. Consider booking time at a local Bristol recording studio to lay down a few of your best tracks. An audio recording studio with a sound engineer can help you polish them and make the production value as good as possible. This gives you content to share and promote online right away.
Claim Your Artist Profiles
Register verified profiles of yourself or your act on major music platforms like Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists, and YouTube for Artists. Fill out all the details, upload your songs, add photos and bios – take the time to make them comprehensive. This gives you an official presence on platforms where most fans go to consume music.
Build Your Website
Your own website acts as the hub for all your online activity. Get a custom domain name and host your songs, videos, photos, merch store, upcoming gigs, and blog updates in one place where fans can learn all about you. Optimise your site for search engines too.
Be Active on Social Media
Use social platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and more to directly engage with listeners and build an audience. Post regular updates, behind-the-scenes content, and promote your new music. Respond to fans and join in relevant conversations. The goal is to form connections and build a community around your music.
Grow Your YouTube Channel
Upload high-quality music videos, live performances, lyric videos, and other content to YouTube. Use captions, tags, and descriptions to optimise your videos to be discovered. YouTube is the #2 site for music discovery after Spotify, so having a strong channel is key. Offer exclusives and interact with commenters too.
When starting out, try to post new videos regularly, such as 1-2 times per week. This keeps fans engaged and gives the YouTube algorithm more opportunities to share your content. Aim for at least 10-15 videos within your first few months. Cover popular songs in your genre along with originals to appeal to a wider audience.
Pay attention to your YouTube analytics to see which videos are resonating best. More views, comments, likes, and shares signal a strong performing video to YouTube. Replicate this success by creating more content in the same vein. Videos under 2 minutes tend to hold viewer attention the longest.
Collaborate with Other Artists
Look for opportunities to collaborate on songs and videos with artists who have a similar sound and fanbase. This can help cross-promote your music to new ears. Even shoutouts on social media and artist playlists can introduce your act to another artist’s engaged followers.
Building your online presence takes time and dedicated effort, but it’s essential for sharing your music with the masses in today’s digital era. Use these tips to help establish your unique brand and connect with the fans that will support your musical journey.
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