Ever ask yourself these questions?
- Where should I upload music?
- Should it be free?
- Will I get paid?
And a lot of the time,
- are people gonna hear it?
Whether you want to collaborate, earn income or reach new fans, it’s up to you to know where you need to share and upload your music.
In this post, I will show you 9 places you can use to take your music career to the next step.
Let's begin.
Table of Contents
Upload Music On These Websites To Collaborate
Soundcloud
Now, this is a more personal experience view on what I think of this very popular network.
I find that many musicians use it as their main source of promoting new music and releases which I think is ok, but not great.
Don’t get me wrong, the community is there but I find it to be more musician oriented as opposed to actual music fans looking for new artists to follow.
My opinion is to use Soundcloud mainly for meeting other music makers and seeking inspiration. Think of it as a library of contacts for future collaborations. Check out Soundcloud
Music Marketing Blogs
Here’s one that a lot of artists seem to ignore; surprisingly, since there are so many of them out there.
One simple Google search will lead you to countless pages on how to market yourself, improve your chances at being played on the radio, you name it. Find some, get yourself subscribed and read daily.
Download those free ebooks and if the content is worth it (which a lot of it is) then pay for it. You can’t afford to miss out on this kind of information. Here's a list of 8 music marketing sites to get you started.
Music Publishing Websites
These are some of THE most business and money related of any I've listed here.
Publishing companies are made to ensure that wherever an artist’s work goes, the required payment is returned back to the creator with a small cut going to the publishing deal.
Whether it’s to get your music on films, commercials or covered by other artists, publishing is the way to go. Since the internet boom you can discover a lot of very decent publishing networks online such as Pump Audio, Musync, Railroad Tax and Epitome.
It’s all about finding the ones that work best for you and use them consistently. Just don’t expect payment overnight. For more ideas, Aaron Davidson has a great resource on all things music licensing.
(Before you go… make sure you get access to my music promotion resources in “The Vault” by clicking here or on the image below)
Upload Music To These Websites To Create Fans and Sell Music
Bandcamp
This is definitely a favorite among indie musicians and fans alike. And for good reason! It’s super easy to use and has multiple price choices to spoil any music lover.
Bands can name their price (sometimes free) and fans can effortlessly stream artists that are very unlikely to be known to their step moms and dads, which is cool!
Spotify
To be clear, what I’m providing is a user’s point of view as to why your music should be on here. Let’s face it, with millions of users worldwide there’s no reason why your music shouldn’t be on there. It’s premium quality streaming and the best part is that fans can easily track when their favorite bands are in town next, which is great for you! Taylor Swift will be fine, you on the other hand need to get your music heard! Read more on how to use Spotify properly as an artist before shutting it out of your platform list.
YouTube
I can’t tell you the amount of artists I’ve discovered through our new favorite source of visual entertainment. The great thing is there’s no limit as to what you can do to present yourself as an artist. If you want to…
… make a teaser for your upcoming album?
… create a high end single feature?
… upload your song with a photo of your album cover?
It’s all acceptable and very easily accessible, what’s not to like? More YouTube Tips: Here is a posts about how to get more youtube subscribers.
Your Website
I cannot stress this one enough. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. are all great platforms to promote your music. BUT, you need your own domain.
A place where you control the conversation. An artist needs to utilize these social media tools in the best way possible to direct music lovers to their one stop page, their website!
And more importantly, sign to your mailing list so you can contact them directly.
Keeping your fans updated in a personal manner just feels more human and is something widely appreciated in this day and age. Get some resources to help improve your website or start one.
Radio
Speaking of the human touch, with all these social networks we have today, handy as they may, we seem to ignore the vital and often overlooked medium. W
e are more than happy to put our music on streaming services because of its simplicity and lack of convincing.
Radio requires persistence, patience and a lot of contacting and re-contacting, but we all know that the outcome speaks for itself. Hundreds of thousands of daily commuters tuning into their favorite station while their trustworthy DJ plugs your song directly to them.
Yes, still worth putting in your time and effort. Radio Promotion Tip: Check out our the “DIY Radio Handbook” by our freind D. Grant Smith.
Go Forth And Upload Music
So get out there and give them your individual attention.
Each platform has its own language and way of doing things so a little extra research never did any harm. Know why you’re using it and perfect your approach.
Before you go, remember to mention your favorites (and why they are) in the comment section below. We’d love to hear what you think.
Guest post: Jimmy Bartolo is Kwaver’s voice for our community of musicians. He juggles between fretboard and keyboard and is always reaching out to DIY musicians to improve the app or for a quick jam. [et_bloom_inline optin_id=optin_21]
(Before you go… make sure you get access to my music promotion resources in “The Vault” by clicking here or on the image below)
