2020 brought many changes to the ways the music business functions. Add ever-changing digital innovations that directly affect the development of the industry’s trends, and music promotion in 2021 seems already stressful enough to want to avoid it all. Still, as an independent artist, promoting your own music is vital. To get started with the basics, you can ready MusicPromoToday’s blog Deck the Halls with Music Marketing Tips. However, to be more specific with promotion, you have to have a clear strategy customized for the platforms you want to use. 

Main Platforms 

3 Essential Platforms That Changed The Music Industry & Will 10X Your Engagement in 2021 is a perfect kit starter to help you get started with the necessary platforms for promoting your music. 

Spotify Algorithm Hack – Getting Your Song In Release Radars is a perfect source for learning some tips and tricks on Spotify. You can even read a case study about  Megan Thee Stallion taking over Spotify’s “Feelin’ Myself” playlist with her new album launch, MusicPromoToday Praising Spotify: Why Did Megan Thee Stallion Launch Good News On Spotify?

You can learn about promoting music on social media through The Toxicity of YouTube’s New Algorithm, TikTok’s Uncertain Future, Instagram Reels & Virtual Events, and 5 Powerful Facebook Tips to Boost Your Music Marketing. 

SoundCloud 

In this article, we will concentrate on SoundCloud and tell you how to use it in 2021 to get the most out of the platform when promoting your music. Remember that even though SoundCloud is one of the biggest players, you should not base your strategy only on it. Including key streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music in your 2021 promotion strategy is essential. 

First, let’s define several changes and unique tools offered by SoundCloud. The platform has made changes in 2020, since which the artist’s homepage is no longer listing streams. It simply means that people following you will not always be able to find your music when it comes out. Considering all the changes, updates, and the basic idea behind the platform’s algorithm below, we sorted out several basic tips to help you boost your music streaming rates on SoundCloud in 2021. 

Find The Right Channels For Your Music 

People spend time on SoundCloud to find and share music with the audiences that love it. It is the shared passion of music streamers, so there are many channels on the platform that will be happy to have your music on their playlists. You just need to find them and communicate. Getting your music reposted by the right channels will widen your audience. Make sure to check the genre, demographic details before writing to the channel. Be warm and polite but avoid formality. Focus on: 

  • Repost channels
  • Other artists with bigger followings
  • Promotional channels
  • Labels/collectives
  • Playlisters

Some SoundCloud channels may have little following on the platform but a bigger audience outside of it, on social media or other platforms. So don’t make decisions only based on the SoundCloud statistics. Make sure to utilize:

  • Blogs
  • Hype Machine
  • YouTube Channels
  • Spotify Playlists
  • Influencers (e.g. vloggers, Instagram accounts)
  • Radio stations (some play directly off SoundCloud!)

Network Via Emails

Everyone on SoundCloud has to have an email, be it an artist, label, promo channel, repost channel, or just a user who opened a page for enjoying streams. Other channels can be great for networking too, but always try email first. Also, use the Hubspot extension to track if an email was actually read. Make sure to make a list of emails that include the names of the accounts you want to communicate your message to which will make the emailing process easier. Google Sheets or Excel are perfect for the task. Below are several tricks for successful emails: 

  • Be concise – get to the point.
  • Include a SoundCloud link in the email
  • Be conversational and warm, don’t forget that you are communicating with another human and not a robot or computer 
  • Personalize messages – avoid CCing a large number of people, better show an individual approach if you have time, and use names in your emails
  • Follow up after a week or two to make sure the person remembers you if they haven’t replied yet 

Many other tips will help you succeed with your promotion on SoundCloud, but today we decided to concentrate on the more strategic ones rather than diving deep into technical details. Stay tuned to MusicPromoToday’s blogs to get further updates on using streaming platforms to your benefit. You can also find credible news and entertaining posts on our Instagram.