Marketing Your Music

Marketing. It sounds like something you need to know about. But what is it exactly? I’ve heard marketing described as “anything you do that leads to sales.” I think for us musicians, that is a good working definition. In big companies, you will notice, marketing and sales are usually two different departments. Why is that? Well, primarily because a marketing person and a sales person are often two different animals, although they should work well together. The sales department closes the leads that marketing creates.



So back to our definition. If you are not the sales type, then I strongly suggest you find someone who is. Musicians tend to be very poor at sales. They often find it a bit unsavory, and they’re uncomfortable asking for money for their music. That’s OK. It’s really important to admit your weak spots and find team members who can fill in for you. But marketing is something you should always be doing, and the more organized it is the better.

However, even if you don’t have a full blown marketing plan (and I’ll recommend some resources for such things later on), you can be doing things that help to market your music. Performing is marketing. So is maintaining an email newsletter, and if appropriate, a hard copy newsletter. Keeping your site fresh, and emailing out announcements about gigs, reviews, airplay and the like. Oh yeah, reviews and airplay…marketing. Chat rooms, blogs, attending shows attended by people who may like your music…marketing.

Basically anything that creates awareness that may ultimately lead to sales is what marketing is all about.
 Thoughts anyone?