How to Find an Audience? Check These 7 Tips for Musicians to Boost Visibility
In the state-of-the-art world, getting a good song out there is not enough anymore, and there is no point in making buzz just for buzz’s sake. Instead, people with a strong identity as an artist and individuals who put all their efforts bringing together an audience is an admirable yet challenging process. Indeed, you have to remain authentic, but also use the right methods to capture the audience that corresponds to you and understand what it expects from you.
Knowing your fans allows you to interact with them as well as possible, but also to develop a better communication strategy to gain visibility and notoriety. Check 7 tips to help you target your audience as a musician below and let us know which one seems more appealing and vital for you!
Don’t try to please anyone
Don’t create music just for the sake of fame or satisfying all the people in the world. Instead, you should find your own voice and identity in your band to make people deeply fall in love with your music. This is what will make you a unique and original artist.
You honestly can’t satisfy people and thus you should focus on producing valuable and authentic music to showcase your personality and what exactly you represent with your songs. Here are the questions you should ask yourself before targeting your audience:
1. To which musical genre(s) does my music correspond?
2. Is my project strong enough?
3. Am I able to easily communicate about my music?
4. What are the values/emotions I want to convey?
5. Is my music for a niche audience or a more popular one?
6. How do I set up a visual identity in line with my project?
7. What are my ambitions?
Once you have found your positioning as an artist, it will be easier to find the right audience for you.
Engage with a community
To better understand the audience you are engaging, there is nothing better than meeting the professionals and enthusiasts in your community who correspond to your musical universe. For example, go to concerts, fairs, forums, or any other musical event aligned with your style to engage with people suitable for your band image.
You seriously should take every opportunity to interact with the audience, musicians, and even other fans. In short, you will meet people who share the same passion as you. This will not only open you up to new perspectives but also broaden your creative field.
Find online discussion groups related to your musical universe
You can’t just lock yourself up to produce music and expect to be successful and professional in your field. You will have to find music-related groups where all people correspond to your genre and band voice. These groups on social media are an opportunity for you to get an overview of trends, listening habits, and news, Additionally, it is an occasion to support other musicians who are in the same boat.
Sharing and discovering new music on these networks is an excellent way to exchange, share, and discover other musical worlds. It is the best way to maintain contact and be active and dynamic around your musical project. Hence, such online groups often bring together thousands of people eager for new things and potentially receptive to your musical productions.
Find the most famous artists in your musical genre and use them as a reference
It is no wonder we all look up to somebody when we are trying to get pro in a specific field. If you are into painting, you would love to paint referring to other famous artists. If you are into acting, you would admire A-list actors and actresses to see how to improve yourself.
Finding reference artists allows you to have a base and determine in which direction you want to go. Take for example Coldplay as a pop-rock reference, Alain Bashung for French song, or Mac DeMarco for indie pop/lo-fi. Start with accessible artists and adjust as you go along according to your stage of development and your ambitions.
Be active on social networks and build your own visual identity
It’s no news social media is winning all fronts these days. To stand out and spark interest, you have to attract the public eye. Proposing a striking visual identity is the best way to stand out and reach your audience with a particular imprint. Even if music remains the raw material, it is an element not to be neglected. A striking aesthetic builds loyalty and engages your audience.
Your social media needs to be filled with variety, such as pictures, videos, reels, and live chats with the audience to gain visibility. You can always look at different social media profiles to get inspiration and later on, you can even hire a social media marketing specialist to build an outstanding strategy and visual effect for your audience.
Use data analysis tools on social networks and streaming platforms
To be able to analyze your engagement on social media pages, you should use statistics on social media platforms to see the insights. It is vital to work out a great strategy to promote your music and stand out among other musicians.
It can be scary at first, but some social networks, including Spotify and Apple Music, have developed easy-to-use tools to better understand your audience. All of this data is essential to better understand your current audience and adapt your strategy accordingly!
Finding the right channels for promotion
To promote their music, artists have only two main solutions today:
Hire a press officer (~1000-2000 euros per month) which is often expensive for musicians who do not always have the contacts or the means, and with results that do not always match their expectations and the investment made.
Send hundreds of emails to media and musical influencers (such as blogs, playlists, web radios, and specialist journalists) themselves. This is certainly free, but a monumental waste of time in the artist’s creative work. And above all, as the media are overwhelmed by emails, artists do not receive answers, which is often the source of great frustration.
To stand out from the crowd, get spotted by the media, radios & labels of your choice, with guaranteed feedback. Develop yourself, promote your music, and be true to yourself!