Unlocking the Keys to “Self Promotion” (Patreon)

Outside of music production, there’s something else that’s integral to the process, yet it’s far more difficult, and far more daunting than most people would like to admit. In my line of work, I meet musicians every single day from all walks of life who are fantastic producers. Their talent and taste level align and they’ve got what it takes to deserve recognition for what they’ve accomplished so far. But there’s one thing that many of these musicians have in common, and it’s not something that we often like to talk about either. Self promotion. Even just typing those two words or saying them out loud is enough to make someone uncomfortable. But the question is, why? Why is this one thing, that seems to be welded at the joint to being a producer these days matter, and if so, why is it so difficult for most of us?

The answer: It’s a job.

Not just any job, it’s actually more like a full-time job on top of the other part-time job of being a bedroom producer just trying to get our name out there. So if you’re someone like me, and you already have a “job” outside of just making music…how do you find the time to not only take on a time consuming hobby like making music AND the very vulnerable and tedious task of promoting one’s one music?

To start with, you don’t need a degree in marketing to start promoting your music, but a certain level of enthusiasm and willingness to invest time into it is the first requirement. You’ve got to take it serious enough to the point where you realize that this is a task that goes along with your music and therefore should get excited about doing it. If it feels like a “drag” then you’re doing it wrong. You need to feel unashamed and enthusiastic about creating clips, behind the scenes content, blog post writing, image generation - anything that would let someone else become invested in your world, not the other way around. You are the curator of your image and therefore the responsibility to market yourself relies on one person: you.

Another concept you need to grasp is the idea of being unashamed to “promote” yourself in any way possible. For most people, playing live shows, making instagram posts and/or YouTube videos is outside of their comfort zone. However, being unafraid to be vulnerable and “getting over the fear” of putting yourself out there is just as important as the act itself. By practicing self promotion, you’ll pave the way for more actions like this in the future. Imagine the entire world wasn’t watching and/or they would love everything that you posted. What would you post about? What kind of story would you tell? This is the kind of seed that you need to plant inside of your brain to actually brainwash yourself into believing that anything is possible.

Be imaginative. Try to come up with new ways to tell your story. Creating “content” shouldn’t be hard and in some ways, it’s actually quite easy. The level of skill necessary is not very high but for some reason, there’s a mental barrier that most people have between actually creating that content and putting it out there is extremely high. Start small. Just setting up a camera and taking pictures or videos from the corner of your studio can be enough to tell a story. Take baby steps and start putting your name out there. Start a new Instagram account just for your music. Create EPs and host listening parties. Perform your music live on YouTube with scheduled livestreams. All of these are great ways to build momentum and get people to notice both you, and listen to the music you’ve worked so hard to create.

The final key I’ll leave you with is consistency. Be consistent. Making one push one week and then completely falling off the next is normal, but it shouldn’t be. Try to do a little bit every day, just as you would with a part-time job. Have fun with the process and see it as an enjoyable part of your day, and not a laborious one. While nobody is “forcing” you to do it, it builds confidence knowing that you’re gaining a following or “putting yourself out there” by doing so and all that stands between you and 1000’s of fans is you putting the consistent time and energy into it. After it’s all said and done, none of it may matter but at least you’ll know you put your best effort into it and above all, it built character and put more meaning and magic behind the music itself.