There are various ways to learn about how to market your music. But ultimately, the success of your release is dependent on the core community and connections you’ve established over the previous months and years.
Many musicians and record labels focus their marketing and creativity only on new releases. Their mistake is that they overlook the importance of developing and growing their internet audience. We’ll ask you: Why should people listen to you if you don’t take the time to interact with them? Remember that fans like supporting artists and interacting with them. In a nutshell, they dislike sales pitches. Read on as we discuss how to best execute a music rollout via social media.
Beginning the Journey
The finest marketing shouldn’t be overly promotional. Relationships develop organically when an audience feels really connected to an artist. They connect with the music’s tale and, over time, become your most ardent fans.
In conjunction with this, you must also identify the artist’s or team’s priority record. Artists typically select what they believe will be the best single, the one most likely to build momentum and lead into the album’s release. However, it is critical to solicit input from other team members.
Artists strive for perfection in their work, yet they might be too connected to the material to be objective. Combat this problem by seeking a second viewpoint.
Strategize The Rollout
After you’ve decided on the perfect song, you’ll need to plan its release. To capture the attention of social media users, you must clearly lay out its phases: tease, launch, and amplify.
Phase 1: Tease and Build the Hype
You want to create a sense of mystery and excitement around the music so that when it is released, fans will be eager to get their hands on it. This is what big studios do with months-ahead promotions and trailers. Music is no exception.
You want stuff that generates buzz: excerpts, behind-the-scenes footage, and videos that reveal the creative process behind the song.
Phase 2: Optimize the Launch to Have a Wider Reach
When it comes to digital music marketing, you must aim to create a splash on the internet on the big release day. The more traffic you generate, the more algorithmic love, distribution, and possible playlist positions you will obtain.
But it’s not only about having your material ready to go. Announcement postings, banner swaps, and pinned tweets, and Facebook posts will also be required. You can also highlight the music on your Spotify profile by using the Spotify Artist Pick function. You may also send emails, SMS messages, and reach out to fan groups. By utilizing all of this, you can guarantee that traffic is directed towards the release.
If you check all of these boxes, you’ll be in a terrific position, and you’ll know you’re off to a good start.
Phase 3: Ride the Momentum and Continue to Amplify after the Release
One of the first things to consider while building momentum is the creation and production of ongoing content. Share studio session excerpts as well as fan and influencer-generated material that you can repost.
Of course, you must be consistent throughout the marketing, but in a way that is not the same thing over and over. Instead, take the audience on a journey.
Conclusion
Promoting music on social media can be done via paid sponsorships or organic distribution. Either way, it’s important to take note of these phases because they’re meant to guarantee the artist exposure, reach, and eventually, success.
Are you looking for ways to promote an album? Promoly helps get artists noticed by successfully promoting their music across social media platforms and other digital features. Start your 7-day trial today!
Spotify is a powerful music platform that allows users to listen to various artists, save albums, create playlists, and more. They’ve become global sensations, bridging the gap between artists and their fans, allowing them to make their music more accessible to the public.
In recent years, Spotify released a fantastic feature that changed the music industry’s game, and this was called pre-save campaigns. Pre-save campaigns are now used to allow fans to pre-save music into their accounts leading up to the day artists release their music. It’s a great weapon that can help music rank higher, garner more streams, and measure the reach of your music.
If you’re curious to know what you get from employing a pre-save campaign in your audio marketing strategy, read on. In this article, we’ll share with you the benefits you gain from pre-save campaigns. Let’s take a look!
Benefit #1: Reminds Fans of New Music
When you’re ready to release a new single or album, you need to kickstart campaigns to gain some traction. However, tweeting or posting a photo on Instagram or making some noise on other social media platforms may not be enough, especially since you need to be mindful of your consistency as well.
With that being said, it only makes sense to employ a pre-save campaign to help trigger recall to your audience. Because after teasing your song and posting some relevant content on social media, you need another reminder for your audience to help check out your music once it goes out. And that’s what pre-save on Spotify can do.
Benefit #2: It Saves Straight to Their Library
The great thing about the pre-save feature in Spotify is that the moment a listener pre-saves your song, it goes directly to their library the moment it’s available to stream on the platform.
This feature is important because chances are not everyone will see your online marketing efforts, which could greatly affect your stream numbers. With that being said, since Spotify automatically saves your song into the user’s library, they won’t miss out on streaming your newly released song, no matter how busy they are in the day.
Benefit #3: It Builds Momentum
When creating an audio marketing strategy, you need to remember that you need to keep a constant flame in your campaign leading up to the release. But one of the best ways to build momentum is by employing the pre-save campaign option in your strategy.
The great thing about Spotify is that it can help you build momentum leading up to your release date. After you employ a pre-save campaign and users start saving your song or album, you can then create playlists to keep your audience excited for the release.
With a pre-save campaign, you’ll get to improve your marketing strategy, allowing you to increase your streams, followers and even expand your reach.
The Bottom Line: Utilize Features That Can Help Boost Your Audio Marketing Strategy
Audio marketing strategies are much different than the usual digital marketing efforts. This is because audio releases are a slow burn, and you need to be meticulous about the techniques you employ to ensure steady streams and high numbers. With that being said, pre-save campaigns can do loads to your music, allowing your audience to save your music even before it comes out and get sure plays once it’s out on the platform.
Here at Promoly, we help innovative brands promote their audio in a saturated digital landscape through email and social media. With our audio and content promotion tool, you’ll get to drive downloads, grow your audience, track recipient engagement, push sales, and more.
Learn more about our tool and boost your strategy today!
The landscape for music has drastically changed over the years with the integration of technology. There’s so much software today compared to the last two decades. With the improvements in recording devices and computers involved, it can take less than a day to create and record a song, podcast episode, or any sort of audio entertainment.
The shift isn’t limited to production, though, as promotions have changed as well. Many brands and artists are able to directly promote their content to others via social media now, which has accelerated the acclaim of the indie music scene.
Instagram is deemed as one of the most effective platforms for it.
Although it is initially a visual platform, there are still ways to utilize it in order to advertise to your audience. There are also features where you can showcase music and other related content.
Instagram used to only allow videos under a minute, which can limit the audio that you can allow IG users to hear. However, with the past introduction of IGTV, accounts can now post videos that would take up to 10 minutes. Instead of just posting pure snippets onto your profile, you could now upload a lengthier recording.
Most people do create extra music videos that are shot vertically since this does give a more user-friendly experience visually to those on the mobile app. Others provide sneak peeks into more raw performances and covers of the songs.
It doesn’t always have to be about the song, though, as showing yourself behind the scenes can also be a good way of connecting with fans. Post up short interviews with people or even just edit vlogs that would make you more relatable to future fans.
Create Instagram Posts
Dropping an Instagram post once in a while can be good. Spamming doesn’t seem to be the move, especially since it can affect the way your Instagram feed would appear. Be a little more tactical about your posts by making them personable.
Share images of how excited you are about future gigs, pictures of you wearing your merch, and photos for an upcoming album. Don’t forget to try and engage with fans in the comments when you can, too.
Put Links in Your Instagram Bio
It might be odd how a space for photos can promote something that should be heard, but placing links can be effective. If you have your audio up on Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud, or other streaming services, be sure to put up a link. It’ll be more convenient for followers to find your stuff and listen to it.
Interact Through Instagram Stories
If you want to be a little more spontaneous in communicating with your audience and sharing something about your music, Instagram Stories is a perfect way for that. Many users also view this first when logging on since posts expire after a day. Make the most of it and create, such as sharing updates on how production is going or starting a little Q&A.
Conclusion
Following these steps should be able to get you a good following. It can be overwhelming for some people to experience growth too quickly after successive promotions, especially if you’re on other platforms as well. Remember to keep track and fully utilize it for the success of your audio.
Want to keep tabs on your music marketing strategies? Promoly is an easy-to-use, affordable, and effective tool that helps in promoting your audio content through email and social media. Get a free trial now!
The great thing about running a Spotify pre-save campaign is that the artists, in turn, get to build up their fan base before each release. The more people that pre-save, the more exposure their music gets, which over time is like the snowball that keeps on growing. All the artists need to do is get their fans excited about their new track. Everyone wins. In the age of streaming, it’s still possible for everyone to win, with Spotify pre-saves.
Pre-saves are nothing new, but they were previously only on offer for significant, successful artists. Now, all independents, labels, music producers and artists can make use of the feature too.
But to make effective use of Spotify pre-saves, you first need to understand the ins and outs of them and what they mean for you.
What is a pre-save on Spotify?
Spotify pre-saves function precisely like any other kind of pre-ordering system. They allow your fans to save your upcoming release before its release date. While this traditionally involved pre-ordering and paying in advance, the subscription model of Spotify means you pre-save it rather than pre-order. Then, on release day, the album, single or EP is automatically added to the library.
This makes the process extremely easy on the part of the consumer. You deliver the pre-save campaign by posting a link to your upcoming music, and all the consumer needs to do is click the pre-save button. That’s all! The process is seamless, and we’ll discuss that in more detail below.
Engage with your fans
What Spotify pre-saves allow you to do, aside from promoting your music, is getting your fans engaged before releasing the song. This means that Spotify (in theory) will notice the traction on your new song from the moment it’s available on release day. When fans pe-save your music, it shows Spotify there’s interest in your music.
Building pre-save energy improves the Spotify algorithms. Algorithms detect music that is doing well and may promote it through their semi-automated editors’ official playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar.
These playlists display on other Spotify users’ homepages and automatically update once per week – the good thing is the playlists are based on listening habits and will provide music the user will enjoy. Also, once getting on these playlists means your music is more likely to reach a wider audience due to Spotify distributing to their userbase, which in the long run builds momentum over time.
Release Radar
The Release Radar is a playlist readjusted to each user on Spotify. It’s updated every Friday with new music from artists users have already listened to, along with some the algorithm thinks they’ll like. So while having lots of fans will help you get on more people’s release radar, you can also boost your chances by getting more listens as soon as your song comes out.
Discover Weekly
Discover Weekly is another playlist tailored to individual users. Spotify algorithms put music into playlists they think users will like, based on their current taste. So, along with the Release Radar playlist, Discover Weekly is where you want your music to end up. It’s a fantastic way to generate more streams and more followers. Keep hitting these playlists month over month; you’ll create a following in no time.
Generating a successful pre-save campaign and making use of these playlists involves a few key factors. However, before we get into that, let’s talk about the overall Spotify pre-save campaign setup.
How to set up a Spotify pre-save campaign?
The Spotify pre-save process is very straightforward. With just a few steps required on your part, you can have your pre-save links generated, which you can send out to your fans in no time.
With Promoly, it’s easier than ever, and we take care of all the technical bits. In addition, Promoly’s built-in pre-save tool can be used to create a campaign and distribute the campaign in record time.
Step 1 – Schedule your music for release.
To start a pre-save campaign, the first thing you need to do is set your music’s release date with the distributor. This date is the day your music will become available to stream on Spotify. When you set a release date and publish the music, the distributor will start delivering the music to the shops, like Spotify, Beatport, iTunes, Apple Music, etc. Once you set the date, you’ll need to work backwards to give you enough time to kick off and promote your campaign.
Step 2 – Get your music barcode.
Promoly can generate a pre-save campaign using your music barcode. Other services depend on the Spotify URI and many fiddly setups, but we like to automate the process by using the barcode to reduce the manual work. Promoly can also pull in metadata from the barcode, like your release details, artwork, and information.
If you’re not sure how to get the barcode, it’s usually called a UPC or EAN. Ask your record label or music distributor if you are unsure. Once you have it, create a Promoly account, log in, press ‘new campaign’, and then select ‘pre-save.’
Next, plug in your barcode; Promoly will search for your music on Spotify (and all the other stores) and create a campaign automatically.
We only need Spotify for this campaign so that the other shops can be disabled for this campaign. That’s it, and providing everything is looking correct, you won’t need to update anything else. You’ll notice that Promoly creates a Spotify pre-save link and landing page for you – you’ll need this landing page link to direct fans to your music.
Step 3 – Kick off your campaign.
The final step of the process is to kick off your Spotify pre-save campaign. This step is critical, as it’s the way you’ll get people to pre-save your music. You can start by giving fans the link so that they can pre-save your new tracks. To do this effectively, you need to know how to get people to pre-save your songs, and I’ll explore this in more detail below.
How do you get people to pre-save your songs?
Once you have your pre-save campaign ready to go, you’ll need to start building traction. For example, simply sending out emails to your followers asking them to pre-save your music might not be enough on its own. While your fans might take action with your campaign email, the open rate benchmark for media and entertainment is 21%. Therefore, 21% read emails leaves 79% unread. That’s a huge number, which means a good chunk of your fan mailing list will never see your email or hear your music.
Giving your followers an incentive to pre-save your music is essential for your pre-save campaign to be successful. You need to give your followers a reason to click your link, and the music might not be enough to build initial momentum. At first, anyway.
If you already have a massive following, you might be able to count on your followers by clicking the link straight away. But if you’re trying to grow your following, you need to be proactive and creative.
Run a competition
You want to get your fans excited about your new music. A great way to do this is to run a competition and run a pre-save campaign alongside. Ask your followers to pre-save your upcoming music, and in return, enter them into a prize draw once they show you proof of the pre-save.
This draw could be for anything, from T-shirts to exclusive content. The main point is to get the fans warmed up to pre-save your music whilst getting them to take action simultaneously.
For example, you could post your pre-save on social media and say:
“Want to win a signed T-shirt?
When you pre-save my music, post a screenshot of the tune in your library in the comments, and I’ll choose a winner at random.
The competition closes Friday!”
This post will definitely get more attention compared with a post just saying ‘pre-save my music’. Why? For starters, everyone wants to win something.
The top line is called the hook, and it’s designed to grab someone’s attention. Then you tell them how to win. In this case, it’s simple. So that someone has to pre-save and post a screenshot of their Spotify library in the comments. It’s a simple task but does you massive favour (by building your engagement) in the long term, and someone wins a T-shirt.
Artists do this with exclusive T-shirts, limited edition vinyl, and lots of other unique items. This is an excellent way to give your followers more than just the music. Try it.
Pin a Tweet and ask fans to Retweet
Twitter has a cool function where you can pin a Tweet. Or, in this scenario, pin your Spotify pre-save link. This means every person who comes by your Twitter page will see your pre-save page link pinned to the very top.
Having the Tweet at the very top of the account is great for optimal impressions. To make things even better, ask your fans to Retweet to help build traction and awareness.
You could think about running a Retweet, like, and follow competition. Give your followers a little more of what they want by requiring them to follow or like you in return for a chance to win.
A Twitter contest can be an excellent way to increase exposure and follower count. By giving people multiple ways to enter contests, it can also improve follower growth and engagement.
You could then give your followers points for Retweeting and liking, which would add up over time. These points could then be redeemable for backstage passes, merchandise or early access to other music.
You can really get creative with driving a pre-save campaign, so don’t be afraid to try something out of the box. The idea is to engage your audience and incentivise pre-saving your song.
Once you know how to run an effective pre-save campaign, you can reproduce the technique for every release.
How to get insights and learn from Promoly
Spotify pre-save link campaigns are great for boosting your presence on Spotify. But by monitoring and tracking how your fans engage with your music, you can better understand your fanbase.
Promoly can also generate shop links campaigns too, so once your pre-save campaign is over, you can log in to Promoly and enable the other stores. Promoly will automatically update your campaign without you having to do any manual edits.
When you launch your pre-save campaigns on Promoly, we don’t only provide you with an awesome campaign, but we track everything that is happening and display that you in easily digestible stats.
Once your campaign is live and running, Promoly will collect all the relevant data from your fans so that you know where your fans are pre-saving/clicking on your music.
We take care of all the complex stuff so you can focus on your music promotion — no need for difficult Google Sheets tracking here… well, unless you want to, of course!
Promoly helps you track these results; know who you’re reaching and where they’re listening. This will allow you to grow as an artist or label and become more successful in the process.
A lot of businesses have been directly or indirectly affected by the pandemic, and the music industry is no exception. Record labels, now more than ever, have been forced into experimenting with new marketing tactics to keep their artists relevant.
In this article, we’re presenting 9 tips for record labels to stay connected with their audiences during this unprecedented time.
1. Do Live Streams (A lot)
You’ve seen those, right? Well, how can you not with so many video platform algorithms taking every chance to feature them at the top of your feed!
To be honest, no one is complaining. I mean, live streams are as close as you can get to the real deal, only from the comfort of your couch, or bed. Also, doing live streams is one of the major ways EDM artists are coping during covid 19.
Unfortunately, such gigs aren’t exactly money makers (in fact, they are rarely paid), however, they’re fantastic exposure and help so many people stay entertained in these times of distress.
2. Host Drive-in Concerts
Even in the pandemic, people in the US have figured out a way to party. It was only a matter of time until musicians and promoters saw the potential in the old school concept of drive-in theaters and made something equally awesome – drive-in concerts.
Some of the names who have joined the automotive part scene so far include Snoop Dogg (aka DJ Snoopadelic) and The Beach Boys. Just remember to check for safe spatial requirements and keep the ticket prices reasonable, fans aren’t making as much money either!
3. Tread with Empathy
As much as they love music, fans are also affected by the pandemic, so purchasing your music may not be their top priority. It’s crucial to keep this in mind when promoting new albums.
While it’s nice to keep selling, your marketing approach needs to show a lot of empathy so that people know you don’t just care about their money. Make sure your messages and narrative across any platform are more relevant and insightful.
4. Be a Part of the Community
Your record label is not the only one out there, so don’t act like it. The last thing you want to be is the ‘one’ brand that only talks about itself.
Granted, it’s important to be promotional, but it’s just as important to be social. You can toot your own horn across social media, but spend as much effort giving back to the community and engaging with the fans. Help out aspiring brands, do collabs, give shout outs – it’ll pay off to be kind.
5. Branch Out
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms are excellent for staying connected with the audience, but there’s more to the internet than that. Not all music fanatics are scrolling through their social media all day, some like to play games, get creative on Pinterest, or have discussions on Reddit.
Consider branching out to different areas of the online world. A terrific example is what Travis Scott did when he, along with his team, partnered with Fortnite for an insanely popular concert.
The event drew around 12 million players into the in-game show and The concert drew 12 million fans into the in-game show and helped his new single to an explosive launch.
6. Hold a Live Charity Event
Just like a live stream, only with your label donating for charity the more fans are watching and spreading the love. Spreading hope during a pandemic is a remarkable thing to do. Just look at recording artists holding live charity events to raise funds for frontline workers and charitable organizations. Lady Gaga helped raise $128 million for health care workers through the virtual “Together at Home” concert where various artists and celebrities took part.
Record labels can also organize similar online “quarantine concerts” featuring their artists. Fans will love the opportunity to catch their favorite artist’s performance online while knowing that proceeds will go to a good cause such as COVID-19 relief efforts. Another option if you can’t organize your own online concerns is to join other online charity concerts that are being organized. Not only will record labels be able to promote their artists, but they will also be able to contribute to the community. I
7. Listen to the Fans
Listen to the fans and followers who take time out of their day to find you online and give feedback. Consider what they have to say, even if it’s not all positive things. In addition to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, internet video platforms such as YouTube, Twitch and even Instagram live sessions are great ways to interact with fans and hear what they have to say.
For example, Chris Martin sang Coldplay songs during and Instagram Live. DJ Diplo did a series of live streams on Twitch called the Corona World Tour. One added bonus of these video streams is that fans can comment during the sessions and feel connected with their favorite singers.
8. Be Generous
If possible, offer discounts, promotions, or gifts-on-purchase. It’s a good deed and a great strategy to give the fans a little something extra to be happy about. They’ll remember it.
While holding ticketed online concerts is one way of earning revenue while physical concerts are not allowed, offering virtual concerts for free is an excellent way for record labels and musicians to show not just their generosity but genuine appreciation for loyal fans who have always supported them.
9. Know Your Audience
Every social media or online platform has its own unique culture. The way you deliver your content needs to match the type of audience in that platform. Delivery is key if you want to be acknowledged.
Should you use TikTok, Instagram Live or YouTube to share content with your fans? Record labels should know the online platforms that their audience use. Once you have selected your social media platform, think about the content that you will share. To truly engage fans, you need to have content that they can connect with.
You can have artists hold regular mini talk shows via YouTube. They can also perform songs or share their personal hobbies during Instagram Live. Getting on the TikTok trend is a great way to connect with millennials or Gen Z if that’s your main audience.
Another example of how a record label understands what their audience wants is when Epic Records organized online meet-and-greet sessions for selected fans to meet Meghan Trainor before her online concert. Think of it as the virtual version of backstage concert passes where fans can meet artists!
Although there are many ways to connect with your audience these days, remember that the number of views or subscribers that you get on your online platforms is not the most important thing. What matters is making an authentic and personal connection with your audience.
Spotify has just launched ‘Promo Cards’, a postcard shaped promotional image linked to music, designed to be shared on social media.
To create a card, head to here. Spotify gives you full reign to their catalogue, which is excellent. You need to define your search by ‘Artists’ or ‘Podcasters’ and choose the appropriate filters. Once done, search for your music.
Unfortunately, the customisation of the Promo Card is pretty limited right now. Spotify defines a few pre-set colours, which is sufficient for making stand-out images for social media. But if you have a specific brand colour, you will be limited in this aspect.
Customising your promo cards
Here’s the customisation screen. As you can see, the Promo Card is already made, but you can select the shape from square, landscape and square. You can also change the colours; here, I have the choice of pastel shades.
Different colours are available, but they appear to be defined by your search. For example, if I refresh the page and re-search for Muse, I’m shown the same colours as before. Whereas if I change the artist, I get different colours.
Sharing on social media
When it comes to sharing your Promo Card, Spotify makes it easy. You can download the image, which is pretty cool if you want to make visuals fast.
A sharing link is available for social media, but a Facebook & Twitter share button is available for 1-click sharing.
An embeddable clickable image script would have been helpful, which you can insert within HTML. You could use the link and wrap it in a <script/>, but you’ll need to be clued up with HTML for that.
Promo Cards are for you if you’re looking for a quick way of making great looking promotional images for your record label’s artists. You could achieve the same result using Canva. Still, the advantage of using Spotify is that the link to the artist/album is automatically injected into the post when used directly on social media.
Cards based on milestones
The latest 2021 Spotify release includes the ability to create promotional cards when artists’ songs reach any chart position on the Spotify charts website.
To create one, go to the promo cards site, search for and select the song, change “Focus” to “Milestone,” and share. From the charts site, click the “more” tab next to an item on the chart and then press “Share Promo Card.”
Matching the milestone notifications you receive in Spotify for Artists, artists can now create milestone cards for reaching 1k, 5k, 10k, 25k, 50k, 100k, 500k, 1M, 2M, 5M, 10M, 20M, 25M, 50M, and 100M followers on Spotify. They’re a great way to thank your fans for following you and encouraging others to do the same.
Create your own Spotify card based on the charting position by heading to here.
Conslusion
Spotify should continue to develop this microfeature; it would be good to see further customisation, which would help media creators drive engagement to their Spotify profile.
As it stands, Promo Cards is an excellent way of grabbing someone’s attention on social media!
In the UK during the 1980s, the first instances of what would become DNB (drum and bass) evolved from the Acid House music scene, specifically from a subgenre called Breakbeat Hardcore. From there, heavier bass and distinctive up-tempos would come to define this new underground electronic music. Additional Jamaican dub and reggae sounds from jungle music in addition to some jazz elements would come to bear when dnb took off in the early 1990s.
Dnb is easily the child of many genres, taking components from mid-century funk stars, layering hip-hop lyrics over sampled beats, or employing reggae-style MCs to complement a DJ spinning dnb at an overnight club.
Because of these varied roots, dnb is still relevant. Its origins are plentiful and deep, and its evolution is because it draws from such an expansive pool of influence. Thanks to pioneering DJs and a diverse audience, dnb continues to change and develop almost 30 years later.
In Bristol and London, the United Kingdom continues to pride itself on the cultivation of dnb. This is where dnb music was born and where it now continues to thrive. Elements of dnb have migrated through the world, closely following the rise of house and electronic music in North America, Germany, The Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia, and even China and India, as dnb DJs have emigrated from London due to skyrocketing costs of living. Sambass, in particular, has gained a significant following in Brazil as the mixture of Samba rhythms and dnb tracks has made it one of the more popular subgenres of dnb.
The continued evolution of dnb now relies on an increasingly dedicated community providing new dnb mixes from various creators via online radio. Dnbradio is one of the premier radio channels that continues to stream some of the best drum and bass radio on the internet.
Where did dnb music come from?
Dnb is a true fusion music style. It’s almost synonymous with Jungle style music. As such, you can trace its primary evolution to the previously mentioned genres: techno, house, hip-hop, jazz and ragga.
Techno music and the rave scene in the UK paved the way for dnb’s creation. They share a fundamentally electronic sound, though dnb accelerates the beat and emphasizes the drum and basslines. Further, this underground techno culture fed into dnb’s similar adoption route that fed into a nightclub and overnight outdoor event culture.
Dnb has also been one of Britain’s more successful answers to hip-hop. Though many have tried, British execution of hip-hop has always been lacking, partly because it’s difficult to fake vital sincerity towards uniquely American situations that many British artists cannot relate to.
The ease and fluidity of American hip-hop have eluded British artists since its popularity in America beginning in the 1970s. Dnb, however, has managed to include the beats and sounds of hip-hop (not so much the lyrics) in a very appealing way. Hip-hop influences also shine through in the attention that dnb DJs pay to the rhythm and texture of the sound that they mix.
Ragga also contributes significantly to jungle dnb’s musical identity. These Jamaican dub and reggae roots have a strong foothold in the British music scene. With quicker beats and spitfire rap verses, it is the foundation of many dnb tunes.
Fans of jungle music often called junglists, listened at raves and on pirate radio film in Britain from its infancy until it went mainstream in 1994. Some junglists decided to move away from the traditional jungle roots that were increasingly associated with violence and criminal activity.
This move marked a shift towards music like that which is available on jump-up dnb radio. This rave- and dancehall-based Jamaican music culture rose up simultaneously and, most likely, in opposition to these negative associations with jungle music.
Finally, jazz overtones are also consistently present in dnb tracks, with many classic jazz performers cited as an inspiration. This end of the musical spectrum adds an interesting richness and contrasting smoothness to dnb mixes, resulting in an entirely unique sound.
What makes dnb unique?
Like Jungle music, dnb is a uniquely British mixture of sorts. Some even claim that it may be the first British created electronic music and that it only could have developed here.
In fact, a lot of its success comes from dnb’s ability to draw from so many styles of music that cross racial lines. Thanks to the post-colonial climate of a degree of assimilated inclusion, audiences in Britain enjoy more freedom in moving past racial barriers that offer more resistance in other countries. Top DJs spinning dnb music are both black and white, and they’re free to use inspiration from many culturally significant types of music. As a result, dnb music creation is never stagnant, and there is always something new to try.
Secondly, dnb is a genuinely unifying blend of music. Thanks to the pieces that layer into each track, it appeals to a specific but dynamic audience, one that continues to enjoy the cutting-edge progression and evolution of the dnb mix. That amount of crossover also allows dnb to stay fresh and relevant to its core audience while captivating outside listeners with hooks and tracks appropriated from other familiar genres.
When you reflect on the timeline of dnb, it’s evident that even with its reliance on sophisticated electronic equipment, this genre was born and cemented pre-internet. The early 90s technology available around the time of dnb’s birth would have required a great deal of dedication, which is likely one of the reasons why dnb continues to thrive. It’s producers and fans have been committed since the beginning.
Just as dnb was born of so many varied influences, it has also spurred the growth of a vast array of sub-genres. Dnb’s evolution has led to darkstep, hardstep, funkstep, breakstep, jump-up liquid funk, neurofunk, techstep, drumstep, technoid, footwork, Sambass and drill’n’ bass to name a few.
They each explore a nuance or blend of dnb characteristics, all punctuated with that signature breakbeat. Thanks again to dnb’s variety of influences, the sounds of the drums and bass show up differently so everyone can find his or her own space of enjoyment within dnb. DJs will spin tunes with strikingly different features and sounds, but all are considered dnb because of the tempo.
How can record labels and Artists benefit from Dnb radio?
The 2016 sale of RAM (a prominent dnb label) to Sony RMG was viewed with both trepidation and enthusiasm by the dnb community. On the one hand, the sale says a lot about dnb’s continued survival and relevance. On the other, loyalists feared that some of the guiding forces of dnb had sold out. Regardless, it is an essential recognition of the genre and the value that it represents to the community at large.
Dnb only thrives in the face of constant change and reinvention. Its tunes have a notoriously short half-life, so the importance of sustaining dnb production can’t be emphasized enough.
Having said that, dnb radio is the best of both worlds. Constant creation is the catalyst for growth, improvement and evolution, practically everything that dnb embodies. Tune-in radio websites provide an affordable means of providing an accessible source of the latest trends and compilations outside of the urban hubs that routinely see fresh DJ productions. Bassdrive, for example, offers live radio drum and bass streams around the world. Koollondon’s resident family of producers and Radio Garden offer several London radio stations which are both excellent dnb listening choices.
Sites like DNB Radio offer options to ensure the fidelity and integrity of dnb tracks remains high and state-of-the-art. Other options like Jungletrain stream jungle and reggae radio make up hundreds of online opportunities to listen to the newest dnb around the clock.
Supporting these stations by tuning in is the way for dnb enthusiasts, particularly those outside of London and the European hubs, to immerse themselves in the current scene. As dnb listeners absorb these brand-new sounds and combinations, we ensure that dnb continues to keep pace in this modern age.
Artists benefit primarily from making their content quickly and cheaply accessible to a targeted audience. They can stay abreast of trends and gain inspiration from what has worked well or poorly in other tracks posted to the web. Labels can see how listeners respond to new music so that they can stay ahead of the curve. Dedicated pools of music that represent the advancement of a movement, of culture and of a sound.
Regardless of your role in the dnb community-creator—promoter or consumer—streaming internet radio services with fresh creative content are a vital part of the collaborative spirit that propels dnb as a genre. This medium effectively supports dnb’s continued growth in the face of a scattered, niche demographic that requires this base level of interaction for inspiration and adaptation. Fundamentally, internet dnb radio creatively ensures the survival of the fittest.
As a record label, one of your main goals is to promote the musicians on your roster. And throughout the history of the music industry, there have been lots of ways to achieve this goal.
There are the classic “oldie but goodie” options, like getting their music played on the radio. There are the somewhat outdated strategies that aren’t so en vogue anymore, such as the mall concert tour that was so popular in the 80s.
But what we’re here to talk about today is the really cutting edge stuff: the strategies and techniques that take into account how to reach music fans and listeners in the specific era we live in today. That’s right, we’re talking about online. A savvy record label employee knows that digital marketing is a must in today’s market, and has probably been working the social media angle for a while.
But, for some reason, not so many record labels are taking advantage of one of the most effective forms of social media marketing available today: Facebook messenger bots.
In this article, we’ll walk you through what a messenger bot is, why you want to be using them, and how you can get started with marketing with them. Let’s get into it.
What is Messenger?
A lot of focus and attention gets put on the content side of social media: YouTube videos, Instagram stories, Facebook posts, and so on. But what you might be looking over is the part of social media that people are spending a huge portion of their time on: messaging apps.
From WhatsApp to WeChat to Facebook Messenger, 2.5 billion people around the world use messenger applications every day. Just Facebook messenger alone accounts for 1.3 billion of those users.
While Messenger was developed by and integrates with Facebook, it’s actually become a thing of its own, with a separate mobile application. The platform allows users to send and exchange messages in the form of text, photos, videos, stickers, emojis, audio, and files. It also allows voice and video calling, but most users stick to the chatting feature.
If you’ve been around the internet for a while, you can think of Messenger as a modern version of AIM or ICQ.
Why Record Labels Should Be Using Messenger
Facebook Messenger is a powerful tool for connecting to an audience, both for marketing and customer service purposes. We’ve already covered the main reason: Messenger is being widely used. Internet users spend a lot of time on Facebook Messenger. Why not meet them there?
But it also goes beyond that. Using Facebook Messenger can lend your company a sense of trustworthiness. According to a survey, the majority of Americans feel more confident about a brand if they can message with them. This is probably because Facebook Messenger is so easy and user-friendly.
Because, let’s face it, nobody wants to talk on the phone anymore. A lot of people, especially Gen Z, don’t even want to deal with emails. They’re already spending time throughout the day chatting with their friends on Facebook Messenger. If they can receive communication from record labels within that very same app they’re already using, users are way more likely to engage.
If you’re still not convinced, let me give you some more numbers. Traditional email marketing has an open rate of 20%. Facebook Messenger’s open rate? 88%. The numbers don’t lie.
Messenger Marketing Made Easy
Another major advantage of using Facebook Messenger to communicate with your audience is that it’s so easy to automate. Messenger chatbots are a tool specifically created for this purpose. Essentially, they’re little robots that you can teach to communicate with users. You can program the chatbot to know about your record label, answer questions, and chat with Facebook users.
Chatbots can serve a lot of different purposes. The best Facebook messenger bots can be used for customer service, conducting surveys, executing purchases, sharing content with users, and scheduling appointments. That’s the beauty of chatbots: they fulfill a lot of different purposes, and they do so effectively.
How Record Labels Can Utilize Messenger Bots
While every industry is finding creative ways to use Facebook Messenger bots (or at least the savvy ones are), there are some unique opportunities that record labels can take advantage of with this technology.
One option is helping users access new music from their clients. For example, if an artist on your label is releasing a new song or album soon, you can have a Messenger bot send out a Spotify pre save to a list of your current and potential listeners, creating engagement and directing people to stream your music.
The options for Facebook Messenger bot templates are really limitless. Just to list a few: you can send out free songs, tease information about a possible drop date for a new single, send out a tracklist for a new album one song at a time, and so on. The best part is that as you’re engaging with your audience on Messenger, you can build your email list, get your audience to find you on streaming services, and create a funnel to increase sales.
How to Get Started with Bots
Okay, so you’re convinced. Facebook Messenger is a valuable tool and you want to try out a bot for your own record label. How do you do that?
First, don’t be intimidated. Sure, we’re talking about robots here, but it’s not as techy as it sounds. In fact, you don’t even have to build them on your own. Unless, of course, you have some talented developers on your team, in which case, go for it.
But if you don’t want to deal with all of that, you have the option of utilizing one of many different existing chatbot tools. For example, automation agencies like Weighted.io create chatbots that you can customize for your company’s needs with little to no technical skills needed. Best of all, Weighted.io’s chatbots are specifically created for record labels, meaning they know how to meet your particular needs.
Tips for Messenger Bot Success
Of course, you probably know that just using a powerful tool doesn’t guarantee you’ll succeed. You have to do your research and be smart about how you use the tool. After all, trying to hit a nail with the wrong side of a hammer isn’t going to get you very far.
So here are some expert tips you should keep in mind when getting started with using Facebook Messenger chatbots for your record label.
Keep it Human
Yes, chatbots are robots, and your audience is aware of that fact, so there’s no point in trying to hide it. But their experience will still be much better if the conversation feels natural and personal. So don’t be boring. Use humor. Inject in a bit of personality. Make it feel like you actually care. Your Facebook Messenger bot might be a robot, but it doesn’t have to be robotic.
Keep it Easy
One of the main reasons Facebook Messenger marketing is so effective is that it’s convenient. So don’t make your bot interactions more complicated than they have to be. Keep things short and sweet. If you’re doing a survey, stick to simple, yes or no questions as much as you can. Multiple choice and rating things on a scale of 0 to 10 are also decent options, but try to use them sparingly. Do your best to identify and get rid of any unnecessary steps in your chatbot flow, especially when it comes to making sales.
Be Generous
Like we’ve covered above, one of the best ways for a record label to use Facebook Messenger bots is to send users content, like free music or Spotify pre save links. This is a super effective form of marketing, so lean into it. Consider creating a weekly digest of artist updates or even sending exclusive content only to your Facebook Messenger audience. You’ll be able to increase engagement and maybe even acquire new customers.
Know When Enough is Enough
As great as they are, not everything can be done using Facebook Messenger chatbots. To that point, be discerning and smart about when you do – and when you don’t – use your Messenger bot. There are some experiences and certain types of content that aren’t best suited for the messaging format. It’s up to you to do the thoughtful trial-and-error to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. Once you do, you’ll be making use of a tremendously powerful and effective online marketing tool. Awesome job.
The community quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic has forced a lot of lifestyle changes for people. Although the strict implementation of the quarantine is to protect the welfare of everyone, it takes a toll on the mental health of people, especially those who rely on social interaction daily.
It sucks you can’t go to your favourite restaurant for your usual order. It’s a bother that you can’t find solace in your usual routine outside your home. However, the quarantine helps ensure you don’t acquire the virus, so it is best to stay indoors.
As a musician, it might be the best time to focus on your music marketing strategies to use your extra time productively. It’s nice to do some de-stressing activities, but filing your whole quarantine schedule with nothing productive is lost time.
Here are some things you can do to maintain your sanity productively during the quarantine.
1) Focus on your music
The best part about the quarantine period is you get plenty of time to hone and polish your craft. Aside from playing your usual instruments, you can practice on your songwriting skills or learn other musical tools. Having diversity and flexibility in the music industry is a huge plus point since you no longer have to rely on others for help. You can surprise your fans with new songs or proudly display the efforts of practising a new instrument.
2) Learn the marketing side of music
Producing music is only a part of the entire journey as an artist. So, it is best to immerse yourself in excellent music marketing strategies so that your music can have a wider audience reach. The business side of the music industry is crucial in ensuring a successful career. However, start slow, and at a pace that you can comfortably consume content. Otherwise, you risk overwhelming yourself with too much information you might give up from the get-go.
Learn music promotions for one marketing platform every two or three days. With this strategy and pacing, you can give yourself the chance to digest and fully understand what you’ve learned. Once you’ve mastered one, you can confidently jump to the other one. Remember to take it slow since there’s no need to learn all of these during the quarantine period. You still have time after the quarantine, after all.
3) Exercise to get your brain moving
If you have an established exercise routine before the coronavirus attack, it is best to continue it at your home. Although at-home workouts may not feel the same as going to the gym, you still reap the same mental and physical benefits.
You can even try exercises you haven’t tried before. Try yoga by watching yoga videos. There are also some fun dance videos you can do to burn some calories while having a ton of fun. Exercising helps provide your brain extra supply of oxygen to make it work better and faster.
Conclusion
The way you handle the quarantine period helps influence your life after the whole chaotic situation. If you decide to invest in your well-being and growth instead of being a couch potato, you will see enormous growth in your career and skills. Learning the dos and don’ts in music promotions can help you in your industry endeavours too.
Are you in need of help with your music PR strategies? Check us out today to learn more about how we can help.
So you’ve found the perfect song on Spotify and you want to share it with all your Instagram followers as soon as possible.
Thanks to a convenient new synergy between these two social apps, you can share a song, album, or playlist to your Instagram story in a few seconds with just a couple of taps.
Gone are the days where you needed to screenshot what you wanted to share and upload it. This streamlined process allows you to post what you want to share easily, quickly, and with a few extra features to boot.
No need to take screenshots that take up space and clutter your phone’s memory. You no longer have to go through the tedious process of sharing links via text, WhatsApp, Messenger or Twitter anymore, either. Just share directly from Spotify to your story for your mates to enjoy links to the music without all the fuss.
Dub a mixtape and share it with your friends, or use the features to soundtrack your life with an astonishing level of convenience. Whatever you decide to do, take a moment to reflect on the fact that just a few short years ago, we were all sharing songs burned on discs or synced onto iPods. Look at how far we’ve come.
Go ahead—be the DJ to your life story and whip up a fire playlist that fits your mood. Spice up the instant videos and images of your life that you post on your stories with a song.
If you stumble across a gem of an artist, spread the word. Have you listened to a great podcast that you need everyone else to listen to as well? With the way that Spotify cooperates with Instagram now, you can share, share away.
How does it work?
In case you aren’t yet convinced that this is the greatest development of all time, wait until you see how easy it is.
It’s virtually foolproof and anyone can figure it out in a few minutes. Since this update from Spotify is all about convenience and saving time, we’ll spare you the trial and error. We doubt it takes even ten seconds to share a story with the new sharing features.
Just follow these five steps and you’ll have Spotify in your stories right away.
Open the Spotify app. Browse through your music. When you’ve found a song, playlist, artist, podcast, or album, or anything at all that you want to share, do the following:
1. Open the menu by tapping the three dots on the top right-hand corner.
2. On that menu, select ‘Share.’
3. In addition to the option to copy links or send messages through WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, choose ‘Instagram Stories.’
4. Once you select that option, Spotify will open up the Instagram Stories editor of your Instagram app. Add stickers, tags, or text to introduce your latest find to your online community.
5. Then share your Story just like you’d share anything else to your Instagram Story.
That’s it. Literally three taps will get something off of Spotify and onto your story. From there, sit back and watch the compliments for your excellent taste in music pour in. Rest easy knowing that you’ve done your duty to share these sweet melodies with your people. If the mood strikes again, feel free to rinse and repeat to your heart’s desire.
According to Instagram, sharing directly from Spotify has some additional benefits, too. When you go through the steps above, Spotify will unlock custom cover art that’s optimized for Instagram for each song, album, playlist or artist that you choose to share. Not only are these new features easy to use, but they’re easy on the eyes, too.
These unique album or song covers will show up in your stories with an embedded link so that people who view your stories can click right through and listen right away. When someone views your story and taps ‘Play on Spotify’ under your Instagram handle, a bubble that says ‘Open Spotify’ will appear, taking them into the Spotify app once they tap it.
Once in the app, they’ll immediately begin listening to whatever you’ve shared in your stories. Thankfully, this saves us the effort of screenshotting recommendations from others to listen to later when we get a chance, if we remember.
Learning how to share Spotify songs to your Instagram stories is virtually idiot-proof thanks to the user-friendly design of this new set of features. With this update, you can also share Spotify selections directly to your feed or via direct message to any of your Instagram friends. Similar process, just share to a place other than your story.
So share your mood with a song or celebrate a night of debauchery with a themed playlist and post it up in your stories so that everyone knows what you’re up to and can revel in trendsetting, taste-making sounds without any real effort. Happy, sad, mellow, or lively, it doesn’t matter—throw a song from Spotify to your story to let everyone know what’s up. There are now more ways than ever to tell a story.
Conclusion
Ditch the screenshots and save the phone space. Move on and level up. Thanks to this update, we’ve made it to the future. Life here is simple and it’s good—well, at least it sounds good.
Excellent job, Spotify. Well done, Instagram. Way to work together to simplify your users’ lives and give us access to intuitive tools that connect us in more efficient ways than ever. If anything, this cooperative move has us feeling inspired and ready to share a tune or two.
Go through these simple steps (it won’t even take 10 seconds to share a song) and let Spotify do the heavy lifting so that you can share what you’re listening to as you’re listening to it. Be creative and let the music speak to your followers.
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