How To Promote Your Music For Free Online

Learn how to promote your music on major streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, without spending a dime.

The music industry, thanks to the arrival of social media and streaming platforms, has undergone major changes in recent years. Previously artists and bands that wrote and performed original music would gain exposure, almost exclusively, by playing live.

You’d play for free or for a percentage of the door fee, which over time would (hopefully) allow you to save enough to enter the studio and produce an EP you could then circulate in the hope of gaining fans, and eventually garnering the attention of a label or agent that could promote your music to a wider audience, with the hope that radio stations eventually pick up your music.

But things are very different now.

Would-be music industry professionals, thanks to the affordability of professional-grade audio hardware and a host of online social media platforms, ideal for music promotion are now far more likely to build a following on their own terms, without the help of a label, and without necessarily playing live.

Not only that, the music they produce is far more likely to be streamed rather than owned, at least in a physical sense, by the listener.

What does this mean to you?
If you are an indie artist, the barriers to entry for new music have all but been removed. However, this has also led to a huge amount of competition. For example, it’s estimated over 60,000 songs are being uploaded to Spotify every day.

So, understanding the “digital” environment and creating a strong presence online is the best way to promote your music successfully.

Table of Contents

Before You Get Started

Is it good to go?

The best way to confidently market/promote anything is to have a truly great product. While anything artistic is, of course, subjective, great music is just a lot easier to promote.

So above all else, make sure the songs sound great from both a writing, performance, and production standpoint, and always seek feedback.

Feedback is invaluable. It’s a secret weapon, an insight into the minds of listeners, and should always be carefully considered, prior to music promotion, regardless of how musical the person giving the feedback is. After all, everyone has a set of ears and an opinion.

Identifying Your Potential Fans

If you are confident you have a great product, it’s time to consider music promotion. The first question you should be asking yourself is, who are my potential fans?

Many people will respond to this question by saying their potential fan base is “everyone”.

Which of course would be ideal, but remember as the barriers to entry have fallen, the competition has increased dramatically. As a result, you stand a much better chance of gaining traction by being very targeted in your promotional efforts, and first identifying the type of people who listen to the kind of music you make and then doing what you can to get your music in front of them.

I understand, that this line of thinking hasn’t always gone over well in the past…..

“Any conversations we hear about ‘So who are Pearl Jam marketing to?‘ are despicable.”
— Eddie Vedder

But, intelligent promotion doesn’t need to feel despicable. If what you are doing has integrity, there’s nothing wrong with doing all you can to get your music into the hands (and playlist curators) of those who might most appreciate it.

Besides, getting your music in front of the wrong people sure isn’t going to do you any favors.

This isn’t as complicated as you might initially believe either. Simply visit a site such as similarweb.com, type in a band or artist that is similar to you, and check their demographic information. Then use this information to create a profile or potential fans.

That’s your market.

And, often, if you are a songwriter your market will be reflective of you, being the person who creates the music. So, also trust your gut instincts when it comes to making decisions concerning music marketing.

Branding for Musicians

Another concept Eddie Vedder probably can’t stand is branding.

If you followed the advice above and now have a better idea of your target audience you can then design your brand in a way that appeals to your market.

You don’t need to be a graphic designer. This just means using cover art and profile images, fonts, and colors, along with your messaging e.g. the words you use to communicate with your audience, that will appeal to this group of people.

For example, if your market mostly consists of 35 – 45-year-old males then use a color combination and font choice that appeals to that market.

If you’re not a designer, keep it simple.

the nobodies — Don’t make your brand difficult to read!

Don’t sacrifice legibility for elaborate designs and fonts that make your brand difficult to read, and consider the different forms of media your branding may appear on e.g. digital, print, and perhaps merchandise such as clothing.

Continuity

Successful brands use continuity to reinforce their image. If your branding is consistent, regardless of where it is seen, it will be more identifiable, and hopefully memorable.

In a practical sense, this means having the same username (this won’t always be possible), the same cover art, the same fonts, and the same colors everywhere.

Building a Website

The problem with building a following on a platform you don’t control is the fact that you don’t control it. Policies change, errors occur, and platforms gain and lose favorability, sometimes very quickly.

While you should utilize a range of platforms (more on this shortly), as an independent artist, owning your own piece of online real estate, something as simple as a basic music blog to begin with, and having the ability to communicate with your fans e.g. using a mailing list is critical.

And while this guide is about promoting your music for free, paying for your domain name, and a year of web hosting will probably set you back less than $80 and allows you full control over your online presence.

Incorporating email marketing into your strategy, you can use a domain-associated email for a professional appearance when promoting your music and on other online profiles, enhancing your outreach and credibility compared to using a Gmail account.

The first step is to sign up for web hosting, purchase a domain name and then install WordPress (or a similar content management system) along with a free theme designed for streaming music.

There are plenty of them available.

Here’s a detailed guide showing how to build a musicians website for free:
https://dittomusic.com/en/blog/wordpress-for-musicians-5-steps-to-build-a-music-website/

But, you don’t have to spend money.

You can build a website for zero cost using a free hosted service such as wordpress.org or squarespace.com. Or for a little extra, you can utilize bandzoogle.com which offers a dedicated solution for musicians.

Using wordpress.com or squarespace.com will afford you more control than you might have on social media, but you will still find some limitations compared to owning your own domain. However, it’s the best option if you don’t have a budget to work with.

Social Media

Of course, you will also need a profile on the major social media platforms. I’d recommend signing up for as many as possible to secure your username, but rather than trying to maintain an active presence on all of them, focus your energies on one social media platform that is most likely to be used by “your potential fans”.

Many of these social platforms have specific demographic information you can tap into, and because you have profiled your market you can now make a more informed decision about the platforms you put your time and effort into.

Some also allow you to syndicate your content from one social media channel to another. For example, you can configure Facebook to automatically repost to Twitter.

The social media sites that are going to offer you the most “bang for your buck” are listed below. Simply click on the links to go directly to each site’s signup page and begin creating your profile. Remember to use the same handle, and account name, or at least as close as possible across all platforms (continuity), and then start creating content, that will appeal to “your people” and use music-related hashtags.

YouTube
Once you have created your YouTube channel, click settings and choose account type “musician”. You don’t need to use YouTube to promote a music video or anything too polished. Utilize YouTube shorts to create short-form videos of new music, or share insights into the songwriting or recording process, and record cover songs and other related video content.
Instagram
More visual than many other platforms. Instagram allows musicians to promote their music through posts, stories, and live sessions, reaching a wider audience. Utilizing Instagram Ads further enhances this reach, targeting specific audiences effectively.
Facebook
Sign up for an account and then create a fan page for your music by selecting “Artist, Band, or Public Figure.” Facebook ads are also worth looking into once you have a good handle on your target audience.
Twitter
Another useful social network you can take advantage of by posting visuals and multimedia or promoting a live show or new release to followers.
Soundcloud
Offers tools allowing you to embed your music on other platforms including your website.
Reverbnation
Offers a range of tools for musicians to promote their music, including electronic press kits, social media integration, and detailed analytics to track fan interactions and song plays.
Bandcamp
Social media and streaming platforms.
Tik Tok
Formerly Musical.ly. Love it or hate it, TikTok is too big to ignore.
Drooble
Social media site built specifically for musicians including free promotional tools.

Remember, while the bigger guys are more stable, some sites/channels can go in and out of favor quickly. So consider ways to retain the audience by encouraging them to follow you on other platforms and/or visit your website and join your mailing list.

What to post on social media?

The most important part of crafting an effective social media campaign is to be authentic and consistent.

I prefer the idea of having your releasable material on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music and using social media to post related content e.g. promote an upcoming release, show snippets of how the song was created, cover songs, and even live performances.

Charlie Puth does a great job of this on TikTok and YouTube. I don’t like pop music myself, but his promotional efforts are hard to argue with.

Also, keep in mind people use social media to be “social”. Using overly disruptive methods, usually won’t go over well.

Getting Your Music Online

Okay, we’ve now created our brand and built a presence online. The foundations of our promotional efforts are mostly in place. Next, we need to get our music on streaming platforms such as Spotify, and Apple Music.

Be Everywhere

Music can be streamed from a multitude of different platforms nowadays. To give your music the best chance of being heard, you need to be everywhere.

Below is just a sample of some of the platforms you can stream your music from:

Apple Music: Leverage Apple Music’s curated playlists and artist connect feature on this popular streaming platform to boost your music’s exposure.
Spotify: Utilize Spotify’s algorithmic playlists and Spotify for Artists analytics for targeted promotion on this leading streaming platform.
Amazon Music: Take advantage of Amazon Music’s vast audience and integration with Alexa for effective music promotion on their streaming platform.
YouTube: Enhance your music’s visibility by maximizing YouTube’s global reach and video storytelling potential, coupled with targeted YouTube Ads, on their widely-used streaming platform.
Google Play: Tap into Google Play’s extensive user base and cross-platform capabilities for promoting music on their streaming platform.
Pandora: Use Pandora’s personalized radio stations and unique Music Genome Project to reach targeted audiences on their streaming platform.
Shazam: Harness Shazam’s music discovery tools to increase your song’s visibility and engagement on their streaming platform.
SoundCloud: Engage with SoundCloud’s community of creators and music enthusiasts for grassroots promotion on their streaming platform.
Bandcamp: Benefit from Bandcamp’s artist-friendly revenue model and niche audience for direct music sales on their streaming platform.
Deezer: Utilize Deezer’s playlist features and Flow algorithm to reach a diverse, global audience on their streaming platform.
Groove Music: Leverage Groove Music’s integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem for targeted music promotion on their streaming platform.
Napster: Tap into Napster’s loyal user base and high-quality audio streaming for dedicated music promotion on their platform.
Omnifone: Exploit Omnifone’s B2B music distribution services for broader reach and efficient promotion on their streaming platform.
Gracenote: Utilize Gracenote’s music recognition technology for greater discoverability and accurate metadata on their streaming platform.

And many, many others.

The best way to do this is by engaging a music distribution service.

Music Distribution Services

In days gone by, labels would work with a distribution service to get a signed artist’s music into retail music stores. In today’s environment, If you’re an independent musician, and don’t have the luxury of a record label distributing your music a music distribution service can fulfill this role by getting your music placed on the most popular streaming platforms.

There are many distribution services available, however, for this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at only free services.

Which Music Distribution Services Offer a Free Option?

While established distribution services such as distrokid.com charge $19.95 per month for distribution services, there are plenty that offer a free option, however, there can be trade-offs in terms of royalties.

Below is a list of distributors who offer a free plan, and where applicable the percentages each retain:

Service	Royalties you keep
routenote.com	85%
amuse.io	100%
freshtunes.com	100%
unitedmasters.com	90%
novecore.com	85%

Choosing A Music Distribution Service

Along with the “free options” listed above, there are distribution services that offer a free 30-day trial and then charge a minimal annual fee. Ditto Music is one such service.

There are also distribution services such as sounddrop that charge very little e.g. 99c per song. However, also retain 15% of your royalties.

Additionally, there are platforms such as landr.com that incorporate free distribution with a suite of useful tools including free mastering, plugins, and VST for $199.00 per year (at the time of publishing).

In simple terms, you pay for what you get. Premium distribution services such as Distrokid, CD Baby, Landr, and Tunecore offer additional features and usually a more intuitive experience.

Free services usually have some limitations e.g. Amuse.io does not release music to major social platforms such as YouTube, and TikTok. You will need to look through the pros and cons of each and choose what is going to be the best fit for you.

When making a decision keep in mind royalties, specifically how comfortable you are with a company owning a percentage of the earnings your original music may potentially make. Other considerations include the company’s payout threshold (e.g. how much you need to earn before you can withdraw funds and how fast you get paid.

What to Publish?

While it can be tempting to simply throw the entire kitchen sink out there hoping to gain traction by having multiple irons in the fire, be sure that only your absolute best material gets made available.

Also keep in mind the attention span of listeners spoilt for choice and ensure your strongest material is always at the top of your page or playlist.

What Next?

Outreach, Reviews, Playlists

Below are a few options you can begin to use to further promote your music online at no cost:

Post shareable content on your social media channels and ensure you place links in your profile back to your website and major streaming platforms
Attempt to get your music included on playlists or create your own
Research blogs that offer music reviews
Look for opportunities to work with other independent musicians
Make connections with your listeners. Take the time to respond to comments on your social channels. Engagement is key.
Take advantage of the tools and tips offered by streaming services e.g. Spotify for Artists.
Consider making music-related content for blogs (you are reading one now) or YouTube.
Join forums, network, and leverage the experience of others
Rinse and repeat, refining your approach over time

Final Thoughts

While anyone can release music for free today, the fact is of the 40,000+ songs uploaded to Spotify daily almost 75% of the artists who created the music have less than 50 followers.

Using an effective approach to promoting your music (even if it costs you nothing) and further refining your approach over time, not to mention being able to adapt to new technologies and opportunities will put you well ahead of many.