When we discuss the digital distribution of creative products, we tend to be hostile toward it. After all, it is true that piracy has made music and movie industries lose millions of dollar. But that phenomenon was mainly due to the inadaptability of creative industry marketing. Today, a lot of things have changed. Digital music distribution has become means that can benefit musicians the most.
Knowing the Platforms
iTunes was probably the oldest platform that recognized musician’s rights. And then, the ecommerce giant, Amazon, followed iTunes’s move by creating its Amazon mp3. Today, with everyone possessing smartphones, many digital music distribution apps are on the market. Some of them allow a trial period, where the users can play any songs for free during that period only. Some others require the users to pay before they can enjoy. There are varieties of choices for musicians these days about how they would like their music to be listened to by the audience.
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- Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish company that allows users around the world to either stream or download the songs they desire. The upsides of this app are that it pays the musicians well, secures the downloads, and provides free service for the users. This third feature allows a musician’s works to reach people without the pressure to buying them. The app seeks its revenue by putting ads on the free service. - Bandcamp
Bandcamp is more exclusive than Spotify. The users can enjoy any songs but with limited play chances. Beyond three trials, the users are required to pay. - Joox
Owned by the giant Tencent group. It is a perfect platform if your music belongs to the mainstream category.
- Spotify
Those three apps are in this writing because not many musicians are accustomed to them, unlike iTunes and Amazon. We want you to know that many options of digital distribution services are out there.
SEO-ing Your Music
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not only for e-commerce companies. Anyone who needs cyber traffic must incorporate SEO as their marketing strategy. And in a case of the music business, you can first set a digital personality. It does not always have to be a website as it may be wasteful for a novice band. An account synced on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter is enough. And if you have video clips, you can make a YouTube channel too.
After you have a digital personality, submit your works to music reviewers. Make sure that they are SEO aware, and they use a keyword that leads to your band.
Using the Advertisement Service
Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube have ads services that allow you to market your contents. For instance, if you are about to release an album, you have to create ads with both picture and video formats. The promotional photos are for Facebook and Instagram, while the video is for Youtube. There are weekly, monthly, and yearly ads plans.
First, put on the weekly one. See if the stats are promising on your end. Analyze the demographics of your audience, such as where they are mostly from, how old they are, and which contents get the most viewers. Use them for future reference in your creative process.