Summer is just around the corner, and it is one of the best times possible to release new music. Summer is just a great time for media overall. The best books come out in summer, the biggest movies come out in summer, and the music that comes out in summer becomes very popular. Summer is when kids are out of high school, people are planning vacations, and there is a happy vibe to things. That is why ever summer a song or an album is referred to as the ‘summer jam’, and ends up being massively popular. If you are planning to release music for the summer – it may be a single, an album, or an EP – you need to start working on it right now.
Focus on your social media accounts
Social media is one of the best tools that artists have nowadays. Even if you haven’t been signed by a label and do not have a budget for marketing, you can get a lot of exposure through social media. Different social media channels give you different tools, so you will have to work on each of them different ways to get some social media traction.
Facebook is great because of the longevity of its posts. Facebook posts end up being active and relevant a lot longer than Snapchat or Twitter posts. That is also a reason people seem to be using it less and less – it is a lot less dynamic than other social media services. Start by posting pictures about how you are going to release some new music. If you have a graphic designer or some designing skills, make a good poster that teases new music. If you don’t have access to graphic media creation, don’t worry! A good picture will do the job. Get a DSLR camera if you can, and if you cannot make sure you take good pictures with the latest iPhone or Android phones. Phones these days have great cameras.
Start following all your local media publications, radio personalities, and DJs on Twitter. When it comes to Twitter, giving your work the right exposure is the best way to ensure that you get a lot of new fans waiting for your music. The reason you need to follow media publications, radio personalities, and DJs is simple – all of these entities are looking for new music to share with their audience. Discovering new artists massively boosts their worth in their industry, and thus they are always trying to be the first to give good artists exposure.
Snapchat
Snapchat is definitely the most popular social media app being used these days. Snapchat is a tough cookie to crack – the posts on your story only last 24 hours, so you can’t just make something and have people discovering it for weeks. Keep your Snapchat active, keep posting fun and interesting content related to music, and people will start to follow you. Start posting clips of your jam sessions, and try to create a good vibe in your videos. People will start wanting to listen to your music if they see other people in your snaps enjoying your music.
Start teasing people
In order to get that summer popularity for your music, you need to make sure that people are anticipating your music. The key to doing this is to release snippets of your music, something that makes people hungry but doesn’t satisfy their appetite, so they keep coming back for more. This is an approach being used by even the biggest artists these days. Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, and Migos recently collaborated on a song. These are three huge names that did not need any more exposure, yet they still chose this approach. A video was released by Calvin Harris, in which he is listening to the new song in his car and driving. It got millions of views. You will probably not get the same reaction, but whatever reaction you get will help a lot. Post these snippets and short videos on all your social media channels.
Get some grassroots support
Paid advertising is great, but grassroots support will get you even further. Talk to everyone you know – your friends, family, colleagues, media personalities you may have talked to – and tell them about when you are planning to release your music. If you want the maximum impact for your music, you need to make sure there is a somewhat coordinated effort to publicize it. In the absence of a PR agency that will be able to do this with a few calls, you need to call every friend and use every favor that you may be owed.
Make a video
People are naturally more attracted towards videos than other types of media. You may have noticed this yourself – when you’re going through Facebook, Reddit, or Twitter, videos immediately catch your attention. If you have the budget for a video, that’s great, but even if you do not it shouldn’t stop you from doing something creative. Get a DSLR, and if you cannot afford one ask a DSLR carrying friend (we all have one, don’t we?) if they would like to put a music video in their portfolio.
You don’t need a big budget video to become a hit. If you want your song to be popular during summer, make sure you make everything feel like ‘summer’. This means beaches, shooting in daylight, and lots of partying. If your music doesn’t fit this type of music, simply make something that does. Even if you don’t have any idea, just a video of you or your band performing in different locations will work great. Here’s a simple idea that works well: make the video while performing somewhere weird or surreal. A public pool, a children’s park, a parking lot – you’ll instantly get a lot of attention.
There is a lot more you can do, and having a PR Agency is easily the best way to make sure your summer release gets the attention that it deserves.
