7 Creative Ways to Promote Music Every Artist Should Try

Introduction

Independent music promotion can feel like the wild west for many musicians and emerging talents. Many artists aren’t sure where to start or how to creatively put themselves out there as a unique figure in the music space, leading them to give up on promotion entirely. 

At TREND PR, we specialize in helping musicians break through the noise with creative, customized strategies that lead to real, lasting results.

Ready to stand out? Contact TREND PR today to amplify your promotional approach and grow your fanbase the right way.

Benefits of Promoting Your Music

Many artists wonder whether or not it’s worth actually investing time, energy, or money into promoting their music. We’re here to tell you that it has a ton of tangible benefits that will lead to long-term success. 

Promoting your music can: 

• Increase streaming numbers: Promoting your music helps listeners connect with your work, leading to stronger and more consistent streaming growth. One of the biggest challenges for many artists is surpassing 1,000 streams on Spotify. That’s something we specialize in helping artists overcome, making them more likely to land on curated playlists like New Music Friday and Release Radar.
• Increase show attendance: Promotion also encourages your audience to tune in and show up when it matters. Investing in live performance promotion and linking your digital presence to your shows is key. If fans don’t know when or where you’re performing, they won’t attend—but consistent promotion can turn online followers into real-world audiences.
• Garner interest from record labels, PR companies, and other industry professionals: Music promotion can put your work in front of the right people. You never know when an A&R rep might see your video or when an independent label could reach out. With the right strategy, promotion can also lead to new collaborations and professional connections that support your long-term growth.

7 Creative Ways to Promote Music

This is a list of creative ways to change up your approach to music promotion, primarily focused on developing your brand’s assets when starting out your career. If you’re looking for a tailored strategy or a more specific guideline, check out some of our other articles, like How To Promote Your Music Independently and Looking for the Best Platform to Promote Music? Start Here.

•  Pitch Your Song to EVERY one of the Artist Services

There’s a variety of artist services that you should sign up for. Spotify for Artists is one, letting you pitch to their services. You can access your streaming numbers and artist biography through Spotify for artists while pitching editorially. 

But, there’s also platforms like YouTube for Artists, Deezer for Creators, Apple Music for Artists, and Amazon Music for Artists where you can submit your music for editors and tastemakers. Many people underestimate the streaming ability these other platforms hold in comparison to Spotify. While Spotify dominates the streaming market, it’s also possible to get placements through these platforms that create an eventual, lasting impact on your overall streams. 

• Create a research spreadsheet for similar bands 

Once you identify where you fit into the music space, you should consider what bands are similar to your work. 

It’s great to generate a list of 10-20 bands that are similar to yours. You can organize them by city so you can keep track of bands you’d like to trade shows with, but more importantly, you can watch how they approach posting on social media. Try to notice what tracks and what doesn’t for those artists, and see where your content ideas, branding, and general energy could look like. 

It’s important to note that you shouldn’t copy these other bands, but rather, iterate on the social media strategies they’re pursuing that work within your genre. 

This is important because there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to the music industry. A DIY pop artist will inevitably make different social media content than a death metal artist. That’s why it’s good to keep in mind what’s trending in the present moment for your niche. 

• Join a creative network to meet professionals outside of the music industry

In the largest U.S. cities, there are ample “creative” networks and organizations you can join. We generally recommend that musicians also engage in other artistic ventures, whether that be photography, design, or even something like ceramics. Part of the reason is that it connects musicians with other creatives and allows them to form new connections they otherwise wouldn’t.

Similarly, look into musician groups or creative networking organizations in your city. They’re an excellent way to meet people who can trade services for promotion, and, in general, networking helps build and elevate your work. You can meet other creatives like photographers, videographers, editors, and designers, all of whom may be eager for freelance opportunities. 

•  Utilize free resources to spice up your socials 

In the Los Angeles area, there are libraries with free access to Adobe Suite and screenprinting materials. Take advantage of these resources, as you can make interesting halftone designs, event posters, and more using them.

Similarly, New York City has makerspaces, and cities across the country have created rentable “third spaces” for artists and communities.

There are times when, as a musician, you’ll need to get familiar with different creative outlets. Many musicians develop their own graphic design skills in a roundabout way because they need a new graphic for each live event they put on. That’s where these free resources come in handy, as you can use them while familiarizing yourself with different digital tools.

Generally, you’ll want a diverse amount of content on your Instagram page. Consider always having a pinned show at the top that shows fans exactly where to go to see your band live. Post unique show posters, graphics, videos, and clips to create a digitally engaging space, while keeping the platform as a “news hub” that fans can use to understand where to see you, when to see you, and why they should show up. 

Similarly, consider using free services like CapCut and Davinci to edit videos that you post to your Instagram and TikTok, which you’ll need to tailor your strategy. 

• Make a professional or even fun-looking website that serves as your artist hub

There are thousands of website builders that you can try to build a professional-looking website, with tons of free tools and resources out there for you. As an artist, it looks 10 times better if you have a website that lists your email. 

WordPress.org: WordPress is one of the most popular website builders in the world. Rolling Stone, BBC Inc., TIME, Beyonce, and The Rolling Stones all use it. 

Tip: Avoid WordPress.com if you can. Find a domain like Bluehost to host and create a website through WordPress.org to avoid fees and other problematic aspects associated with the .com service. 

Squarespace: Squarespace is an easy-to-use website builder that works well for artist portfolios and websites. It has a very clean-looking design, easy-to-read blocks and typography, and an easy one-year subscription model that makes it relatively straightforward for beginners. 

Watch out: We generally don’t recommend website services with additional fees and domain issues. WordPress.org is the most intuitive and freeform, allowing you to create a professional website in a very short time, so it’s our top pick. 

• Reach out to small, independent press outlets 

If you’re seeking publicity, one effective approach is manual outreach to press outlets. Platforms like Muso.Soup, SubmitHub, and Groover can help, but it’s important to start with a realistic list of publications you’d like to be featured in. 

Usually, small niche press outlets, college publications, and community radio stations are open to 

Begin by identifying writers you want to connect with. Look through publications, note their names, and try to find their emails—Muckrack is a useful resource, even without a premium subscription. Some writers share their contact info on platforms like X or Bluesky. If an email isn’t available, you can use the general contact form, though these often receive thousands of messages.

When pitching, format your press release clearly and include links rather than attachments, which are often flagged as spam. You can see one of our previous articles if you’d like a guide on creating one. 

Getting coverage through cold emailing can be challenging; it’s common to contact 100 outlets without success. Indie publications do offer opportunities to premiere your work, but it can still be a challenge to get in touch with those outlets. 

Publicists can simplify this process. They have existing media contacts, access to premium services, and experience with industry conventions, which increases the chances that your pitches are properly formatted and well-received.

•  Consider making a social network for your fanbase

Once your fanbase grows, you should consider creating a dedicated online space where fans can connect with each other, you, and your team members. Platforms like Discord make it easy to build community hubs where members can share updates, discuss your music, and get exclusive content. For example, Avenged Sevenfold uses Discord to engage directly with fans and strengthen their sense of connection. Other musicians, like Yung Gravy, have established strong communities on platforms like Twitch, where fans tune into regular streams as a way of connecting with the artist. 

This is harder to get started when you’re just launching your career, but a well-created Discord server (with appropriate and secure moderation) can elevate your fans’ feeling of connection. It makes your fans much more likely to tune into other projects. It also gives fans a chance to generally connect with each other, making them more likely to buy tickets, as they’ll have a community to connect with at shows.

• Create a Linktr.ee or Hoo.be profile, or use a similar platform to connect your socials

You’ll generally want a Linktr.ee or Hoo.be profile on all your social media pages. These platforms act as connectors, making it easy for fans to move from one platform to another.

Think of it this way: if a fan discovers you through a TikTok video and follows you, you’ve gained one form of access to that fan. But if they later unfollow you, you’ve lost that connection.

If that same fan discovers you on TikTok and then follows your other social media accounts because they’re easy to find, you now have multiple ways to reach them, even if they stop using TikTok. Ideally, you want listeners to follow you on all platforms. That not only makes creating unique content for each platform worthwhile but also ensures you’re staying connected with your audience wherever they go.

Tip: Some PR companies, record labels, and other industry professionals prefer a direct email for contact rather than a submission form on your page. If you only have a contact form on your Bandcamp or website, consider adding a general contact email to your linktr.ee/hoo.be. This makes it easier for interested parties to follow up and keep track of their correspondence with you. When you hit a point in your career where you have a publicist, manager, and booker, you’ll include those contacts instead of your general inquiry email, but for now, make sure you have something available. 

The Role of PR and Media in Music Promotion

The role of PR campaigns in music promotion has changed significantly over the past four years. Whereas PR once played a major role in shaping national taste profiles, audiences today are increasingly curating their own sound preferences without relying on critics.

Even so, press and publicity continue to play an important role in artist promotion. For one, press coverage helps improve an artist’s SEO. A feature in Rolling Stone, for example, can spark interest and drive listeners to check out an artist’s work.

Press hits also lend credibility to claims that an artist is “one to watch.” Most artists begin by securing smaller press placements, which they can leverage for future press releases. Over time, these efforts can build momentum, eventually leading to coverage by major tastemakers in the industry. It’s important to develop a groundwork of press coverage because it leads to bigger and better professional coverage and networking opportunities. It creates avenues for people to search your band’s name and see positive, ecstatic coverage that ultimately makes people tune in. 

Key Metrics to Measure Music Promotion Success

One of the key metrics to measure music promotion success is streaming numbers, but it’s important to note that it takes a long time to generate consistent Spotify streaming increases. 

Generally, press outlet coverage, either through direct email or via submission platforms, will garner some amount of monthly streams and start the process. But some press hits don’t create organic coverage. That’s where developing press relationships, releasing additional singles, and developing a brand identity come in — something that TREND and publicist teams specialize in. 

TREND does long-term campaigns for this very reason: We don’t like promising artists immediate increases in their Spotify streams, because frankly, those streams rarely last into the next month. Instead, we develop relationships with press outlets, write handcrafted press releases, and organically develop our artists with continued campaign strategizing. 

Generally, you’ll know if your materials and promotion strategies are working if you see success over a longer period of time, not a shorter one. Don’t expect your Spotify streaming numbers to shift overnight. Gradually develop your fanbase through authentic moments and see that number increase over the course of 6 months to a year. 

A three-single press run, with press outlet hits, playlist coverage, and other promotional strategies, will generally garner an artist a reasonable amount of Spotify streams if they’re adopting a full-spectrum promotional approach and actively engaging with their audience members. That number is different depending on the artist, the genre, and the press outlet coverage received. There’s no guarantee, which can make it tricky for some artists to feel confident in their promotional efforts. 

Challenges Musicians Face in Promoting Music

The biggest challenge in promoting music is that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy anymore. Nothing is necessarily guaranteed for artists. 

The music market is painfully oversaturated in today’s world, making it even more difficult to get out there. 

Forbes identifies the lack of income from being a professional musician as another difficulty within the industry. It’s a very underpaid line of work, with little to no financial security. In combination with the large amount of competition just to get marginal amounts of streams, promotion feels impossible for some artists. 

That’s where music publicity firms like TREND can help. We’re a launching point for artist careers focused on real, organic growth. There are other platforms and services out there that can make the music industry less treacherous overall and help musicians find their path in the industry through organic development.