Five Best Ways to Connect With Your Fans as a Musician

Being an artist in today’s day and age is exceptionally difficult. All throughout history, art and artists have been slightly overlooked, less those at the very top of the industry. Everyone knows the names, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Hendrix, Chance the Rapper, Eminem, and Taylor Swift. However, these names represent a select few. For instance, Taylor Swift has been one of the largest names in the music industry for the past several decades. It wasn’t long ago that her latest album, “Midnights” held every spot on the billboard top 10 list. That’s an incredible feat.

However, most musicians and artists aren’t performing at the caliber of the superstars mentioned above. That doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to make a living as an artist or musician, though, because something important to keep in mind is that all of those names, all of those mega pop stars, and generational artists had to start from somewhere. And many of them came from humble beginnings. One thing all of these musicians had in common is that they found a way to connect with their audience.

The following list offers just a few ways that new and upcoming musicians can connect with their audience and start growing a following.

1. Make Your Music Accessible

In order to start building and growing a following, you first have to make your music accessible. Today, this typically means releasing tracks on a music streaming app. So if you’re interested in getting your music out there and starting your career as a musician, you’re going to need to learn how to upload music to Spotify. Spotify is an important platform for modern musicians to take advantage of because it offers the ability to be discovered by countless users who use the streaming app to find new music every single day.

You can also upload your tracks to other streaming service applications like YouTube Music, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and even Instagram. Making your music available in as many marketplaces as possible is a good way to guarantee additional visibility which can effectively contribute to audience growth.

Spotify and Apple Music also both come with loads of features designed for artists and musicians specifically. Some of these features are particularly aimed at facilitating additional listener-to-musician engagement and interaction. Taking advantage of these different tools and features is a great way for musicians to build an even stronger rapport with their most loyal fans.

Whether it’s through a sort of open-ended Q&A, or some music streaming app-specific content that the artist posts to the page, these little additional features make it easy for musicians to interact and engage with their fans which can spark even more interest in them, their art, and their brand as a whole.

2. Utilizing Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is involved in everything. With how much time the average person spends online, it’s no wonder that digital marketing is one of the most powerful tactics that brands can employ to their advantage.

Musicians can make use of digital marketing as well. By creating a website and generating both paid advertising traffic as well as organic search traffic, musicians can increase how many bookings they receive annually, and also drive their streaming numbers.

3. The Power of Social Media

In addition to digital marketing, social media is a must-have for the modern-day musician. Instagram was already mentioned a little earlier as a place where musicians can upload music for additional traffic.

Instagram is becoming more and more important to the music community in terms of royalties as well because the more users who pair a specific audio with a reel, story, or other content, the more the musician earns.

4. Live Shows and Tours

Even in a world dominated by digitalization, live shows, and tours remain one of the most important revenue streams for musicians at all stages of their careers.

Between ticket sales, merch sales, and additional record sales, live shows are one of the best ways for musicians to truly connect and engage with their audience.

5. Booking Interviews

Last on this list of ways for musicians to connect with their audience is to book interviews and other public interactions. This is a wonderful way for artists to show off more of their personality and who they are as a person rather than a musician.

Putting their more human side on display can win the hearts of fans all around the world.

Wrapping Up

Being a musician in the digital age is arguably easier, and arguably harder. Easier because we have the technology and the tools to make music production relatively simple. Harder, because with this access, anyone and everyone think they could be a musician and these platforms are oversaturated with independent creators all vying for a little time and space.

The path of the artist is never easy, but use these tips above to better connect with and grow your audience.