How To Market Music: An Effective No-Fail 3 Step Music Marketing Formula That Works

How To Market Your Music More Effectively

Knowing how to market your music is without a doubt THE most important thing you can do for your music business and your music career as a whole. You know it’s something that must be handled and if you’re not making efforts to learn how to market your music more effectively then you should know that, at the very least, nothing serious will ever happen in your music business career.

The first thing to ask yourself is whether or not you’re currently managing the most basic elements of an effective music marketing campaign.

What do I mean by this?

To begin it’s important to assess where you’re at right now and determine whether or not you know and understand exactly what the basic components of an effective music marketing campaign are? Let’s face it, if you plan on making a name for yourself in the music industry it’s important to realize you’ll be investing a lot of your personal time and money into your music career. If you’re certain your absolute goal is to mold your music talents into a true “music business” and you have no doubts about the career path you’ve chosen… then you’ll want to be as efficient and productive as you can possibly be.

Most indie bands and musicians whether from the Rock, Hip Hop, Folk or any genre for that matter, tend to work on only one or two of the three essential requirements of effective music marketing. For instance most musicians are great at connecting with audiences. What with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube in the mix, communications have become stupid simple for today’s musician.

On the other hand, asking for the sale is occasionally handled effectively but tends to be approached hap-hazardly and without a formula or the necessary accompanying awareness campaigns. This lack-luster approach tends to dampen the efforts of even the hardest working bands and musicians in the industry. Unfortunately, applying only one or even two of these key components without the essential third element in a music marketing campaign won’t bring in maximum returns for the time invested. This just isn’t how to market music effectively.

Don’t get me wrong, getting your name out there and partaking in conversations with fans can be cool, even self gratifying and it’s definitely better than not doing anything at all, but imagine how much more effective you’d be if you went to work on all of these essential marketing aspects of your music business armed with a formula and a pin-point focused purpose.

The Solution To Ineffective Music Marketing

The bottom line is that when you break down the ins and outs on how to market your music effectively, it becomes apparent that as a musician, it’s important to discipline yourself to focus on the elements that are most productive for your music business growth. Broken down in an easy to follow process these elements of music marketing and music promotion essentially consist of a 3 step formula:

Step #1 – Create Awareness: Find an audience who appreciates your music style, your sound and your identity. Take the steps necessary to communicate your musical message to them. Everything you do should create an awareness for you and your music at all times. Approach this with precision and a firm direction and your music business foundation will be solidified for years to come.

Step #2 – Connect with Your Audience: I mentioned earlier how stupid simple it is to connect with fans today. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the many other online “hangouts” make this process a breeze. Once you’ve laid the initial groundwork and you’ve made your audience aware of exactly what you have to offer, work on maintaining those important on-going relationships with your fans, the media and the all important music business contacts you collect along the way. Your fans and contacts want to know that you’re for real. That you care about them. That you’re here for the long-haul. Making connections with them and keeping them involved in your growth process will ensure this happens for you.

Step #3 – Sell Your Stuff (Ask for the sale): This one is essential. If you don’t have products to sell… you DON’T have a music business. Working to create a steady, consistent cash flow for your music business is paramount to your long-term success. Entice fans to spend their money and buy your stuff and the rest of your music marketing processes will flow and flourish so much easier.

Yes! It’s Easier Said Than Done

I recognize that it’s easier to talk about these things than it is to make them happen in your career but this is what the music business is all about so incorporating these processes into your music business campaign is a must, or you simply won’t last long enough to make dent in the music world.

And that’s not what we want for your music career… is it?

Again, it might seem easy enough to map these things out on paper but the truth is that most bands and musicians will find a hundred and one ways to screw this up.

You’ll either spend too much time on creating awareness and connecting with your audience but then fail to ask for the sale. Or you’ll ask for the sale way to often and forget about connecting with your people. I mentioned earlier that it’s cool to get all gung-ho, get busy, and head on out there and do a bunch of music marketing, but if you’re not touching all three elements of this process on how to market music, then you’re missing the boat and more importantly… you’re fans won’t be “feeling” your vibe. They just won’t connect with you on a deeper level. Without connection, there’s no sales and without sales, you don’t have a music business.

Dr. Jermaine Gordon

Dr. Jermaine Gordon migrated to Florida, U.S in 2009 in his early thirties. From the heart of Kingston Jamaica, Dr. Gordon is the perfect embodiment of former international Fashion Model meets business Savvy Expert. He is a Fashion Model that has hit runways all around the world in over 7 countries. He elevated his passion for Fashion and Modeling into his own brand. The Olanquan brand. This brand stemmed from the blood sweat and tears of Dr. Gordon a young kid that was bullied for the Fashion he wore, who now has his own clothing line designs, Fashion Show and magazines and more loved by hundreds of thousands worldwide. He not only has a great eye for design but also a great heart and doesn't forget his roots which is why he started The Olanquan Feed The Kidz foundation to give back to his community. Dr. Gordon, now rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers in society. They include Kimora Lee-Simmons an American model, Curtis Jackson aka Fifty Cent and former playwright Ralph Holness. " At age 17, I became a member of the Area Youth Foundation- a brilliant avenue for at-risk youths to express themselves through drama. Jermaine wrote a script for his group which won the Best Award. Ralph Holness a special guest at the event spotted Jermaine's acting talent and quickly drafted him into his production Balm Yard Affairs. He also played lead roles in Ruth Samuels, Hell A Pop A Yard and Hugh King's Night Work The opportunity took the young actor to three different countries with 700 shows to his credit. He was then in his early twenties. He further his academic studies receiving a Doctorate in Divinity at the Universal church in Seattle, Washington. He also did a diplomatic course at the University of London; later flew to Germany mastering a global governance course which covers management, a leadership and team development. Today, Dr. Gordon is the Founder and C.O.O. of Olanquan Broadcasting Company (OBC), 'He hope this will give a second chance to the forgotten voices.

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