6 Common Music Marketing Mistakes That Artists Make (and How to Avoid Them)

Music marketing, similar to the music you love to create, is not an exact science. It can take months, even years, before you start to see your marketing efforts become fruitful. And on that journey to see results, there are countless music marketing mistakes that independent artists can make, such as not having promotional videos, photos, or ads to accompany new releases (you do have those, right?). Avoiding them can be challenging, but that’s what we’re here for! We’ve compiled a quick list of the most common music marketing mistakes musicians make, and better yet, we’ve got a few tips on how to avoid them. Read on below to find out how.

Not Having A Marketing Plan

Perhaps the most common music marketing mistake that independent musicians make is not having a marketing plan. Contrary to popular belief, there’s no such thing as winging it when it comes to music marketing. Not if you plan on seeing results, that is. The most successful independent musicians are ones who have a well thought out and defined plan in place. 

Music marketing plans give you direction when it comes to promoting your music and your brand. Your plan should incorporate goals, objectives, strategies, a timeline, and metrics tracking — the whole nine! But before you sit down to create a music marketing strategy, it’s crucial that you first define your target audience.

Targeting the Wrong Audience

Sometimes, when independent artists are trying to break into the music industry, they become so desperate for someone to find and listen to their music that they start to target everyone. Taking this approach is a typical music marketing mistake! Your music is not for everyone, and often trying to cast a wider net, targeting fans that aren’t for you can be a waste of time, energy, and money.

The internet has made it easy to reach so many people. However, this doesn’t mean you should. If you’re trying to find your target audience, we recommend testing your music out on small samples of different groups to see who responds best to your music. You can also ask trusted friends and family as well as fellow musicians and others in the music industry.

Not Protecting Your Music

It’s easier than ever for someone to gain access to your hard work and leak it online. Artists ranging from independent to pop icons like Madonna have experienced the violating feeling of having unfinished, and unreleased tracks fall into the wrong hands and leaked well before they’re supposed to. There’s no discrimination.

Unfortunately, it’s a common music marketing mistake that musicians encounter. However, the solution is to protect yourself and your media with a digital rights management tool that can encrypt your files and limit who has access to them and how long their access is. One such DRM tool is Mirada Media’s SecureMedia API. It can protect your promotional files like singles, videos, photos, and other sensitive documents through encryption. It’s worth it to have peace of mind, and should a leak happen, you’re able to narrow down the culprits.

Being Unoriginal

Every artist has a “thing” that sets them apart from other musicians. The trick is to find yours and promote it like it’s going out of style. It’s a typical music marketing mistake for musicians to think that promoting their covers of popular chart-topping hits over your original creations is the way to go. Sure, people love and respond well to covers. Still, in an industry saturated with TikTok videos and Reels of everyone and their mothers (literally) performing their renditions, it’s hard to stand out. Don’t be afraid to take risks and use outside the box methods to promote your sound.

Not Having an Email List

Every time you interact with fans, you should be collecting email addresses to add to your email list. Not doing so is considered a severe music marketing mistake. Connecting with people who you know enjoy your music gives you a way to keep them in the know about gigs, collaborations, news, thoughts, and new releases. If you have a website, you can also use it as a way for your fans to subscribe to your newsletter. And the next time you play a gig, have a friend or a fellow bandmate collect emails from fans waiting in line outside the venue. I mean, who wouldn’t want to meet someone from their favorite band?!

Relying too Much on Social Media

Another common music marketing mistake on our list is that musicians rely too heavily on social media for their marketing. Sure, platforms like Facebook, Spotify, and Instagram are excellent tools for getting your music marketing off the ground and drumming up tons of engagement, but it’s not the only outlet you should use in your marketing plan. Remember that there is no harm in taking your marketing offline, too!

Promoting your music through other outlets enables a more diverse audience to be exposed to your music. A few “offline” marketing examples include radio, live performances, events in your local music scene, posting flyers around town, using street teams, email marketing, and even contests.

On the opposite end of promoting your music on social media, it’s crucial to find a balance, too. No fan wants to be bombarded by links to your music and videos every time they log on. To keep from overwhelming and possibly irritating your followers with promotional content, opt for creating an editorial calendar that spans the length of your music marketing plan. Doing this helps you visualize how often you should post and whether you should stagger your scheduled posts. It also enables you to track which posts were most successful and narrow down what your fans like.

Mirada Media

Mastering music marketing is challenging for independent musicians, whether you have experience in it or not. But with our list of common music marketing mistakes, you’re well prepared to avoid these common pitfalls, especially leaving your music vulnerable. At Mirada Media, we can help you create an electronic press kit (EPK) to share with labels, venues, and the press, and we can protect your digital files with our SecureMedia API.

If you’re interested in working together, or are interested in learning more about our services, contact our team today!