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Marketing New Musical Talent in 2020.

Andy Robertson

It’s never easy to breakthrough any new musical talent and very few actually ‘make it’. Add into that the current global pandemic and it looks like a daunting task just got even more difficult. What are the basic steps a new performance artist can take to market themselves in the current climate to give them the best chance of success?     


Assuming that a new artist has a natural talent and/or something unique to offer what are the basic steps to take in getting that artist promoted and financially successful?

The music industry was transformed and democratised by a plethora of independent record labels in the seventies and eighties and accelerated by the growth of online digitised music sharing platforms. This presents challenges and opportunities for any new up and coming performance artists. 

Fans and Social Media. 
Every artist should have a core fan base and they need to be nurtured and looked after but it's important to understand the demographics of that audience. Understanding the audience ensures that the artist’s material is targeted to the right media. Further build a fan base using social media platforms and post material as frequently as possible (daily or at least weekly) and gain engagement building a friendly environment for loyal fans who are interested in the artist and their material. Social media platforms are great for announcing and posting new material but non music content is equally important, blogs and photos are relevant too as they provide fans with a better overall profile of the artist and their work.

Published material.
An artist's material can always be published on a whole host of music platforms, some are easier than others but Spotify probably the most popular for publishing new musical talent. Ensure that the artist's material is registered with the Performing Right Society because they check if an artist’s material is published without permission so royalties can be claimed.

Marketing collateral. 
An essential part of promoting any artist is the ‘bio’, information about the artist including their inspirations and material for example. This can also form the basis of a ‘media pack’ that can easily be sent to press and media in response to enquiries and can be used by venues when live performances are scheduled. Don’t ignore the value of the artist’s own website, this is the place to interact directly with fans and build a revenue stream for published music, event tickets and related merchandise.

Live events. 
There is no better way to build an audience than by performing at live events. It can be a gruelling schedule but from small venues to being part of a larger festival the up and coming artist will be lucky to get enough to cover their travelling expenses. Many big-name artists cut their teeth on the live performance circuit before ever becoming recognised. Also consider help from Help Musicians too because they have the expertise and connections to help new talent to break through. 

If you use an events management software solution like FestivalPro it already has built in functionality for all your performance artist's management needs. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The FestivalPro platform is easy to use and has all the features you need to plan and schedule artists live performances including documenting contracts, fees, promotional material and artist profiles. 

Photo by Canva Studio from Pexels

Andy Robertson
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