The ONLY 4 Ways to Get Your Music Heard (...Or: how real artists actually get fans and listeners)

[@flakebelly]

Your channel should be WAYYY more popular. For a rank amateur like myself, your presentation style is so clear and you make sense. Nice one!

[@OKPOP777]

I have the talent but I just don't know where to start. I am confornted with how to get my songs out there and being a novice I think what i need first is good music and live performance. Knowing more about how the industry works will go a long way. Thanks for this podcast, it is indeed an eye opener!

[@whyoregon]

Some of the lyrics in the industry appear to have a supernatural origin. Being passionate about making music is one thing I suppose you should focus on. Keep your eyes on God is good advice for several topics. God seems to be the source and origin of all blessings. A relationship with God is likely to give you some edge. Your self esteem is less likely to be trampled and eroded when you put it in the hands of The One who truly cares about you. Narcissism is less likely to occur when you're about something bigger than yourself.

[@grsfhhytff]

I definitely find playing live increases our audience the most. We have very mixed results with advertising and online content

[@SaintLuminus]

I’ve done all 4. The one I’m truly lacking in is Live Performance. The one thing not really mentioned is the amount of money. All of these things, except for putting out content, will start costing real money. For example I could take a whole band to Indiana from LA, but damn that would be expensive compared to the return of money I would get from the gig. But regardless of money, you are correct on all 4 fronts. I’ve experienced it myself. 👍 Thank you for this

[@SeanFrayne]

Thanks for this Justin! I'd add that without a good song, one that really connects with people, none of this is going to help (or at least it becomes much more of an uphill battle). I've put out about 20 songs in the last couple of years and had a similar strategy for marketing most of them (like you said, ads, press releases etc., social content, playing live) - I've probably written or produced over 50 songs in that time and only one of them has taken off (at least by my standards). A stand-out song will have people coming back for repeat listens, they'll tell their friends about it, they'll post about it on their socials, they'll do covers of it, they'll want to go to your shows, buy merch etc. So yea WAY #5: Write a whole bunch of songs, get better at your craft and then go about getting those songs in front of people.

[@gordeev6781]

This content is gold! You're absolutely right! Thank you for the video

[@nutROn77]

Thank you! really needed to hear this. You are so generous.

[@spbmac]

Very useful. Thanks for your clear and straightforward message. Makes a lot of sense.

[@davebops2478]

Great video, Justin! Totally agree that playing live is so important for achieving a following... As you said, it all seems quite obvious when you think about it, but you've put it across really nicely.

[@Brutuscomedy]

"Take a portable JBL, walk around the city, and blast your own music." -Brutus 👍

[@sharathnarayan]

Great episode, Justin! Thanks a lot.

[@jeffrobinson6145]

This was a helpful breakdown. Good stuff as always, thanks!

[@ivanemeny8634]

Thank you. That was really helpful.

[@rashidjamal4820]

I have been seeing this over the years ,That the songs that I listen in mixing tutorials and Advertisement are actually way more different than the song what i really like.

[@samsmall]

Great advice from a great communicator.

[@Russells2323]

As someone who wasted years playing live... I would say, make sure you are really, really good and not just being fluffed up by friends and family. I played so many shows where after people would just tell me how awesome I was they would never buy music, merchandise, follow on social media or come to other shows. People have to get addicted to you. They need to want to be a part of your life. If they just think you are a good musician and talented you will never go anywhere.

[@SonicScoop]

I’m not sure if years playing music can ever be considered wasted, but you are on to a deeper truth there for sure: Friends and family telling you you are talented and wanting to see you. Happy is one thing. Complete strangers demonstrating that they NEED to hear you again and that you touched them in their soul, laying out time and dollars to show you they mean it, is something else entirely. The latter is something that requires sacrifice. And to do it, you must consider not only for your own pleasure, but also the pleasure of others, constantly keeping those two facets in balance. Your friends and family are not necessarily your true audience in the world of art and information. And that’s OK. -Justin

[@Russells2323]

@@SonicScoop don't get me wrong. I love playing music. I love playing to a live audience. I wasted time by never doing anything but playing live and I never built an audience. I wish I would have putting online content out years ago when I had the time and energy. I have only a tiny bit of both now but I do as much as I can. I wish I could do more!

[@mackapro]

Great info! Thank you.

[@who_cares848]

I gave up on a music career a while ago because i refuse to do the social media bullshit and content creation. If that means i cant have a music career, then i dont want one. Fuck social media, especially tiktok.

[@Samuelogbebulu]

Thanks sonicscoop for this podcast

[@thaexception3406]

Yup I’m going for the somewhat raw version of song idea as supportive content - eventually.

[@marvin1574]

I'm paying occasionally for minor results..2 and 3 not really...I need to play more often and post a lot more of my music..its just not mixed and mastered well...my best songs are still pending . I just don't want to butcher them with crappy studio work..thus why I need to keep watching your pod casts...thank you for this channel!!

[@grantwalkersound]

I do think you're missing a 5th... Direct audience engagement. Meaning... Keeping up with social media and responding to comments, offering fan participation like remix challenges or AMA's, meet and greet opportunities, etc.... The more you engage with a fanbase directly, the more they will feel invested and connected to you.

[@ElishaDavid]

I agree and disagree. Many of the artists I genuinely respect have remained an enigma. If I get to know someone too well they feel, I don't know, less precious. Take Sufjan Stevens or Frank Ocean. They hardly ever interact with fans directly (or press) - so when they DO release something it has impact. Prince was the master of this, he made himself larger than life by distancing himself. People don't just like these three artists, they end of loving and obsessing over their work. On the other side, you have people like Tyler the Creator or Mac DeMarco. I love both of them but when they are involved in something it all feels like white noise because they are constantly open with fans and such. In my case I find it harder to keep up with them. When it comes to socials, I generally get uncomfortable when someone tries to do viral marketing or does something that they feels out of their natural realm of art. I just want my musicians to play music, I don't need the extraneous engagement, it makes me feel obligated to respond, like someone asking for help almost. If I want to support you I will, I don't think I've ever become a fan of someone who directly asked me "will you listen to my song?".

[@whyoregon]

A lot of us really feel like we need help. Putting in the time to learn and be entrepreneurial in a society that farms humans for specific careers can hurt you a lot. You will hear: Why do you think you can do this? We need our rent. Give up on childish dreams. You're not that good anyway. ~ I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff.

[@joshfrench6426]

I agree with playing live however local music scenes are dying off pretty quickly.

[@Pika_Gabe]

I basically throw my music up on soundcloud to die atm (which ig is continually making content). . . Some people enjoy it but it would be cool to have a community I could interact with and hear their thoughts. I'll have to give this a shot! especially collaboration I've never thought of that

[@unclemick-synths]

A caution with advertising - think about the audience and be sure they will actually be seeing the ad. I see ads from bands now and then on Facebook and frankly not one has made me even slightly curious. Other than Facebook knowing I'm a muso I don't know why I was shown those ads. Yes I live in Canada but I'm not a fan of typical North American rock - I don't have a single song by the Tragically Hip in my collection! In contrast, as a listener I've found interesting artists through membership of Facebook groups and even bought downloads from some of them. It cost them nothing more than a bit of time participating in the groups.

[@gsxroyce256]

I’m doing all these and a lot more. I’m to the point of quoting making any new songs. Going to let the ones i got soak. I’ve got 40+ songs out and can’t grow. The few people that hear it, all love it. Just can’t land on any ears.

[@11dremoss]

great advice my guy

[@387floyd]

Thank you

[@wiggesobk]

Great footage!

[@heavymetalnewsdesk]

@SonicScoop I have about 40 songs that have been released. And I have several that I'm sitting on. and 1 that I just recorded that blows the others out the water. But I have not Created Supporting Content. And I only have like 2,000 plays over the last 4 years. should I focus on this supporting content creation? Thanks

[@SonicScoop]

Either build an audience to release music into, or use the music you are creating now to build an audience. Just don’t expect to have an audience overnight! Just like learning an instrument, building an audience is a long hand that requires repeated failure, repeated trying and repeated improvement over time. But you can deal benefits from it long before you get where you ultimately want to be.

[@jeremyserwer2586]

In SF if a musician states they're playing a gig, people would ask--hey there are still bands here?

[@janscott602]

1. Advertising 2. Press/publicist 3. Create content/ supporting/secondary 4. Performance

[@SonicScoop]

Yes, those are the things.... But unfortunately, just listing them doesn't help people, so I don't do it! It's the mindset shift and context provided by the comments that people actually need, rather than just the list. This is the biggest reason I don't list these things: Because it's not the part that actually helps. It's how you think about them and integrate them into what you do. That requires a lot more than a list. ....At least the way I do it :-) Some channels do just provide low value lists with no substance, context or genuine mindset shift that changes the way people actually behave for the better. -Justin

[@JAMES1.5-cm1ez]

Thanks.

[@mr.wolfbeats3883]

Hi Justin, i've been watching your videos for awhile now and i gotta thank you for all the knowledge you've sharing, you're greatly appreciated! thank you man i gotta random question for ya: Considering i have a small homestudio and not the best acoustic treatment, now, by listening to my mixes in low volume, would that lead me to have less noise/acoustic conflict/better reference? cause like, if i turn up the volume, there would be more space for unwanted room reflections right?

[@SonicScoop]

From a pure physics perspective, I'm not sure that this makes AS much of a difference as we'd like it to from a pure physics perspective. But anecdotally, a lot of people seem to prefer lower volumes and say they get better results that way in more troublesome rooms. I think that in reality, a bit portion of it is that: 1. Due to the Fletcher Munson curve, low frequencies simply can't be heard as well at low volumes, so when you are are reducing the volume, you are reducing the proportion of low frequencies that you hear, which are often the most skewed frequencies in any untreated room. 2. Because the room's reverb tails are already so quiet, they are likely to drop below the threshold of hearing more quickly when the absolute volume is lower. So it's not quite that the room responds less to lower volumes... it's just that due to the way our ears hear, we MIGHT hear a little bit less of two of the biggest problems if the volume is lower. Hope that makes sense! I should do a whole episode about listening levels sometime. Very best, Justin

[@mr.wolfbeats3883]

@@SonicScoop makes total sense to me, thank you again for your time and knowledge! i've been having a great learning experience through your channel, and i'm sure a lot of others aswell this actually goes beyond great

[@laluna5192]

Ted Templeman...David Geffen....Quincy Jones....I NEED A PRODUCER/MANAGER/ENGINEER

[@alloounou6900]

I remember hearing that touring bands make a big chunk of their revenue, not from album sales but, from merch sales. After watching this, I feel I understand more of why that's the case.

[@creaturecomfort5545]

What mic are you using?

[@SonicScoop]

That is a JZ Amethyst! You like it? -Justin

[@creaturecomfort5545]

@@SonicScoop Yes sir! Sounds and looks great!

[@tommy2capa]

What kind of mic is that?

[@SonicScoop]

JZ Amethyst!

[@MateusMachina]

Im gonna try to create supporting content. Possibly a schedule to consistently post. I hope this goes somewhere. Thanks mate. Appreciate it 🙏.

[@vxd]

Without advertising no one would hCe listened to my music and I would have no fans.

[@chaddonal4331]

"record sales"? In 2022?

[@OZKitchen]

Scrolling by I thought you were starting an onlyfans

[@SonicScoop]

🤣 ...Should I?

[@aemythjensen]

There must be 50 ways... to leave your lover.

[@Music-Man1964]

Been doing this for 50 years. Fuck it. I quit.

[@BAwesomeDesign]

There's at least one more way, but it's pretty cynical. Pay your potential audience directly. Reward them with something as payment for listening to your track. That said, I doubt it leads anywhere... as I've never tried that one.

[@MateusMachina]

That’d be interesting for sure

[@teleespantoso]

Any way of reading these 4 ways instead of 24 minutes of one's life?

[@Niklas-Lang]

Yes! 1) Advertising 2) Publicity / P.R. 3) Secondary Content 4) Go out and play your music to people, live if you can. (most important)

[@SonicScoop]

Listen at 2x speed and it’s only 12 minutes :-) Skip the 2 minutes of intro and outro sponsor shoutouts and it’s like 10min at 2x speed. The idea here is more to change peoples mindsets for the better, rather than to give them some easily repeated “quick tips” like some low value WikiHow article or something. We do have hundreds of written articles on the site, but this one’s a podcast episode, sorry! Thanks for checking it out, Justin

[@rashidjamal4820]

@@SonicScoop Great Answer 😂😂

[@loussen222]

there is only one way to see my music from here LOUSY SOUND

[@grxhxmmm]

Making tutorial videos like this are so corny because you are initially making tutorials on how to help someone become popular when 99.9% of the people who make the tutorials have never been popular in their life

[@SonicScoop]

I don’t know, I make videos that have been seen many millions of times, and am responsible for articles that have also been read millions of times over the years. Is that “popular”? Depends on your standards. But it’s certainly popular enough to pay the bills! I am grateful to have honest “fans” who check out practically everything I do, year after year. And I’ve made a good living doing that kind of thing for more than a decade-in addition to my work as an audio engineer, which also makes me a decent living, for the past 20 years. In fact, I’ve done audio engineering for records that have been streamed hundreds of millions of times. So I think I can speak to this from personal experience. Do I do it by releasing songs of my own? No, that’s not what I do, but the same principles apply. And even if I didn’t have that personal experience, the core concepts expressed here are basically irrefutable I think. If you have counterarguments as to why any of them are wrong, I’d be eager to hear them! Thanks for tuning in, Justin

[@CraigFlowersMusic]

When your gimmick is being a one-man full production studio: collaborating with other channels is anathema; a publicist negates the gimmick, and self promotion comes off as trolling and doesn't work anyway; content creation happens at a snail's pace; live performance isn't possible . . . Maybe I just need a new gimmick? *edit: so to answer your question, yes. Boy howdy, was this one useful. This may have just answered the question I've been asking for ten years. But what now?! Covers in the style of Zeppelin? All I know is, for years I've been asking people why my channel doesn't grow, and the one suggestion I've always gotten has been that I deserve a thousand times more subscribers, so I must simply need a gimmick. To which I always respond that my gimmick is that it's just me. Which tells me that, not only was my gimmick self defeating in all the aforementioned ways, but also it was apparently unapparent as a gimmick to begin with. Gimmick. 8

[@SonicScoop]

Hey Craig, your situation is interesting, so I wrote you an EPIC reply to one of your other comments. Long story short is that if you've been struggling with the same questions for 10 years, you need to look to new places for answers. But I've sent you the kind of message in reply to another comment that I would ordinarily have to charge $175 to go into even more detail on in an hour long one-on-one call. I hope it's helpful. For my side of things, I'll consider it an exercise in market research as I know you are not alone in the problems you've mentioned, and it's giving me an idea for a future video I can do. Very best, Justin

[@CraigFlowersMusic]

@@SonicScoop I think that would be an absolutely genius video idea! How to be on KZbin badly LOL