If you’re wondering “how to get my music heard” you’re not alone.
Getting your music heard and appreciated. That’s the fulfillment of what I call the value cycle.
It begins with you setting out to create something and ends with an audience hearing and enjoying it.
Many artists find no fulfillment in that cycle because they keep creating without finding an audience.
So, if that describes you, you’re in the right place at the right time. Let’s look at how to get your music heard.
For the Love of Music
Now, I totally get that the experts are all telling us to make more money, market, publish, copyright, brand, and on that list goes.
Like making music wasn’t hard enough already, right?
Even I invested heavily in my marketing knowledge.
But I know WHY you do what you do. It’s not for the money. It’s for the love of music.
So, let me reassure you. This post isn’t about becoming an entrepreneur or hustling and grinding into the wee hours of the night.
It’s about doing what you love and creating the life you love through music.
With that in mind, I might refer to marketing strategies and tactics specific and general. I’m good at taking complex things and simplifying them, though, so we should be covered.
Let’s get into this!
Tip #1 – Stop the Comparison Game
I know it might seem like an odd thing to bring up. But just stay with me here.
What’s critical to know is that we spend all day comparing ourselves to others. We speculate on where they might be in their careers, whether they’re more attractive, if their posts are getting more engagement, and so on.
Further, the more time we spend on social media, the worse this tends to get.
Never realizing that most people (including influencers) are RULED by one thing – looking good or avoiding looking bad.
So, their carefully manicured social media life might not just be inaccurate – it could be a TOTAL lie!
Not only is this ultimately unfulfilling, many so-called “influencers” don’t have a clue what they’re supposed to be influencing!
Don’t you think I have voices going off in my head too?
“You’re 38 now. You should have life figured out already. Where’s your six-figure business? I thought you were going to be married by now. You’re such a loser.”
What can I say? I’m on a journey. As we all are.
The Counter-Intuitive Method to Achieving with Ease
This is going to sound TOTALLY counter-intuitive, but it needs to be said:
To get anywhere with the goal of getting your music heard, first, we need to reduce the importance of it in our lives.
To get anywhere with the goal of getting your music heard, first, we need to reduce the importance of it in our lives. Click To TweetHere’s the thing. You can ask the universe for literally ANYTHING you want. And it will take you on the shortest, most direct path to your chosen destination.
But that path could be littered with all manner of obstacles. And if we resist that, we basically end up having to start all over.
We can WILL our way towards our goal, regardless of how the universe plans to deliver us. But that creates excess potential. And that means the universe is forced to restore balance.
In the battle of wills (you vs. the universe), ultimately, who do you think is going to win?
In short, you can’t keep willing something to happen forever. You will lose that battle.
The thing we need to do is make our request. Trust that it’s going to happen. Then, enjoy the roller-coaster ride that unfolds, regardless of how many bumps there may be on that road.
Tip #2 – Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Most likely, the reason your music isn’t being heard isn’t because of the things you’re doing. It’s because of the things you’re not doing.
It’s human nature to avoid the uncomfortable. To run from the things that nag and gnaw at us all day, all week, all month, or even all year long.
But these are the very areas you should be tackling, and your body is even letting you know!
I honestly believe that if you actively confronted the things that held you back, it would create the space necessary to be able to focus on next steps in your music career. I spoke about this on The Unstarving Musician podcast as well.
And when it comes to things that need confronting, I’m not just talking about things that are bugging you in your music career. You can pull from ANY category.
Excess Potential Example
Let me give you an example. In 2011, I was desperate to save my house. I was quickly falling behind on mortgage and bill payments. Even as I was working five jobs and playing gigs.
It created excess potential in my world. My full focus was on saving my home and there was no room for strategic thinking in my music career. I was consumed with thoughts of my home.
Once I sold my home a little over a year later, I experienced mental clarity as I NEVER had before. That gave me plenty of time and space to think about what I wanted to do next. It’s ultimately how I ended up writing my first best-selling book, The New Music Industry.
What’s taking up your mind space? What’s consuming you right now? Deal with THAT, and you’ll get your mind back.
And here’s a bonus tip – ask yourself what tactics you’re avoiding. If you’re scared to implement them, it’s probably a good sign they could work!
Ask yourself what tactics you’re avoiding. If you’re scared to implement them, it’s probably a good sign they could work! Click To TweetTip #3 – Become Present to Your Listeners
Always remember – you’re looking to get your music heard by people. Sounds obvious, but trust me, you’re probably not present to this.
Let me show you what I mean.
Do you have relaxing, romantic acoustic music that would be perfect for a candlelit dinner? Then you need to get your music in the hands of couples (especially new couples).
Has your music been influenced by classic video game compositions? Then you need to go to every video game conference and see if you can get booked as entertainment.
(I know events aren’t really happening right now because of the pandemic, but with any luck, things will go back to “normal.”)
Our First Instincts are Often Wrong
See, the problem is our first instinct as musicians is to post to social media with our blanket call to actions (“listen to my music”, “check out our tunes”, “my latest release is here”). Thus, we give no thought whatsoever to where our music would fit in and WHY people would listen to it in the first place.
Posting to social media is like shouting in the void. Yeah, it can lead to a bit of traffic, but I’ve NEVER seen it amount to more than about 10 visits per day, even here on Music Entrepreneur HQ.
Posting to social media is like shouting in the void. Click To TweetPost first thing in the morning and check in in the last 15 minutes of your day to respond to commenters. Seriously. You don’t need to put more time or effort into it.
Save your strategic thinking power and the best part of your day to figuring out where your music fits in.
For instance, if you recently did a cover of an Eagles tune, it’s time to hit up some Eagles fan groups on Facebook!
If You Deeply Care About How to Get My Music Heard…
My latest book, The Music Entrepreneur Code, covers:
- Mindset ✅
- Productivity ✅
- Specific tactics to get your music heard ✅
- Basically, everything else you need to get your music career going without wasting years of your life and thousands of dollars ✅
Here’s what Brent Vaartstra of Learn Jazz Standards had to say about it:
Either way, be sure to join the email list for more updates on how to get my music heard.
How to Get My Music Heard, Final Thoughts
And you thought it was all about digital marketing, am I right!?
I’m not saying that stuff is unimportant, and we’ve covered a lot of it here on the blog too. But the main thing I wanted you to take away is that if you’re serious about getting your music heard, there’s ALWAYS a way!
And it’s probably not going to come from some tactic or skill you don’t have. More likely, you’re a conversation or resource away from getting what you want (and we’ve covered plenty of those too).
Is there anything else we should have covered here?
Let us know in the comments below.
- 303 – Podcast Update for October 2023 - October 13, 2023
- 302 – How to Overcome Analysis Paralysis - August 11, 2023
- 301 – Investing in Music – with Justin Longo - July 28, 2023
