Most musicians transfer on too quickly.
They put all their artistic give attention to the subsequent launch. Or they solely promote their newest work, neglecting all of the songs that got here earlier than.
However taking your consideration off your older tracks is a mistake. As a result of there are three massive causes why it is best to proceed to market ALL the music in your again catalog.
Why your outdated music deserves new consideration:
- The primary and easiest cause? Good music is good music. Whereas YOU could be targeted in your latest stuff, your older releases will nonetheless be model new to a lot of the world.
- Subsequent, your again catalog is a income. Your present followers already like your older music. So discover causes to maintain ’em coming again to stream tracks and purchase associated merch.
For these causes and extra, you may’t neglect your again catalog.
On this article, I’ll provide you with a listing of how to encourage present followers to replay music they already love, and to entice new followers who’ll dive into your whole catalog.
The right way to carry recent curiosity to older music
1. Have a good time album anniversaries
Anytime one in every of your albums turns 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25…
… it’s an apparent probability to have fun that music another time. You don’t at all times want remastering or bonus editions to commemorate an album’s birthday.
You possibly can retell the story of the album. Ship an electronic mail. Make social posts.
It doesn’t need to be a year-long celebration, however at the least give the anniversary a month of content material and reminiscences. And — that is necessary — bear in mind to inform your followers precisely the place to go to pay attention once more!
2. Drop unreleased tracks
Not every part you share must be a refined diamond. In reality, not every part you share even must be completed.
If you happen to deserted a monitor throughout a selected session, share it and inform us why it by no means made it onto an album. You possibly can launch demos. Alternate takes. Something that helps construct a much bigger story round a earlier interval of labor.
And if it doesn’t really feel worthy of strangers’ consideration, you don’t need to distribute the music to platforms like Spotify. Simply share it instantly along with your followers and electronic mail subscribers.
3. Do a collaborator shoutout!
Typically self-promotion appears like tooting your personal horn. If you happen to wrestle with that, overlook about your self for a minute and brag about your collaborators.
Did a participant, bandmate, featured visitor, producer, or co-writer contribute one thing wonderful? One thing you may’ve by no means performed by yourself? Sing their praises. It’s an effective way to point out gratitude whereas additionally bringing consideration to your personal music.
You probably have a daily collaborator, you’ll have much more choices as a result of you may spotlight a number of moments you admire from them all through your catalog.
4. Playlists, playlists, playlists
Playlists provide you with nearly limitless methods to contextualize your music.
You possibly can group your tracks by:
- collaborator
- temper or style
- subject or theme
- interval of your profession
- a selected city you lived in whereas creating the music
- influences
- instrumentation
- different musical parts like key, tempo, and so forth.
- success metrics (“Best Hits” or “Greatest Misses”)
5. An artist’s-choice content material sequence
Create a couple of completely different, brief, themed, content material sequence that you would be able to run on social and electronic mail, reminiscent of:
- The songs I’m proudest of
- My 3 greatest lyrical traces
- 5 stuff you didn’t learn about me
- My high 10 movies
- 3 individuals who formed my music
- My favourite guitar solo
I feel you get the purpose. You provide you with an idea that requires a number of emails or posts, and use the theme to generate deeper and sustained curiosity in your older music.
If you happen to set these up as automated electronic mail sequences, you may even schedule them to be delivered all year long to anybody who has not too long ago subscribed to your checklist. And naturally, ship these to EVERYONE in your checklist when the sequence is first created.
6. “Free (plus transport & handing!)”
Have you ever ever heard or a Free + Transport & Dealing with music supply?
It’s an attention-grabbing advertising campaign-type the place you supply to ship somebody one thing without cost, so long as they pay for transport.
As soon as they’ve entered their fee data, you then current a second (and even third) supply for extra merch objects — often with a limited-time low cost.
Not everybody will elect to buy further objects, in fact, but when sufficient individuals do, you may revenue AND construct your electronic mail checklist concurrently, all whereas freely giving your music.
7. Stay listening events!
Host an occasion the place you inform individuals attention-grabbing details in regards to the songs earlier than or whereas the music performs.
This may be performed digitally on Discord, X, or Twitch. Or it may happen IRL at somebody’s house, venue, or artwork house.
8. One-off efficiency movies
Nobody mentioned you want a particular cause to carry out your personal tunes!
Shoot a stay efficiency video for Reels and TikTok. Who cares if the music is 2 or twenty years outdated? Then discover the perfect 15-second clip. Publish it.
If one in every of these stay movies will get traction, you may observe up with extra supporting content material.
9. Carry out a particular album
We’ve all seen artists stage a themed tour round a selected album.
Roger Waters has performed this for Darkish Aspect of the Moon. U2 did it for The Joshua Tree. You possibly can do it too…
… for ANY of your earlier albums.
In reality, I as soon as did a 7-day residency at a venue the place I performed a special album of mine every evening, so you may work your whole catalog into sure occasions.
And you’ve got choices past venue reveals and festivals. You are able to do one thing comparable everytime you need through livestreaming!
10. Promote!
Probably the greatest issues about digital advertising is that it provides you comparatively low-cost entry to large world audiences. You can even take a look at a number of completely different content material to seek out what works greatest.
And since your oldest music will likely be model new to most individuals on-line, you may use your highest performing social content material to succeed in strangers at a decrease price.
So long as that advert content material stays an economical method to drive engagement, promote merch, and construct your viewers, depart the adverts working.
Once more, who cares if it’s an older music that performs greatest in your adverts? It’s working!
Conclusion
I don’t anticipate artists to prioritize older music ABOVE their newest launch.
Nor ought to they.
That wouldn’t appear life like. Each by way of efficient promotion and your personal pleasure as a creator.
However I hope you at the least see the significance of selling your again catalog. At the very least sufficient to schedule in a couple of of those promo campaigns all year long.
One of these effort goes to be more and more necessary if you would like your music to stay algorithmically related and discoverable on streaming platforms.
And given {that a} deeper catalog is an unbelievable assortment of music, moods, and connection factors, you may leverage ALL of your work all through the years to develop your engagement, enhance your income, and construct your viewers.
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