Most musicians transfer on too quickly.
They put all their artistic concentrate on 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’s best to proceed to market ALL the music in your again catalog.
Why your previous music deserves new consideration:
- The primary and easiest cause? Good music is good music. Whereas YOU is likely to be centered in your current stuff, your older releases will nonetheless be model new to a lot of the world.
- Subsequent, your again catalog is a income. Your current 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 possibly can’t neglect your again catalog.
On this article, I’ll offer you a listing of how to encourage current followers to replay music they already love, and to entice new followers who’ll dive into your total catalog.
The way to convey recent curiosity to older music
1. Rejoice album anniversaries
Anytime certainly one of your albums turns 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25…
… it’s an apparent likelihood to rejoice that music yet again. You don’t all the time want remastering or bonus editions to commemorate an album’s birthday.
You possibly can retell the story of the album. Ship an e-mail. Make social posts.
It doesn’t must be a year-long celebration, however a minimum of give the anniversary a month of content material and recollections. And — that is essential — bear in mind to inform your followers precisely the place to go to pay attention once more!
2. Drop unreleased tracks
Not every thing you share must be a elegant diamond. In truth, not every thing you share even must be completed.
When you deserted a observe throughout a specific 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 an even bigger story round a earlier interval of labor.
And if it doesn’t really feel worthy of strangers’ consideration, you don’t must distribute the music to platforms like Spotify. Simply share it straight along with your followers and e-mail subscribers.
3. Do a collaborator shoutout!
Generally self-promotion seems like tooting your personal horn. When you 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 superb? One thing you would’ve by no means finished by yourself? Sing their praises. It’s an effective way to indicate gratitude whereas additionally bringing consideration to your personal music.
If in case you have a daily collaborator, you’ll have much more choices as a result of you possibly can spotlight a number of moments you recognize from them all through your catalog.
4. Playlists, playlists, playlists
Playlists offer you nearly infinite methods to contextualize your music.
You possibly can group your tracks by:
- collaborator
- temper or style
- matter or theme
- interval of your profession
- a specific city you lived in whereas creating the music
- influences
- instrumentation
- different musical components like key, tempo, and so on.
- success metrics (“Best Hits” or “Largest Misses”)
5. An artist’s-choice content material sequence
Create a couple of completely different, brief, themed, content material sequence that you may run on social and e-mail, resembling:
- The songs I’m proudest of
- My 3 greatest lyrical strains
- 5 stuff you didn’t find out about me
- My prime 10 movies
- 3 individuals who formed my music
- My favourite guitar solo
I believe 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.
When you set these up as automated e-mail sequences, you possibly can even schedule them to be delivered all year long to anybody who has not too long ago subscribed to your record. And naturally, ship these to EVERYONE in your record when the sequence is first created.
6. “Free (plus delivery & handing!)”
Have you ever ever heard or a Free + Delivery & Dealing with music supply?
It’s an fascinating advertising campaign-type the place you supply to ship somebody one thing without cost, so long as they pay for delivery.
As soon as they’ve entered their fee information, you then current a second (and even third) supply for added merch gadgets — often with a limited-time low cost.
Not everybody will elect to buy further gadgets, after all, but when sufficient individuals do, you possibly can revenue AND construct your e-mail record concurrently, all whereas giving freely your music.
7. Dwell listening events!
Host an occasion the place you inform individuals fascinating details in regards to the songs earlier than or whereas the music performs.
This may be finished digitally on Discord, X, or Twitch. Or it might probably happen IRL at somebody’s house, venue, or artwork area.
8. One-off efficiency movies
Nobody mentioned you want a particular cause to carry out your personal tunes!
Shoot a reside efficiency video for Reels and TikTok. Who cares if the track is 2 or twenty years previous? Then discover the perfect 15-second clip. Submit it.
If certainly one of these reside movies will get traction, you possibly can observe up with extra supporting content material.
9. Carry out a selected album
We’ve all seen artists stage a themed tour round a specific album.
Roger Waters has finished 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 truth, 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 possibly can work your total catalog into sure occasions.
And you’ve got choices past venue exhibits and festivals. You are able to do one thing comparable everytime you need by way of livestreaming!
10. Promote!
Among the best issues about digital advertising is that it provides you comparatively low cost entry to large international audiences. You can even check numerous completely different content material to search out what works greatest.
And since your oldest music might be model new to most individuals on-line, you possibly can use your highest performing social content material to achieve strangers at a decrease price.
So long as that advert content material stays a cheap solution to drive engagement, promote merch, and construct your viewers, go away the adverts working.
Once more, who cares if it’s an older track that performs greatest in your adverts? It’s working!
Conclusion
I don’t count on artists to prioritize older music ABOVE their newest launch.
Nor ought to they.
That wouldn’t appear sensible. Each when it comes to efficient promotion and your personal pleasure as a creator.
However I hope you a minimum of see the significance of selling your again catalog. No less than sufficient to schedule in a couple of of those promo campaigns all year long.
Any such effort goes to be more and more essential if you need your music to stay algorithmically related and discoverable on streaming platforms.
And given {that a} deeper catalog is an unimaginable assortment of music, moods, and connection factors, you possibly can leverage ALL of your work all through the years to develop your engagement, increase your income, and construct your viewers.
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