In 2020, the industry, artists and fans alike were forced to adjust as Instagram lives became the new concert pit. It wasn’t all bad--many artists ditched their traditional rollouts for TikTok challenges, digital meet and greets and gave their fans what they’d been craving in a pandemic world--music and connection. If the pandemic showed us anything, it’s that there is no one “right” or “ideal” way to release music. Check out five of our favorite strategies from artists who had a wildly successful year of releasing music in 2020.

Organizing an effective, creative and eye-catching social plan is just one of the many things you will need to juggle when planning an album, single or video release. It’s understandable that you may not see the value in taking the time to craft individual strategies for every different social platform when each new content release can sometimes feel as involved as launching a mini-business. The bad news first: promoting a release on social media isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it situation. If you don’t take the time to cater your strategy to the best practices, algorithm and general voice of a network - your engagement will suffer and that time you spent building your social media plan will be time wasted. Want the good news? It’s easier than you think. And we’re here to help. 

Here’s a hard truth: as an artist, there really isn’t much you can control when it comes to the momentum that drives your career. Success in the music industry is unpredictable. It’s important to control what you can and with that - to always be intentional with how you invest your limited time and resources. 

Now more than ever, effective music marketing requires a consistent content release strategy. But as an artist, this is one thing you can control that will drive forward progress in every aspect of your career. It’s worth organizing and investing in your approach.

It’s time to stop paying for playlist pitching.

To clarify, if you’re an artist, it’s in your best interest to never pay for a company to pitch your music to third party Spotify Playlists again.

Simply put, there is no longer a viable path for success when hiring these services. It can only either damage your data or your pocket book.

Venture Music has a deep history when it comes to playlisting that has led us to this conclusion. A conclusion we’ve been whispering into as many ears as possible. Well, we’re tired of whispering.

Partnerships between musicians and social media influencers have created some of the most popular and impactful forms of marketing over the past few years. While there’s endless opportunities of engaging the new and exciting approach, it can also come across as an expensive investment that seems too overwhelming to include in your next campaign. 

Before you completely scratch a social media influencer partnership off your list, let’s go over some creative and effective ways you can plan to build your social media influencer collaborations. 

You made it. You got your feelings into a record. You’ve uploaded it to your distribution platform of choice and it’s set for release. Now what? There are many angles to take when promoting new music, but here are some simple organic marketing building blocks for any new release.