Most musicians transfer on too quickly.
They put all their artistic deal with 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 you must proceed to market ALL the music in your again catalog.
Why your outdated music deserves new consideration:
- The primary and easiest motive? Good music is good music. Whereas YOU may be targeted in your current stuff, your older releases will nonetheless be model new to many 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 may’t neglect your again catalog.
On this article, I’ll offer you a listing of the way to encourage current followers to replay music they already love, and to appeal to new followers who’ll dive into your whole catalog.
carry recent curiosity to older music
1. Have a good time album anniversaries
Anytime considered one of your albums turns 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25…
… it’s an apparent probability to have a good time that music yet again. 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 e-mail. Make social posts.
It doesn’t need to be a year-long celebration, however no less than give the anniversary a month of content material and recollections. And — that is vital — bear in mind to inform your followers precisely the place to go to pay attention once more!
2. Drop unreleased tracks
Not all the pieces you share needs to be a cultured diamond. Actually, not all the pieces you share even must be completed.
In the event you deserted a monitor 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 need to distribute the music to platforms like Spotify. Simply share it immediately together with your followers and e-mail subscribers.
3. Do a collaborator shoutout!
Generally self-promotion appears like tooting your personal horn. In the event 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 wonderful? One thing you may’ve by no means finished by yourself? Sing their praises. It’s a good way to point out gratitude whereas additionally bringing consideration to your personal music.
If in case you have an everyday collaborator, you’ll have much more choices as a result of you may spotlight a number of moments you respect from them all through your catalog.
4. Playlists, playlists, playlists
Playlists offer you virtually infinite methods to contextualize your music.
You possibly can group your tracks by:
- collaborator
- temper or style
- subject or theme
- interval of your profession
- a specific city you lived in whereas creating the music
- influences
- instrumentation
- different musical parts like key, tempo, and many others.
- success metrics (“Biggest Hits” or “Greatest Misses”)
5. An artist’s-choice content material sequence
Create a number of completely different, brief, themed, content material sequence which you can run on social and e-mail, equivalent to:
- The songs I’m proudest of
- My 3 finest lyrical strains
- 5 belongings 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 give you an idea that requires a number of emails or posts, and use the theme to generate deeper and sustained curiosity in your older music.
In the event you set these up as automated e-mail sequences, you may 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 + Transport & Dealing with music provide?
It’s an fascinating advertising and marketing campaign-type the place you provide to ship somebody one thing totally free, so long as they pay for delivery.
As soon as they’ve entered their cost data, you then current a second (and even third) provide for added merch gadgets — normally with a limited-time low cost.
Not everybody will elect to buy further gadgets, in fact, but when sufficient individuals do, you may revenue AND construct your e-mail record concurrently, all whereas gifting away your music.
7. Stay listening events!
Host an occasion the place you inform individuals fascinating info concerning 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 dwelling, venue, or artwork area.
8. One-off efficiency movies
Nobody mentioned you want a particular motive to carry out your personal tunes!
Shoot a dwell efficiency video for Reels and TikTok. Who cares if the track is 2 or twenty years outdated? Then discover the most effective 15-second clip. Publish it.
If considered one of these dwell movies will get traction, you may comply with 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.
Actually, I as soon as did a 7-day residency at a venue the place I performed a distinct 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 by way of livestreaming!
10. Promote!
Probably the greatest issues about digital advertising and marketing is that it offers you comparatively low-cost entry to huge international audiences. You too can check a number of completely different content material to search out what works finest.
And since your oldest music might be model new to most individuals on-line, you may use your highest performing social content material to achieve strangers at a decrease value.
So long as that advert content material stays a cheap option to drive engagement, promote merch, and construct your viewers, go away the adverts operating.
Once more, who cares if it’s an older track that performs finest 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 reasonable. Each by way of efficient promotion and your personal pleasure as a creator.
However I hope you no less than see the significance of selling your again catalog. No less than sufficient to schedule in a number of of those promo campaigns all year long.
One of these effort goes to be more and more vital if you’d 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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