5 Steps to Getting Your Music Licensed | Step 4

Now that you're on the web and have a banging website, you need to do some promotion. No one is just going to stumble upon your website and sign you to a record deal. Yet, if that does happen, consider yourself the luckiest musician on the planet. To get started, figure out what your budget is for promoting your music and stick to it. It is easy to over-spend on getting your music heard in the world, but if you stay constant with it, then you'll be able to maintain a steady pace that will gradually build a loyal fan base. If you've gone this far with your music, you need to continue to believe in yourself and go the distance. Nothing is going to happen over-night, so settle in the for the long haul and be prepared to put in the time and effort it takes to make it to the top.

It's good to think locally at first when you start to promote your music. However, the Internet has become such a huge part of our society that it is easy to plan global marketing right away. One of the best ways to get going is on an Internet radio station. Now most of them charge a monthly fee to air your music, but it is typically affordable for the most part. One of the sites you can explore is RadioAirplay.com. They will broadcast your music in radio stations with artists that you feel are similar to your style of music. Then when listeners tune in to a radio station to hear their favorite artists, your music will be inserted into the queue and be exposed to thousands of new listeners everyday.

Don't just stop there, think about using social media to advertise your music and your website. Getting more exposure to your music is how you will grow and succeed in the music business. Try a few small campaigns on different social media sites. If you get any response, that is a good thing. It may not happen right away, so keep notes of where your efforts are showing a return on the interest. If you get any feedback, take it seriously. Even if you have someone say you sound like a band that you've never heard of or may not even like, that is a place that you should investigate marketing. If you have a similar sound to a band that is already established, you may have an untapped pool of potential fans that would loyally follow your music.

This is the long process of the road to the top, but if you put in the effort, you will see the rewards. Be open to criticism because not everyone is going to like your music. When you get someone that likes your music, embrace them and treat them like a VIP. If your fans feel that you care about them, they will be there for you when you start to play concerts. This is the next step in the process that we'll cover tomorrow.