Making the cut or launching a piece of music that goes viral is every musician’s dream. While making music is easy and enjoyable for you, marketing might not interest you. And in most cases, music promotion seems expensive at best.

Getting heard over the buzz of the music industry may sound like a dominating task. But we are here to prove otherwise.

Here are our top 7 ways to get heard and land your next big gig at a minimum or no expense. Dive in to learn more.

1. Music Promotion Websites

Believe it or not, there are free music platforms out there that help promote your music.

HUDL music is one such free music marketing platform. These websites provide you with a platform for uploading your music for free and showcasing your talent. It gives you the opportunity to allow more people to discover your music and fall in love with it.

Additionally, this platform allows you to collaborate with independent artists all around the world. Once you get to collaborate with other artists, you’re exposing your music to a whole new different audience.

Let us be frank. Ever since Spotify and Wynk were introduced, the future of music has been online. Therefore it would not hurt to check out these free websites to build an online presence.

2. Websites

The best platform to promote music is always your website. Never underestimate the power of having your website.

A website is the best way to showcase your talent by advertising your music and developing a loyal following. From independent music promotion to keep your readers updated on your latest works, the things you can do with your website are limitless.

Your professional website should consist of:

- Your old and new songs playlist

- Music videos created with your songs

- Blog posts on your music career

- Option for readers to subscribe to your email list

- Links to your other social media handles

Developing a good rapport with your new readers and satisfying your old readers can help promote your music online.

3. Instagram

Wondering how to get your music heard for free?

The answer is social media.

More than half of the online population is present in social media. Business promotions have included social media in their marketing strategies. Music promotion is not, in any way, different.

Instagram Reels is a great place to get started. Create a 60-second reel video, upload it, then sit back and watch as Instagram widens your audience reach. This is one of the most underrated free music platforms for artists.

Having excellent content for your Instagram can ensure increased engagement from your listeners. Not to mention that you can reach a wide variety of new audiences.

Instagram further serves as a way to make people check out your blog, add your song to their playlist, and so on. The exposure Instagram provides to your music is unparalleled.

4. YouTube

We cannot talk about free music promoting platforms and leave out youtube.

With 122 million daily active users, YouTube has a huge audience that you can easily tap into. Because of the pandemic, the number of YouTube users has only increased.

You can upload your music videos into youtube and gain access to a wide range of audiences. You do not have to make an additional investment to make a music video. Lyric videos perform as well as any music videos.

You can also monetize your YouTube channel and earn based on the number of viewers your videos get. Scaling up your performance on YouTube not only gains you exposure but also puts money in your pocket.

YouTube also has a live streaming option that you can tap into. You can do free live streams of your work and advertise yourself. It’s a great way to engage with your audience. Another great avenue to engage with your audience is in the comments section. Your fans will feel special if you interact with them.

5. Mailing Lists

Say what?

If you are thinking, I am a musician, why should I write emails?

Then we would say that you are missing out on so much untapped potential that mailing lists can give you.

Previously, we stressed the importance of having your website found and heard by your audience. Imagine your audience finding your website once and then forgetting you the next day. That will be a total nightmare.

Enter mailing lists.

Do your readers forget you after a week?

They have signed up to your email list and got notified of your recent blog post. Now they remember you. They may even revisit your website since they are intrigued by your email.

Mailing lists are a great way of building a community in a cost-effective manner. It is a great way in which you can notify your audience when you release a new song.

That is how you become unforgettable.

6. SoundCloud

SoundCloud is another excellent platform for you to promote your music.

You can upload your music and get feedback from your audience at the same time. You can further facilitate your audience to download your music, but that is totally up to you.

And the best part, all of these features are free.

Monetising SoundCloud is an option you can consider as well. But the payout is not immense. But in terms of promoting your music for free, we love it.

7. Organic Promotion

Popular streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music reach millions of users daily. They are trendy and they provide playlists curated for a variety of moods and occasions.

Spotify has a big community of musicians and audiences so it is easy to become another face in the crowd. It requires time and lots of effort to stand out from the crowd.

The only way you can amass an audience is by using the right blend of organic promotion. This includes methods such as social media marketing, collaboration with well-known artists, and blogging. All of these, when done well, can go a very long way.

With the right blend of organic promotions and quality music, your spot in the limelight might not be that far away.

Additionally, getting placed in one of the carefully curated playlists created by Spotify or Apple Music can help you rack upstreams. This means you’ll get more exposure and more people will be able to discover your music.

And, of course, the royalty received is a bonus.

Conclusion

Promoting your music as a newbie musician is a challenging task at best.

But with the rise of various online platforms that aim at aiding budding musicians, it has become a doable task. There are many free music promotion platforms out there, and new ones are emerging as you read this. The possibilities are limitless.

You do not require large sums of money to promote your music successfully. You can promote your music for free or at an affordable price.

We hope the tools and websites we mentioned help you get started on your journey. What other platforms do you use to promote your music? Tell us in the comments below.