Most musicians transfer on too quickly.
They put all their artistic give attention to 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 huge 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Why your outdated music deserves new consideration: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 purpose? Good music is good music. Whereas YOU is perhaps centered in your latest 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’ll be able to’t neglect your again catalog.
On this article, I’ll offer you an inventory of how to encourage current followers to replay music they already love, and to appeal to new followers who’ll dive into your total catalog.
Learn how to deliver contemporary curiosity to older music
1. Have a good time album anniversaries
Anytime one in all your albums turns 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25…
… it’s an apparent likelihood to have fun that music once more. 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 should be a year-long celebration, however not less than give the anniversary a month of content material and reminiscences. And — that is necessary — bear in mind to inform your followers precisely the place to go to pay attention once more!
2. Drop unreleased tracks
Not every part you share needs to be a cultured diamond. The truth is, not every part you share even must be completed.
In the event you deserted a monitor throughout a selected 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 a much bigger story round a earlier interval of labor.
And if it doesn’t really feel worthy of strangers’ consideration, you don’t should distribute the music to platforms like Spotify. Simply share it straight along with your followers and e-mail subscribers.
3. Do a collaborator shoutout!
Typically self-promotion seems like tooting your individual horn. In the event you wrestle with that, neglect 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 possibly can’ve by no means finished by yourself? Sing their praises. It’s an effective way to indicate gratitude whereas additionally bringing consideration to your individual music.
When you’ve got an everyday collaborator, you’ll have much more choices as a result of you’ll be able to spotlight a number of moments you respect from them all through your catalog.
4. Playlists, playlists, playlists
Playlists offer you nearly limitless methods to contextualize your music.
You possibly can group your tracks by:
- collaborator
- temper or style
- matter or theme
- interval of your profession
- a selected city you lived in whereas creating the music
- influences
- instrumentation
- different musical components like key, tempo, and many others.
- success metrics (“Biggest Hits” or “Largest Misses”)
5. An artist’s-choice content material sequence
Create a couple of completely different, brief, themed, content material sequence which you can run on social and e-mail, akin to:
- The songs I’m proudest of
- My 3 finest lyrical traces
- 5 belongings you didn’t find out about me
- My high 10 movies
- 3 individuals who formed my music
- My favourite guitar solo
I believe 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’ll be able to even schedule them to be delivered all year long to anybody who has not too long ago subscribed to your listing. And naturally, ship these to EVERYONE in your listing 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 attention-grabbing advertising and marketing campaign-type the place you supply to ship somebody one thing without spending a dime, so long as they pay for delivery.
As soon as they’ve entered their cost information, you then current a second (and even third) supply for added merch objects — normally with a limited-time low cost.
Not everybody will elect to buy extra objects, in fact, but when sufficient folks do, you’ll be able to revenue AND construct your e-mail listing concurrently, all whereas freely giving your music.
7. Stay listening events!
Host an occasion the place you inform folks attention-grabbing information 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 residence, venue, or artwork area.
8. One-off efficiency movies
Nobody mentioned you want a particular purpose to carry out your individual tunes!
Shoot a reside efficiency video for Reels and TikTok. Who cares if the tune is 2 or twenty years outdated? Then discover the perfect 15-second clip. Submit it.
If one in all these reside movies will get traction, you’ll be able to observe up with extra supporting content material.
9. Carry out a selected album
We’ve all seen artists stage a themed tour round a selected album.
Roger Waters has finished this for Darkish Facet of the Moon. U2 did it for The Joshua Tree. You possibly can do it too…
… for ANY of your earlier albums.
The truth is, I as soon as did a 7-day residency at a venue the place I performed a unique album of mine every evening, so you’ll be able to 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 through livestreaming!
10. Promote!
Among the best issues about digital advertising and marketing is that it provides you comparatively low cost entry to large international audiences. You too can check plenty of completely different content material to seek out what works finest.
And since your oldest music can be model new to most individuals on-line, you’ll be able to use your highest performing social content material to succeed in strangers at a decrease value.
So long as that advert content material stays a cheap technique to drive engagement, promote merch, and construct your viewers, depart the advertisements operating.
Once more, who cares if it’s an older tune that performs finest in your advertisements? 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 practical. Each by way of efficient promotion and your individual pleasure as a creator.
However I hope you not less than see the significance of selling your again catalog. A minimum of sufficient to schedule in a couple of of those promo campaigns all year long.
This kind of effort goes to be more and more necessary if you would 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’ll be able to leverage ALL of your work all through the years to develop your engagement, increase your income, and construct your viewers.
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