Looking to hook ’em while they’re young?

There’s a lot of money in the teen audience, as music promoters back to the ‘50s have known. Teens have always been some of the biggest drivers of musical trends. That said, they’re not actually the top music-buying demographic anymore. Over-40s are.

But there’s still a lot of potential in the teen audience to promote your music, as well as create fans who could be with you for many years to come.

We’ve got a few thoughts on making music for teens.

Promote Your Music To High Schoolers For Long-Time Fans

1 – Talk about high school.

Teens, especially those buying online music, are largely unconcerned with most political movements. Teen music is always going to be mostly about dances, parties, breakup drama and classroom angst. It might seem obvious, but always remember your audience and their interests.

2 – Go social.

But not through Facebook. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr are more popular among teens. Social media posts should be highly audio/visual, with minimal text and maximum encouragement to share.

3 – Alphas or Betas?

These are twains that shall not meet. Either you’re chasing the trendy / popular / rich kids, or you’re speaking to the sub-groups like the metalheads and tech-geeks and goths and such. If you’re targeting a subgroup, all your music needs to be for them. They’ll hate you if you change genres or audiences.

4 – When do you grow up?

No one can peddle music to teenagers forever. Gwen Stefani even managed it into her 40s, but that’s about the upper limit. Even the Beach Boys grew up, eventually. Otherwise, it’s the Spinal Tap trap of arrested development and ever-waning relevance.

If you form a core fan base of high schoolers, consider allowing your music to grow along with them. Start talking college in a few years. If your messages continue to stay relevant as they grow, they’ll remain fans rather than latching onto new trends.

So, how about you? Has anyone out there had particular success attracting – and holding onto – a high school audience?