What are the best ways to promote your music in 2015 and, you know, actually make money on it?

We suspect 2015 is going to be volatile year, with a lot of acts trying out different gimmicks and ventures to get noticed.  It’s not going to be a year for middle-of-the-road promotion, if you’re looking to build your band’s brand.

Promote Your Music In 2015:  Moving Past Album Sales

1 – Be Smart With Your Merchandising

Merch will probably become even more important to the viability and visibility of smaller acts in the next year or two.  Don’t buy blindly.  Make smart investments and -even if it’s boring- download some accounting software to start tracking this stuff on an item-by-item basis.  

For more guidance, here’s a nice blog post I found from a merch distributor laying out specifically what the profit margins are on common items.  

2 – Get On More Streaming Services

At this point, we’d say getting onto streaming radio has become a real necessity for exposure.  It’ll take some leg-work, but we strongly advise investing the time necessary to research all the top streaming sites and submit yourself to all of them.

You won’t make it into every streaming station, but even one will do a world of good for your outreach.

3 – Keep Working Those Live Shows 

One thing that won’t change any time soon is the basic demand for live music.  There are many bands who, while never being radio chart-toppers, have had incredibly successful careers based on the quality of their live gigs.

In terms of long-term endurance, being known as a great live act is probably superior to being a great studio act.  Concert-goers are paying for an experience that cannot be pre-packed and shrinkwrapped.

How do you plan to promote your music in the coming year?