If you're at the point where you're ready to start building a name for yourself as an artist but feel like spamming is your only option, I have important news for you:
Spamming is the best strategy to get yourself muted/blocked/banned/blacklisted/ignored/silenced!
I do music for a living, I've seen it happen over and over.
Everybody who matters knows:
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Although there's a never ending river of unsigned music, there's a yearning for new and exciting music that just isn't close to being fulfilled
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If your music is new and exciting, people will want to hear it
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If your music is new and exciting, people will play it and share it
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If a decent enough chunk of people are playing and sharing your music, it'll spread like wildfire
So if you're trying to force your music on people, we automatically assume on some level that the music must suck hard (human nature!).
Never send out mass emails to DJs, labels, blogs, etc. This is the equivalent of going to a bar and visibly harassing all the attractive people in there, trying to get laid. It's not gonna happen, you look desperate, people get irritated.
Never copy/paste messages into groups, subreddits, blog/soundcloud/youtube comments, etc, in an attempt to coax people to check out your stuff. This is the equivalent of a nutjob at the bus stop trying to convince you that he's the second coming of The Messiah, before asking for bus fare. Nobody's convinced by it, people get irritated.
But it gets worse!
If you're giving off the vibe that your music's probably too shit to spread organically, people have low expectations. Did you know that the expectation bias effect means people will actually perceive your music as sounding less professional if you give off an amateurish impression before they listen to it?
The good news: It only takes ONE small break to start gaining traction. Remember - if you have the good stuff, you're doing labels/DJs/blogs/etc a HUGE favour by providing them with new and exciting music that makes them look good. They want to hear from you. Once you have the support of one, the rest will come in time.
Of course you have to be proactive in getting your music to labels/DJs/blogs. Upload your tracks to SoundCloud privately (2-4 is normally the right number when you're starting out, but make sure your very best track is first on the list), then share those private SoundCloud links only with ONE recipient at a time.
So if you're sending to (for example) three blogs, upload the same tracks three times. This way you can keep track of who has listened and who hasn’t.
CHOOSE WISELY who you send your music to. Make that list of recipients small but well-matched to your music and put in as much of a personal touch as you can (i.e. avoid looking like a desperate spammer).
Check your private link stats. If they've listened, politely follow up for feedback - let them know you know they've listened. Be ready for the knock-back - it's the most likely outcome and even the very best artists normally go through this early on. If they haven't listened yet, politely follow up after a few days and remind them to listen, until they do.
Further, I'd suggest targeting DJs and blogs before targeting labels, because the DJs and blogs can help you grow your following - most decent labels like to see a following before they'll get behind you.
In fact, I'd say because it's so difficult to know when you're good enough when you start out, you should aim to impress your friends before you move on to sending stuff out to DJs/blogs/labels, etc. Keep playing them stuff until they enthusiastically insist that you're good enough - before then, you're just not ready. Keep at it, we all have the potential to reach that level.
Okay - that's all I have time for right now. I'll be back to answer questions if necessary.
Best of luck!
Owen The Geek…
tl;dr: Avoid looking like a spammer at all costs if you want to be taken seriously, read my strategies above if you're eager to succeed in music
Submitted May 01, 2017 at 06:40PM by OwenTheGeek https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/68oyfb/how_you_can_go_from_zero_to_hero_without_spamming/?utm_source=ifttt