Most musicians transfer on too quickly.
They put all their inventive deal with the subsequent launch. Or they solely promote their newest work, neglecting all of the songs that got here earlier than.
But taking your consideration off your older tracks is a mistake. Because there are three huge causes why it is best to proceed to market ALL the music in your again catalog.
Why your previous music deserves new consideration:
- The first and easiest purpose? Good music is good music. While YOU could be targeted in your current stuff, your older releases will nonetheless be model new to a lot of the world.
- Next, 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.
In this text, I’ll offer you a listing of the way to encourage current followers to replay music they already love, and to entice new followers who’ll dive into your complete catalog.
How to carry contemporary curiosity to older music
1. Celebrate album anniversaries
Anytime one in all your albums turns 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25…
… it’s an apparent probability to have fun that music over again. You don’t at all times want remastering or bonus editions to commemorate an album’s birthday.
You can retell the story of the album. Send 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 recollections. And — that is essential — bear in mind to inform your followers precisely the place to go to hear once more!
2. Drop unreleased tracks
Not every thing you share needs to be a cultured diamond. In truth, not every thing you share even must be completed.
If you deserted a observe throughout a selected session, share it and inform us why it by no means made it onto an album. You can launch demos. Alternate takes. Anything that helps construct an even 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. Just share it immediately along with your followers and e mail subscribers.
3. Do a collaborator shoutout!
Sometimes self-promotion seems like tooting your personal horn. If 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? Something you can’ve by no means completed by yourself? Sing their praises. It’s an effective way to point out gratitude whereas additionally bringing consideration to your personal music.
If you have 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 admire from them all through your catalog.
4. Playlists, playlists, playlists
Playlists offer you nearly countless methods to contextualize your music.
You 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 so forth.
- success metrics (“Greatest Hits” or “Biggest Misses”)
5. An artist’s-choice content material collection
Create a number of totally different, quick, themed, content material collection which you can run on social and e mail, equivalent to:
- The songs I’m proudest of
- My 3 greatest lyrical traces
- 5 belongings you didn’t find out about me
- My prime 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.
If 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 just lately subscribed to your listing. And after all, ship these to EVERYONE in your listing when the collection is first created.
6. “Free (plus shipping & handing!)”
Have you ever heard or a Free + Shipping & Handling music provide?
It’s an attention-grabbing advertising campaign-type the place you provide to ship somebody one thing without cost, so long as they pay for transport.
Once they’ve entered their cost data, you then current a second (and even third) provide for added merch gadgets — normally with a limited-time low cost.
Not everybody will elect to buy further gadgets, after all, but when sufficient individuals do, you’ll be able to revenue AND construct your e mail listing concurrently, all whereas making a gift of your music.
7. Live listening events!
Host an occasion the place you inform individuals attention-grabbing information in regards to the songs earlier than or whereas the music performs.
This will be completed digitally on Discord, X, or Twitch. Or it may possibly happen IRL at somebody’s dwelling, venue, or artwork area.
8. One-off efficiency movies
No one mentioned you want a particular purpose to carry out your personal tunes!
Shoot a reside efficiency video for Reels and TikTok. Who cares if the tune is 2 or twenty years previous? Then discover the most effective 15-second clip. Post it.
If one in all these reside movies will get traction, you’ll be able to comply with up with extra supporting content material.
9. Perform a selected album
We’ve all seen artists stage a themed tour round a selected album.
Roger Waters has completed this for Dark Side of the Moon. U2 did it for The Joshua Tree. You can do it too…
… for ANY of your earlier albums.
In truth, I as soon as did a 7-day residency at a venue the place I performed a distinct album of mine every evening, so you’ll be able to work your complete catalog into sure occasions.
And you have got choices past venue reveals and festivals. You can do one thing related everytime you need by way of livestreaming!
10. Advertise!
One of the most effective issues about digital advertising is that it provides you comparatively low cost entry to huge world audiences. You may take a look at numerous totally different content material to search out what works greatest.
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 price.
As lengthy as that advert content material stays an economical approach to drive engagement, promote merch, and construct your viewers, depart the advertisements operating.
Again, who cares if it’s an older tune that performs greatest 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 life like. Both by way of efficient promotion and your personal pleasure as a creator.
But I hope you not less than see the significance of selling your again catalog. At least sufficient to schedule in a number of of those promo campaigns all year long.
This sort of effort goes to be more and more essential in order for you your music to stay algorithmically related and discoverable on streaming platforms.
And given {that a} deeper catalog is an unimaginable 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, enhance your income, and construct your viewers.
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