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 large causes why you need to proceed to market ALL the music in your again catalog.
Why your previous music deserves new consideration:
- The primary and easiest cause? Good music is good music. Whereas YOU could be targeted 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 may’t neglect your again catalog.
On this article, I’ll offer you an inventory of the way to encourage current followers to replay music they already love, and to appeal to new followers who’ll dive into your whole catalog.
The way to convey contemporary curiosity to older music
1. Have a good time album anniversaries
Anytime certainly one of your albums turns 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25…
… it’s an apparent probability to have a good time that music yet again. You don’t all the time 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 need to be a year-long celebration, however no 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 all the pieces you share must be a cultured diamond. In truth, not all the pieces you share even must be completed.
For those who deserted a observe 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 an even bigger story round a earlier interval of labor.
And if it doesn’t really feel worthy of strangers’ consideration, you don’t need to distribute the music to platforms like Spotify. Simply share it instantly together with your followers and e-mail subscribers.
3. Do a collaborator shoutout!
Typically self-promotion seems like tooting your individual horn. For those who battle with that, overlook 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 may’ve by no means carried out by yourself? Sing their praises. It’s a good way to indicate gratitude whereas additionally bringing consideration to your individual music.
If in case you have a daily collaborator, you’ll have much more choices as a result of you may spotlight a number of moments you admire from them all through your catalog.
4. Playlists, playlists, playlists
Playlists offer you virtually infinite methods to contextualize your music.
You possibly can group your tracks by:
- collaborator
- temper or style
- subject 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 number of completely different, quick, themed, content material sequence which you could run on social and e-mail, reminiscent of:
- The songs I’m proudest of
- My 3 greatest lyrical traces
- 5 stuff 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 provide you with an idea that requires a number of emails or posts, and use the theme to generate deeper and sustained curiosity in your older music.
For those who set these up as automated e-mail sequences, you may even schedule them to be delivered all year long to anybody who has just lately 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 provide?
It’s an fascinating advertising and marketing campaign-type the place you provide to ship somebody one thing without spending a dime, so long as they pay for delivery.
As soon as they’ve entered their cost data, you then current a second (and even third) provide for added merch objects — normally with a limited-time low cost.
Not everybody will elect to buy extra objects, after all, but when sufficient folks do, you may revenue AND construct your e-mail listing concurrently, all whereas gifting away your music.
7. Stay listening events!
Host an occasion the place you inform folks fascinating information in regards to the songs earlier than or whereas the music performs.
This may be carried out digitally on Discord, X, or Twitch. Or it might happen IRL at somebody’s dwelling, venue, or artwork house.
8. One-off efficiency movies
Nobody stated you want a particular cause to carry out your individual tunes!
Shoot a stay efficiency video for Reels and TikTok. Who cares if the music is 2 or twenty years previous? Then discover one of the best 15-second clip. Publish it.
If certainly one of these stay movies will get traction, you may comply with 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 carried out this for Darkish Aspect of the Moon. U2 did it for The Joshua Tree. You possibly 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 night time, so you may work your whole 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 by way of 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 can too take a look at a lot of completely different content material to search out what works greatest.
And since your oldest music might be model new to most individuals on-line, you may use your highest performing social content material to achieve strangers at a decrease value.
So long as that advert content material stays a cheap strategy to drive engagement, promote merch, and construct your viewers, depart the adverts working.
Once more, who cares if it’s an older music that performs greatest in your adverts? It’s working!
Conclusion
I don’t count on artists to prioritize older music ABOVE their newest launch.
Nor ought to they.
That wouldn’t appear life like. Each when it comes to efficient promotion and your individual pleasure as a creator.
However I hope you no less than see the significance of selling your again catalog. A minimum of sufficient to schedule in a number of of those promo campaigns all year long.
Such a effort goes to be more and more essential if you’d like 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 may leverage ALL of your work all through the years to develop your engagement, increase your income, and construct your viewers.
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