(Quick note: I’m not selling anything, and I received no support, financial or otherwise, from any company or organization for publishing this post.)

TL;DR: worry more about sharpening your skills as a musician before you start spending time and money on promotion.

Every new musician and recording artist has been there: you spend months getting your masterpiece just right, you reveal it to the world, and… nothing.

I have lots of experience unsuccessfully (very unsuccessfully) releasing music on my own and through digital distribution services. Even if I played the social media game of generating regular content for this platform or that, nothing seemed to get my numbers out of the single-digit ghetto.

Five things finally moved the needle for me: reaching out to DJs, praising music by other independent artists, sending out press kits for new releases, engaging playlist curators, and releasing a steady stream of singles over a long stretch of time.

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