Like it or loathe it, influencers are a big part of popular culture in 2022. And no, we aren’t just talking about the beauty influencers showing their audiences how to contour their face beyond recognition or the ones that have a meal in an independent restaurant before asking if they can eat for free because they have 250k followers.
Most influencers include music when they go live or create a video and there is no reason why that music shouldn’t be yours! With each year, influencers are becoming an even more integral part of the self-promotional process for independent artists. So, if the traditional methods have only got you so far, don’t be afraid to embrace the modern alternatives to record labels and radio play!
This article will cover the role of influencers in the industry, how to find them, and the best way to make a good first impression with them.
How Can Influencers Help Artists Gain Exposure?
Forget your damning perceptions of influencers, otherwise known as content creators, and start seeing the potential in their power, which can influence potential consumers within a respective niche.
When an influencer is ‘famous’ enough to have thousands of followers behind them, their ‘fame’ brings a certain amount of credibility to their promotional posts. In 2022, a good majority of consumers won’t purchase without ‘consulting’ with an influencer first. Think about it; you’re buying a new guitar, you have found seemingly the perfect one; do you enter your card details there and then? Or do you head to YouTube to find someone with some authority demoing it and reviewing it?
The point is, in every industry, there are influencers, and as plenty of them aren’t musicians themselves, they need to source music for their promotional videos from somewhere. There are several music influencers out there, but artists looking to promote their music to influencers don’t have to limit themselves to just the musos.
For example, EDM producers can submit music to fitness influencers. Ambient artists can submit their soundscapes to influencers in the mindfulness/meditation niche. Hip Hop artists can submit their tracks to TikTok teens to lip-sync with. With a little ingenuity, you can tap into an existing audience, ready to lap up anything their favourite influencer promotes! It’s a fickle world, but you may as well use it to your advantage! If you can’t beat them, join them!
How to Find Music Influencers?
Instead of trawling through social media for hours to find suitable influencers to submit your music to, you can use services such as Playlist Push or Submit Hub to put your music out there without having to fire off those soul-crushing emails that seldom get a response.
However, if you do encounter an influencer that you would like to connect with, don’t be afraid to reach out with an irresistible offer. While some influencers will charge you for the privilege of promotion, others will be happy to do it for free. Rather than solely reaching out to the influencers with over 1 million followers, consider content creators with a smaller but infinitely more engaged audience.
The best platforms to search for influencers include YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Search relevant hashtags and find the most influential figures in the masses of posters.
The Best Ways of Contacting Music Influencers
TikTok makes it hard to send direct messages, so when making your pitch, always look for an email address or at the very least, an Instagram handle. When you reach out to them, always approach the conversation as if you are brokering a mutually exclusive deal. Let them know WHY your music would be a good fit for their Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories or TikTok videos.
It is always advisable to attempt to create a rapport with influencers before making your big pitch. This can be done by liking and commenting on their content, so your name is recognisable to them before they open your private message or email. If the influencer does propose a fee for promotion, it will always be a gamble whether it pays off or not, especially with the higher-end rates, which stretch into 5-figure sums.
For more advice on the artist development music industry, take a look at our other blogs on how to promote your independent music. Or get in contact with a member of our award-winning A&R team, who can put you on the right path in your self-promo campaigns or do all of the heavy PR lifting work for you.