Browsing Tag

Music Promotion

Artists in the Algorithm: How to Hack the Facebook Algorithm in 2024

Posted on 25 February 2024
Facebook Algorithm

There are few things more disheartening than tumbleweed rolling over your new music announcements after you have poured your blood, sweat, tears, and limited funds into a new release. It is all too easy to take it personally, but rather than seeing it as a sign of your perpetual lack of popularity, view it as a defect in the digital landscape; one that you can work around by understanding the Facebook algorithm.

In an ideal world, you wouldn’t have to, musicians would get as much space on newsfeeds as people sharing schadenfreude memes, cat pictures and selfies with so much cleavage you might as well be on Pornhub. Unfortunately, that isn’t the digital landscape that Zuckerberg has put in front of us.

Why Facebook Feels Impossible for Musicians

The Facebook algorithm is notoriously discriminative for musicians trying to promote their music. Primarily, this algorithm prioritises personal content over promotional posts. So, when musicians share their latest tracks, these posts are less likely to appear prominently in their audience’s news feeds, especially compared to personal updates and casual content from friends and family.

Moreover, the algorithm is designed to encourage engagement (likes, comments, shares), but music posts, which might not immediately prompt such interactions, can struggle to gain visibility. This means that even if the content is high quality, it might not reach a wide audience simply because it doesn’t generate immediate reactions.

Additionally, there’s a financial aspect to consider. Facebook often promotes the use of paid advertising to increase post visibility. This model favours those who can afford to invest in advertising, putting independent artists with limited budgets at a disadvantage.

In essence, the Facebook algorithm can inadvertently side-line musicians, especially independent artists, by favouring personal, engaging content and putting a premium on paid promotions.

Furthermore, artists are put under immense amounts of pressure to keep posting regularly and make performing monkeys out of themselves to compete with the TikTok generation of narcissists whose contributions to society are lip-syncing terribly to music they didn’t create and pretending their brain cells are in shorter supply than they actually are for 15 seconds of fame.

“The platforms we have to exist on now don’t even allow us to reach the people that have gone out of their way to follow us. The algorithms want you to post daily and maybe just maybe they might reward you by sending it out to a few more of your followers. I know I can’t and don’t want to personally keep up with those expectations.” – BATT

Understanding the Facebook Algorithm

AI Integration: AI plays a crucial role in personalising content by analysing user behaviour and preferences.  AI algorithms analyse a user’s past interactions on Facebook. This includes which posts they’ve liked, commented on, shared, and the time they’ve spent on different types of content. For instance, if a user frequently interacts with music-related posts, the AI is more likely to show them similar content.

Meaningful Interactions: Facebook prioritizes posts that encourage conversations and meaningful interactions. A “meaningful interaction” is a metric that goes beyond basic engagement like likes or clicks. It refers to user actions that suggest a deeper level of interest or engagement with the content.

Relevance Scores & Engagement Predictions: Each post receives a relevance score based on content type, user interactions, and viewing duration. Then, the algorithm predicts the likelihood of a user engaging with a post or page.

Content Variety: The Facebook algorithm always ensures that a balanced mix of content types (videos, photos, links, text posts) is presented to users. This may put some musicians at an unfair disadvantage if another artist’s music-related posts are promoted ahead of theirs. However, by ensuring your content is engagement-worthy, you could put yourself at an advantage.

User Control: Facebook offers features like “Show More, Show Less” for feed customisation. By ensuring that you’re only posting high-quality content, people will be less inclined to hit the “show less” button.

Hacking the Facebook Algorithm

  • Understand Your Audience: Know what is meaningful, relevant, and informative to your audience.
  • Engage with Your Audience: Prioritise meaningful interactions and respond to comments.
  • Post at Optimal Times: Maximize engagement by posting when your audience is most active.
  • Utilise Status Posts: Simple status posts can sometimes yield high engagement.
  • Leverage Your Advocates: Find ways to encourage your fans to share your content.
  • Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with influential figures in the music industry.
  • Monitor Analytics: Use insights to adjust and optimise your content strategy.
  • Use links wisely: Facebook doesn’t like posts containing links to other sites, such as Spotify, as they take users away from Facebook and Facebook’s ads.
  • Use calls to action sparingly: If your posts contain phrases like “check out our new merch”, you will be automatically downranked in the algorithm – use phrases like these sparingly.
  • Don’t go OTT on hashtags: Use a maximum of three hashtags on your Facebook posts – choose them wisely and consider using a hashtag generator.
  • Avoid Manipulating the Algorithm: Stay authentic and avoid black-hat strategies.
  • Experiment with Reels: Focus on high-quality, engaging reel content.

Facebook Reels Algorithm

If you’ve been resisting becoming a reel-generating musician, it may be time to jump on the hype if you want to conquer the Facebook algorithm in 2024. Reel addiction has become a major phenomenon for TikTok, Facebook and Instagram users. You may have even noticed that YouTube has become proliferated by YouTube Shorts. The obsession with reels boils down to the dopamine hits from watching short-form videos; the dopamine hits trap people in a cycle of watching them due to the sense of reward and satisfaction. If you’re interested in taking advantage of people’s reel addictions (yes, I do feel a bit sickened with myself writing that!), keep the duration as short as possible (15 – 30 seconds), be as entertaining and engaging as possible, use built-in tools effectively, film clear audio, use good lighting and always shoot vertically.

By understanding and adapting to these algorithmic nuances, musicians can significantly enhance their visibility and engagement on Facebook in 2024.

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For more advice on how to market your music, enquire about our artist consultancy services, or keep following our blog for more tips on how to navigate the tempestuous waters of the music industry in 2024.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

Harness the Power of Bandcamp Campaigns

Posted on 9 May 2023
Bandcamp Campaigns

Even as we entered an economic recession, revenue continued to pour into artists with Bandcamp Campaigns pockets via Bandcamp in 2022. In the past year alone, Bandcamp users have spent $185 million on everything from digital albums to cassettes to limited edition vinyl to t-shirts.

In March 2020, Bandcamp launched Bandcamp Fridays to help artists earn more revenue from digital and physical sales by waiving their revenue share, typically 10 – 15% for downloads and 10% for physical merch and music.

27 Bandcamp Fridays have been and gone; in total, they have earned artists and their respective labels $95 million USD.

Bandcamp has created an invaluable aural ecosystem, for independent and established artists alike, due to its ability to provide direct revenue to artists and labels. Most payments for digital purchases are processed within 24 – 48 hours, and the funds will be paid directly into a PayPal account.

Another discernible advantage Bandcamp has over other mainstream music platforms, such as Spotify, is the pricing flexibility. With Spotify, you have no say in regard to how much you earn per stream. With Bandcamp, artists and labels can adjust the cost of their singles, EPs, albums and entire discographies to recoup the cost of writing and producing new music. Furthermore, the flexible pricing model also enables artists to adjust pricing based on the popularity and maturity of releases. But the perks certainly don’t end there:

Advantages of Bandcamp

  • Artists and labels can access direct income from the platform after a 10 – 15% cut is taken.
  • For music fans with cash to spare, they can pay over the base price for a digital or physical purchase.
  • Music fans can access and listen to music for life due to the download functionality.
  • Bandcamp is highly popular amongst radio hosts and DJs who want to purchase music legally and legitimately.
  • Unlimited streaming capacity on purchased releases.
  • Artists can create self-promo and discovery campaigns via the platform.

Disadvantages of Bandcamp

  • Bandcamp may be an artist and fan favourite, but in 2023, it is still far less popular than Apple Music and Spotify.
  • The user interface isn’t as intuitive, slick, and functional as other platforms.
  • The platform makes it hard for music fans to discover new artists and music with the lack of a playlisting feature.
  • Can be expensive for music fans if it is used as a primary music streaming platform.
  • Distribution is a little more complicated and time-consuming for artists.

Bandcamp Statistics

Every year, the criticisms around the unfairness of streaming royalties get louder; Bandcamp is one of the few music streaming sites which fairly compensates artists. It will take 1500 Spotify streams or 1200 Apple Music streams to equate to one £5 purchase made via Bandcamp. After the Bandcamp revenue share and payment fees, an average of 82% of every sale makes its way to artists or labels. For independent artists attempting to recoup their expenses, the revenues make the world of difference.

In 2022, Bandcamp facilitated the sales of 15.9 million digital LPs, 6.7 million singles, 2.3 million vinyl records, one million CDs, 500,000 t-shirts and 550,000 cassettes. So even if it does have a fraction of the community which makes its way over to Spotify and Apple Music daily, there is a thriving music community that is incredibly keen to support their favourite creators. For independent artists looking to grow their fanbase, there is just one problem: the increased competition.

How to Launch the Best Bandcamp Campaign in 2023

Bandcamp comes with a series of highly valuable features and promotional tools you can use to promote your music, including Bandcamp Live, Fan Subscriptions, and Automated Fan Notifications. You can also utilise Real-Time Analytics to look for improvement in your music promotion campaigns or use Bandcamp Pro to message fans using geographic targeting or stream to a private audience.

However, one of the best ways to promote your music on Bandcamp in 2023 is to release your music on Bandcamp one week before your music launches across all other streaming services. After you have launched your new release on Bandcamp, advertise the Bandcamp Campaign across your social media pages to give your staunch fans the opportunity to purchase your music on Bandcamp before it is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal and YouTube. If you have the extra money in your promotional budget, you can also advertise your Bandcamp Campaign via sponsored posts on Facebook and Instagram.

If you have a loyal fanbase, you can also follow in the footsteps of the Welsh singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, The Anchoress, who has recently used Bandcamp Fridays as an opportunity to release singles on Bandcamp to give her fans the chance to snag ultra-limited-edition singles. Most recently, she released her ethereal reworking of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart. It was made available for one weekend only for a minimal cost of £2, and hundreds of her fans took the ethereal synth bait. Myself included.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "Last chance to download THE LOVE ANCORESS WILL"

If you have a demo going spare and want to test your fans’ loyalty, a time-limited Bandcamp campaign can see just how dedicated your fanbase is.

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For more advice or information on how to promote independent music, contact our award-winning artist and development team, which can put you on track to score more fans, listeners and exposure.

Our cost-effective consultancy service has trained and developed hundreds of artists looking to establish their brand and make an everlasting impact in an oversaturated industry.

 

Article by Amelia Vandergast

How Artists Can Maximise Their YouTube Promotion Campaigns

Posted on 3 April 2023
YouTube Promotion Campaigns

With the average music video costing £1,500 – £5,000 for independent artists to shoot, unless you have some very benevolent and talented videographer connections, music videos are one of the hardest investments for independent artists to rake back their investments from.

By learning how to utilise the marketing opportunities offered by YouTube, you will have the best shot at investing wisely in your music videos. In this article, we will cover the top seven ways to maximise your YouTube promotion campaigns and touch upon the new music promotion trend, which is putting more momentum behind megastars, such as Miley Cyrus, and helping independent artists to make an impression in an oversaturated scene.

Contrary to popular belief, it takes a fair amount of work to stand out on YouTube. The streaming service may have 2.1 billion active users, and over 1 billion videos are watched every day, but as there are approximately 800 million videos and 37 million channels to compete with, grabbing attention is easier said than done. The rate of uploads to YouTube is only speeding up too – 3.7 million videos are uploaded every day – that is sixty hours of video uploaded every minute of the day!

How to Make the Most of YouTube Promotion Campaigns

  1. Verify Your YouTube Account

Just like getting a blue tick on Facebook and Twitter helps to build your credibility on the platform, verifying your YouTube account and obtaining the valuable blue tick on YouTube will help to improve your standing. Unlike with some social media platforms, you don’t need to be a popular public figure to gain your blue tick; you just need to verify your account.

The verification process will entail ensuring you have provided all of the information required to complete your profile; for additional algorithmic brownie points, include links to all relevant social media pages and websites. To make it easier for people to contact you, provide your contact information too.

  1. Get Short

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you will have noticed the TikTokification of other apps, such as Facebook and Instagram; Spotify and YouTube are now jumping on the same short video clip bandwagon.

It is no longer enough to upload your official music videos and lyric videos; the diminishing attention spans of music fans may be cause for concern, but there is no reason why independent artists can’t use the new YouTube Shorts trend to their advantage.

Whether you’re launching a new single, EP, album, or music video, whet the appetite of your audience by showcasing a snippet (or multiple!) of your music to garner traction with music fans who may not have felt inclined to sit through the entire track, video, or LP!

  1. Invest in Ads for Your YouTube Promotion Campaigns

Targeted YouTube ads are a great way to find large niche communities on a relatively small budget. YouTube ads can also help you target users with specific behaviours and intentions, making it far more intuitive than using Facebook and Instagram-sponsored ads.

To maximise Your YouTube Ads campaign, do plenty of research first; getting trigger-happy with your ad campaigns is as futile as throwing money down the drain. Platforms such as soundcharts can help you gather all the necessary data points you need to build an effective campaign. Once you know who you want your music, music videos and shorts in front of, ensure your ads are engaging and attention-grabbing.

  1. Create an Interesting Thumbnail

Thumbnails should never be an afterthought when uploading new content to YouTube. Don’t be tempted to use a grainy screengrab from a music video; always use a high-resolution thumbnail paired with a compelling caption so your audience knows what they are clicking on before they delve into the video.

Contrasting colours are great for capturing attention, as are whitespace and negative space. For more tips, read this guide on how to create the perfect YouTube thumbnail.

  1. Stop, Collaborate, and Listen

Many marketing tips and trends come and go; one of the only ones that stand the test of time is that collaboration is key to success when expanding your reach and your audience. In addition to sharing fan bases, it can also put you in touch with other valuable people within the music industry.

Whether you’re collaborating with fashion designers, visual artists, other artists, producers, influencers or videographers, collaboration is one surefire way to boost your streaming numbers if you work with the right people!

  1. Share Your YouTube Videos and Shorts

Social media platforms such as Facebook may not be the best for sharing YouTube video links as anything that will pull social media users away from the platform is considered algorithmic bad cake, but promoting your videos is still a necessary evil!

Before your new music video debuts, share a link so your audience can watch the premier as it happens, make another post when the video goes live, and don’t be shy about sharing your streaming milestones; this will give your fans who may have missed your original post another chance to view the video. If you get your ducks in a row before your hotly-anticipated music video debut, you can also reach out to music journalists and blogs to see if they want to exclusively premiere your music video. This kind of arrangement is beneficial for both parties; you can put even more traction behind your new release, while the blog or online music mag will get some exclusive content to share with their readers.

  1. Don’t Neglect the Comment Section

You wouldn’t get far without your music fans; never think you’re above expressing your gratitude for their time and comments! Always find the time to connect with your audience, whether they are commenting on the YouTube video itself or a social media post. To drive up engagement, you can be direct in asking for feedback or find other ways to encourage others to get involved with your music.

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For more help and advice on YouTube Promotion Campaigns, contact A&R Factory to find out more about our artist & development services, or you can contact us about your music video premiere today by using our artist submission page.

 

Article by Amelia Vandergast

 

Spotify has jumped on the TikTokification bandwagon with Discovery Mode

Posted on 13 March 2023
Discovery Mode

The TikTokification of apps has been impossible to ignore with the prolific prevalence of cringe reels filmed in vain hope for an attention-driven shot of dopamine cropping up on Instagram and Facebook. Now Spotify has jumped on the immediate gratification bandwagon with Discovery Mode.

As with any innovation, there are some advantages, but once again, those perks don’t throw the underdogs a bone. Understandably, not everyone is happy about this new move that has stoked fears about what this means for the music industry.

The streaming era of music has already changed the way some artists write songs. Extended intros and quiescent interludes have been forsaken for the allure of earwormy instant hooks; every skip on a track is negative data for Spotify’s algorithm. Who can blame artists for playing the game?

In recent years, more and more music fans have started to utilise TikTok to discover new artists. In 2021, 75% of users said they discovered artists on the app. 67% of users surveyed stating they seek out artists outside the platform after being exposed to them via TikTok videos. It hardly comes as a surprise that so many users discover music on the app, given that users spend an average of 1.5 glued to it each day.  This can also be taken as a good sign that TikTok users don’t actually think of the Oh No TikTok Remix as the height of sonic pleasure.

What is Spotify Discovery Mode?

Spotify Discovery Mode was launched to garner more algorithmic exposure through auto-play and Spotify Radio. Although, it comes at a cost. The increased exposure is in exchange for a lower royalty rate. Yes, lower than the current rate of $0.003 – $0.005 a stream.

Of course, there is the argument that Spotify is best utilised as a music discovery platform; the exposure gained via Spotify can increase the flow of revenue streams elsewhere and widen your audience. Yet, it seems unfair that the CEO, Daniel EK, has added this royalty cut caveat to the new tool, which he announced on March 8th during a Stream On event.

When artists create Discovery Mode campaigns, their music will be added to TikTok-ESQUE discovery feeds, which allows users to vertically scroll through tracks and take advantage of the Smart Shuffle feature. The rollout won’t happen all at once. The availability of features will hit some markets before others.

For music fans, this Spotify revamp is an attempt to make the app just as interactive and lively for its subscribed members as TikTok. The revamp also strives to take the clutter away from the homepage, which is currently a messy mash of recently streamed artists, new releases, daily mixes, discover weekly playlists and release radar playlists.

How Valuable Can the Spotify Discovery Tool Be?

Even though the Spotify Discovery Mode has only just been made available to all artists, before the mass launch of the tool, it has been tested with a select number of artists; apparently, the results speak for themselves.

The stats showed, on average, Spotify users utilising the Discovery Mode are twice as likely to save songs, 44% more likely to playlist the artists, and 37% more likely to follow that artist.

While those figures are pretty impressive, the reduced royalties, which are 30% less than standard royalties, are still a slap in the face for the artists that are providing all the content; Spotify is still standing by its convictions, maintaining that it will provide invaluable opportunities to connect with new listeners.

In a recently published blog post, Spotify sold the discovery mode by iterating that it requires no upfront investment – unlike many forms of promotion. Yet, that has done little to quash the rallying cries against the lower rates, which are speaking out against preying on independent artists looking for a way to break through in the oversaturated industry.

All musicians can enter their tracks into Discovery Mode via Spotify for Artists if their distributors participate in the program. The head of artist partnerships and audience at Spotify, Joe Hadley, was rife with optimism for the new possibilities the tool can offer independent artists.

Those sentiments certainly aren’t shared across the board; even members of congress have dubbed Discover Mode as a digital form of Payola. For anyone not in the know, the term Payola was coined to refer to the music industry middlemen that pay for radio play. One of the biggest causes for concern is the dam that the lower royalty rates will create in the flow of cash from Spotify to songwriters.

Members of congress are also starting to question if the new tool goes against the guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission under the subsection that covers transparency over disclosures of paid content.

How Discovery Mode Works in Practice

If you don’t mind taking a royalty rate cut, you can create a Discovery Mode campaign by logging into Spotify for Artists, heading to the campaigns page and hitting Discovery Mode.

From there, you can set up a month-long campaign; new campaigns must be created from the 11th to the last day of the month. Select the tracks you would like to be part of the campaign and submit them.

If you don’t see the track you would like to select for a campaign, there are a few items in the eligibility criteria you need to take into account. Your track must be distributed via a participating licensor (CD Baby, DistroKid, Venice Music, Stem, and Vydia), has been streamed on Auto Play in the last seven days and has been on Spotify for at least 30 days.

Note that Discovery Mode is a way for artists to let Spotify know which tracks are a promotional priority. This will add a signal to the Spotify algorithms, which are tasked with personalising listening sessions for premium subscribers.

By creating a Discovery Mode campaign, you will increase the likelihood of selected tracks being recommended, it is NOT a guarantee that your streaming stats will skyrocket.

 

Article by Amelia Vandergast

How Artists Should Use Their Music Promotion Budget

Posted on 6 March 2023
Music Promotion

I often get asked by independent artists, overwhelmed by the music promotion options available, what are the best ways to push forward with a PR campaign for a new release.

Sadly, my mind isn’t a database of every plugger in the industry that would be best suited for artists of every genre/niche and from every corner of the globe. Nor does it contain all the insights you will need to maximise success while not throwing your cash down the drain and missing out on other far more effective marketing tools.

And while I would love to have a one-size-fits-all answer that can cater to every need of every artist, there are multiple other variables to consider, including goals, budget, fan demographics, and current standing within the industry. The best music marketing strategy for you will be as unique as your music.

How to Individualise and Optimise Your Marketing Plans

No one releases a single, EP or LP without the hopes of it doing well. However, the vast majority of independent artists, without the help of a manager or label behind them, are pretty vague with their idea of how they want to succeed. There is very little room for accounting for their current position in the market, where they thrive, and what they need to do to get from A to desired B in an oversaturated industry.

The alluring optimism of expensive PR teams can easily draw artists in. But even if you spend thousands or tens of thousands on a PR campaign, there’s no guarantee the money will be well spent. Predatory PR companies quite literally bank on artists being naïve enough not to have done their due diligence before agreeing to the massive fee. It is no skin off their exploitative noses if they rob you blind and give you nothing but buyer’s remorse in return.

I get the attraction of looking for an easy definitive answer or placing your faith in the industry PR sharks. I truly do. Independent artists want to spend the time dedicated to their career on the far more satisfying endeavours of songwriting, recording and touring, not crunching the numbers on demographic analysis and marketing diagnostics. But if you don’t want all your efforts to be in vain, it is time to optimise how you promote with analytical tools readily available to artists.

Music Marketing for Independent Artists in 2023

If you are determined to take control of your independent music career in 2023, it will take plenty more than writing a few hit songs and taking a slapdash approach to your marketing.

Before you invest in music marketing, ensure you have checked off each point on this checklist.
  1. Do you understand your audience and market?
  2. Do you know your niche and how to use it to your marketing advantage?
  3. Have you covered all the social media marketing basics first?
  4. Have you set your music promotion goals?
  5. Have you crunched the numbers on your marketing budget?

Without answering these questions, your music and branding will only go so far. With the information outlined below, you can form the foundation of your music marketing plan. It is worth bearing in mind that no singular article will have all the answers. Only you know if you want short-lived viral success off the back of one hit single, a sustainable career in the industry, become the most in-demand premier live band, an irresistible playlist staple on Spotify editorial playlists, or drive up social media engagement.

For what it is worth, we always advise thinking long-term and knowing when to pull important marketing triggers – even if you want the immediate gratification of viral success. Many artists are eager to spend the big bucks on music promotion when they would be better invested further down the line after a social following and audience have been organically built.

Keeping Your Music Promotion Goals and Priorities in Check

While some artists easily garner millions of streams, others are more in demand in the live music domain or can instantly sell out their physical releases; this is why artists must consider what works for them and what generates revenue and recognition. On the flip side, weaknesses should also be accounted for. Where do you fail where others succeed. What are the underlying reasons for that, and how could you improve?

The digitalisation of music means there is a plethora of ways to garner the attention of music fans, including paying for PR campaigns, finding a radio or playlist plugger, and investing in sponsored ads on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Before investing in anything, you can do your market research independently or pay a company, such as Symphonic, a one-off fee to run a brand analysis and marketing diagnosis.

Companies like Symphonic provide a comprehensive audience analysis, provide optimisation recommendations, and suggest engagement tactic recommendations to enable artists to advertise meaningfully.

Music Chart Trackers and Analytical Tools to Utilise

  1. Streaming Platform Artist Statistics

Rather than using Spotify for Artists to get an ego boost on how many people are listening to your music, utilise it to strategize your music promotion. Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp can tell you how people are finding your music – letting you know where to invest your marketing budget in the future. It can also provide demographic insights – letting you know where to tour and which audiences you should gear your sponsored posts towards on social media.

  1. Chartmetric

There are tonnes of tools out there similar to Charmetric but few others put all the data you need together in one place to enable artists and promoters to make impactful music marketing decisions. All of the info provided is easy to follow, so you can spend less time crunching the figures and more time amplifying your advertising campaign. Chartmetric provides everything from playlist trackers to audience demographics to global digital artist ranking. You can try the free basic service or give the premium plans a try with their free trials.

  1. Awario

If you are mostly interested in your performance on social media platforms and other non-streaming-platform corners of the internet, Awario is a valuable tool for artists looking to determine just how viral they are. The tool will allow you to view how you are being searched for on the internet and the keywords revolving around your brand – this will be especially useful for how you write the web copy on your official website.

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For more information on how to take your music to the next level, book a consultation with one of the artist development experts at A&R Factory.

Article by Amelia Vandergast