The domain of music marketing is evolving faster than ever in 2023; with the rise and fall of platforms (RIP Twitter) and the new features added to existing platforms, such as the free tiers on Patreon, it can be difficult for independent artists to keep stock of all the major moves and stay up to scratch.

This article will cover the main changes that have changed the landscape of music marketing, including our view on whether it is still worth promoting your music on Elon Musk’s platform, which is sinking faster than the Oceangate submarine, a review of the brand-new features on Bandsintown, and an introduction to the new radio-like platform from Amazon.

4 Major Music Marketing Shakeups to Note in 2023

1.   Bandsintown Launched Music Promotion Pages

Few people will be as interested in your new music releases as your fans who have parted with their hard-earned cash to see you live, which makes the brand-new music promotion pages on Bandsintown promising for independent artists who know just how to draw a crowd to their live shows.

As most artists and bands who are no strangers to the live touring circuit will know, Bandsintown is already one of the top platforms to market your tours and one-off gigs. Now, the platform is allowing artists to announce and build the hype around everything from new music to merch drops.

After the new features were implemented, Bandsintown is now a one-stop shop for keeping your loyal fans in the loop. Via the platform, you can customise your release announcements, share them with your fans on social media, and even collect emails and phone numbers.

Currently, the release pages are in their beta testing stages, and only artists with a claimed profile and over 100 followers can participate. If you fit the bill, there is no harm in trying the release pages out for size. There are already 80 million live music fans signed up to the platform, connect with them!

2.   Amazon Introduced Their Free Music Marketing Platform

Decades ago, we were told that video killed the radio star, but in 2023, the radio waves are still alive with the sound of music. Especially after Amazon launched their very own radio-like platform, AMP.

It is completely free to market your music with AMP; the radio-esque platform also enables artists to connect with their fans in real time, making it a prime place for music marketing. The platform was founded on the certifiable belief that there is no better way to connect with your fans than talking to them.

The platform may not be huge yet, but it is already drawing a steady flock of tastemakers, emerging artists, and music fans who want to try their hand at being a radio DJ. The inventively interactive platform allows you to spin tunes on the radio while starting conversations with your fans.

See it as an opportunity to give your listeners an insider view into your most popular music, talk about who inspires you and find common ground with your fan base. As another benefit, you can receive money through the Amazon AMP Creator Fund every month while you are hosting shows!

3.   Reels Are on the Rise

A few months ago, we covered the TikTokification of other social media platforms and apps; a recent report published by Meta has shown to what extremes short-form content reigns supreme. Earlier this week, disclosed that reels now receive over 200 billion views every day across Facebook and Instagram.

Once you have wrapped your head around those inconceivable figures, you might want to consider how you can jump on the trend for music marketing before people get sick of being sucked into the short-form time vacuums and start being more mindful about how they spend their time on social media platforms.

While the number of Reels viewed on TikTok each day is undoubtedly far higher than the view count on Instagram and Facebook combined, TikTok hasn’t been quite as forthcoming with its viewing stats. But one thing is for certain; long-form content is out, and snappy, creative reels are in.

4.   X Now Marks the Spot, But Should You Still Dig for Engagement There?

If you use an application programming interface (API) to post to all social media sites simultaneously, you may have noticed that X (formerly Twitter) is now making it a little difficult to share your music marketing posts simultaneously.

On top of that, the levels of engagement on the platform are going down like a lead balloon. If you already have a following on there, we won’t try to convince you to jump ship before the social media vessel sinks entirely. But if you are attempting to grow your fanbase on there, you may be better off investing your time establishing yourself on Threads, Facebook, TikTok or Instagram instead.

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For more music marketing and self-promo advice, follow our music news blog, or get in touch for a one-to-one consultancy service and take charge of your music career in 2023.

Article by Amelia Vandergast