We talk about developing an audience throughout a lot of these articles for obvious reasons. We’re less focussed on simple streams or views for your release but more about working with you to grow an engaged fanbase who will keep coming back to the artist.
Following our recent Artist Marketing session in the office, where we couldn’t get to all of the questions within 60 minutes, we wanted to answer the remaining queries. So, over to Joe Edwards (Director, Marketing at AWAL) who has been across numerous incredible campaigns throughout his career including the No.1 album from You Me At Six “Suckapunch”.
Over to Joe…
- What's a standard budget for building out an artist's narrative and developing their audience?
It will depend on your team and the budget you have available. Early on you can do a lot for free. The time you spend developing your narrative is well spent and the right place to start. Understanding what are you trying to communicate is key. You can then start to do that for free on your socials.
The main cost is developing the audience. Once you’re making great content - you want people to see it. Start by spending small and learn from that. Find what connects and then react. That means you post content on Instagram for example, if a post is gaining more traction than others, that’s the one to push a little. On TikTok for where the algorithm is key, it’s even more important that you should wait to see what works well organically and focus your spending there.
- How frequently should we be releasing music for our debut? Waiting 4-6 weeks is long enough for people to forget you. Do you see any negative side to releasing songs every 2-3 weeks in the beginning? We have 14 songs done that we are releasing as singles and would love to hear your thoughts on a really aggressive release schedule in the beginning of a project!
The 4-6 weeks window is partly to do with Radio and partly the time it takes for a track to go through its playlisting journey. Let’s imagine that your track hits New Music Friday in Sweden. It then drifts through some genre playlists and gains a good following and some streams. After 6 weeks Spotify will likely be paying a little less attention to it. This means there’s then space for new tunes. That said, you don’t have to wait - If you have songs for example that sit in slightly different genres you cold drop those without them conflicting. As they would sit in different playlists there wouldn’t be that same challenge.
Regarding how you release - If you have got 14 songs done, for example, it’s important not to rush the album drop. Releasing the tracks sporadically gives you a chance to shout about things regularly which is more chances to share new content and engage with fans and press. It could take a full year to drop the tracks even if they come together to be an album at the end. This is something I could take at length about but this is a good jumping-in point.
- What advice would you give to an adult contemporary genre artist?
This isn’t specific to ‘adult contemporary artists’ but you would have a look at what your peers are doing online and in particular where/how they’re effectively communicating with their audience. You could find some practices that will be useful for you. It’s not something you would copy but if a similar artist is building a fanbase on Facebook that is the right place or if they’re using short-form videos on IG to engage with fans then that would be worth considering. You should look for where your audience is living online and focus there.
- How and when do you start planning marketing around your release?
When: Well in advance is best - around the time of mastering is probably a good point. The biggest mistake is to release too early. Make sure you have all your “ducks in row” before you release.
Tip: You’re likely thinking about the design aesthetic for the artwork very early in the schedule. Now, there might be a photo shoot for that, That’s a great opportunity for you to be planning content that might come out of that? Are there video assets, BTS footage, back story or even live performance video to be made?
How: We’re thinking of the artist's story but also and more specifically we’re thinking, what is the track about? Then we consider how do I want to present it.
- Do I need a lyrics video to emphasize the video?
- Will I do an official video?
- What are my fans going to be interested in?
- What platforms will I be focussing on and what assets make sense on those platforms?
Depending on the budget you might be wanting to get press and radio in the mix. If so you’ll want to talk to them right at the start (around the time of mastering).
Finally, a mistake one can easily make is focussing entirely on this one release. When you drop it - if it lands well are you going to be ready to follow up with the next release. Momentum is key and when your track does drop you’ll want to then follow up with the next campaign.
- A question about an artist with a large following within their local scene that has the support of relevant media and radios in that territory. They haven't received the expected editorial support from DSPs and wonder how that can be explained given the artist's profile and how to reach a wider/more global market?
If you’ve got a following in your local territory then you’re doing great. If editorial isn’t happening then you might have been unlucky and got lost in the mix. If getting on to the global stage through playlisting isn’t happening - look to artists who are in a similar position in those territories and look to see if you could collaborate with them. That might look like touring together or working together musically etc. It’s hard to quantify what you’ll need to break through with editors but you can move outside of that and eventually, they will come on board.
- How do I find my niche on Tik Tok?
Honestly, it’s thinking about who you are as an artist, what you want to say, being authentic and then trial and error. Don’t be afraid to try stuff. You can delete it later. Most artists are multi-faceted human beings with other things going on. Sometimes the first idea that comes might be that you play acoustic versions of your songs and that’s fine but maybe you’re a gamer. It’s ok to try that out on the platform too and then see what lands well with your audience.
NB. You can find a niche and then stick to it so strictly that people get bored of your channel.
- What are your thoughts on Discord groups as opposed to an email list for superfans?
Discord, if you’re an artist who is willing to put a lot of time in and the fans are engaged it’s great but, as with all platforms, go in with a plan and do it well.
For superfans, you need to incentivize them by giving them stuff there that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. That might be sharing lyrical insights, giving them chance to pick the next single, etc.
I’d still want an email list as well. The way with a lot of platforms has been that as they mature you’ll need to engage paid marketing to reach your own fans. The email list is not such a dynamic model and is unlikely to change.
- Have you got any tips to protect your mental health when you HAVE to spend so much time on social media, creating, posting, etc…while being an independent/DIY artist
No one started making music so they could spend more time on socials. It’s a huge challenge. For me, it’s about blocking out time. While there’s a feeling that you need to be replying fast and create that sense of immediate and reactive communication - that’s not essential all the time. It’s important o be firm with yourself and stick to the time you do “block out”.
Also, you can be sure to maximize the impact you get from the time you spend by being strategic. For example, make lots of content in one session so you have it ready to go. When you look at TikTok you’ll see a lot of instances where influencers wear the same clothes - that’s a good indicator that they made all the posts one time and then dripped them out.
- Can you talk about managing press releases and having a relationship with Press & radio for releases? Do you have tips for finding PR/radio pluggers that you can trust?
So, early on in your career - due to social platforms you get quite a long way in developing an audience before you need a press team, etc. How much music discovery is driven by the press is hard to clearly outline. They’re still important fields in artists' careers. Regarding the relationships, to start with, you should try some direct outreach to publications, BBC Introducing, and Radio producers, and see how you get on. Then you will have some frame of reference next time around when you’re speaking to a press team. You will compare what you achieved against the guarantees and then the results you get when you work with that Press team.
A Tip: Find someone who is good at being realistic in their expectations and give you measurable upfront targets. Then you can see clearly if they did or didn’t achieve their targets.
How do you find them? They might reach out which is great but that doesn't mean they’re definitely the right fir. You should look at who does PR/press for your contemporaries or artist who are slightly further on in their career. You could even ask those artists who they work with and see if they have any tips.
- Outside of labels, Are there any platforms or companies that offer funding for emerging artists that have a strong foundation that you would recommend?
Obviously, that’s something that AWAL does, but outside of labels, you might look to charitable organizations like Help Musicians, PRS, the Arts Council, BPI in the UK or New Music USA, Foundation for Contemporary Arts in the US, and so on in your territories.
- How would you go about promoting Official videos?
Ideally, when you shoot it you got loads of additional content. You got BTS footage that you could share, maybe there was a photographer, maybe you got a version that works in portrait for TikTok, youtube shorts and Instagram Stories, etc. Maybe there are some characters within the story of the video that you could reveal in teasers in your socials?
Then depending on the size of the video and the budget, start teasing 1-2 weeks upfront. Drop a trailer, post behind-the-scenes photos, and talk about the process. If you have a fan base that would like it you could do a youtube premiere.
It’s important not to see it as you drop the video and you’re done. 2 weeks beforehand and 2 weeks afterward.
Obviously, you’d serve to press if you have a press team alongside another story. If you have a budget then some TrueView Ads are an efficient way to drive views on the video and will boost organic engagement.
If it’s a performance video then an acoustic version or acapella could drop after the original. You could look at tweaking it for the Spotify canvas. And of course… make sure you’re dropping it on all the platforms you’re active.
- Are Facebook ads worth it?
What’s your goal? If you’re building your audience on that platform with it’s older demographic then yes. Focus on the platform that matches the target for your music.
You might be trying to drive behavior. The only way to do that effectively is to test, It can be hard to get people to leave a platform is tricky. That’s why youtube can be useful as it’s a space to watch videos. On Facebook - people aren’t there to watch videos necessarily. It’s a very case-by-case basis.
- I was wondering at what stage of an artist's career would AWAL step in and help out marketing-wise? Does it depend on the number of monthly Spotify listeners/Streams etc?
Not one for me this… back to you Phil…
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Big thanks to Joe for the answers here. We’ve covered a lot of great questions from the AWAL Artist Community who were part of the Academy Session in March.
To that last question of what AWAL is looking for before we can step in and help out marketing-wise. It’s a complicated answer and we have an A&R team who are constantly answering and re-answering that question every day as they champion new projects within the AWAL ecosystem. For some insight on the A&R process please check out this article from the Head of A&R in North America, Pete Giberga. [Below].
This article was following a session that we also turned into a chapter from the AWAL Academy on Marketing with Charlotte Birch (Head of Marketing, AWAL) that you can access here.
Thanks for reading. That’s all just now. ✌️