Artists as we know, have to manage a lot of things apart from their music now a days.
With technology there is a lot of doors that have been opened for independent artists. it is important to know what are the basis that any artist should have, in order to thrive in these business.
Here are some of the most basic mistakes that artists make, and why is it so important to correct them.
This is pretty common. An artist publish a post on Instagram about a concert or a festival they’re performing at and they put the link in the caption.
As we all know, links in Instagram captions can’t be clicked on. This means the user has to copy and paste it from a pc or type it directly on their phone browser.
Now, one would expect to find a link through the artist’s link in bio but as it turns out.. its just their website. Now we have to browse through the website in hopes to find the tickets in one of the tabs. This is way to much work for your fans, and can potentially cost you ticket sales! Always have a button available in your link in bio for ticket sales and specify in the caption that’s where fans can find it.
I’d recommend using Linktree to add direct links to your link in bio or Later to add specific links to your posts.
2. Not using Instagram stories
These are a great way to keep engagement with your current fans, in a more real and personal setting. It can be an opportunity to share unpolished content in a more real and genuine way. A lot of users prefer to watch stories instead of scrolling through the Instagram feed, so if you don’t use stories at all you’re potentially missing a lot of reach.
We also have to remember that Instagram does not show all posts to users. So even if you have 5,000 followers and you publish a post, only a part of those followers will actually see it.
3. Not having a website
This is where you’re going to have all your information, not only for your fans but also for blogs or magazines that might want to write about you or even talent scouters. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, now a days there are tons of user friendly platforms to make your website for free.
I personally used Wix to make my first website and it was very easy to use, free, and had a lot of template options.
You have to make sure to have all links to your music, a press release, social media you’re in, photos, and concert dates with ticket sales if you have any.
4. Not having a press release
A press release is a tool that will allow you to have all the necessary information about you and your music ready to go for any media purposes. It should have your information as an artist including music releases, any awards you’ve won, music influences, and of course photos.
This is going to be a guide for blogs or magazines that want to write about you so make sure you are thorough and clear. Also make sure to keep updating it with your current music releases or even your plans to release music.
5. Not having a live performance video
I can say from experience that a lot of festivals or platforms that organize small intimate concerts like SoFar sounds want to make sure the artists playing are comfortable performing. If there are absolutely no videos showing your performance they might not even consider you. Remember they get thousands of submissions they have to go through.
The video doesn’t have to be professional in any way, it just has to show how you perform for at least one full song. If it can be steady and clear that would be a plus.