Beyoncè, Rihanna, Adele, and The Weeknd; are famous music artists today. Each live performance showcases these singers' talent and enhances their legendary status. To some, they seem larger than life because of their popularity. It often makes aspiring musicians wonder how they can get to that level. Most believe they need to get signed to a label because that gives them the most immediate chance of success. Furthermore, your favorite artist is most likely signed to one.

However, what if you're an aspiring artist that wants to do things independently? Can you still market your music to the masses? You can, but there are quite a few things you'll need to do to ensure you make a lasting imprint. Let's check them out below.

Find a Platform to Showcase Your Music

Of course, the first thing you'll need to do is showcase your music to listeners. There are various platforms, making it a lot easier to hear your music. But which is the best one for you?

If you talk to most people, Spotify is their app of choice because of the algorithm and ease of use. For new artists, it's a place where they can easily get heard. On the other hand, it'll take a while before you earn something from your streams. Plus, Spotify will take some of the profits, which can be discouraging.

Your best bet is to learn how to upload music to Spotify without losing money. The best way to do that is with the help of a music distribution service. It will have connections to all music platforms and get your songs heard. All you need to do is pay for an annual subscription and your set. Upload your music to the service, select the platform you want it to appear on (Spotify), and let everything else take care of itself.

Figuring Out Your Marketing Budget

You can't do anything without money. Unfortunately, that's the way the world works. In the music business, it will determine how much people hear your music. Yes, you can put it on streaming platforms, but how else will you sell yourself to listeners?

That stems from figuring out how much you actually have to spend. We're sure you've heard of the old phrase "you have to spend money to make money"; in this instance, it's true. What you spend on your marketing campaign will correlate to your success.

However, that can be a catch-22. You don't want to spend too much either because then you'll be left with little to nothing. So figuring out your ideal budget is essential. What's better for your pockets, spreading it out over the course of various days or paying outright?

Spreading the cost might seem more attractive, especially if you see something like "Place an ad here for $1 a day." The downfall is that the platform will take a while to figure out an algorithm to get you listeners. If you pay a larger sum outright, yes, it might hurt your pockets initially, but it'll also allow you to optimize your marketing strategy. Once you're done "testing," you can determine the best approach for the rest of your budget.

Separate Yourself With a Unique Story

We live in an age where attention spans are very short. People want to be instantly intrigued before investing time in an artist. And the way you do that is by creating a unique story that supports your music.

For example, an artist like Taylor Swift is known for creating great albums from her breakups; Beyoncè's identity is embedded in women's empowerment and impressive performances. So how will you grab someone's attention?

Get your message across quickly; it needs to be succinct and to the point. At most, you have three seconds to grab someone's attention. Anything longer than that, and you've lost them. You'll also want to ensure you refrain from bombarding people with call-to-actions. People are wary of things that seem like cold marketing. Yes, the aim is to get them to listen to your music. But make sure that your emails, social media posts, and blogs are personable instead of "salesy."

Here's How to Market Yourself as an Independent Artist

Being an independent artist is challenging because you won't have the backing of a major label. So there are a lot of tasks you'll need to handle on your own. However, if you do things correctly, you can get your independent music career often the ground and grow your fandom.