Stop promoting “music,” start promoting “moments.

[Januve]

One thing I’ve learned (the hard way ) is that people don’t really connect with “new track out now.” They connect with what the music does for them.

Think about it:

Nobody wakes up saying “I need a new deep house track.”

But they do say “I need something to get me through this gym session” or “I need something to calm my head before sleep.”

That’s the difference between promoting music vs. promoting moments.

Instead of saying:
“New track out now on Spotify.”

Try something like:
“Music to help you wind down after a long day.”
“A track to get your energy back when you’re stuck in the studio.”
“Sounds that feel like you’re standing by the ocean.”

The music hasn’t changed but the way people see it has. You’re giving them a reason to care, a moment they want to step into.

Curious, do you guys already frame your music like this? Or do you still mostly post the classic “link drop” promo?

[whyterabbyt]

I find the notion of 'moments' as evinced on social media to be a dumbed-down, nose-led 'here's what to think' soundbyte curated for a Gen-Z-esque minimal-attention span of 20 seconds of inattention on Tiktok; music is something I'd want people to actually dedicate time to listening to.

[Sonic Illusions]

I give my tracks funny names like 'Mr Spock's Naughty Miscalculations'

[Gamma-UT]

No two people respond in the same way to the same piece of music. Unless you're in the business of composing advertising jingles, this is an exercise in futility.

[Bunny_boy]

[jancivil]

Nobody wakes up saying “I need a new deep house track.”

But they do say “I need something to get me through this gym session” or “I need something to calm my head before sleep.”

That’s the difference between promoting music vs. promoting moments.

Instead of saying:
“New track out now on Spotify.”

Try something like:
“Music to help you wind down after a long day.”
“A track to get your energy back when you’re stuck in the studio.”
“Sounds that feel like you’re standing by the ocean.”

This is so incredibly vapid. i make music qua music. It's to be listened to, not a background noise as if to serve some other purpose. None of us can know what another person's reponse is going to be in the first place, so these claims are in the end unsupportable. Also "promoting moments" is not better than gibberish; you're promoting gym sessions or sleep?

When one needs 'an angle' so badly as this my sense is they lack confidence their music has value in itself.

[whyterabbyt]

Think about it:

Nobody wakes up saying “I need a new deep house track.”

But they do say “I need something to get me through this gym session” or “I need something to calm my head before sleep.”

That’s the difference between promoting music vs. promoting moments.

Ive thought about it. Its an obvioous false dichotomy (there are more than two possibilities, including the fact that some people dont give a f**k about genre), compounded by a completely self-serving argument from ignorance (you sure as hell dont know what everyone 'says')

This is that horrible view of music-as-product, the same coin as 'I wanna make music but its too much work, which AI will do it all for me?' and the absolute death of any conception of art.

[jancivil]

brutal


good ol' Perry Coma

[lotus2035]

“Music to help you wind down after a long day.”
“A track to get your energy back when you’re stuck in the studio.”
“Sounds that feel like you’re standing by the ocean.”

There's already been a few decades of this kind of marketing, usually for some kind of meditation music/sounds. “Sounds that feel like you’re standing by the ocean.”? They've been around a while, the best ones have seagulls in the background. Bought one on cassette back in the late 1900's.

[seismic1]

Music to help you breathe when you are up to your neck in mud.

I might use that.

[vurt]

im having one of my 'moments'

[funky lime]

OP discovered that library music exists, and is jamming out to "Uplifting Corporate Rock #293846" followed by a bit of "Introspective Minimal Piano #2384." Maybe "Whimsical upbeat whistling and claps for paper towel commercial #2398346778" is up next.

[cryophonik]

I don't make music for other people to listen to, I make it for me. If I put it out there and people hear it and like it, well that's a bonus. So, maybe I should promote it with something like:

"new song. I like it and maybe you will, too...or not, whatever. "

[vurt]

"some organised sound to listen to, when you feel like you want to listen to some music"

[cryophonik]

"Music to listen to during a prostrate exam"

"Music that will make you question your life choices"

"Music that will likely get you fired and possibly imprisoned and tortured"