Internet deeply changes the way we re-release music and discover artists – and that’s where tastemakers come in. The biggest consequence of the rise of internet streaming is that more than 60,000 new songs are released every day on Spotify. While it has become much simpler to produce music and make it available online, it has become even more complicated for a musician to stand out from the crowd.
Streaming Subscriptions Surge
However, a new promotional opportunity has grown in importance in recent years: the prescribing power of music tastemakers. Though these new and old actors in music promotion are more and more influential, many music professionals don’t integrate them well into their marketing strategies.
Who are the music tastemakers?
“Getting in touch with music tastemakers is your best chance of capturing new faithful listeners who will listen to your next 10 songs in a loop and recommend them to all their friends.”
Nowadays, new types of influential media are becoming more and more important while the influence of traditional actors is not the same as it was. These new music tastemakers can be musicians themselves or simply passionate about a particular musical genre.
They help support musical eclecticism vs. the usual mainstream music shared by the traditional media. They share their favourite music through blogs, social media, Youtube & SoundCloud channels or playlists on streaming platforms.
Their network of influence has become increasingly important as:
– They are more accessible and available to answer requests. Tastemakers are more inclined to maintain privileged relations with artists they support and will not hesitate to communicate their personal contacts if they truly believe in your project
– They hold a more engaged audience. They favour quality over quantity. Their audience is certainly smaller than traditional media outlets, but still remains more active and faithful
– They help boost the reputation and credibility of artists. Getting positive feedback and reviews from music tastemakers significantly increase your credibility with other music professionals. This gives you long-term visibility. This will probably encourage others to listen to your music and contact you for new opportunities
Various types of music tastemakers available on Groover
The driving role of feedback
On top of giving you visibility, artists should take the opportunity to get honest feedback on their music from these music tastemakers.
The first reason why feedback is so important is that it is hugely difficult to listen to your own music in a completely objective way. Being a musician or an artist is generally an activity where introspection is prominent. Indeed, it becomes very complicated after months of hard work to take a step back on your own creation. Talking to an outsider – preferably specialized in the music field – is probably the most effective way to identify strengths, weaknesses, and to find new creative ideas.
How to stand out? The paradox of emails
“The most important thing to remember is that your song won’t get famous by itself. The primary goal is to get people to listen to your music. Nowadays, it is a victory in itself.”
Sending emails is the classic and most obvious method to promote a new project. However, this process has lost momentum over the years and is now almost ineffective. Indeed, even if your email is straightforward, effective and convincing, over 95% of the time you don’t get answers. The time invested compared to the expected results is likely to discourage you.
What you need to know is that the music tastemakers want to discover new songs. The issue is that they receive hundreds of emails each day. Overwhelming. Therefore, many of them literally dump their email inbox. The communication between artists and influencers is then broken and the outcome is tragic. Countless talents remain completely unknown.
A new way to promote and discover music with Tastemakers
How to guarantee listening and feedback from music tastemakers? How can artists send their music to them instantly, in a simple and effective way? Due to the increasing volume of music released every day, it has become more than necessary to create a system that helps connect musicians and tastemakers better.
You’ve probably always dreamed of it. And now a band of musicians, bloggers & entrepreneurs have taken up the challenge of creating a web platform that can solve these issues. Launched in October 2018, Groover connects emerging artists with the best media, radio and record labels seeking emerging talents. On Groover, musicians are ensured to be listened to, get feedback guaranteed and coverage (reviews, playlist adds…)
How does it work?
In a simple and affordable way. By using micropayments – € 2 per tastemaker contacted – musicians are ensured that their song will be listened to, to receive written feedback and gain visibility. Music tastemakers have 7 days to listen to your song and give feedback.
They are paid €1 for each personal comment made whatever their decision is, and Groover earns €1. If a music tastemaker doesn’t give you feedback in this time period, you get your credits back. Meaning that you’re able to contact a different one should that happen.
In one year of running, the results are already convincing. Since the launch of the platform, already more than 60,000 pieces of feedback were given by the 300 media, radio and labels currently active on Groover. 15,000 shares were made and more than 50 signatures with record labels, publishers or bookers were obtained by artists following contact through Groover.
Groover works because it makes the needs of both sides meet
On the one hand, artists finally have the opportunity to focus fully on the creation and completion of their projects. On the other hand, music tastemakers have a simple and ergonomic tool to discover music. Plus they are paid for the first time for their music discovery while keeping their complete editorial independence.
Groover provides a real answer to the thousands of emerging artists in search of recognition. It is now possible for them to get concrete answers from music professionals and tastemakers and accelerate their music careers. Something which so far felt almost unachievable.
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