starting your journey as an artist is hard. We feel you.
From producing your first beat, writing your own lyrics to finding other artists to collaborate with, the first steps in something new are always challenging. Sadly, even once you produced a real banger your work doesn't end.
Meet your new challenge - getting your music heard by as many people possible.
There are a lot of strategies when it comes to how to market your music, where to post your tracks and which attitudes you should take when promoting every song.
This post will answer the "where" - focusing on our personal favorite - Reddit.
Unless you were frozen in ice for the past 5 years, you probably know Reddit. But just to be safe: Reddit is a content sharing platform where users can create unique blogs on certain topics (these are called subreddits). Subreddits go far and wide, from music to digital coins.
Why should you get your music on Reddit? Redditors (reddit users).
The people of reddit spend lots of time commenting, voting and giving feedback on topics they follow in the platform - they are probably the most active users of all online communities.
Ok, thats easy, all I have to do is blast my music on every subbredit? WRONG
Redditors notoriously hate self promotion, so before you start sharing your music make sure you know these 5 Reddit basics.
1. Karma is everything:
This is your net worth in Reddit, it's calculated by the total of upvotes + replies your posts and comments received.
The more karma a Redditor has - the more legit he is.
0 karma + self promotion posts = disaster (Trust me...)
2. Active approach is a must:
The only way to get your karma going is to be active.
Interact with people, comment on others' posts while keeping your replies on point - this is not soundcloud or instagram, 3 fire emojis wouldn't get you far on Reddit.
3. Follow subreddits rules and rediquette:
In reddit rules aren't meant to be broken post the wrong piece of content in the wrong place you'll be swarmed with angry comments and downvotes.
4. DONT SPAM:
despite being part of the rediquette we have to emphasize on this one, spamming is a very easy way to get banned from subreddits.
5. Redditors aren't forgiving:
you'll make mistakes on reddit, that's for sure, so you must be prepared for the angry comments you'll receive - take it lightly and move on.
We know, being active is time consuming, but you don't need to be on Reddit 24/7 in order to grow.
We recommend 10-15 minutes a day for a full week before posting your own content.
In every session you'll need to vote and reply relevant posts.
pro tip: Make sure your replies are relevant - Reddit is not about quantity it's about quality - a quality reply can boost your karma to the roof.
Now after you figured out the basics and hopefully you got some nice karma, it's time to put your music out there.
Here are 20 subreddits every musician should know. Some are great for directly promoting your music, some better for production tips. Reddit is all about sharing your content in the right subreddit - learn how to do it right and you will see it's full promotion might!
Remember, even when promoting your music on reddit the guidelines above are still very relevant.
1. r/MusicPromotion -
Size: Small 271 redditors.
Redditors type: Starting musicians looking to get plays for their tracks. What is it good for: taking your first steps in sharing your music to the reddit world.
2. r/shareyourmusic -
Size: medium 4000+ redditors
Redditors type: all levels of musicians looking to get feedback.
What is it good for: real plays and feedback from other musicians
3. r/makinghiphop -
Size: big 58,480 redditors
Redditors type: rappers, beatmakers, hip hop producers of all levels
What is it good for: The Daily Feedback Thread is a great way to get your music to a lot of people.
4. r/beatmakers -
Size: small 947 redditors
Redditors type: beatmakers of all kinds
What is it good for: Put your music out there, get some listens.
5. r/ThisIsOurMusic -
Size: big 21,749 redditors
Redditors type: music makers of all kinds
What is it good for: feedback and critique, potential collaborations.
6. r/MusicCritique -
Size: medium 4,211 redditors
Redditors type: music makers of all levels
What is it good for: Feedback / artist of the week program - win it, and you'll be featured on their about.
7. r/LofiHipHop -
Size: big 27,009 redditors
Redditors type: lofi hip hop makers and fans
What is it good for: weekly self plug thread (Don't post there unless you make lo-fi hip hop!)
8. r/newmusic -
Size: medium 5,322 redditors
Redditors type: music fans, looking for new music
What is it good for: new fans, share your music here with caution
9. r/roastmytrack -
Size: medium 2,991 redditors
Redditors type: music producers of all kinds
What is it good for: music critique, track improvement
10. r/shamelessplug -
Size: big 9,615 redditors
Redditors type: creators of all kinds
What is it good for: shameless plug! get your music heard but all kind of creators.
11. r/listentothis -
Size: huge 12,798,794 redditors
Redditors type: Music lovers of all genres.
What is it good for: The melting pot ! a free for all self promotion thread updated on a weekly basis. Don't promote your music in the main feed only in the melting pot, they don't mess around.
12. r/acousticoriginals -
Size: medium 3,697 redditors
Redditors type: songrwriters
What is it good for: feedback and promotion on acoustic music, be sure you post fitting music.
13. r/futurebeats -
Size: huge 72,600 redditors
Redditors type: beatmakers, beat lovers, futuristic hip hop fans, club music fans.
What is it good for: every Monday they create a weekly self promotion thread where all beatmakers can share their music, but before you upload your music there make sure it fits!
14. r/theseareouralbums -
Size: medium 3,212 redditors
Redditors type: redditors making music and their potential fans
What is it good for: Promoting albums instead of stand alone tracks, the best option for giving your new album the first push it needs.
15. r/mymusic -
Size: medium 4,184 redditors
Redditors type: music creators who wants their music heard
What is it good for: another group for musicians to share their music with fellow creators - all genres are acceptable.
16. r/composer -
Size: large 13,767 redditors
Redditors type: classical music composers and fans
What is it good for: Are you composing classical music and you're searching for avid listeners? this is the subreddit for you!
17. r/promoteyourmusic -
Size: small 1,266 redditors
Redditors type: music makers of all genres.
What is it good for: a small but very active subreddit for artists to promote their music. if you feel you are not ready for the bigger sized subs this is a great starting point.
18. r/youngbands -
Size: small 539 redditors
Redditors type: band members.
What is it good for: youngbands might be the smallest subreddit we featured, but it's a great place to share your bands' music on, we recommend it as a first step on reddit.
19. r/icoveredasong -
Size: medium 5391 redditors
Redditors type: musicians and covers loving music heads.
What is it good for: This is the place to share your great cover of a well known artist - a good cover is a great way to kickstart your music career (Check the great feature by the diy-musician blog here).
20. r/bedroombands -
Size: medium unknown number redditors
Redditors type: underground band members and music lovers.
What is it good for: A truly remarkable subreddit aiming to help starting bands. Get help in finishing projects from other members or just publish your finished work for critique plus they do cool competitions with nice prizes.
If Spotify is your thing, and playlists spots are your main goal Reddit got you covered as well.
(Don't worry, we got you too. Click here to submit your music to playlists)
21. r/spotifyplaylist -
Size: small, 200 redditors.
Redditors type: playlist curators, music fans, artists.
What is it good for: promoting your playlist, connecting with playlist makers.
22. r/makemeaplaylist -
Size: Big, 6559 Redditors.
Redditors type: playlist makers, music fans.
What is it good for: Push your music while helping out people in need for a playlist. For example, if someone is asking for a chilled playlist and you make ambient, you can create a playlist that includes a few of your tracks.
23. r/wereonspotify -
Size: medium 854 Redditors.
Redditors type: music fans, artists.
What is it good for: sending your music to a pretty acceptive audience. make sure it's on Spotify though.
24. r/SpotifyHHH -
Size: Large 4000+ Redditors.
Redditors type: Hip Hop Heads, artists and playlist makers.
What is it good for: Same as Hip Hop Heads subreddit but with a Spotify focus.
25. r/SpotifyPlaylists - Size: Large 10K+ Redditors.
Redditors type: playlist curators, music fans, artists.
What is it good for: promoting your playlist, connecting with playlist makers.
Now that you know where are the best places to upload your music we have 2 last tips for ya'll:
i. Timing is everything - Most subreddits show you how many users are online every moment. Make sure you check that number before you post your track, album or beat. This is your starting point, and if you'll get it right you can find yourself in the trending feed of each subreddit.
ii. Use Flairs - A flair is a distinct mark that can be attached to a post, their use is to distinct between the different kinds of posts.
Different subreddits have different flairs and it's important you familiarize yourself with the flairs of every subreddit you join (It's really simple don't worry).
Conclusion:
Reddit can be a great place to promote your music for free, but you always need to remember that reddit is first of all a community of very passionate users you will have a bad time.
Follow the rules, be active and get your music heard!
MySphera is a new community for starting musicians, beatmakers helping them to build the strong fanbase they need in order to step up their game.
Join MySphera here