Music Marketing 101

The music industry has undergone extreme changes over the past few years, many of which have opened the doors for developing bands and artists. Gone are the days where the only option for getting fans to hear your music relied upon support from a limited number of “gatekeepers.” Music Marketing 101 provides artists, managers, and business entrepreneurs with the foundational music marketing base they’ll need to succeed and thrive in this new music business.

This course starts with the basics – an overview of key music marketing principles, terms, and practices which together form the foundation for all music marketing plans. From there, students will dig into the key areas of opportunities for musicians, including merchandising, publicity, radio promotion (online and traditional), retail & distribution (online and traditional), advertising, and touring. Students will learn what companies and partners to work with to reach their core fans, how to communicate with them, and the ways to leverage the changes and new opportunities that the internet offers to marketers. The information in this course can form the basis for a full marketing campaign, or be immediately implemented into a new marketing and promotion campaign. This course looks at the opportunities available at both traditional terrestrial marketing opportunities, as well as online opportunities. By the end of the course you will have an active marketing plan and timeline tailored to your own unique strengths and budget.

By the end of this course, you will:

Gain a firm understanding of the foundational best practices involved with all successful music marketing campaigns
Develop an integrated approach to music marketing in the focus areas of Press, Retail, Distribution (online and traditional), Radio, Advertising, Merchandising, and Touring
Understand online music distribution and retail: the terms, deals, formats, options, and key companies to work with
Know the PR outlets that matter – national, regional, local, specialized and trade press – how and when to communicate to them, and when to hire outside help
Learn how to get your music into brick and mortar independent retailers, what kind of materials you should make to support your release, and the inner workings of the online retail and distribution outlets
Understand how radio promotion works, and learn when you should consider an independent promotion company
Know what to make for merchandise, when to make it, and how much to spend
Create a timeline and a working marketing plan tailored to your individual strengths

Syllabus

Lesson 1 Getting Started with Music Marketing

Lesson 2 Making Money through Merchandise Sales

Lesson 3 Streaming Services, Retailers, and Digital Distributors

Lesson 4 Traditional Brick-and-Mortar Distributors

Lesson 5 Marketing Creative

Lesson 6 Publicity

Lesson 7 Radio

Lesson 8 Making the Most of a National Tour

Lesson 9 Advertising

Lesson 10 Creating a Marketing Plan That Works

Lesson 11 Timing Your Marketing Campaign: Putting It All Together

Lesson 12 Sync and Licensing

Requirements

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