_{By Mike Romero}

If a tree falls in the woods, but no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? This is the audio equivalent of Schrödinger’s cat. It’s an important question, and painfully relevant to musicians. If you make the world’s best album, but nobody hears it, was it really the world’s best album?

The unfortunate reality in the music industry is that quality is only half the battle. In order to succeed in the music business (or any business, for that matter) you also need awareness. You need listeners. You need customers.

For musicians on a budget, it can be difficult to pursue traditional advertising avenues. Billboards, commercials, playlist campaigns, etc. can all be financially out of reach. So how can you get on people’s radar without spending the big bucks? Here are some examples that can get your wheels turning.

How you can make yourself discoverable in a non-music business context.

Take CulinarySchools.org, for example. The site is a massive directory of information for those wishing to become chefs. It contains information on schools you can attend, careers you can pursue, majors you can study, etc. As far as search engine optimization is concerned, this website should be a goldmine. However, in order for SEO to pay off, a site needs traffic. You need initial visibility to get the ball rolling and to get the algorithms working in your favor.

So, how is CulinarySchools.org making themselves visible? How are they getting that ball rolling? Simple: Kids’ Games.

CulinarySchools.org provides free access to dozens of games. From skateboarding games and golf simulators to fishing games and racing games. (My personal favorite is Tap Tap Goals, which is a Flappy Bird-inspired soccer game with a surprisingly great physics engine)

They’ve found a way to meet the needs of two audiences: bored kids who need free access wholesome entertainment and aspiring chefs. The traffic gained from the games will help them to be discovered by the chefs. They’re playing the long game, and it’s a really smart solution. Not only may some of the traffic from the games run-off into the educational side of the site, the consistent traffic can get the algorithm working in the right direction.

How you can make yourself discoverable in a music-as-art context.

For new bands, the idea of making money from your music either feels completely unattainable or kind of icky and bizarre. Provo Music Magazine is admittedly pro-business. After all, it’s hard to sustain your music career without funding.

That being said, the best way to get started on a discoverability initiative is to do so authentically. Learning how to naturally incorporate getting your art out there in a way that feels fun, fresh, and organic will not only feel better, but it will help your efforts long-term. Nobody likes doing soulless work. So start with soul.

For example, collaborate with as many friends as you can. Appear in their music videos (or help them shoot one). Co-write often. Appear on their tracks as a guest artist. Approach your friends in the electronic space for a remix.

If you have non-music related interests, try to incorporate your music there, too. Say, for example, you ran an Instagram or TikTok account dedicated to skateboarding clips or sports highlights. Try including your music (and the music of your friends) in rotation.

Lo Beeston collaborating with Cayson Renshaw is a great demonstration of this principle. Not only did they make a great song that appears on each others’ Spotify profiles, but Lo Beeston is a successful TikTok personality. Cayson has a stronger Spotify presence, and Lo Beeston has a stronger social media presence. It’s mutually beneficial, it feels natural, and it’s genuinely great art.

How you can make yourself discoverable in a music-as-business context?

One of the best things you can do for your music is to get it placed in commercial projects. Think film, television, movies, etc.. How do you do this?

Try submitting your music to song libraries like Triple Scoop, Music Bed, or Artlist. On a more grassroots level, try speaking with business owners in your community to see if you can strike up a deal with them to use your music on social media. You can even offer to compose original music just for them.

Another way to make yourself more discoverable is to chunk up your stems or your instrumentals and to sell them as sample packs. This is especially a good idea if you have extra takes that ended up on the cutting room floor. Other musicians are constantly looking for quality recordings to incorporate into their own compositions, especially if they can pay a flat rate to have everything cleared for use.

Coming at things from a different angle, if you’ve been able to grow your social media following to above 2,000 followers, you can start to leverage your audience for brand deals. Micro-influencing can give you a budget to promote your music. Again, it’s important to be as authentic as possible when going this route. You don’t want to alienate your followers by starting to share completely irrelevant content. But including one or two of these posts a month can unlock a new revenue stream for you and your art.

Conclusion

There are lots of ways you can make yourself more discoverable. Collaboration is key. Providing value in new and unique ways can open up exciting and unconventional opportunities.

If you do this authentically and consistently, you can find yourself growing your audience and revenue simultaneously – all while feeling good about the work you’re doing.

Check out ysabelle and Michael Barrow & the Tourists’ song “I See Stars” below, which was written for Season 4 of The Kiss Bet.

Editors note: This article contains paid promotion.