We’ve got some news…
Urban Rebel PR is officially launching pop music promotion and PR services, to give the next megastars their rightful place at the table.
Of course, this isn’t a million miles away from our work promoting EDM royalty like Hardwell and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike – but with a fresh new angle on pop and dance pop, we’re attracting more hitmakers and even more diverse creativity to the party.
We’re really excited about the future, and applying our decades of music PR experience to the fastest-paced and most exciting genre in the world.
With this exciting new avenue to explore, you might be wondering what kind of music marketing strategies are needed for pop music promotion. After all, it’s noisy – and budgets for the biggest acts are practically industrial in scale. How are new acts supposed to get noticed?
Well, in those early days, it’s all about exposure. Not of your music, though – and none of this “pay to play” nonsense, either. It’s about your personal brand, your knowledge of the
audience, the culture, the scene, the memes… And playing to it with your art. So, let’s look at the fundamentals to nail before you even start thinking about marketing pop music.
1. Who are you?
What’s your act – and is it different to your real persona? This can be really hard to reconcile, and borderline stressful (imagine pretending to be a whole different person for
your whole career). Choose carefully, and remember; authenticity sells. If you’re a quiet soul but you make killer music, let it do the talking for you. If you’re naturally funny, snarky, anti-
authority – then run with your gifts. All of them.
But we don’t think it’s a good idea to be someone you’re not. You’ll burn out faster than the artist who chose a genuine path, and it can be harder to find your feet again. This industry can be hardcore, even at the best of times, so give yourself the peace of knowing who you really are before you go in – so you can centre yourself quickly if you ever need to.
2. Build up a press kit and presence
Now, let’s get tactical. Your pop music promotion strategy can only begin when you have some assets in place;
● Music
● Videos
● Photos
● Bios
● Contact info
● Accolades
A website is a brilliant way to manage all this. You can make a website for free pretty easily – and store all your creative stuff on SoundCloud, YouTube, and other music-focused
networks. In fact, you can use a YouTube Channel to host all of it, without having to make a website at all. Tag it up and brand it up well, and you might get a little free online promo off
it, too!
All you need really is music, photos, a bio, and a way of getting in touch for bookings and press. You can use these assets (and your creativity) to do digital PR for music, too.
Be that genuine person you are all the time, on social, in your own blog – and create content around the parts of your art you enjoy the most. Love writing lyrics? Share your passion.
Give a masterclass, or insight into your process. Love to sing? Then sing! Duet on TikTok, do YouTube Shorts, Reels on Insta – share your gifts.
Read more – Music Promotion on TikTok
Get creative and have fun with it. Jam with the tone coming out of your washing machine, remix your dog’s bark into a beat… whatever it takes to get the content that showcases who
you are and what you do.
3. Be a part of the scene
One music promotion strategy trumps all others…
The best way to promote your music is to get out and perform. But if you can’t get a gig in the first place, you might feel like you’re stuck in a loop. But keep going; live performance is
the secret sauce, and puts you in with a crowd.
Read more – Tips on performing with live musicians
Once you’ve got some experience of taking your act out, then you can start approaching others in the scene to collaborate. This will help you grow your audience into theirs, and it
gives your collaborator new content with a new talent.
See – it’s not always easy coming up with new content, even for established acts, so collabs work well at all experience levels. Even Elton John still collabs, folks…
But you’ve got to be part of it and put yourself out there. As scary as it is, never moving your career forward is even scarier. Don’t let fear hold you back.
4. Email marketing
All the connections you make in the scene should be in your email list. Every week, do a roundup of shows you’ve done, new work in progress, your thoughts on music, life, work
– and share it with the list.
Email marketing is so old school that nobody considers it anymore. But it’s the most devoted and engaged audience you’ve got. Keep them in the loop, and keep that list growing with every opportunity you get.
5. Seek out the next level – media exposure
Hopefully by now, you’ll have made a little bit of a name for yourself, doing some gigs and getting into the DMs of acts or producers who want to work with you. Your music and performance should be razor-sharp, and you’re ready to grow.
But getting to that next level up is a big push. Radio, TV, and media exposure takes a lot of work and connections. If you’re gigging and working, you might not have time to nurture these connections much – or even know who to talk to for a main stage gig, TV slot or radio play.
This is the point where artist representation and pop music PR services start to make sense. All your bases are covered, you’re out there performing, getting noticed – and the next
phase of strategy is to get outside help to elevate your presence.
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