A Practical Guide to Promoting Niche Music as an Indie Artist 

Paving your way through the industry as an independent artist can be hard. But with the right approach, you can reach many more people than you can imagine. Certain tweaks in your marketing strategy can be a game-changer when trying to find the right audience to help you grow. Not only is it hard, but time-consuming trying to get successful when targeting everyone. Even if you aren’t a niche musician, here’s how you can find your niche and target audience that can actually help you build a fan base.

We’ll be taking a look at the following:

1. How do I Find a Profitable Niche in Music?
   
   
2. How to Find an Audience for My Music?
   
   
3. How to Market to a Niche Audience?
   
   
4. How to Build a Fan Base as a Niche Independent Artist?
   
   
5. Final Thoughts
   
   

How do I Find a Profitable Niche in Music?

Sure, making niche music might sound cool. However, if you aim to pursue music as a career, you must look at the bigger picture. Is your niche in music even profitable?

If not, how can you find a profitable niche in music that you not only enjoy creating but also has the potential to earn you money?

The answer lies in the industry trends, especially for the particular genre you’re aiming at. Dig deep, if you can find anything similar to what you want to pursue, on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, fan clubs of artists of the same genre, Gigs taking place, then yes, your music niche is profitable. However, the extent of profit matters from genre to genre. Pop music will always earn you more than a niche metal band, it isn’t because one artist is better than another, but due to the size of the fan base or loyal listeners of that genre. Thrash Metal Jazz Fusion simply doesn’t have the amount of listeners the Folk or Pop genre does. Think of it from a business perspective: the bigger the demand, the better your chances of earning are.

How to Find an Audience for My Music?

Okay, now that you have a niche in music, how do you find people who will actually listen to it? This can be a hard job, especially if you’re just starting as an independent artist with no labels to support you. Even harder if your genre is REALLY niche.

Try these tips to reach your target audience, to not only grow as an artist but to leverage the community benefits of a fan base as well.

• Increase your visibility

  As an artist, the more visible you are, the more they tend to talk about you. If you have any gig places or an opportunity to perform live for your target audience, even on a small scale, do it! Try cold calling/e-mailing to open for a touring artist making music similar to your niche, or become a part of fan clubs or Music discussion groups to pitch your music as well.

  Think of being where your potential fans could be, do you think they can be following a specific artist, or visiting a Live music performance?
  
  
  
  

• Collaborate with similar upcoming musicians

  If there’s any musician near you who might be doing something similar to what you’re doing, reach out and collaborate. Whether that be for a track, an album, or a Twitch stream. This can help bring in new fans from loyal listeners of people making the same music as you.
  
  

• Submit to Playlists

  What’s the best way to reach people who listen to your music genre? To get them to listen to your songs. As silly as it may sound, that is the easiest and no hassle way to target an audience that is already consuming media similar to yours. 
  
  

  Try Submission Platforms, these platforms hook new emerging artists with playlist curators for a very minimal amount, and they, in turn, add your music to playlists of your niche genre. For example, a Daft Punk song was added to a playlist featuring electronic music. This can attract people who are already fans of the genre to indulge in your music as well. You can try Platforms like GreaseRelease, SubmitLink, etc.
  
  

How to Market to a Niche Audience?

Now that you know who your target audience is, how do you market your music to them? It isn’t as hard as finding the right audience is, once you’ve figured that try these marketing strategies to market your music:

• Research the tactics of Famous Musicians of the same genre

  People can be working very hard to get their music across the world to the right listeners, however, most of these strategies go in vain due to not analysing your goals and audience habits first.
  

  Try and study about any famous musician that has made it in the industry, and is well-renowned for their genre, considering this is a musician from your or a similar music niche, you can pick and choose from their marketing strategies to see what works for you.
  
  

• Get Online on Social Media Platforms

  Building a brand is now easier than ever. If you’re an artist with nothing unique to endorse or give your fans, chances are you might not get as successful as you dream. With endorsing your music comes the responsibility to create a brand identity. In days like now, the easiest way to do so is by having a social media presence. 
  

  In today's age, it is easier than ever to leverage social media to market and attract more fans and listeners with MusicTok trends, Twitter, and Instagram.

  Artists like Berlioz and Esha Tewari gained massive fandom all by organic reach, which came with posting memes and genre references.
  
  
  
  

How to Build a Fan Base as a Niche Independent Artist?

Gaining views and initial streams might be easy, but keeping a loyal fan base can be way harder. Remember now, having a fan base is the biggest flex of all; the more they love you, the more they talk about you, which helps you reach an even larger audience. 

Here’s how you can build one too:

• Endorse your brand and distinct sound

  To actually build a fan base, you must stand out from the rest of the crowd, which is, in fact, quite a large crowd. Once you have that, you can use it to build an identity. Remember, fans stick around when they know there is something special that they can not find elsewhere.
  
  

• Build Hype and Exclusiveness

  Anything underrated or exclusive immediately catches people’s eyes. Fans love being part of something only a few are part of; this builds hype, creating competition between listeners, which in turn increases engagement. You can do this by selling exclusive merch or special releases.
  
  

• Engage with your Community

  Building a fan base is equally as important as interacting with them. If people do not like you as a person, you can not force them to stay. Host Fan meet-ups, Surprise tours, actually interact with your fans, whether virtually or physically, this gives the fan a sense of acknowledgement that they really appreciate. If they feel seen, chances are they will definitely stick around.
  

Final Thoughts

It can be daunting, trying to pave your way into the industry, especially since now more than ever, being a musician doesn’t just mean crafting the music but also, advertising, marketing it, and so much more. While doing all this, if you have figured out your target audience, the tasks can be reduced to much less.

Remember, you don't always have to stick to the norms. If something speaks to your soul but defies what is expected from you, go ahead and do it. It is important to know, music is a passion, and if you take away the passion and try to build it into a business, there won’t be anything humane left in it. Fans admire your perspective, personality, and characteristics more than anything. Add your personality and charm to what inspires you, and it’s a whole new genre!

We at GreaseRelease, have a bunch of curators on our network who are looking for new & exciting music to push on their massive playlists. If you make music and want to reach a wider audience, check out our submission platform and get a chance to reach millions of listeners! Submit your tracks now!