The WORST music marketing mistakes (and how to prevent them)

Nobody’s perfect, and mistakes are bound to be made in any job, but some are worse than other and can have a far more detrimental impact on your career. Here, we look at how to prevent some of the most devastating music marketing errors.

Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix

Considering the amount of advice and guidance available, there is no excuse for making these common music marketing mistakes in 2021.

There are hundreds of books about the music industry available worldwide. There are also college curriculums dedicated to the music business, countless blogs covering music industry tips and tricks, and dozens of YouTube channels like music biz doing their best to educate artists about the realities of building a career in entertainment. You can learn virtually anything about being a musician with a few keystrokes, and yet, each week, countless artists make easily avoidable mistakes because they don’t start to consider whether or not their promotional tactics are positioning them for success.

Mistakes happen. Nobody that successfully does anything with their life reaches their goals without a few setbacks. But there are several common mistakes that industry experts and working professionals alike have been shouting about for four decades that still get made every day. Something as simple as knowing who you’re talking to and what it is they do seems never to cross the mind of certain artists. That oversight ultimately results in the artist not receiving the exposure or opportunities they seek.

In this Music Biz update, host James Shotwell explores half a dozen common mistakes artists make when marketing their music. These are some of the worst and most abhorrent mistakes, all of which are covered again and again by industry experts of all sizes. Suppose artists can slow down and review their efforts before reaching out to professionals and fans alike. In that case, Shotwell explains, they will likely discover easy fixes that will lead to a bigger, more meaningful impact with their outreach. 

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.