Musicians: Level Up In 2022
New Year, New Me.
Like Mariah’s “All I Want For Christmas”, we hear this tired old idiom year in, year out. Some of us might actually stick to it for a few weeks, maybe even months! But for many of us, whether we’re learning a new language, trying to get the body of our dreams or attempting to break free from a certain vice, soon enough we’re met with our old familiar habits and by March, we’re cemented back in our ways.
Oh well, there’s always next year. Right?
Wrong!
2022 is set to be one of emanate’s best years to date, and we want to make sure that you can say the same — crushing your music goals and propelling you to new heights! We’ve spoken to some of the best producers, scoured the internet for tried and tested tips, and laid out a clear path for you to follow to help you be the producer you really want to be.
What are your New Years resolutions? Add yours in Discord and crush 2022!
Make A Plan — It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect
Rome wasn’t built in a day and it certainly wasn’t built without a plan. Whether you’re building a career in music or a vast empire covering the known world, you’re going to need a plan.
Start by writing down your goals. Studies have shown that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Writing your goals down not only forces you to get clear on what exactly it is that you want to accomplish, but it also helps in motivating you to complete the tasks necessary for your success.
But more than that, be clear. Leave no details out, and if you aren’t sure how you’re going to achieve something: make a note of that too.
A good technique for musicians and artists is the ‘mind map’. Get a blank piece of paper and write down your central goal in the middle of the page, then each of the requirements and steps you’ll need to take branch off the side. For the creative mind, this method can be more useful than your typical ‘To-Do-List’, which can suck the excitement out of achieving your goals and make you feel like you’re back at school.
You’ll likely find that there’s things on your mind map you can start doing straight away. Depending on how you create your mind map, these will be the smaller tasks on the outside that lead will eventually take you to the big goal.
TIP: Patience is key. Whether it’s cover art, mixing, or a conversation with your mixing engineer — be patient and take the time to do it properly.
Creating A Community — Bring Value
When it comes to community in 2022, you’re going to need do one of two things:
a. Build one.
b. Find one.
Fortunately for you, this has never been easier. A tried and tested method for this is to find similar, successful artists in your genre (or niche for all you brand builders), and analyse what it is that they’re doing well. For the vast majority of these people we would guess that they each have a few things in common, namely a good content strategy, which we will cover a little further down. But building a community doesn’t just mean content, it’s about meaningful engagement.
Find a community online and become an active participant — someone who adds value to that community.
What do we mean by adding value?
It means to give more than take.
If you’re in a Discord server (jump into ours if you haven’t), it means providing helpful tips or useful videos instead of shilling your own music. On Instagram it means adding meaningful comments to someones post rather than asking them to check out your new track. On TikTok it means educating and entertaining instead of pleading for pre-saves.
Beg for attention and you can just about guarantee you’ll get none.
Build valuable relationships and people will want to pay attention to you.
TIP: Authenticity and generosity prevails. It’s better to take the time to engage meaningfully with five people instead of spamming fifty.
Content Strategy — Work Smarter, Not Harder
At time of writing, there are four of five major social networks that you should be paying attention to. You don’t need to be using each and every one, but it’s worth at least dipping your toes in and seeing what they’re all about.
- Twitch — Perfect for streaming live performances or production sessions.
- YouTube — Long form content like music videos and vlogs.
- TikTok — Short form content to entice audiences.
- Instagram — Your own personal highlight reel.
- LinkedIn — Building professional ties with people in your industry.
For many of us, the idea of ‘creating content’ is a terrifying concept. Maybe you don’t feel good in front of a camera, or perhaps you think that you don’t have anything of value to offer your community?
We’re going to borrow from Gary V on this one, who said:
‘Don’t create content, document’.
What this does is completely take the pressure off you to come up with original, entertaining or educational content. You’re simply documenting your life or process.
Creating a beat at home? Start recording on your phone and post it.
Going to a gig this weekend? Get your phone out, record it and post it.
Rehearsing with the band? Whip out your damn phone, record it and post it!
Don’t be deterred by the number of platforms available to you. The example above shows how one Twitch stream can be repurposed into more content for multiple platforms — saving you a lot of time while covering all the major bases.
Keep in mind the dimensions each social platform uses. If you’re repurposing a YouTube video to use on TikTok, resize and crop the video to make the switch from a horizontal video to a vertical video.
It’s ‘repurpose’ not ‘copy-paste’.
TIP: Content Schedulers are a great time saver. Producer all your content for the week in one day, schedule it to different platforms and enjoy all your free time.
Look Your Best — First Impressions Count
Our last tip for success is making sure you look your best. We’re talking about specifically online, even more specifically: on emanate. As we move into Beta in 2022, we’re ensuring that as an artist, you have maximum exposure on the platform. Whether you’re sending people to your profile, or a curious listener happens to stumble upon it, you want to make sure your profile looks as good as possible.
Let’s be real: If you hear a song you like and go to their profile on emanate just to find there’s no profile picture and a bio that simply reads “this is my music”, how interested are you going to be?
Profile Picutre:
You’d be surprised how many people leave this blank. Use a high quality image that shows who you are as an artist. You don’t need to go out and hire a photographer, most phones are now more than adequate.
Banner Image:
There are no rules to this, but something that captures your artist brand. If you’re struggling for ideas, it could be as simple as your name and logo; or even the un-cropped version of your profile picture. Whatever you do, don’t use a stock image.
Biography:
If people are taking the time to read your bio after having listened to your music, they’re internally asking themselves: “I like the music, but do I like the artist?” So don’t blow it. No pressure.
Keep it to a few paragraphs at most, and keep it simple. A good starting point is who you are, how you got started and one or two notable achievements. People typically write their biographies in third person, but rules are made to be broken.
The example below covers the who and the why in the first sentence. It gives a brief insight into the artists history and then closes with a little bit of clout.
“ElectroDragon is a hip-hop artist from Finland, who got started when she found an old record player in her mom’s basement. After falling in love with hip-hop, she dropped her debut single ‘Disco Dragon’ in 2019. ElectroDragon has headlined festivals throughout Europe and took out emanate’s Best New Artist award in 2020.”
And there you have it: our tips for musical success in 2022.
The year is already shaping up to be a massive one for the music industry. Put your plan into action to make sure you don’t miss it!
