After having explored what a niche is in the previous post, let's talk about niche in the music industry.
In the music industry, a niche is a specific genre, style, or subculture that a musician targets with their music and finding a niche in music allows a musician to differentiate themselves and appeal to a specific group of fans.
In my opinion there are some things to do and some things to avoid.
Starting from something that you, musician, can do is to have clear what your sound is and what sets you apart from others and makes you unique. And how do you do that?
Listen to a wide range of music, listen to different styles and genres of music to broaden your musical horizons and gain inspiration for your own sound: this will help you figure out where you belong and also understand later who is our audience. Don't be afraid to try something new and see where it takes you. Maybe you are convinced that you have one genre instead it's another one...
Once you individuate your style, practice, practice, practice.
Dedicating time each day to practicing and honing your craft will make you better, and it will make easier to find your niche in music.
But the question is how do I grow an audience if I start from scratch?
Well, this is where your skills start playing.
Creating great music that people want to listen is the most important factor in building an audience. Take the time to write, record, and produce high-quality music that showcases your unique sound and style and then offer your production on social media and use it to your advantage. Use the platforms to share your music, engage with your followers, and build your online presence.
According to your genre, pick and focus on 1 or 2 social media otherwise covering all of them might become a full time job keeping you away from the music. Ask yourself who are your ideal listeners, what age group the belong, which gender, what are their interests, what is their locations and think where they naturally orbitate. For example: if your audience is very young chances are that they'll gravitate around TikTok, if they are more mature maybe they are on Facebook....
Another way to attract audience is collaborating with other musicians. This can help you reach a wider audience and gain exposure to new followers. Look for opportunities to collaborate on songs, shows, or social media campaigns. Rule of thumb is to start to collaborate with artists that have the same following you have and once you grow you can collaborate with someone with a bigger audience. In this way both you and the artist you collaborate with get more exposure and it could be a win win situation.
In case you fly solo and don't want to collaborate or you don't know anyone to collaborate with you might think to invest in paid advertising to reach a wider audience. This can be an effective way to promote your music to new followers who may not have heard of you before.
Once you gain a good number of followers be grateful and caring and genuinely engage with them by responding to comments and messages. They took time to support you and a thank you is always well appreciated!
If you want to level up, create a website that showcases your music, provides information about upcoming shows, and offers a way for fans to contact you. You can use website builders like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress to create a professional-looking website. It's an investment and it's time consuming but why do you think I'm writing this blog?
Building an online presence is an essential part of promoting your music and connecting with fans.
It takes time and effort, and it's important to stay patient and persistent. Keep experimenting with different types of content and strategies to see what works best for you.
We said what to do but what are the things to avoid in the process?
First of all avoid copying others! Trying to copy someone else's style or music is never a good idea. It's important to find your own unique voice and style, rather than imitating someone else's. You can find inspiration in the sound or in the marketing strategy but you have to repurpose it to make your own voice clear.
Plus it might have legal consequences if you just copy and paste someone else's content.
Second thing to avoid: focusing solely on popularity. While it's important to consider your audience, focusing solely on what's popular or trendy can frustrate your creativity and limit your potential for growth as an artist. I understand that we all want to go viral but for the good reason and not because you do something that it happened to make you famous keeping you stuck in something that you are not interested or like. Simple silly example: if you go viral because in one video you burp then people will expect you to burp every time because that becomes your signature thing. I don't think you 'd like to be remember just for that, no? Unless you only want to cash out but then what kind of artist are you?
Third thing to avoid is neglecting your musical education. If you invested in learning about music theory, composition, and history can help you refine your skills and better understand your own sound and who you are as an artist. It's important to continuously educate yourself and strive for improvement. If everybody use loops and sample you don't need to follow the crowd.... for sure they might produce hundreds of beats in a month but they have they own story and you have yours. Use the tools you have or the one that you gained, I'm pretty sure they are plenty!
After all these things you might be exhausted and probably you don't see results right away so what to do if you're still struggling?
Take a break!
Despite all the overnight millionaires and successful people you can find online trying to sell you their infallible methods, as I sad earlier, all this process is very time and energy consuming. Sometimes, taking a break from your music can give you a fresh perspective and renewed inspiration. Take some time to relax, focus on other hobbies, and come back to your music when you're feeling more energized.
If you feel stuck a good idea is to get feedback: constructive criticism and insights could help you identify areas where you can improve or give you a prospective you didn't think about.
Finding your niche is an ongoing process and may take time and a lot of trial and errors.
The amount of time it takes to gain more visibility for your music can vary greatly depending on a number of factors ( your genre, your audience, your marketing strategies, and more ).
In general, building a strong online presence and gaining more visibility for your music can take anywhere from several months to several years.
It's important to remember that building a career in music is a long-term process that requires persistence, hard work, and dedication.
You may experience setbacks or slow progress at times, but it's important to stay focused on your goals and keep pushing forward.
In addition, it's important to give your strategies time to work. Some strategies may take longer to see results than others, so it's important to experiment with different tactics and give each one time to produce results.
Most importantly, stay true to yourself and your music and chances are that the right audience for you will come to you!
That's all for this week!
See you next one!
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