1615214437588how To Promote A Single 2021

HOW TO
PROMOTE
A SINGLE
IN 2021
REBECCASMARTBAKKEN.COM
INTRODUCTION
HOW TO PROMOTE A
SINGLE IN 2021
2021 UPDATE
There have been lots of changes in a short space of time in the music release world. Also, after doing
some big launches in my new agency ‘Smart Music Agency’ and through helping DIY musicians in my
SMART Launch Club - it was time to update my wildly popular e-book ‘How to Launch A Single’ with the
latest tips and tricks for promoting your music online.
Seeing as TikTok is one of the most effective ways to get your song to go viral using content creators, I’ve
added some more cool stuff to assist with this. Just look at the Billboard charts right now, almost all of
them have a content trend attached to them. A lot of them wouldn’t have charted if it wasn’t for TikTok!
Further tools and services are listed too which will assist you with your music promotion. Playlisting
services, music licensing services, download gates, and much more.
Knowing the latest strategies and technologies is

the secret sauce to success in music
Pages 02
JOIN THE SMART LAUNCH CLUB & LAUNCH YOUR NEXT SINGLE WITH HANDS ON HELP FROM ME
REBECCA SMART BAKKEN
SMARTLAUNCHCLUB.REBECCASMARTBAKKEN.COM
CONTENTS
HOW TO PROMOTE A SINGLE IN 2021
1. Set A Goal
2. Define Value & Audience
3. Create A Timeline Plan
4. Choose Your Distribution Methods
5. Register Your Work
6. Create Visuals For Your Single
7. Create Content For Social Media & Emails
8. Distribute Your Music @rebecca_bakken
9. PR
10. Ads
Rebecca Smart Bakken
11. Create Viral Trend on TikTok
12. Summary
13. Tools & Services Rebecca Smart Bakken
14. Outreach Templates
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HOW TO PROMOTE A SINGLE
1. SET A GOAL
The more specific you can be with your goal and purpose - the better.
Most people launch their single and hope for the best...
When you start a project you need to begin with the

end in mind. What do you want to accomplish with
S = Specific the single? Is it your first debut single and you want to
M = Measurable use it to build a fanbase? Do you want it to be played
A = Achievable on a top radio station? Do you want to chart? Do you
want to build your fanbase through collaboration in a
R = Relevant & Realistic different genre or location?
T = Time
The more specific you can be with your goal and
purpose - the better. Most people launch their single
and hope for the best...
In the SMART Launch Club we of course use SMART

goals when we set up our single launches. You need
them to be S.M.A.R.T.
It’s far too simple to set a streaming number as a goal,

and streaming numbers don’t really give you the full
results of your launch. If you get 10,000 streams how
many actually followed you on Spotify? How much did
that track grow your following?
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For the 2021 version I want to use another example of one of
my students Vera Arnardottir.
She is launching her debut single ‘Boxes’. Vera is an LGBTQ artist and as the subject of the song touches on
this community we will set up a SMART goal for her launch.
Goal: Trending during Pride month
1 Official Spotify Pride Playlist

Radio placement for Pride
As we are launching in March it gives us several months to build the momentum we need in order to reach
our goal.
So the goal is
1. Specific,
2. Measurable
3. Achievable
4. Realistic
5. Timely - which means you have a timeline and when you are going to accomplish this by.
See how clear this goal suddenly becomes?. Now we just have to start working backwards in order to make
this happen.
As the original song that we are launching in March is quite slow, and not really the typical pride party song,
we are going to launch a hip hop remix where we will do a collab with another LGBTQ+ artist and launch it
closer to pride month. So you can take advantage of the editorial Playlist on Spotify before launch.
Remixes are a great way to breathe fresh air and expand on your original track. So in order to be one of the
tracks featured, we need to build some momentum with the original track beforehand, so by the time we
launch the remix it can get the extra playlist placements we need in order to be trending during Pride.
By setting a SMART goal you are working towards something specific, rather than trying random things as
you go.
Another project I am involved with right now has a goal of becoming number 1 on Beatport. Now, if you know
you need maybe between 1000-3000 purchases to get number 1 (depending on who you are going up against)
- well then you can just reengineer it backwards and start getting to work. Getting people to purchase every day.
The more specific you can get with your goals, the more specific you will work with your activities.
First of all, you need to understand what the purpose of launching your single is. What is it you want to
accomplish here? Do you want to sell it and make money or are you giving it away free to your audience?
If you’re building your fanbase and want to convert your followers to fans on social media, typically it’s a good
idea to give something away for free. This could be in the form of streaming or giving a digital copy away.
However, if your following is already a strong and loyal crowd, regardless of how many there are; you might
want to sell your single through your website or online music stores (Bandcamp, Beatport, iTunes, Amazon, etc.)
Define your purpose at the beginning as it’ll change the strategy slightly depending on your goals. It will also
change where you’ll upload the single too.
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2. DEFINE VALUE & AUDIENCE
If you have several sub niches, then you should focus on ONE of them for
your next single launch.
One of the most difficult things for a musician to do

is to step outside of the music and understand who
If you focus on a wide it is that’ll be listening to it. Who are they? And most
range of audiences you’ll importantly, what specific value are you giving them
need to create content that with the single?
covers them all My student Vera’s track is all about acceptance,

celebrating being different and not fitting in. She is
sharing her stories of the boxes and stereotypes that
we are placed into. The reason she wrote it was that
she finally found a ‘box’ that she fit into, the LGBTQ+
community. And even within the LGBTQ+ community
there are further boxes that people tend to place
you in too. When you don’t feel like you fit into those
boxes it can leave you feeling like an outsider of the
community too.
So rather than trying to fit in any of these boxes, Vera’s

song is about celebrating differences and accept the
fact that you don’t have to ‘fit in’, and that is okay,
Let’s take a look at Vera’s audience. She has some

different sides to her from being an LGBTQ+ advocate
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For the 2021 version I want to use another example of one of
my students Vera Arnardottir.
to her Nordic fairytale/mystical side. Her fans are likely people that love Harry
Potter and Lord of the Rings (the kind of people that stand in line for days for
new franchise stuff!). These people probably also feel that they don’t fit in and
are outsiders.
Vera is also appealing to spiritual people that use crystals and have a keen interest
in energies and other natural practices.
We’re beginning to get a good picture of what her audience looks like, right?
Because the song was written about the LGBTQ+ community, we decided to focus
our attention there for this particular track. We could perhaps penetrate another
segment of her audience with a different single.
As you see, the audience will reflect the content and stories we create around
the track. So for the spiritual audience, we’d want a song about energy, charging
crystals, etc. and create visual content around it too.
You might think you’re missing out by limiting yourself using this strategy. You’re
actually making life easier for yourself as marketing and promotion of the song
will get easier the more specific you are. You’re able to think of targeted playlists,
djs, and radio shows just by focusing on one audience.
If you focus on a wide range of audiences you’ll need to create content that covers
them all, which simply does not work. The whole process becomes overwhelming
for a DIY musician trying to reach every corner of the internet.
If you have several sub niches, then you can focus on one of them for your next
single.
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3. CREATE A TIMELINE PLAN
Commit to a number of activities per day that helps you to reach the long
term goal over x amount of weeks.
Like anything that’s going to be successful, you need a solid plan to work from. Not just for this one single you have but
a long term plan. What’s the minimum number of singles you want to put out this year?
Start looking at creating music as a process rather than trying to get the one time wonder hit.
By doing so you’ll become a lot more patient and fall in love with the process again. You’ll also have a realistic plan and
an understanding that one single is all part of a bigger plan.
The huge pressure placed on the one single is relieved somewhat when you realise that it’s only a small percentage of
the work you’re about to do for the year.
Music is content and content has three main rules. Firstly, be consistent. Secondly, do it frequently. Lastly, it has to be
good quality.
That track you’ve worked so hard on and are so proud of might not get it’s time to shine now. But once you’ve caught
a wave with another track down the line, all your music will get its recognition when people start listening through your
discography.
So stop seeing that one piece of content as the solution because it’s just part of the process while you grow and find
your hook that develops your career.
Just like the frequency you post on your socials, you need to do the same with your music. See each piece as a building
block to grow and be seen.
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Perhaps aim for one single every other month and commit to it. When you know your plan of music releases, you can
then break it down and create a timeline per single. But, just because you move focus over to another track, you still have
to continue promoting the previous and getting placement.
You could spend an entire year trying to grow one single but you wouldn’t find out if the music was the problem as you
haven’t road tested different singles. So releasing new music on a regular basis is a necessity.
Each single will only take up a few weeks of your attention before you move on to the next phase. However you can
easily continue promoting the different placements you get in radio, playlists, etc. in your content on your ‘old’ tracks
while promoting the new.
The good news is that you’ll begin seeing a process unfold that you can easily replicate over and over. Taking the
momentum from the last single into the next release.
For example, if you created partnerships with two influencers where they create content using your music, you’ll still have
these relationships for your next single launch. The momentum continues to grow as you are working through the process.
After you have a rough one year plan, keep in mind plans will change as you go along. You may end up releasing more
once you have gotten the hang of the process and you may be doing more collabs and remixes.
You still have to set up a timeline per current single too. This should be a few weeks where you focus on that single
alongside everything else you do in your day-to-day.
The plan should be 30-60 days prior launch and 30-60 days after launch. Also, if you want to pitch your track to editorial
playlists you should be submitting as early as 4 weeks before and have your track uploaded onto Spotify. The more time
you have prior, the better chances to get featured on some Spotify editorial playlists. This has to be done prior to the
single going live.
The first week should be spent on creating visuals and the pitch/story behind the track that you send out to distribution,
radios, playlist curators, PR, etc.
Then you’ll need to create a social media content plan for before, during and after the launch. You’ll want to prepare your
content in advance so you can spend the rest of your time working on building momentum with your audience while
expanding distribution and promotion.
As the first week will be lots of prep work, the remaining weeks will be used only to execute the plan to full effect.
You need to create:

-Artwork & music video (maybe)
- Content plan for social media
- Press release kit
- EPK (electronic press kit)
- Pitch for partners/influencers/playlisters/radio/etc.
Once this is prepped, it’s time to execute it, baby. Every day try to set goals of how many new channels to contact, how
many newspapers/blogs/magazines you contact, which content creators and influencers you want to work with that’ll
help spread your music.
Start before the song is live. Even if it’s just creating An EPK where you embed a private music player or a soundcloud
player. Then start pitching to radio channels for them to play it on release day. The same for with playlist curators, so
you can get some placements right away.
The key is to strategically grow this every day. By slowly working your way through the endless opportunities of contacts
you can build, you will begin to form relationships and rapports with people on your level.
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4. CHOOSE YOUR MUSIC
DISTRIBUTION METHOD
Make sure you understand how long each process takes so you can slot it into your timelines.
Depending on the purpose of your single, you need to choose the best distribution method.
Where will you upload it if you want to give it away for free? If you want to sell it, you’re
gonna need to upload it to music stores and download sites.
Is your focus Spotify? Then select a preferred distributor (CD Baby, DistroKid, The Orchard).
Is your focus Beatport? Then, you got it, choose a distributor that delivers to Beatport.
Make sure you understand how long each process takes so you can slot it into your timelines.
Keep in mind that you should start pitching to Spotify editorial at least 1 week prior to
release. I recommend 4 weeks here as 1 week is pushing it, and your pitch may not be
reviewed before the song goes live. Once the song is live, you cannot pitch to editorial
playlists using Spotify for Artists.
Ensure the profiles where you distribute your music are fully complete and look fresh and
inviting.
If it is your first single and you do not have Spotify for Artists, you can go ahead and either
claim it through your distributor or get the Spotify URL and claim your Spotify for Artist’s
profile directly through Spotify.
Get access to this before your single is live so you can pitch it to the editorial playlists.
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5. REGISTER YOUR WORK
The second you record your song, it is actually copyrighted.
When you upload your music online to a credible platform or service,

you do own the copyright as it’s an automatic process.
A Copyright Office will provide you with a formal document that

certifies you own the work and they keep a record on file at the
Library of Congress (for the US).
By registering with a Copyright Office and obtaining the necessary

licenses to protect your work, this allows you to collect revenue
when others use your single.
Register now with the US Copyright Office, Performing Rights

Organisation and SoundExchange to fully protect your property.
Why not track your analytics too by registering music with Nielsen
BDS and prevent others misusing your work for personal gain.
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6. CREATE VISUALS FOR THE SINGLE
Once you’ve finished your track, the first thing you’ll need to create is artwork for it.
Artwork is the first visual experience of the music, without having to listen to it. This should
perfectly present, supplement or give additional value to the music. The artwork is also THE
brand of the track. Whenever you share a story of you singing or talking about the track,
you can easily place a photo of the cover art and you double promote the track.
Play around with various options or even start collaborating with visual artists to create
something special.
Your artwork will be the stamp on the single and is one of the most important things to get
perfect as it acts as the ‘window shopping’ for music.
I know, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we’re visual
beings and it’s just what we do.
I found a great tutorial that you might find useful on

how to create artwork.
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Secondly, you might want to create a music video for your pièce de résistance. This
could require a budget if you don’t have that kind of creative flair or skill set yourself.
Of course, this will require some good planning to achieve the best results.
However, creating a music video is a fantastic way to present your song in the best
format that many people favour.
Music videos also create deeper connections with the listener than if they just hear
the song. It’s your second chance to tell the story, to develop emotions in the listener
and provide value.
Experiment with different formats that fit your narrative.
You can easily hire somebody from Fiverr to create an animated music video for very
affordable prices. Obviously, the more somebody charges, the better the quality is
likely to be.
You could create a single shot video with your mobile phone where there are endless
creative ideas you can come up with.
I mean hell, you could even create a music video out of still images and snippets of
video if you have the technical know how.
Making a music video can be one of the most exciting parts of the entire process.
Give it a go and see how you do. Remember, the more you practice, the better it’ll be.

7. CREATE CONTENT FOR
SOCIAL MEDIA
plan your content in a way that educates, entertains or inspires for 80% of the time while the re-
maining 20% can be used to promote (with added value too, though)
Before you begin focusing on finding new audiences to listen to your music and learn about you - it’s important to nurture
the people that have already hit your follow button. Your early adapters, your fans.
This is done by communicating through content and engagement on social media. Cos, that’s where they’re already
following you, right?
If you’re savvy enough to already have an email list (or even a chat list through WhatsApp or texting), then you’re a step
ahead of the rest. Pushing content through email has one of the highest success rates out there. 100% of the people you
email will receive your promo whereas social media restricts visibility to around 7% (on Instagram, anyway).
You should have already established the frequency in which you share content on your social media channels. Whether
you’re posting every day on Instagram and TikTok or a few times a week on Facebook. Allocate some of this to talking
about the single release.
Just sharing a promotional post on socials won’t do the trick either. You need to share the journey, the reasons why you’ve
made it, the story behind it, the purpose of it.
“Hey, this is my new single. Check it out!” - boring, uninformative, doesn’t give value.
“Hey, I’ve been working on a new piece of music specially for Pride month. It’s VERY special to me
as it speaks to all of my fellow community and highlights the struggles we face in the world as well
as within the community. So I’m sharing this with everybody today and I hope you find something
special in the lyrics to give you a comforting hug.” - personal, relatable, valuable.
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Post in the lead up to the release and share information about it. You see in Vera’s post, she is giving her fans a heads
up and why she is launching the single.
This method indirectly promotes the single without shoving another promotional advert in people’s faces.
By sharing the reason why, you’re not asking for anything, but rather sharing a piece of your personal experience and
decisions as an artist.
You could share a preview, live performance or an image from the studio with the story sat in the caption.
For Vera’s content, we will create short video format snippets of different boxes she has been placed in. This is a
perfect format for TikTok and Instagram Reels. This is also a content trend we want other strategic influencers to
jump on board with. We will also create some behind the scenes, making of, inspiration and story behind and also
behind the lyrics perhaps.
Vera could also share motivational quotes, educational facts, interesting/shocking figures.
However, you shouldn’t dedicate all of your posts to promoting your single, no matter how cleverly you’re doing it
without being too pushy.
Make sure you’ve got 1-2 posts per week in the fortnight leading up to release day. While during the week of the
release you have a different goal with the content because you want them to actually listen to the song.
You could do a video of you presenting the song, doing a performance of it or even just use a snippet. The goal here
is to get your followers/fans to move over to your streaming/download sites to listen in full or purchase (whichever
your goal is).
Remember, you’re communicating with the guys who are already following you, they already dig you, make sure it’s
relatable and you engage with them in the comments section. Push for shares, likes and comments to gain momentum.
The following week you can post 1-2 times to remind them that your fantastic new single is out. For the people who
missed it and those who weren’t paying attention before. You can post a few times on your main feed but utilise
Stories to share even more content. Got a playlist placement? Share on your story. Got a radio feature? Share a story.
Then after 1 week create a carousel feed post of all playlist placement and thank them all. Use the story every day
- but use the feed for the polished content.
What value could you give that also promotes the single? Make it different from before; spin it in a new direction and
give, give, give value some more.
For example, Vera could create a carousel post with other songs that bring up the subject of acceptance & LGBTQ+
artists, while including her own in there too. She could share lyrics from the song and use it as quote posts.
The rule of thumb when posting on social media is to ask yourself: “Will my audience get anything from this? What
value am I giving out?”.
If it is only promoting your song and your brand; get creative with valuable content that supports your narrative and
promotion.
If you’re using emails (and chat/text marketing) to communicate with your fanbase, then remember to send out an
email on the launch day.
Share your feelings and/or your purpose behind the song and why you created it. Why they’ll like it.

8. DISTRIBUTE YOUR MUSIC
The key to great distribution is to place your music in front of the right audience. Because of social
media you have options that were never available before.
When you know your audience, you can then find out where they hang out. Where do they listen to music and where do
they spend their time online?
The key to great distribution is to place your music in front of the right audience. Because of social media you have
options that were never available before.
You’ve got direct access to your audience, no matter where they are in the world.
Now, how do you get your music in front of them?
1. Radio
There are around 44,000 radio stations in the world. Which means there is a radio station to suit every niche. You can
be featured on many of them.
When Matoma launched his single and remake of Old Thing Back of Biggie Smalls’, they contacted lots of college radio
stations to get it aired.
His main audience were young college kids, so what better place to have it played?
The song blew up because of strategic radio placement and working with influencers - all the way from Norway.
This is all about networking and pitching yourself in the correct way.
Give it a shot!
2. Playlists
Playlists are everywhere and operate in a similar way to radio. They are essentially a new format of radio except they’re
not live.
While Spotify isn’t a social media platform it is moving in that direction with the testing of a story functionality and video
podcasts recently being launched.
What does Spotify want? To keep you on the platform of course. Just as every other social media wants too.
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Make sure you’re signed up as a Spotify for Artists profile. This way you’ll get great analytics which is important when
you start experimenting with playlists.
As I mentioned before, your profile needs to be complete, clearly branded with your identity and verified.
If your profile is incomplete, you won’t get as much traffic pushed your way because Spotify thinks you’re just another
user that’s not serious.
The first thing you can do is ask your audience to add your song to their own playlist(s). You can approach this through
private messages on social media or email.
But, why? People won’t necessarily just do things without being told. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Just like social media, if you don’t ask people to follow you, they most likely won’t.
By getting playlisted on private accounts, you’re making the Spotify algorithm happy.
If people are visiting your page, you are telling the algorithm people are interested in your music. If they spend time on
your page listening to your music, you will again be favoured by the algo.
When this happens, it gives you more possibilities of getting picked up by the auto generated playlists by Spotify (for
example: Fresh Finds).
When it comes to curated playlists from big accounts - do not buy placement.
I have seen so many services that offer Spotify playlist placement and they’re usually all fake numbers. It’s just like the
bots on Instagram that buy you fake traffic. They just do not work and you run the risk of being blacklisted by the algorithm.
This approach will not make you money or create fans. Instead of doing this, start by establishing relationships with real
authentic curators of playlists.
The best ones out there are real people who are proud and invested in what they’re putting out.
The best approach is to start getting listed on niche or small/growing playlists. You’ll need to do some research to find
out where your audience is. But as usual, the more niche, the better.
You can search the major streaming platforms directly or use sites like playlisthunter.com or playlists.net.
This could be radio channels, YouTube bloggers, influencers, DJs, etc. Basically, you want to build relationships with
privately owned, respectable playlisters who have an audience already.
On your daily networking explorations, begin setting up a prospective list of playlists you’d like to be featured on and
again, every day, but often, reach out to these people and build a rapport.
Start following them, start engaging with their content, create conversations around them and their work. Once you’ve
established some trust, go in for the kill and ask to be listed on their playlist.
However, when pitching to anybody, you need to explain what is in it for them. Tell your story, your reasons and your
inspirations behind it all. Also, make sure you ask them how to get featured the right way. Use this knowledge to approach
other playlisters too.
I have put together some outreach templates for you guys to use for the first messages and to get their attention.
(See the end of the ebook)
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You can search the major streaming platforms directly or use sites like playlists.net.
This could be radio channels, YouTube bloggers, influencers, DJs, etc. Basically, you want to build relationships with
privately owned, respectable playlisters who have an audience already.
On your daily networking explorations, begin setting up a prospective list of playlists you’d like to be featured on and
again, every day, but often, reach out to these people and build a rapport.
Start following them, start engaging with their content, create conversations around them and their work. Once you’ve
established some trust, go in for the kill and ask to be listed on their playlist.
However, when pitching to anybody, you need to explain what is in it for them. Tell your story, your reasons and your
inspirations behind it all. Also, make sure you ask them how to get featured the right way. Use this knowledge to approach
other playlisters too.
I have put together some outreach templates for you guys to use for the first messages and to get their attention. (Go
to the last chapter for these)
Playlists owned and curated by Spotify take submissions too. Do this at least 1 week prior to your launch, but I recommend
at least 4 weeks so you give editorials enough time to review your pitch before going live. Again, if your profile is incomplete
or looks amateur, you won’t get very far.
Record label owned playlists are very competitive. Start putting them on your prospective list but work yourself up to it.
The smaller ones are obviously easier to crack but you need to have traction and momentum on Spotify to be considered.
Similar to submitting a press release to a magazine, record labels will expect you to send them your music along with
all relevant information and back stories, etc.
The key is to present your story and the value of the song so the label knows who your audience is and whether it fits
with their brand.
You could always try out Submit Hub where you submit a track to playlists and bloggers for money… But buying placement
is never authentic, is it?
Influencers can be found on all the different platforms where content creation is a regular, daily staple.
From vloggers on YouTube, podcasters, Twitchers who live stream, etc. Most of these influencers need music for their
daily content creation.
Getting your music onto their content is a brilliant way to get your music heard by lots of new people - but also, you can
tap in to their fanbase too - which can be massive.
Again, finding the right influencers is important so both your audiences marry up in some way or another. Otherwise,
what’s the point for the influencer and you.
The best thing about teaming up with influencers is that they create the content and you can just share it! Super easy
content. And, if you build a good relationship with them, you can consistently share music for them to use. Win, win for
everybody.
An influencer’s influence can be very powerful. Their following is usually extremely loyal and dedicated to their every
word. Anything they do, their followers follow.
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Researching influencers to find out who has a similar audience to yours is obviously the best way to not waste time and
contact the right people.
Just like with the playlisters and radio stations; you cannot dive straight in and expect to get featured. Take time to
compliment them, their work, their content, their choices. Once you’ve got some messages going back and forth between
you; then you can drop in your music and the story behind it, etc.
Don’t talk about yourself until you’re asked or you feel confident you’ve given enough to them first.
Once that relationship has been established start with asking them to use your music in their Story on Instagram or
TikTok/Reels, YouTube video, etc.
The great thing with Stories and Reels on Instagram is that if your music is on Spotify, they can easily search your track
name and have it automatically appear as Spotify is integrated in these functions.
And the more streams you achieve on Spotify (even when through Instagram) means you can earn some more dollar in
the process.
If the influencer(s) you contact are creators on YouTube or Twitch then make sure you tell them to reference your song
and add a link in the comments or caption. I mean, you want people to find you after all that hard work, right?
The goal of this exercise is not to move people over to your streaming channels, really, but to make more people aware
of your song and your existence.
The first step to converting somebody to a follower is awareness!
Again, start creating a list of prospective influencers and content creators - start working on it slowly.
I even see many streamers actually ask for new music to play when they’re live playing a game on Twitch. As copyright
laws get tighter on the platform, they need authorised music to play out.
They’re gonna help out those who help them of course (hopefully) and list you on their stream so their viewers know
who’s music is on.
A lot of vloggers on YouTube use terrible free, stock music. When you contact them, make it easy for them to insert your
music into their content. Use the correct format, precise descriptions and be on time!
3. Others
There are also other content creators that might be relevant to your audience type and niche. Take Vera as an example,
again. A big part of her brand is LGBTQ+ focused.
Which organisations also cover this subject? Partner with them and see if they need music for their content. I mean,
literally every brand on the planet right now is posting content on an almost daily basis and are quietly screaming out
for free music to use.
Tell them your values are similar as well as your audience. Explain why it’s beneficial to them as well as yourself. Share
the goal of the project and why it is important for both of you.
Many, many companies do not get directly approached by musicians and they typically have someone or an agency get
their music content for them. Or, use sucky stock music websites that are just awful and so samey.
Start by finding where your audience hangs out. Who do they buy products from?
Pages 019
4. DJs
Another very important place to get your music out to is in the hands of the fabled DJ. They go out and play in front of
hundreds or thousands of people on a regular basis.
Yes, people listen to music on Spotify, on the radio, through content creators online - but always with DJs at events. Also
DJs are beginning to have some pretty impressive playlists to get featured on. They may also host a niche radio show!
By establishing relationships with DJs and getting your music played can be very powerful, even for the less monolithic
talent out there.
Of course you want your streaming numbers to soar but the step before this is awareness that you exist and your music
is worthy of being played (if you create the type of music for dancefloors).
By spreading your music through influencers, content creators and getting DJs to play your tracks - you are creating so
much awareness around your music which will eventually lead to higher streaming numbers.
I mean, hello, Shazam is one of my most used apps like many millions of other people. Get your quality music out there
to be heard and I guarantee you there will be plenty of people Shazamming the music to discover new artists.
Even though Old Town Road didn’t generate money for the millions of content pieces that were made using the music,
it was most definitely worth it for Lil Nas X.
Enough awareness builds momentum and eventually converts. Just have patience on top of consistent hard work
contacting a vast array of people to use it so it can be heard.
You establish a relationship with a DJ in the same way you do all the other people/influencers I’ve covered in this e-book.
Just remember, these people are music heads like you, they speak your lingo. Build that rapport before you ask for
something.
Always continue to build your prospects list and fill it with influencers across many platforms as well as DJs, media
contacts and playlisters.
Distribution should be seen as something you tackle every week - you may establish two partnerships with your first
single - which will likely carry over to your second and so on.
Continue this rate of growth with partnerships and by single number twelve, you’ll have a large distribution hub that can
help push your music out to all the right people who need to hear it.
The domino effect is real if you continue to work hard at it. The upward curve will continue to rise if you work on it daily.
Pages 020
9. PR / PUBLIC RELATIONS
A fantastic way to raise awareness of your single is via interviews and blogs.
Not only that, giving interviews builds trust with your current fanbase and you get content to share on your
channels
You need to present the value of your song and be clear on what you want to accomplish. Start by finding music
blogs and other niche related sites and magazines that fit your message.
Update Your EPK (Electronic Press Kit)
If you currently do not have a press kit; I recommend checking out my guide here.
Once completed, start checking out and contacting magazines and blogs. You could pay publicists/professionals
to do this for you as they already have a big book of contacts to contact right away on your behalf.
It’s all about networking and making those connections, just like the rest of the guide has been telling you.
When you get interviews and blogs to write about you, you’re getting somebody else to write about your value.
You can share personal stories in an interview to really become relatable to the readers who can connect with
what you’re sharing.
These interviews and blogs are really good content you can repurpose to share on your social media channels
too. This creates a great sense of authority and trust amongst your fans when they see other people care
enough to write about you.
Pages 021
10. ADS
Social media is big business and the best way for them to make money is by restricting the
amount of people that see your content and charging you to open it up to more people. Clever
but annoying.
Only a small percentage of your followers actually get to see your posts. When it comes to
promoting a single, it’s definitely recommended you spend a few dollars to get your post seen
by as many of your current followers as possible.
Start with the people that follow you already to listen to your song rather than focusing on
strangers who don’t even follow you yet.
Even though you’ve been posting on your feed, many of your followers won’t even know of it’s
existence unless they go directly to your page themselves.
Taking out an ad on your post that’s promoting your single will open up that visibility and allow
many more of your followers to set eyes on your post and listen to your single.
I’ve already gone over how to create really effective Facebook ads here.
You’ll want to create a ‘custom audience’ on the Facebook Ads Manager, where you select the
people that are already following you or have already visited your website.
They’ve already interacted with you and your brand; they know of you already so they will be a
lot more open to seeing an ad and clicking on it.
If you’re looking for new people who haven’t seen or heard of you before, you need to present
the value and story in the ad; do not just promote it with basic wording.
For example, Vera should create a video presenting the song and why she made it; while sharing
a small preview of the song. She could then boost the post in front of a ‘lookalike audience’ of
her current followers - on Facebook Ads Manager.
Creating a lookalike audience will essentially copy
Pages 022
her current followers and look for people with similar interests and online behaviours.
By doing the video, Vera will be sharing her value to the new audience and giving them
a great introduction to them. This way the chances of moving the new audience to her
profile on Instagram and/or his streaming channels is much higher.
Always think what’s in it for them to click on an ad. Make it worthwhile. Give them
enough knowledge and value to tap the ad. Play on their emotions to make it happen.
The more specific you can have your content speak to your target audience the better.
Are there any wordings you can include in your headlines or captions that attracts the
niche audience?
You should have two campaigns running in order to maximise your efforts.
First one for your existing audience where you share the single so it gets seen by more
of your followers.
The second should be for a new audience where you present the single with all the value
suggested before. You may even want to test several types of audiences here as well.
Investing some money in ads means you’re buying the eyes to see your content. It’s
up to you how effectively you convert them with the content you create for the ads
and the value you give.
Start experimenting with a few different styles and strategies for your ads and track
how well they do against each other. Whatever performs best, simply replicate it and
watch the results give you a better advantage!
Make sure you’re sharing value rather than promoting your single.
Understand the difference now?
Pages 023
11. CREATE A VIRAL TREND (TIKTOK)
Think your content has to be a dance video? Think again!
It’s easy to create content on TikTok. The app has tonnes of editing tools that you can use, which are all way better and
more responsive than Instagram or any of the other social media apps.
1. Make sure your song is available
Sounds simple, right? The first thing you need to make sure of is that your song is available to users on the platform. It’s
worth making sure that the song is available across all socials when you upload through your distributor.
2. Find the section of the song that triggers content creation creativity
Find 15 seconds of your track that really stands out. A strong beat, some sick lyrics – something that grabs attention
right away.
3. Brainstorm content ideas
Once the perfect snipped has been found, you need to sketch out some content ideas. It’s important to remember that
you’re creating a content trend that you want other people to jump on too. So, it needs to be damn good.
3. Find 5 influencers in your niche
Though this blog is all about going viral even if you’re not on TikTok – I would suggest being on the platform as a musician
and creating content. If you do this, the visibility you will get from your song going viral will then benefit you even more.
If you’re not active on TikTok and not creating content yourself on the platform, you will need to rely heavily on other
content creators if you want your song to go viral.
So, pitch your new trend/challenge to some niche influencers and get them on board before you go live. But make sure
they’re relevant to you. Find the influencers that your fans (or potential fans) are already following – and you’ll reach
your widest possible audience.
Pages 024
4. Publish all the content within 24 hours
Once you’ve got enough influencers on board, then you need to plan your launch. Ideally, you want all of them to
publish their content within 24 hours. This will optimise the amount of traction that you get in a short amount of time.
As we said before, your niche influencers should have an overlapping audience. If this audience is logging on to
TikTok and seeing your content idea over and over again, they’re more likely to want to try it themselves.
The more people it triggers, the better your song will do.
5. Make it go viral
With your initial influencers posting within your 24 hour timeframe, you’ll probably already see some traction. This
is not enough.
The next step is for you to start contacting the followers of your chosen influencers and invite them to do the challenge
themselves. Feel free to send these people a DM:
“I just saw [influencer name] do our X Challenge – would you like to join as well?”
Since these people are already following that influencer, who’s agreed to do your trend, then you have the authority
to contact them and get them on board as well.
Eventually the ripple effect will get bigger and bigger and you’ll see more and more creators posting up your challenge.
The more people posting your challenge, the more chance of both your song and your content idea going viral and
trending.

SUMMARY
When releasing your singles you must look at it as a long-term process. Not one single at a time. Carve out some time
every day to expand your network and engage with that network too. Do it bit by bit, day by day.
Creating a strong contact list of distributors in their many forms and partners that you can work with on a regular basis
so that you both benefit from the relationship you build.
Make sure you start with the value and purpose for a specific audience. You’ll have much more fun in the process if you
can be more specific with the distribution process, it will not feel like a chore if you’re interacting with people with similar
interests to you.
Experiment with your different single launches and try out different avenues or formats every time until you begin seeing
positive results. Nobody is going to show up if you simply post a promotional content piece and expect anyone to see
it or care.
Like I said before, the work has only just begun once you’ve mastered your track. Create habits of contacting people that
can help you distribute and stick to a well timed plan. Change the plan as you go along to suit your new understanding
of how everything works together.
Keep pushing forward, doing small bits of networking every day and don’t forget to get your current followers involved
in your journey too.
Good luck, musicians. Feel free to contact me for any assistance along the way, I’m waiting to hear from you!
Pages 025
TOOLS & SERVICES
PLAYLISTING
■ Soave look for the best in dance and chill music. With over
2.3 million followers across 154 playlists on Spotify, this
could be a big push in new listeners.
■ With Tunemunk you can choose the playlist you would like
to submit your music to, you can pitch your track for free,
VALUE 2 but you’ll have to follow the playlist first. The playlister
can then listen to your track and decide whether or not
to add it to their playlist.
■ Soundplate is free, but before you can submit a track

to a Spotify playlist you’ll need to follow the Soundplate
account, follow the playlist curator’s account (if it’s not a
Soundplate curated playlist) and follow the playlist you
want to submit to.
You pay to submit your track (usually be- The largest third-party playlist curator on
tween $1 to $3) and the blog has 48 hours Spotify. Filtr is run by Sony Music Entertain-
to review your track (or 96 hours for labels). ment but accept playlist submissions from
all artists.
Around 1,000 active playlist curators and Over 7 million followers across 70 playlists
have run playlist marketing campaigns for on Spotify, Strange Fruits are the largest
DefJam and Atlantic Records. independent playlist curator on the
streaming service.
Offers their playlist consideration for free, Owned by Universal Music Group, Digster
but due to the volume of submissions have over 7 million followers across over
you won’t get any feedback if your track 200 playlists on Spotify.
wasn’t seen as a fit for any of their playlists.
a subscription based music service that The most popular of ‘The Nations’ with over
gives you an up to date database of publicly 2 million followers on the Trap Nation Spoti-
available playlists including information like fy playlist alone.
follower count, owner/curator name, contact
details, and more.
Pages 026
TOOLS & SERVICES
METRICS
To evaluate a campaign’s success or failure, you need to measure your KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)
which govern whether your project continues to be funded or phased out. Use these awesome platforms
that give you nice visual breakdowns and in-depth reporting on a massive range of data that matters.
TOOLS & SERVICES

EPK BUILDER
TOOLS & SERVICES

LINK AGGREGATOR & DOWNLOAD GATE
Pages 027
TOOLS & SERVICES
PITCHING SERVICES
Broadjam (www.broadjam.com): submits its members’ songs

for consideration for film and television licensing opportunities,
publishing, and artist placements. The material is not pre-
screened, and the industry professional who is seeking material
is paid a nominal fee to review all of the Broadjam submissions.
Taxi (www.taxi.com): sends its members listings that state

the type of material being sought by recording artists,
music industry professionals, and for film and television
licensing opportunities. The specific company or artist’s
name is not revealed. Taxi’s staff pre-screens the material
($5.00 per song) and forwards the material deemed most
appropriate for the listing. The yearly membership fee
SongU (www.SongU.com/success) is primarily an education-

al site. It offers a variety of membership levels that range in
cost from $4.95 to $25.95 per month. Their pitching service
connects members to music industry professionals such as
publishers, song pluggers, hit writers, producers, and licensing
agents for films/TV pitches, as well as major and independent
artists and record labels both in the U.S. and abroad. The cost
Pages 028
OUTREACH TEMPLATES
For a helping hand with sculpting some great intro messages when you’re
reaching out to prospective playlisters, magazines, DJs, PRs, etc. I’ve
provided some templates to use.
Obviously inject your own personality into it but don’t go overboard on your
first messages. Use this as a starting point and make it your own.
The more specific and personal you can make the interaction the better the
results will be.
1. GETTING ON PLAYLISTS 
When to use this: If being featured on playlists is an ongoing part of your

marketing activities, it’s better if you build relationships FIRST with playlist
curators, and only after having done that you should ask to be featured. This
strategy is more effective if you build a rapport with someone before you ask
for anything.
First Message:
Hey [First Name],
I just want to let you know, I’m a huge fan of your work.
And I love your latest playlist [Playlist Name] .
It’s a great compilation of songs. Keep up the great work.
I look forward to checking out more content from you.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
Compliment their playlists and tell them WHY you like it. Then after some
weeks of building a relationship, you go in for the kill.
OUTREACH TEMPLATES
The Pitch Message:
Hey [First Name],
I noticed that you added one of my favorite songs on your latest playlist,
[Playlist Name].
I actually have a new single that I am dropping next week that I think would fit
great into your playlist. The song is [value 1], [value 2], and [value 3] which fits
well with the type of music you usually put on your playlist, and I think your
audience will love it as they tend to like [example 1], [example 2].
Want a heads up when it goes live?
Cheers,
[Your Name]
P.S.: Let me know if there is anything I can help you with.
OUTREACH TEMPLATES
2. WHEN YOU FEATURE AN ARTIST IN YOUR WORK/PLAYLIST 
When to use this: When building a relationship with other musicians, you may
want to use their music either in your own music or feature them on your
playlist. This is the perfect opportunity to get their attention as the focus is on
them. And this is how you will approach them:
Playlist Feature:
Subject: Featured you
Hi [First Name],
I featured you in my latest playlist, [INSERT PLAYLIST NAME]. If you’d like to

check it out, here’s the link: [Post URL].
Best regards,
Music Sample:
Subject: Sampled you
Hi [First Name],
I sampled you in my latest song, [INSERT SONG NAME]. It would make my

day If you’d like to check it out, and would make my year if you would share it.
Here's the link: [Post song URL].
Best regards,
[Your name]
OUTREACH TEMPLATES
3. I WANT TO BE A GUEST ON YOUR PODCAST
When to use this: If you’re comfortable being interviewed on a podcast, you

can get some solid visibility by choosing some strategic podcasts to be
interviewed on.
Interviews are one of the most effective ways to build trust with your fans. If
they stick through the whole interview, you will most likely have converted them
into fans for life as they get to know you personally. They will be able to place a
personality to the music. And it costs nothing more than your time.
First Message:
Subject: [Name of podcast]
Hi [First Name],
I freaking love your podcast! I only discovered it yesterday and wish I did
sooner. Not sure why you guys aren’t ranked higher in iTunes.
Anyways, I left you a glowing 5 star review, so hopefully that will help you get a
little more exposure.
I’m not sure if you’re looking for guests for the show, but I’d love to come on for
an episode if you are.
I’m a [musician, DJ, Producer, Songwriter]. For your show, I think we could
have a great discussion about [related topic]. In particular, we could talk about
how I [past impressive Achievement].
Keep up the great work!

Warm regards,
[Your Name]
OUTREACH TEMPLATES
4. INFLUENCER OUTREACH 
When to use this: When using BuzzSumo or other tools - you can find social
media influencers who are sharing content that is relevant to your audience -
and they’re getting lots of engagement.
First Message:
Hey [First Name],
I just want to let you know, I’m a huge fan of your work.
And I love your latest post [relevant post URL] .
It’s a great post. Keep up the great work.
And I look forward to seeing more content from you.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
Compliment their content and tell them WHY you like it. Then after some weeks
of building a relationship, you go in for the kill.
OUTREACH TEMPLATES
Pitch Message:
Hi [First Name],
I just noticed that you shared one of my favorite artists in one of your [Video,
Story, Reels, Streams].
That is such a great post. And it’s a great song!
I actually make similar music as [INSERT RELEVANT ARTIST] that you and
your audience may like. If you have time I’d love for you to check it out. [Post
URL].
If you like it and if you need more music in your content, feel free to use my
music for your next [STREAM, VIDEO, STORY, TIK TOK, REELS].
This is also your opportunity to show some up-coming independent music to

your audience as well. Support the underdogs right!?
I can send the WAV over if you need this.
Thanks!
[Your Name]
MORE FROM REBECCA
Take a look at my FREE Instagram masterclass - if you’re serious

about growing your following and converting fans to supporters -
https://courses.rebeccasmartbakken.com/instagram
Learn more at:

http://www.rebeccasmartbakken.com
Hire me:
https://hire.rebeccasmartbakken.com/
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HOW TO

Knowing the latest strategies and technologies is

When you start a project you need to begin with the

In the SMART Launch Club we of course use SMART

It’s far too simple to set a streaming number as a goal,

Goal: Trending during Pride month

1 Official Spotify Pride Playlist

your next single launch.

One of the most difficult things for a musician to do

covers them all My student Vera’s track is all about acceptance,

So rather than trying to fit in any of these boxes, Vera’s

Let’s take a look at Vera’s audience. She has some

term goal over x amount of weeks.

You need to create:

The second you record your song, it is actually copyrighted.

When you upload your music online to a credible platform or service,

A Copyright Office will provide you with a formal document that

By registering with a Copyright Office and obtaining the necessary

Register now with the US Copyright Office, Performing Rights

Pages 011 SMARTLAUNCHCLUB.REBECCASMARTBAKKEN.COM

I found a great tutorial that you might find useful on

Experiment with different formats that fit your narrative.

Pages 013 SMARTLAUNCHCLUB.REBECCASMARTBAKKEN.COM

Pages 015 SMARTLAUNCHCLUB.REBECCASMARTBAKKEN.COM

media you have options that were never available before.

Now, how do you get your music in front of them?

The first step to converting somebody to a follower is awareness!

Update Your EPK (Electronic Press Kit)

Creating a lookalike audience will essentially copy

Understand the difference now?

Think your content has to be a dance video? Think again!

1. Make sure your song is available

3. Brainstorm content ideas

3. Find 5 influencers in your niche

HOW TO PROMOTE A SINGLE

■ Soundplate is free, but before you can submit a track

TOOLS & SERVICES

TOOLS & SERVICES

Broadjam (www.broadjam.com): submits its members’ songs

Taxi (www.taxi.com): sends its members listings that state

SongU (www.SongU.com/success) is primarily an education-

When to use this: If being featured on playlists is an ongoing part of your

Hey [First Name],

It’s a great compilation of songs. Keep up the great work.

I look forward to checking out more content from you.

The Pitch Message:

Hey [First Name],

Want a heads up when it goes live?

2. WHEN YOU FEATURE AN ARTIST IN YOUR WORK/PLAYLIST

Subject: Featured you

I featured you in my latest playlist, [INSERT PLAYLIST NAME]. If you’d like to

Subject: Sampled you

I sampled you in my latest song, [INSERT SONG NAME]. It would make my

Here's the link: [Post song URL].

3. I WANT TO BE A GUEST ON YOUR PODCAST

When to use this: If you’re comfortable being interviewed on a podcast, you

Subject: [Name of podcast]

Keep up the great work!

Hey [First Name],

And I love your latest post [relevant post URL] .

It’s a great post. Keep up the great work.

And I look forward to seeing more content from you.

That is such a great post. And it’s a great song!

2. WHEN YOU FEATURE AN ARTIST IN YOUR WORK/PLAYLIST 