10 Promotion Tips For Pakistani Musicians

September 12, 2012

Musicians face many challenges in the world today. But the ability to promote your music is one of the most important skills you can have if you want to stay ahead of the game. This article will give you 10 tips on how to promote your work to the masses.

1. Utilise social media

Without a doubt, the Internet is now the number one technique to reach out to the masses. It’s easy to use and most of all, effective. It helps you promote your work, engage with the audience, and build a community.

Make a Facebook Page, make a Twitter account, invite people and share your work. You can also post on other Pages and share your material for more exposure. But of course, using social media will not guarantee quick success. You need to stand out from the crowd by being interesting, unique, passionate, and engaging.

2. Give out freebies

If you’ve just starting making music and you’re already selling tracks for £0.99 on iTunes, no one will buy them. That’s why it’s important to give the audience a taste of your music beforehand. Why not give let the audience download some tracks for free?

A great aspect about Pakistani music is that there are a lot of freebies, and musicians don’t become automatic entrepreneurs. Stay passion-driven, not money-driven.

3. Interact with your audience

Many musicians don’t understand the importance of interacting with the audience, and remain anonymous people behind a screen who no one knows or cares about.

There are many benefits of interacting with the crowd. For example, it will help your audience know you more and increase audience activity. If you use social media, then it’s even easier to interact. Why not ask your audience a question? Or ask them what improvements they’d like to see?

4. Pull the audience in

When you interact with your audience, you have to pull them in just like how your favourite track pulls you in to press replay. The Pakistani popstar Ali Zafar (who has more than a million fans on Facebook) is a prime example of how you can achieve a lot of publicity by drawing a crowd. He posts up exclusive pictures, asks for ‘Likes’ and even says hello.

His Facebook didn’t begin like this, and it took around a year to actually start pulling the crowd in with exclusive posts. Make sure you start doing it ASAP.

You can also pull in the crowd by promoting your music beforehand via video teasers. Teasers are a great way to build up excitement. Just make sure you don’t drag it too long like EP’s ‘Ajab Tamasha’ coming soon (God knows when). You don’t want people losing interest or forgetting.

5. Make contacts

A great way to get around the industry is to make contacts and use it to your advantage. For example, if you make a few journalist friends, you can get them to write a few reviews, or if you have a friend working at the local radio station, you can ask for some airtime to promote your music. The opportunities are endless, so it’s wise to make the most contacts possible.

Just don’t be annoying… or instead of making contacts, you’ll be making enemies.

6. Interact face-to-face

Promoting yourself online is easy, quick and efficient. But behind the screen, you’re confining yourself from the outside world. Without a doubt, face-to-face interaction is a key player in giving you the edge. Whilst other musicians sit there behind a computer, you’re actually on your feet doing something.

Performing live is a great opportunity to have that interaction and it even gives you the chance to make more contacts. At the gig, people will get to know you more, and your personality should ooze through your music. After the gig, you can even do a meet-and-greet.

Don’t be too face-to-face (‘look at me everyone’). Or you’ll be getting a fist-to-face.

7. Get on the radio

Various mediums can be used as marketing tools, like the Internet. Getting on the radio for one, is a golden opportunity to showcase your music. Even if you have trouble getting on, just ask the station to play your track and give your name a mention. You’ll be promoted to the masses.

8. Product advertising?

Many Pakistani musicians have done adverts for various products and they gained publicity out of it. Pakistani band Noori did a track for CornettoCall’s lead singer appeared in a Pepsi commercial and Amanat Ali Khan sung behind a National Recipe Masala commercial.

However, this point can have consequences. You’ll gain more publicity, but you can expect some people criticising you for ‘selling out’.

9. Cause controversy?

In our crazy world, people love controversies, shocking news, sensationalism and BS…

I’m not a fan of the Pakistani model Veena Malik, but I know she’s releasing a new music video soon. How do I know? It’s because she’s now recognisable not just in Pakistan but internationally thanks to the media… Nevertheless, she’s a prime example of how causing controversies can actually make you an icon (even if it involves posing nude).

This point should be taken with great caution. You will either be liked, or hated so much that your children will admit themselves into an orphanage.

10. Be patient

If you’re expecting to get famous with a click of a finger, hang your head in shame. Things don’t happen all of a sudden and it takes time. As they say, good things happen to those who wait.

But of course, you’ll need to earn it.