7 Must-Have Apps for Promoting Your Music in 2024

As an aspiring musician, it can be a scary thought to begin promoting your music. Where do you start if you have no contacts in the industry? What if you have a low budget? Learning which apps are best is the first step you can take in tackling promotion. Which are the best apps for promoting your music? There are many, many apps out there that can help you find new fans and grow an audience. We’ve selected five of them that we’re fond of and that satisfy two main criteria: they’re easy to use and relatively cheap. Let’s take a look:

TikTok is an app that allows users, musicians, and label managers to create and share short 15-second videos set to music. TikTok is available on your smartphone via the App Store and Google Play store in 154 countries. It is so popular that sharing your music on TikTok can give you a big push in your overall release promotion. Be creative, share videos to promote your music and get to the next step.

Songkick is a ticket purchasing app by nature; yet promotes artists to its users. Advertisements for musicians pop up to the user based on location and musical taste. It reaches a large demographic, keeps users up to date with touring musicians and offers suggestions for new music. This is a great low cost app to promote music for those with budget issues. Songkick also collates information from Google Play Music, Spotify etc; allowing for greater possibility of your music being promoted.

This app is great for promotion; it recommends music to the user due to personal preference. Instead of being purely based on luck if your music is liked or not, Last.fm ensures it is being played by someone with similar tastes. As one of the biggest online radio services, Last.fm provides a great service to promote music. They offer various ways to handle your music; from a 30 second preview to the full download. They run promotional campaigns and a personal page to gain followers and new fans.

If you’re following music biz news you’ll know Soundcloud has been struggling recently to keep the business afloat. Business matters aside, Soundcloud is still one of the best apps to link with your social media profile. The app was designed for simplicity; store your music and share easily with Facebook etc. They also offer giveaways e.g. giving away tracks for free. Your profile on the app also works as social media; listeners can post comments on what they like, providing easy feedback without them having to be on Soundcloud.

For a small fee, Reverbnation can easily mix your social media profiles and music with millions of fans. There is an ad builder to give your music a professional advertising video, which can provide you the opportunity to advertise in cities and countries you might not be able to connect with naturally. Furthermore, the platform can increase your audience as it remembers past visitors and places ads for your music to listeners with similar tastes. This is a great app for budding musicians to manage their careers.

Bandsintown allows its users to receive notifications about tours and their favorite artists playing in their area. As a musician, you can manage your concerts and events and promote your music through your gigs. This app is available on Facebook, iOS devices and Android. Increase your fanbase and engage with them through Bandsintown.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube. These are the big guns for free music promotion. They all have their separate uses, and they all have millions of users. Download them all, create profiles, and keep them updated! Word of mouth is one of the most effective promotional campaigns you can create. Using social media is extremely simple and great for those with little or no budget. Just make sure to post lots of samples, photos, and stories. You want to connect with fans on a personal level. The relatively new kid on the block is Instagram, and if you’re not on there already it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s free to use and has a special knack of making your fans feel close to you. Getting up front and personal with fans is a great way to build an affinity with your audience. Instagram nails that.

Overall there are many apps to promote your music for a relatively low cost or for free. But the technology will only get you so far. The key to successfully promoting your music is to update frequently and keep it real. We live in unprecedented times where we can build a fanbase directly with our fans, not via a record label. So make the most.

Go forth and prosper!