--- title: Music Marketing description: Music marketing involves identifying and reaching an audience for musical works. You will understand digital advertising, audience segmentation, content strategy, and data analytics to build a dedicated fanbase and drive music sales. category: music-audio subcategory: music-business difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/music-marketing --- # Music Marketing Music marketing involves identifying and reaching an audience for musical works. You will understand digital advertising, audience segmentation, content strategy, and data analytics to build a dedicated fanbase and drive music sales. ## Where to start Start with Music Marketing 101 by Andrew Southworth, a free beginner course on the essentials of marketing your music. If you only use one resource, make it How to Make It in the New Music Business (3rd Edition) by Ari Herstand, a paid book covering distribution, royalties, playlisting, publicity and building a team. For ongoing practical guides on social media, email and release strategy, read CD Baby's diymusician.cdbaby.com. ## Available Resources 1 Books • 1 Courses • 3 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Music Marketing Monday **Author:** Andrew Southworth A free weekly newsletter by Andrew Southworth on promoting independent music, covering Spotify growth, short-form social video, paid ads, and fan engagement, with campaign breakdowns that show artists which tactics produced streams and followers and how to test them on their own releases. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://musicmarketingmonday.com/ **Tags:** music-marketing, independent-artists, spotify-promotion, social-media-content, fan-engagement ### 2. hypebot.com Hypebot is a music-industry blog offering news, insights, and practical guidance on music marketing and the business of music, including streaming trends, tech, social media, and indie-artist strategies. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://hypebot.com **Tags:** websites, music-performing-arts, music-business ### 3. diymusician.cdbaby.com DIY Musician by CD Baby is a practical resource for independent artists, offering blog posts, how‑tos, and guides on music marketing, distribution, and monetization. It covers tutorials on social media, email marketing, release strategies, touring, and building an audience to grow a music career. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://diymusician.cdbaby.com **Tags:** websites, music-performing-arts, music-business ## Podcasts ### 1. The New Music Business **Author:** Ari Herstand Interview podcast hosted by Ari Herstand on how independent artists actually earn money: distribution, sync licensing, publishing royalties, touring economics and label deals. Episodes press guests for specific numbers and mechanics rather than general career encouragement. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.aristake.com **Tags:** music-business, independent-artists, sync-licensing, royalties, music-industry ### 2. The Punk Rock MBA **Author:** Finn McKenty Interview podcast hosted by marketer and YouTuber Finn McKenty, talking with musicians, producers and industry figures from punk, metal and hardcore. Conversations cover how bands build audiences, earn money and handle labels and touring, giving working musicians practical insight into music careers. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.prmbapodcast.com/ **Tags:** music-industry, music-careers, band-marketing, interviews, punk ## Books ### 1. How to Make It in the New Music Business (3rd Edition) **Author:** Ari Herstand Working musician and artist manager Ari Herstand walks through releasing music independently: distribution, collecting every royalty type, playlisting, touring economics, sync placement, crowdfunding, publicity and assembling a team. Herstand explains what an unsigned artist actually does on Monday morning. Third edition covers the post-2020 landscape. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/132409186X?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** music-business, independent-artists, music-royalties, music-distribution, sync-licensing, touring ## Courses ### 1. Music Business Foundations This course has been developed to provide students with the latest instruction on the best way for creators, consumers, and facilitators to navigate the resurgence of one of the world’s most exciting industries: the music business. Three things are clear about today’s music industry: The consumption of music is expanding at the greatest rate in history and from the most portals ever imagined, the cost of producing music is decreasing, and the number of artists creating and seeking to expose their work and develop careers through the Internet has increased dramatically. Whether you’re a music creator, consumer, or facilitator of this process, you’ll want to understand the history, underpinnings, and basics of the music business. Course author John Kellogg—administrator, educator, entertainment lawyer, performer, and radio and television personality—offers students the opportunity to learn the fundamental principles of the developing new music business, for now and into the future. What you'll learn: -- The basic history of the music industry and today's business trends -- How recording agreements are formulated -- The basics of copyright law as it pertains to the music business -- The role of agents, managers, attorneys, and specific business entities **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Duration:** 4 weeks of study, 2-5 hours/week | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/music-business-foundations **Tags:** courses, music-performing-arts, music-business --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/music-marketing