Marketing Drivers 101
Uploading music is simpler than ever thanks to the thousands of user-friendly distribution platforms. Distributing music may be easy but promoting music is much harder. Most distribution companies can help promote your release if you provide them with “Marketing Drivers” prior to an upcoming release. Marketing drivers are key details about your release, its story, and how you plan to promote it. By sharing the marketing drivers that make your release stand out, you are equipping distribution companies with the information necessary to pitch your music to key streaming partners or playlist curators.
Different Types of Distribution Companies
Before diving into crafting your marketing drivers, let's discuss the different types of distribution companies. Only certain types of distribution companies will ask you for marketing drivers.
Self-Upload: Self-upload distribution companies allow you to upload your music for a flat fee. Examples of self-upload distribution companies include TuneCore and DistroKid. While easy and convenient, most self-upload companies do not provide additional promotional support or marketing solutions. Therefore, they do not require marketing drivers. Instead, self-upload distribution companies provide a simple, user-friendly system to upload your music to digital service providers.
Tiered-Label Distribution Companies: Tiered-label distribution companies offer the ease of self-upload with the option to add on marketing services. Examples of these types of companies include:
The Orchard
Symphonic
OneRPM
EMPIRE
A la carte options—like music video distribution, third-party playlisting, sync pitching, and digital advertising—may be available to any artist on the distribution company’s roster.
Some tiered-label distribution companies only offer these services to artists that meet benchmark audience or streaming levels. The percentage of the master or master revenue that these distribution companies take typically varies based on the amount of release support or marketing services they are dedicating to an artist.
If you choose to release your music with this type of distribution company, delivering quality marketing drivers is crucial.
Crafting Release Marketing Drivers
The more effort you put into sharing the story of your music, the easier it will be for your distribution team to pitch your music. The following tips will help you craft your important marketing drivers.
Centralize Key Information: Start by collecting all of the crucial details about your release in one, organized place. You can then update this content with new marketing stories as they happen and share them with your distribution team. We have created the following Marketing Drivers Checklist to ensure you do not miss any key information.
Release Title
UPC Code
Genre
Sub-Genre
Similar Artists / For Fans Of…
Release Format (Single, EP, Album)
Artist Bio
Upcoming Shows / Tour Plans
Advertising Plans
Confirmed Press
Content Created
What’s The Story? (explained below)
Choose Your “Focus Tracks” Wisely: While you may have an idea of which of your songs will perform best, it’s wise to test different tracks on social media to determine what fans resonate with the most. Use Soundcloud, TikTok, or a private fan group to drop teasers and poll fans on what songs they’d like you to release first. You may also have positive feedback about one song from other artists, producers, or songwriters that guide this decision. Once you have clear favorites, you can share this information
Develop Visual Guides: While every song will not have a video, it should have a visual guide to inform your online content. This visual guide can be as complex or as simple as you want for your song. One option is to create a mood board - a collage of fonts, images, and textures that visually represent the story of the song you hope to communicate. Another option that some artists choose is to create a folder of videos, images from other creatives, and lyrics to help tell the story. The visual guide can be instrumental if you decide to shoot a music video or collaborate with content creators. You can show them this guide for your entire project or one individual song to help them understand your vision. Your visual guide is a tool to make sure everything you post on social media related to the song feels consistent and purposeful.
Create Proof of Demand: What evidence do you have that your project has potential interest? How fans have already shown interest in your music is your proof of demand. Examples include:
Online buzz, such as social media engagement, views, or user-generated content, can be a powerful way to show your distribution company that your music is in demand.
Ticket sales of live shows, fan data, and streaming spikes after tour dates can create a compelling case for why your music demands marketing support and promo opportunities.
Critical acclaim from a reliable source can be a powerful amplification method of the potential of your music. If you pitched online outlets to feature your release and received positive feedback, share this with your team! Relationships are valuable so if you worked with well-known and credited producers, artists or band members, this can also be shared to gain attention.
Develop Your Talking Points: Before distributing your songs, prepare to summarize or synthesize your project into 3-5 hard-hitting talking points or sentences. These talking points should grab attention and spark interest in your project. Think about it this way: If one can remember a few things about your project, what would they be? You can include a brief summary of talking points in your “What’s The Story?” submission and highlight these talking points with your distribution team. These memorable points can include:
Major historical milestones or data points - do you have millions of streams? Did you recently go viral? How many social followers do you have? Did your last project get featured in press or on major streaming playlists? Pick your most promising achievements.
The unique origin story of the project - where did these songs come from? A personal experience? A creative crossroads or reckoning? Was there a moment or idea that set its creation in motion? Are there noteworthy collaborators on this project?
Marketing campaign plans - if you have music videos, press premieres, influencer campaigns, or other major marketing moments planned, fit those into these talking points!
Tell The Story Of This Release
Getting creative with storytelling will peak interest in your release because everyone loves a powerful story. When weaving your story in 500 characters or less, ask yourself:
Who is this music for? - Where do you imagine ideal listeners playing your music? Describe the setting, scene, or moment. What types of playlists would your release be discovered on?
How will it speak to this audience? - What is the compelling backstory that will prompt listeners to visit a streaming site and listen to the entire volume of your work?
Bonus: Craft Your Spotify For Artists Pitch: the story of your release should be 500 characters or less and can be used for submission to Spotify For Artists. This is the portal where you or your distributor pitches to Spotify directly.
Get the Marketing Support You Deserve
Looking for further insight about marketing drivers? Need guidance developing your music release marketing strategy? Alchemy Artist Services is ready to help you. With nearly twenty years of digital marketing and management experience, Alchemy can help you organize your release, coordinate with your distribution company, and build compelling storylines online.