Getting your music featured by influencers is one of the most effective ways for independent artists to grow their fanbase, increase streams, and build a loyal following on YouTube and social media. But with so many options (some much more time and cost efficient than others) it’s important to understand the different ways to approach influencer marketing so you can choose the best strategy for getting your music out there.

Below, we dive into the most popular methods to get your music featured by influencers, complete with the pros and cons for each. Whether you’re looking to share your music with YouTubers, TikTok creators, or other types of content creators, these insights will help you navigate artist promotion, sync licensing, YouTube exposure, and content creator marketing – all while setting you up for sustainable success.

Explore the table of contents:

• Four Ways to Get Your Music Featured by Influencers
  • No Copyright/Copyright-Free Music
  • Manual Outreach
  • Paid Influencer Campaigns
  • Thematic
• Best Practices for Encouraging Creators to Feature Your Music
• FAQs: Getting Your Music Featured by Influencers

Four Ways to Get Your Music Featured by Influencers

When it comes to getting your music featured by influencers, independent artists have several powerful options, each with its own benefits and challenges. Whether you’re looking to reach creators on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram or other social media platforms, it’s important to choose the right strategy that fits your personal goals, resources, and artistic vision.

Let’s dive into the four best ways to get your music featured by influencers and grow your audience 💪

1. Listing Your Music as “No Copyright” or “Copyright-Free”

One of the easiest ways to get your music featured by influencers is by labeling it as “no copyright” or “copyright-free.” Many creators actively search for music that won’t trigger copyright strikes or monetization issues on their videos. By offering your tracks under this label and making them totally free to use (without limitations), you make it simple for creators to download and use your music in their content.

However, while this approach can open the door to more influencer placements, it also has significant downsides. For example, you won’t be able to track where or how your music is actually being used by creators. You’ll also miss out on valuable monetization opportunities through tools like YouTube’s Content ID. Plus, you might find that the results vary widely – some songs get tons of placements, while others get overlooked completely.

Pros of making music copyright-free:

✅ Attracts creators searching for copyright-free music
✅ Easy way to get your music featured by influencers for free
✅ Potential for high-volume placements

Cons of making music copyright-free:

❌ No tracking or reporting on placements
❌ Loss of monetization opportunities
❌ No insights into audience engagement
❌ Inconsistent results

2. Manual Outreach to Influencers

Another method to get your music featured by influencers is to manually reach out to them via email or DMS on social media. This means researching and contacting YouTubers, TikTokers, or Instagram creators directly and pitching your music for their videos or social media posts.

Direct outreach gives you the ability to target creators who align closely with your genre and style, ensuring that your music fits seamlessly into their content. This personalized approach can help build relationships with influencers and potentially secure placements that are authentic and on-brand.

However, this process can be extremely time-consuming, with many artists finding that their emails are ignored or buried in busy inboxes (you’d be surprised at how many creators don’t often check their inboxes).

Additionally, without a proper licensing system in place, your music could end up flagging the influencer’s video for copyright, leading to frustration for both you and the influencer.

We’ve also heard frustrations from artists who use this method that they don’t actually know when their music is being used. Some creators use the songs without letting you know, while others use the songs and forget to include the song credit. The tracking here can become challenging, leaving you in the dark about the effectiveness of your outreach.

Pros of reaching out to influencers:

✅ Direct targeting of creators who fit your music style
✅ Builds relationships for future collaborations
✅ Opportunity to get your music featured by influencers who truly connect with your genre

Cons of reaching out to influencers:

❌ Very time-consuming and often low response rates
❌ No automated licensing management (and increased risk of copyright claims)
❌ No tracking or data on placements
❌ Results can be unpredictable

3. Paid Influencer Campaigns

For artists with a bigger budget, paid influencer campaigns can be a great way to get your music featured by influencers. In this approach, you pay creators to include your music in their videos or posts, where they treat the song as a product placement.

This method also gives you full control over which influencers feature your music and allows you to align on specific promotional goals. Artists can work with platforms like YouTube BrandConnect, AspireIQ, Collabstr, Influencity, or Upfluence to find and collaborate with influencers across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. These platforms streamline the process of discovering influencers, negotiating deals, and running paid campaigns targeted to your ideal audience.

However, paid influencer marketing can be extremely expensive (often hundreds or even thousands of dollars for just a few placements). This can limit how many creators you can work with and may reduce your total campaign reach. Plus, since this is often done as a straightforward sponsorship, there’s typically no licensing system to protect the influencer from copyright issues, which can lead to demonetization or video takedowns (and a soured relationship). Finally, you might miss unexpected audiences who would love your music but weren’t part of your initial targeting.

Pros of paid influencer marketing campaigns:

✅ Direct targeting of influencers
✅ Aligned on campaign goals and deliverables
✅ Ensures your music reaches specific audiences

Cons of paid influencer marketing campaigns:

❌ Very expensive (most independent artists can only afford 1-2 placements per campaign)
❌ No licensing or copyright management
❌ Limited reach (depending on the assumptions you make in your audience targeting)
❌ No tracking or insights on how placements perform

Thematic: Free Influencer Marketing for Music

Thematic is the by-far most effective and artist-friendly way to get your music featured by influencers across YouTube and social media. Designed specifically for independent artists, Thematic connects your music to creators who are looking for high-quality tracks to use in their videos.

Unlike manual outreach or paid campaigns, Thematic handles the sync licensing automatically. This means that YouTubers and influencers can monetize their videos without fear of copyright strikes while promoting your music.

Plus, with their built-in artist dashboard, you get full transparency into where your songs are actually being used, how they’re performing, and what kinds of creators and audiences are engaging with your music. This often leads to surprising insights, helping you discover new communities that love your music and support you as an artist.

Best of all, Thematic is completely free to use. No pay-to-play fees. No cold outreach. No headaches – just proven results. With a 98% success rate in getting music placed with influencers, Thematic is the best choice for independent artists who want to grow their audience and get their music heard.

💡 Did you know? Music artists like Nicky Youre (with his hit “Sunroof”), ODESZA, and JP Saxe have all used Thematic’s free influencer marketing platform to get their music featured by influencers on YouTube and TikTok.

Pros of Thematic for music promotion:

✅ Free to use, no pay-to-play
✅ Automated influencer marketing (no outreach needed)
✅ Full licensing support
✅ Transparent tracking with artist dashboard
✅ Audience insights to help grow your fanbase
✅ 98% success rate with your music featured by influencers across all social media platforms

Cons of Thematic for music promotion:

🤷 None – Thematic was designed to help artists succeed

Best Practices to Get Your Music Featured by Influencers

Regardless of which method you choose, here are some best practices to help you get your music featured by influencers across social media:

🎯 Make your music easy to license

Understanding who owns the rights to your music is crucial. Do you have co-writers, a label deal, or a publishing agreement? If you own and control all your rights, you have more freedom to license your music directly and leverage it fully to get your music featured by influencers.

Once you have a handle on your song rights, using music promo platforms like Thematic that handle sync licensing can simplify the process for creators, allowing them to feature your music without risking demonetization or copyright strikes.

🎧 Prioritize high-quality production

Creators want to use music that sounds professional and polished. Investing in quality mixing and mastering can significantly improve your chances of getting your music featured by influencers. Artist-friendly tools like Landr offer affordable, on-demand mastering services that help your tracks sound radio-ready without breaking the bank.

📸 Engage with creators authentically

When interacting with influencers who have promoted your songs, be genuine – not salesy or desperate. Engage with the influencers who’ve promoted your music by liking, commenting, and sharing their content in a way that shows you appreciate their work. Authentic connections increase the chances that creators will want to feature your music again in more videos or social posts.

💬 Share your story and become a curator yourself

To really stand out, artists should also act as curators themselves on social media. Share your creative process, inspirations, and personal stories to build a community around your music. By curating playlists that feel authentic to your artist brand, spotlighting creators who use your tracks, and in general posting consistently across your socials, you’ll attract more attention and create even more interest for your music.

FAQs: Getting Your Music Featured by Influencers ✌️

If you’re an independent artist looking to get your music featured by influencers, you may have a lot of questions. This FAQ section answers the most common queries music artists have about influencer marketing.

What does “music featured by influencers” mean?

Getting your “music featured by influencers” refers to music artists having their songs included in videos, livestreams, or social media posts created by influential content creators on social media. This can mean having your songs promoted by YouTubers, TikTokers, Instagrammers, or Twitch streamers, for example. This kind of exposure helps artists grow their audience, increase streams and downloads, and build overall artist recognition by leveraging the influencer’s engaged fanbase.

How can independent artists get their music featured by influencers?

Independent artists can get their music featured by influencers through a handful of different methods. These include:

• Offering your songs as copyright-free so that creators can use them without legal concerns
• Direct outreach to targeted influencers via email or social media
• Paid influencer campaigns to guarantee specific placements
• Using free influencer marketing platforms like Thematic to automate sync licensing and placement, making it easier to connect with creators and track results.

Why is sync licensing important for getting music featured by influencers?

Sync licensing is critical because it legally authorizes influencers to use your music in their videos or posts without risking copyright infringement. Proper sync licenses ensure that your songs are licensed correctly and protect creators from demonetization on platforms like YouTube. Having clear, manageable sync licenses is essential when getting your music featured by influencers and protects both parties from legal headaches.

Can I track where and how my music is featured by influencers?

Yes! Tracking your music placements is important for measuring the success of your influencer marketing efforts. Platforms like Thematic provide artists with a detailed artist dashboard that shows exactly which influencers are using your songs, the videos where your songs are featured, and overall performance stats for your song campaigns. This transparency helps artists optimize their promotional strategies and understand which creator communities resonate best with their music.

Are paid influencer campaigns worth the investment for independent artists?

Paid influencer campaigns can offer targeted exposure for music artists by aligning with specific creators whose audiences match your music genre and style. However, these campaigns are often costly and limited to a few placements per song due to budget constraints. For many independent artists, free or automated platforms like Thematic provide a more scalable and cost-effective way to get their music featured by influencers across multiple social media channels.

How do I build authentic relationships with influencers to get my music featured?

Building authentic relationships with influencers is key to getting your music featured across social media in a way that feels natural and organic. Start by engaging with influencers and content creators whose work you already admire and follow, rather than blindly reaching out to the top names in the space. Like, comment, and share their content genuinely to show them that you appreciate their creativity.

This approach builds trust and demonstrates that you’re actually part of their community. Avoid sending generic, overly promotional messages (as these come off very spammy). Authentic interactions foster goodwill and make it more likely that influencers will want to feature your music in their videos and social media posts.

Conclusion

Getting your music featured by influencers is one of the most powerful ways to build your audience and grow your streams as an independent artist. Whether you choose copyright-free music, manual outreach, paid campaigns, or Thematic, each method has its strengths and challenges.

For most indie artists, Thematic stands out as the most effective, affordable, and scalable way to get your music featured by influencers – with full transparency, licensing, and powerful insights to fuel your career growth.

👉 Join Thematic today and watch your music get featured by influencers who matter.

Looking for more free resources and tools for independent artists? Check out Thematic’s Artist Toolkit for a comprehensive collection of tips and best practices on promoting your music. You’ll find guides on music copyright, effective music promotion strategies, and, of course, the best free influencer marketing platform: Thematic, which makes it easy to get your music featured by influencers.

This Guide on The Best Ways to Get Music Featured By Influencers is brought to you by Thematic Director of Partnerships, Stephanie Leyva

Stephanie Leyva sits at the intersection of music artists and content creators. As the Director of Partnerships at Thematic, Stephanie has worked extensively with the artist and creator community on the site to ensure success digitally, on the platform, and support their initiatives.

Over the past few years, she has led numerous trending music-driven influencer marketing campaigns for “Glitter” and “Supalonely (feat. Gus Dapperton” by BENEE, “Loneliness for Love” by Lovelytheband, “Checklist (feat. Chromeo)” by MAX and so many more. She’s worked alongside various labels such as Casablanca Records, Republic Records and Sony Music. Focused on empowering connections between content creators and music artists, Stephanie continues to lead the charge in innovative music discovery through social.

Stephanie is also the creator of the Bloom In Progress podcast – a podcast about personal growth, relationships and navigating life in your 20’s.

Without it, today’s creator-first mindset and the ability for content creators to grow an audience, monetize, and build businesses from YouTube may not have existed. 

YouTube Content ID is a topic that we’re super nerds about here at Thematic and love talking about. We’ve been hands-on using Content ID since 2011 helping rights holders, music artists, and content creators across YouTube manage their content and copyright, and have been YouTube Certified since the YouTube Certification program started in 2013.

So if you’re here to unlock the secrets of Content ID and learn everything there is to know about it, you’ve come to the right place. Consider this your ultimate guide to YouTube Content ID. We’re excited to share our extensive knowledge with you.

1. FAQs about YouTube Content ID
   • What is Content ID?
   • Why did YouTube create Content ID?
   • What does Content ID do?
   • How does Content ID work?
   • What content is eligible for Content ID?
   • How do I get access to Content ID?
2. YouTube Content ID and Copyright
   • What is the difference between copyright and Content ID?
   • How do I avoid copyright on YouTube?
   • How do I get permission to use copyrighted music?
3. YouTube Content ID and Content Creators
   • Why is Content ID important for creators?
   • How do I avoid copyright claims?
   • What are the rules for using someone’s copyrighted music?
   • Does Content ID affect your channel?
4. YouTube Content ID and the Benefits for Music Artists
   • How does Content ID work for music?
   • How does Content ID support the work of music rights holders?
   • How can I add my music to YouTube Content ID?
   • Who owns the rights to your music?
   • How do you make money from YouTube Content ID?
   • Can you remove Content ID?
   • How does Content ID work with Thematic?
5. How to have a copyright-safe experience on YouTube

FAQs about YouTube Content ID

Let’s dive into some of the most frequently asked questions about Content ID before exploring how it affects and benefits copyright owners, content creators, and music artists.

What is YouTube Content ID?

Content ID is YouTube’s automated content identification software that allows copyright holders and content owners to discover and manage their copyright-protected content across YouTube.

It is one of YouTube’s several copyright management tools available to content owners (alongside the Copyright takedown webform, Copyright match tool, and Content verification program). 

Why did YouTube create Content ID?

YouTube developed Content ID in 2007 after facing lawsuits from Viacom, Mediaset, and the English Premier League for its lack of effective copyright management tools. 

YouTube has since invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Content ID and other copyright management tools to support rights-holders and rights management across the platform.

What does YouTube Content ID do?

YouTube’s Content ID provides copyright owners an easy way to protect and monetize their copyright-protected content across YouTube. It streamlines rights management for copyright holders on YouTube.

In simple terms, Content ID helps copyright owners to find user videos across YouTube that feature their content. The copyright owner can then decide what happens to the user videos that include their copyright – either tracking its performance, monetizing it, or blocking it from being viewed.

How does Content ID work?

While it may seem complicated, YouTube has made Content ID very easy for content owners to use. Let’s break it down!

Content owners tell YouTube about their content and intellectual property (also known as IP).

This includes providing YouTube with:

• Digital copies of their work (the video or audio files) which is also called a reference file,
• The metadata describing their content (which can include ISRC, UPC, titles, and release dates),
• All of the information about their ownership (in case they only own the copyright in some countries or have split ownership with another party),
• And what they would like YouTube to do when their content is found in user videos on YouTube (track it, monetize it, or block it).

YouTube packages this information into what they call an Asset.

💡 Did you know? Some pieces of copyrighted content are not eligible for Content ID (even if the owner has permission for it). Learn more about these rules here.

YouTube creates a digital fingerprint to represent each file.

This fingerprint is the digital representation of the copyright owner’s files within YouTube, and just like human fingerprints, they are totally unique from one another. Each fingerprint represents a different piece of original, copyrighted material on YouTube. 

💡 Did you know? There are seven different types of assets available to copyright owners on YouTube. YouTube requires different types of metadata for each asset, and there may be different claim and monetization rules depending on the asset type. Below are the different types of assets within YouTube:

Content ID takes each of these fingerprints and compares it to every single video on YouTube to see if a match is found.

A match happens when the fingerprint (the copyright owner’s content) is found in a user video. 

💡 Did you know? YouTube can find matches even if the user video has distorted the content (like sped it up, turned it upside down, or cut it into many pieces). It can even find a match on song melodies (like when a song is covered or imitated)!

When a match is discovered, YouTube creates a Claim and applies the rules set by the copyright owner.

Hence, a copyright claim is created.

The copyright owner can choose to:

• Block the user video
• Monetize the user video with ads
• Track the user video to get detailed analytics about the video and its viewers

💡 Did you know? The copyright owner can get super specific about the rules they set on their video. They are able to set different rules based on a viewer’s location or based on how much of their content is matched in the user video. The copyright owner can also change the rules for any of their content at any time. Pretty sophisticated stuff!

What content is eligible for YouTube Content ID?

It’s important to keep in mind that not all copyrighted content is eligible for YouTube Content ID. YouTube has several guidelines about what types of content can be added to Content ID to make sure that both the copyright owners and video creators are protected across YouTube. 

Let’s explore the top 3 Content ID eligibility rules below.

1. Exclusive Rights ☝️

The copyright owner must own the exclusive rights to the content they add to Content ID (depending on their ownership territories).

That means that any of the following types of content are ineligible for inclusion in Content ID as a reference file:

• Content licensed non-exclusively from a third party (such as royalty-free samples or loops from Splice, Beatstars, or Airbit)
• Creative Commons or open license content
• Public domain footage, recordings, or compositions
• Video or audio from sources under Fair Use principles
• Video gameplay footage or soundtracks (by people other than the game’s publisher)

We talked about digital fingerprints above and how each piece of content gets its own fingerprint within YouTube. And because fingerprints are unique, so too must each piece of content or reference file in Content ID.

Let’s break that down exactly why that is. Imagine that you purchase a non-exclusive license for a background track from Beatstars for your latest song. You have full permission to create a song on top of this track and release it to streaming and download sites and to earn money from this song. However, you would not be able to add this song to Content ID because you are not the exclusive owner of the underlying track.

Another creator may also have purchased the same exact track and created their own original song from it. They also may be distributing their song to streaming and download services and earning money from it. Now imagine that the other creator incorrectly adds their song with this same track to Content ID. Because Content ID thinks that this creator is the exclusive owner of the material, it will find and apply rules on any user videos matching the sound.

That means that videos featuring your version of the song (and even your own music video for your song) would be claimed by the other creator’s version and subject to their copyright claim and rules. Not so great, right?

Effectively, since there is not one sole owner of this underlying track in Content ID, it should not be added to Content ID at all. Otherwise, user videos may be claimed incorrectly and could cause misallocation of or lost earnings.

2. Distinct Reference Content 🦄

Every piece of content added to Content ID must be sufficiently distinct.

That means that any of the following types of content would not be eligible for Content ID:

• Karaoke recordings, remasters, and similar sound-alike recordings and content
• Sound effects, soundbeds, or production loops

Similar to what we described in the Exclusive Rights section, these types of generic or similar-sounding content could easily cause claim issues across YouTube. 

One person’s original recording of a rushing river, for example, would not sound very different from another person’s recording of the same exact thing. As a result, YouTube’s Content ID could not discern the true owner of the content.

3. No Bundled Content 🚫

Content should be delivered to Content ID individually, and not bundled together. Each piece of IP should have its own unique asset and reference file within Content ID.

That means that the following types of content should not be added to Content ID:

• Video or audio compilations
• DJ mixes or sets
• Video or audio mashups
• Countdown lists featuring many pieces of copyrighted content
• Full albums of sound recordings or tv episodes

How do I get access to YouTube Content ID?

While all copyright owners have access to copyright management tools on YouTube (such as the takedown webform), Content ID is reserved for copyright owners who meet specific criteria and have complex rights management needs.

To qualify for YouTube Content ID, for example, copyright owners must provide evidence of their copyrighted content and have a demonstrated need for the tool (such as heavy reposting of their copyright-protected content).

Because Content ID is an incredibly complex and powerful tool, it can have severe consequences if managed incorrectly. 

That’s why YouTube Content ID is limited to a relatively small number of partners (approximately 9,000 based on YouTube’s 2022 Copyright Transparency report). These partners (like record labels or movie studios) must own or admin large volumes of copyrighted works, have an advanced understanding of copyright and digital rights management, and have dedicated teams and resources to manage the tool.

YouTube also has rules and guidelines to make sure the tool is being used properly by its partners. YouTube Content ID abuse is a major issue that has been talked about in recent news headlines and something that YouTube takes very seriously. Repeated misuse or abuse of the Content ID tool by partners can result in having their access disabled and their partnerships with YouTube terminated.

💡 Did you know? Most individual creators can get access to Content ID for their own content by using a third-party service provider or distributor (typically for a small admin fee). 

YouTube Content ID and Copyright

While copyright is at the core of YouTube Content ID, it’s important to realize that they are not the same thing.

What is the difference between copyright and Content ID?

Great question! I’m glad you asked. Let’s look at the definitions of both copyright and Content ID.

Copyright is a type of intellectual property (IP) law that protects original works of authorship as soon as they are fixed in a tangible form of expression.

In other words, copyright protects a person’s creative work as soon as they create it (not just think it). So when someone records a song, films a video, draws a picture, or writes a book, for example, those creations now are protected by copyright.

Examples of works that can be protected by copyright include:

• Sound recordings and musical compositions (like songs or lyrics)
• Written works (like poems, lectures, articles, and books)
• Visual works (like videos, photos, paintings, and drawings)
• Video games or computer software
• Dramatic works (like plays or musicals)

As the copyright owner, you have the right to control how and where your work is used. This means that you can decide who can make money from it and even who can use it in their YouTube videos.

Content ID, on the other hand, is a tool that was built to help protect and manage copyrighted works on YouTube.

Copyright owners can use Content ID to find where their works are being used on YouTube and then implement the rules that are applied to those videos. For example, the copyright owner can decide to monetize (or earn money from) the user videos featuring their copyright.

💡 Did you know? While it may seem that YouTube is the one copyrighting your video, it’s actually the copyright owner! YouTube just provides the tool (Content ID) that allows copyright owners to claim user videos across YouTube.

How do I avoid copyright on YouTube?

The best way to avoid copyright on YouTube is to upload original videos with fully-cleared or licensed content. Creators can prevent copyright infringement and copyright claims by using copyright-free music, videos, and sound effects in YouTube videos.

Thankfully, platforms like Thematic and YouTube Creator Music exist to make it simple and safe to license copyright-free music and sound effects for YouTube videos. 

How do I get permission to use copyrighted music?

Creators can get permission to use copyrighted music in their YouTube videos by either contacting the song owners directly (this may be the music artist, record label, or publishers) or purchasing a license for the song. 

YouTube Content ID and Content Creators

It’s important that content creators be aware of using copyrighted content and how their videos may be affected by Content ID.

When a creator receives a copyright claim on their YouTube video, they may face penalties such as lost monetization and having their video unavailable in certain territories. 

Essentially, the copyrighted video will be subject to the rules set by the copyright owner who may choose to monetize, block, or track the analytics of the video. These rules can also be changed at any time.

That being said, let’s answer some of the most frequently asked questions content creators have about Content ID.

Why is Content ID important for creators?

As you’ve learned, Content ID was developed in part due to YouTube’s response to its copyright lawsuits with Viacom and other companies. It was YouTube’s solution to providing copyright management at scale for rights holders.

Little did they know at the time that this new technology would lay the groundwork for creator monetization across the platform.

Today, YouTube is known as the leading platform where creators can earn substantial and regular income from their video content. Other video platforms have tried and failed to match the earnings potential for creators through creator funds, rev-shares, and other monetization schemes.

Creators on YouTube are required to upload only fully-cleared content to their channels. This means only including wholly-original content and/or licensed content within their videos. Creators who abide by these rules and who reach certain performance milestones on their channel can apply for the YouTube Partner Program. When a creator becomes a YouTube Partner, they become eligible to monetize their videos with advertisements. The creator and YouTube share in the advertisement earnings in a 55/45 revshare (55% to the creator, 45% to YouTube).

Likewise, copyright owners are able to serve ads on (or monetize) videos containing their copyright-protected content in a revshare with YouTube. 

This all works because of Content ID. YouTube uses Content ID to ensure that the videos where ads are shown are either copyright-compliant or managed by the copyright owners (through Content ID) and therefore eliminate any instances of copyright infringement.

In both cases, YouTube, creators, copyright owners, and the brands running the advertisements work in harmony.

How do I avoid Content ID claims on YouTube?

Creators can avoid YouTube Content ID claims by uploading only original content in their videos. If there is no copyrighted content in the video, the creator will not receive copyright claims.

Creators can use copyrighted content in their videos by getting permission or licenses from the copyright owners either through using sites like Thematic or by working with the copyright holder directly.

What are the rules for using someone’s copyrighted music?

Creators should always make sure to get permission from the copyright holders when using copyrighted music in their videos. The rules about how much of a song you can use, how many videos you can use it in, and what types of videos can be made with the music will vary based on the license agreement.

It’s important to remember the copyright owner’s rules when using music, otherwise your video may have copyright infringement and receive a copyright claim.

Does Content ID claim affect your channel?

Content ID claims affect YouTube videos, but do not impact your YouTube channel or account. YouTube Content ID claims are specific to the videos where the copyrighted material is detected, and the copyright holder may choose to monetize, block, or track the video. However, the copyright claim is not a penalty on the creator’s YouTube channel.

💡 Did you know? Copyright claims are not the same as copyright strikes. Copyright strikes can not be made using YouTube Content ID. Rather, copyright owners must file an official takedown request with YouTube to remove the video and issue a copyright strike to the creator’s channel.

YouTube Content ID and the Benefits for Music Artists

Content ID is a great tool that allows music artists to protect their music copyrights and monetize their musical works across YouTube.

With Content ID, music artists are able to monetize user-generated content (UGC) featuring their songs, music videos, and compositions (through YouTube cover songs). As a result, music artists are able to earn additional income on platforms like YouTube very easily!

Let’s answer some of the most common questions about how music artists can use YouTube Content ID.

How does Content ID work for music?

YouTube Content ID allows music rights holders to find, protect, and monetize their musical works (like songs, music videos, and compositions) across user videos uploaded to YouTube. 

Once the music rights holder adds their music to Content ID, YouTube will automatically find the videos where the music is being featured and apply a copyright claim on the rights holder’s behalf. This allows the music artist to control how their music is used on YouTube.

💡 Did you know? There are four different types of music assets available to music rights holders on YouTube:

• Art Track (the audio version of a song that automatically generated by YouTube by combining the album artwork with the song file)
• Music Video (the audio-visual representation of a song)
• Sound recording (or audio recording)
• Composition Share (this represents the publishing of a song)

Music artists should make sure that their rights are represented in YouTube Content ID for all of the above assets to ensure that they are monetizing and protecting their work fully.

How does Content ID support the work of music rights holders?

With Content ID, music rights holders are able to easily protect and monetize their musical works across YouTube. It gives the music rights holders the power to control how and where their songs, music videos, and compositions are used in YouTube videos. The music rights holders can either monetize the UGC, block it from playing, or track the analytics of the videos featuring their music.

How do I add my music to YouTube Content ID?

Music artists can add their songs to YouTube Content ID through their music distributor for a small fee and/or revenue share.

All of the most popular music distribution sites (like DistroKid, TuneCore, ONErpm, CD Baby, or LANDR) provide an option for music artists to add their songs to YouTube Content ID from their artist dashboard. Adding music to Content ID is typically done at the same time as you submit your songs to streaming services (like Spotify and Apple Music).

Who owns the rights to your music?

The original songwriter is the owner of the song’s copyright and owns the rights to the musical composition. The person who recorded the song is typically the owner of the song’s recording. Sometimes a music label may become the copyright owner of the music (depending on the artist agreement).

The music copyright owner (like other copyright holders) has the right to control how and where the copyrighted material is used.

The copyright owner keeps all rights to the music when adding the songs to YouTube Content ID.

How do you make money from YouTube Content ID?

Music artists can make money from Content ID when their music is featured in UGC videos on YouTube. Content ID will find all of the videos where the artist’s music is being played, and apply a claim to the user’s video to either block, monetize, or track it. If the artist decides to monetize the UGC videos, ads will be placed on the user videos and the revenue from these ads will be shared between YouTube and the music artist.

UGC revenue for music artists is a great and easy way for music artists to monetize their music across YouTube.

💡 Did you know? YouTube pays out Content ID earnings every month. Artists can track their YouTube revshare earnings from Content ID in their music distribution dashboards.

Can you remove Content ID?

Music artists can opt-out their songs from YouTube Content ID from their music distributor dashboards. Each distributor has a different Content ID removal process, so we recommend checking with your distributor directly.

Keep in mind that your music will no longer be managed or monetized on YouTube if you decide to remove it from Content ID.

How does Content ID work with Thematic?

Artists who submit their songs to Thematic for influencer marketing and song promotion across social media will have their songs added to Content ID through Thematic.

The creators and influencers who use Thematic to promote the music in their YouTube videos will secure licenses for the songs, and all creators without licenses (the UGC) will be claimed and monetized on behalf of the music artist.

Thematic does not charge any fees for adding music to Content ID. In fact, Thematic is totally free for music artists. You can learn more about how Thematic works for music artists here.

How to have a copyright-safe experience on YouTube with Thematic

As you can now understand, Content ID is an extremely powerful tool designed to help protect and strike a balance between copyright owners, content creators, and music artists.

When used as intended, copyright owners can protect their rights, music artists can earn more money, and content creators can participate in revshare monetization on YouTube. We’ll call that a win-win-win.

Here at Thematic, we utilize Content ID to benefit the overall creator ecosystem. We took the complexities and nuances of music digital rights management and developed a framework that makes it simple for creators and music artists to collaborate and connect on YouTube.

As a result, we can provide a safe licensing experience for content creators who want to use copyrighted music in their videos, while at the same time providing music promotion and monetization opportunities for music artists.

If you’re a creator who wants to get access to great copyright-safe music for your videos, click here to sign-up for a free Thematic account.

And if you’re a music artist who wants to get your music discovered by new fans and monetized across YouTube, submit your songs at hellothematic.com/artists.

This extensive guide to YouTube Content ID is brought to you by Thematic Co-Founder & COO Audrey Marshall

With a background in entertainment PR (via Chapman University), Audrey has led digital strategy for music artists, content creators, and brands. From brand campaigns for Macy’s, American Cancer Society, and the L’Oréal luxe family of brands, to music-driven influencer marketing campaigns for Interscope Records, Warner Music, AWAL, and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas (featuring creators such as Lexy Panterra, Blogilates, Mandy Jiroux, Matt Steffanina, and Seán Garnier), she is an expert in navigating the influencer marketing space. Audrey has also developed and managed some of the leading beauty, lifestyle, and dance channels on YouTube.

Certified across the board with YouTube, Audrey has a specific focus on digital rights management for music assets, running multiple SRAV-enabled CMS. She is passionate about working with other builders in the space for a more transparent digital rights ecosystem.

At Thematic, Audrey leads the product team and oversees operations. She has driven partnerships with leading talent and music companies, including Songtrust, Kobalt/AWAL, Select Management, BBTV, ipsy, and Black Box, and has helped the platform grow to a thriving community of 1M+ content creators who have posted 1.6M+ videos using the platform, driving 60B+ music streams and $120M+ in earned media value for independent music artists.

How do you get people to discover your music? How do you get people to listen to your song? What are the most effective ways to promote your music (especially when you have no money)? You’ve sent it to all of your friends and family (shout-out to Mom and Dad for the listen ✌️) but you’re not sure what to do next.

This is far too common of a situation for independent music artists just like yourself. Take a few minutes to browse the /musicmarketing subreddit and you’ll find hundreds of posts just like this one from @jethammerford:

Unfortunately, after spending time perfecting your latest single or album, many musicians come to realize that there’s still work to do. Now you have to figure out how to promote your music, often with little to no budget, and by yourself. Great.

Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll cover the top action items for music artists to promote their music and get their songs discovered and listened to by new fans. Consider it your intro to music marketing (that will actually work). Best of all, each of the music promotion strategies we recommend will be free.

Why should you trust us? Well, our team has been working in music promotion and discovery for 20+ years. We’ve supported all types of artists, from Qveen Herby to ODESZA and Nicky Youre to Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, in developing an influencer marketing strategy getting their music heard by new fans. Our methods are proven for success. I mean, who has time and money to waste on bad ideas, anyways?

So let’s dig into the top things to do to promote your music after its release and get your music out there for free.

Table of Contents:

• Top Ways to Promote Your Music For Free
  • Submit for Spotify & Apple Music editorial playlists
  • Use Thematic for free influencer promotion
  • Create and share content online
  • Use your local community
  • Pitch to blogs and online tastemakers
• What to AVOID when promoting your music release
  • Bots, stream farms, paid playlisting sites, and artificial streams
  • Spending your budget only on Facebook & Instagram Ads

Top ways to promote your music for free

Let’s dive into our top recommendations for how to promote your music releases for free!

Submit for Spotify’s & Apple Music’s editorial playlists

This one is a no brainer and the first thing you should do after submitting your song for release with your distributor. It takes about 5-10 minutes at most and is something you should do for each song release.

Both Spotify and Apple Music have free artist dashboards where you can customize your artist profiles, track your streaming and listener stats, and manage your releases. If you’re not signed-up for this already, take a minute to do that now:

• Sign-up for Spotify for Artists
• Sign-up for Apple Music for Artists

Within these dashboards, you’ll find a page where you can pitch your upcoming releases for editorial consideration. These playlist submissions are completely free and could result in big playlist placements for your music if your songs are selected.

✅ Pro Tip: It’s recommended that you submit your playlist pitch at least 7 days before your release date! You won’t be able to submit playlist pitches once your song is live.

While pitching your songs to Spotify & Apple Music can be hit-or-miss (it’s not guaranteed that your song will be placed on playlists), it’s a good exercise to make sure your songs are always considered for these opportunities. And you just can’t beat an easy way to promote your music.

Use Thematic to get influencers to promote your music across YouTube & social media

Thematic helps music artists get their songs promoted by YouTube, TikTok, and social media influencers. It’s completely free to use and helps your latest releases get discovered by new fans.

We’re obviously biased to this tool, but we’ve seen the results and it’s music promotion that actually works. But don’t take it from us, hear what a few music artists using Thematic have to say about their song promotion campaigns on Thematic:

“As an artist, Thematic has been amazing with helping me reach a wider audience and growing my fan base through allowing the creators on their platform to use my music in their videos. They are also very reliable as a company as far as artist payment, communication via email, etc. I would recommend Thematic to any independent artist who is looking to grow through this type of format.” – Mason Murphy

“I’m mostly known as a producer so prior to Thematic, it was hard for me to get the music I made as an artist heard. After I uploaded my first song to Thematic, a beauty influencer on Instagram with over 300k followers used my song in her video. This resulted in the song getting over a thousand new streams on Spotify! After continuing to upload more songs, another song got placed in multiple videos by a YouTuber with over a million subscribers. That song ended up being my overall most streamed song as an artist with over 5.5k streams on Spotify, and around 1k on both Apple Music and YouTube. When people came from these videos to Spotify to stream my song, it also triggered Spotify to push my song into more algorithmic playlists which helped get me even more listeners! This influx of new listeners inspires me to continue to create new music as an artist.” – BlakKat Melrose

We could go on, but you get the idea 😜

Launching a song campaign with Thematic to promote your music is easy and takes only 10 minutes.

Here’s how Thematic works for music artists:

• Sign-up for a free artist account here
• Submit the songs you want to promote
• Add your artist photo, bio, and social links
• Your songs will be reviewed by the Thematic community to make sure there are creators ready to promote your music
• Once approved, your songs will go live for creators who can discover and start using your music in their videos
• When creators feature your songs, they are required to include a link of promotion, driving new fans, listeners, and traffic to your Spotify, social media profiles, and official music videos
• All of your placements and usage stats are tracked in your artist dashboard so you can easily keep track of your growth

We’re putting this music marketing tool in the “no brainer” category, as well, because who wouldn’t want to see their music promoted by influencers and get more streams on Spotify. It’s free to use and totally organic growth.

💡 Did you know? Artists using Thematic see an average of a 20% increase in their Spotify streams from their campaigns!

As a bonus, Thematic also hooks up music artists with special Artist Perks, including discounts and access to resources and sites that help you level up your career.

Create content!

Let’s face it, you can’t expect your music to get discovered if there’s nothing to discover you by.

Sure, your music is available on Spotify and Apple Music, etc. But your music can easily be lost in the millions of other songs readily available on streaming sites.

One of the best ways to promote your music and get discovered by new fans and listeners is to actively create content. This can take many different forms, so let’s cover the basics.

Create video content for social media

Create video content for Instagram, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Facebook Reels. Music is no longer just an audio-only experience. Most listeners today will discover and engage with your songs in an audiovisual format.

Think of how much time is spent every day on short-form video sites like Instagram and TikTok (if you’re curious, users spend approximately 2+ hours on social media sites every single day). Users are mindlessly scrolling to devour new, entertaining content and your music and artist content should be part of that.

It also just makes sense. Imagine that you just heard a great new song and want to learn more about the artist only to find inactive or empty social media profiles. What is the likelihood that you’ll follow that artist and keep up with their latest releases? Or that you’ll become a long-time fan? The chances are slim-to-none. People crave connection and want to engage with and become fans of artists who are active online.

Video content can take the form of music videos, lyric videos, visualizers, interviews, behind-the-scenes, dance content, gaming live streams, tutorials, lifestyle videos, and more. With that in mind, there’s no reason for you to not have video content on your artist social profiles. It’s one of the most effective strategies to promote your music online.

✅ Pro Tip: Get inspired for the types of content you can make by looking at what your favorite artists are doing. Do they share artist, visual inspirations for their songs? Maybe they game on Twitch with their music playing in the background? Or perhaps they are more in-front of the camera, sharing moments of their life? There’s no “right” strategy, so find a content strategy that makes sense for you.

Video content creates discoverable and shareable moments for you and your music. It’s an essential part of any music release strategy with videos consistently released. So while not a quick 10 minute way to promote your music, creating video content is a longer-term project that will slowly build an organic and engaged fanbase.

Create playlists on streaming sites

Don’t rely on having your music picked up by trending playlists online. While that can definitely happen, it’s rare for a brand new music artist to be featured on New Music Friday or any of the other trending playlists of the day. Instead, consider creating your own thematic playlists to promote your music.

Everyone is looking for great playlists to soundtrack their life moments, and having these readily available featuring your own music is a brilliant way to promote your music and get your songs in front of new listeners. Anyone searching on Apple or Spotify can easily land on your playlists and become a new fan.

Does your song have that perfect road trip feeling? Make a playlist featuring both your own songs and other songs that match that vibe. Create the connection between your own releases and other trending artists and make your music more discoverable as a result.

Thematic artist HOAX does this well with their ‘songs that make us sad, in a good way‘ playlist on Spotify:

You’ll find a mix of songs they like that fit the theme, with a choice few of their own songs sprinkled throughout.

Creating playlists can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours, depending on how deep you go and how many playlists you create.

✅ Pro Tip: Create and feature these playlists on your official artist profiles on Spotify to show that you’re active and engaging with your audience.

Also (side note), how cool is it as a fan to discover playlists made by your favorite artists? Personally, I love discovering the songs that my favorite music artists are listening to ✌️

Start a simple website or blog

Have you searched for your artist name on Google lately? What do you see as a result?

If you’re not seeing a stream of all of your social media profiles, blog reviews, music releases, and the like, you’ve got some work to do.

New listeners who were recommended your music by friends or heard about you from a Spotify radio session should be able to easily discover you and your music through a simple search online. 

One of the best ways to make this happen is to have a simple website with artist photos, a short bio, links to all of your social media profiles, streaming and download links (of course), and a way to get in touch. As the official site for you as an artist, it’s likely that Google will highlight this as one of the first search results for your artist name.

Check out the Google search results for Thematic artist Noah Guy, for example:

Any new fans looking up more about Noah Guy can easily find a ton of valuable and engaging content, making it super easy to learn more and follow him on social media and streaming sites.

✅ Pro Tip: Are you someone who loves writing blogs or other written content? Consider starting a blog that highlights your interests or stories from making music or being on the road. This is another great way to promote your music and get your name and songs out there in a different content format.

Use your local community to get out there

Think of this music promotion strategy as a way to get your music discovered locally… and by locally, we mean literally locally in your community.

Your local community or neighborhood is full of ways to promote your music that you may have simply overlooked. We’re often so focused on digital and online promotion strategies that we sometimes forget the in person opportunities to get your music out there.

For example, music discovery happens every day in local music venues. If you’re an artist who is able to perform live, getting out and on stage for any and all live music shows is a great way to promote your music and catch the ears of new listeners.

Or perhaps there’s a hot hangout spot  in your town where all the high school or college kids spend their free time. Is there an opportunity for you to play gigs there or to have your music played at that space?

This music promotion idea is one you can get creative with. Think outside the box for untapped opportunities to promote your music and find new listeners in your community.

To get your started, here are five ways you can think about using your local community to promote your music:

• Play local gigs
• Go to networking events (or start one yourself!)
• Collaborate with similar artists (either locally or online)
• Drop by your local shops and see if they’d be open to including your music on their in-store playlists or including your music links on their bulletin boards
• Look for local festivals in your area (music or otherwise) for opportunities to play

✅ Pro Tip: Stop by your local record store and see if they ever host any music listening parties. As a go-to place for all music lovers, this can be a great way to promote your music and get your name and songs out there!

Submit your music to blogs and online tastemakers

People love sharing the music they love online. Thankfully, this creates a great opportunity for artists to get their music shared by influential blogs and tastemakers

There are a few different ways to submit your music to blogs online for free, so let’s dive in!

Pitch blogs directly

The first way to do this is to make direct contact with blogs that fit your style of music. Approach this method thoughtfully and with respect to the outlet’s preferred pitching method. Some blogs will have specific instructions for how to submit music for consideration, while others may not accept pitches at all.

Do your research here and first create a list of blogs and media outlets that would fit your style of music. It wouldn’t make much sense to pitch your alternative rap song to an outlet that covers only indie bedroom pop music, so think this part through. Take some time to actually read through and get to know the site and the types of songs and artists they like to cover.

Then review the blog’s preferred pitching or submission methods, if available. And when you’re ready, go ahead and make your pitch. 

Below are some best practices to use when pitching your songs to blogs directly:

• Follow their pitching guidelines (this is critical)
• Be professional and polite (we would hope this is obvious) in both your messaging and the formatting of your email. There are actual people reading your pitch and they are often quite busy. Don’t expect an immediate response and always keep your pitch clear and concise.
• Include relevant links, such as a streaming link to the music and your social media accounts. You should make it easy for them to learn more about you and your music.
• Provide a short bio describing you as an artist and your latest release. Think of this as your artist elevator pitch for someone who has just 30 seconds to get to know your music.
• Don’t use attachments – nobody wants mp3/wav files, giant PDFs of your EPK, or artist photos clogging up their inboxes. If you have relevant materials to share, just include them as links.

Use sites that help you pitch music to blogs & tastemakers

Consider using sites like Submithub or Groover to help you in pitching featured blog placements for your releases. These sites were developed to help streamline the pitching process for independent music artists who are trying to promote their music and get new song releases featured on blogs, radio stations, and by internet tastemakers or curators.

Keep in mind that these methods can sometimes be hit-or-miss, depending on the type of music you create and the curators you select to pitch. Some artists have seen great success with these types of pitching sites, whereas others don’t seem to find the right ‘match’ for their music.

✅ Pro Tip: Some of these types of pitching sites provide free submissions, but others may require a small fee per pitch. As a result, some curators will willingly take your pitch fee without providing quality results or feedback, resulting in a bad experience. Do your research here to see if this makes sense for your releases.

What to AVOID when you promote your music release

Now that we’ve covered our top recommendations for what to do after releasing your music to get it discovered, let’s cover some of the things you should avoid doing to make sure you don’t sabotage your release.

Avoid bots, stream farms, paid playlisting sites, and artificial streams

You may have recently heard about TuneCore, DistroKid, and other top distributors cracking down on the widespread stream fraud that’s taken over streaming services.

If not, the gist of this is that there are bad actors in the space that are fraudulently increasing their streams on sites like Spotify and Apple Music, which unfairly compensates those songs and artists over artists that have legitimate streams (since they operate on a pooled and shared revenue model).

To combat this stream fraud, distributors are penalizing any artists that are inflating their stream counts fraudulently. This means that your release can be instantly removed from all streaming sites, you can lose out on earnings, and your account may be shut down completely if you are flagged for ‘artificial streams.’

Here’s the quick summary from DistroKid on artificial streaming penalties for reference:

If the majority of the streams on your release are found to be artificial, your music will likely be removed from streaming services, and royalties that were earned from the artificial streams will not be paid. You may also receive a warning from DistroKid and/or your DistroKid account will be closed.

How do you avoid being flagged for artificial streaming? DistroKid lists it very clearly:

So don’t fool around with bots, paid stream sites, or even pay for playlist promotion sites. These will not get you real, long-term fans nor get you the attention you think you deserve for your release. 

Overall, this is a clear “no brainer” of what not to do when you promote your music. Why risk your entire release and artist reputation for a few fake listeners? It’s just not worth it.

Don’t spend your entire budget on Facebook and Instagram ads

Promoting your latest song release via a Facebook ad or Instagram ad seems to be a default strategy for most new musicians and music artists who are looking to get their music discovered.

Unfortunately, this is a very costly and low return-on-investment music marketing method for many artists, especially those just getting started.

Instead, we recommend holding off on any meaningful ad spend until after you have some momentum with your release and you have a better grasp on your song’s ideal audience. Let’s break it down.

First, try out all of the free song promotion strategies we have recommended above. Start to get some traction and listeners for your release to see how listeners are resonating with your songs. 

Then ask yourself the following questions:

Who are the people who are listening to my music?

You can find out some basic demographic info on your listeners in the Spotify & Apple Music for Artist dashboards we linked above.

Are your listeners located in a specific country? Are the creators who are promoting your music on Thematic all located in a specific region?

What is your mix of listener gender and age range? Do you find your music getting more streams with younger listeners or is it pretty even across gender identity?

What types of playlists are being created around my music?

Do you notice any sort of theme or trend here? Do you find your music consistently added to “summer beach day” or “chill out evening” lists?

Do the videos your songs are being featured in have a similar topic or content theme? Are they mostly lifestyle vlogs or workout sessions?

Which of my songs is performing best?

If you released an album or EP with multiple songs, which particular song is getting the most streams? Is there a specific segment of that song that is getting added most to TikTok or YouTube Shorts videos?

Once you are able to answer these questions and you have a grasp on who your general music audience is, then you’ll be ready to amplify your songs with social media ads to promote your music.

Waiting until you have a clear understanding of your listeners and music fans will allow you to spend your song marketing budget much more effectively. Many artists release songs with an idea of who their ideal music listener might be, but don’t actually know if that audience ends up streaming their music. You’ll often find from looking at your data that your music resonates with people or content you didn’t expect!

You may be missing out on new fans and wasting valuable marketing budget by not promoting your music to the right audience. We highly recommend waiting until you have some data around your music and listeners before committing any budget for Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram ads. This will allow you to more effectively target new fans and maximize your ad spend.

✅ Pro Tip: Take the same approach with your short-form video content. Did one of your TikToks take off and get a bunch of views? Think about boosting that specific video when running an ad campaign since you know it already drives great viewer engagement.

We hope you find this guide on what to do after releasing a song helpful! At Thematic, we’re all about helping you promote your music for free and we hope you try out some of these music marketing strategies to start getting your music discovered! 

And we hope to hear and support some of your music on Thematic! If you haven’t already, sign-up today to launch a free song campaign:

Did we miss any great free music promo opportunities? Drop us a message on social media @hellothematic – we’d love to hear from you!

Looking for more free resources and tools for independent artists? Check out Thematic’s Artist Toolkit for a comprehensive collection of tips and best practices on promoting your music. You’ll find guides on music copyright, effective music promotion strategies, and, of course, the best free influencer marketing platform: Thematic, which makes it easy to get your music featured by influencers.

This post on What to do after a Song Release: 5 Free Ways to Promote Your Music is brought to you by Thematic Co-Founder & COO Audrey Marshall

With a background in entertainment PR (via Chapman University), Audrey has led digital strategy for music artists, content creators, and brands. From brand campaigns for Macy’s, American Cancer Society, and the L’Oréal luxe family of brands, to music-driven influencer marketing campaigns for Interscope Records, Warner Music, AWAL, and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas (featuring creators such as Lexy Panterra, Blogilates, Mandy Jiroux, Matt Steffanina, and Seán Garnier), she is an expert in navigating the influencer marketing space. Audrey has also developed and managed some of the leading beauty, lifestyle, and dance channels on YouTube.

Certified across the board with YouTube, Audrey has a specific focus on digital rights management for music assets, running multiple SRAV-enabled CMS. She is passionate about working with other builders in the space for a more transparent digital rights ecosystem.

At Thematic, Audrey leads the product team and oversees operations. She has driven partnerships with leading talent and music companies, including Songtrust, Kobalt/AWAL, Select Management, BBTV, ipsy, and Black Box, and has helped the platform grow to a thriving community of 1M+ content creators who have posted 1.6M+ videos using the platform, driving 60B+ music streams and $120M+ in earned media value for independent music artists.

Music marketing is one of the most challenging tasks for music artists. The music strategies you adopt as an independent artist determines how well you develop and grow your career. However, one challenge, especially when starting, is having either a small budget or no budget at all.

The good news is, there are several ways to promote your music for free that will help to grow your fanbase. Discovering these strategies and knowing how to implement them can, however, be a daunting task.

If you are looking for the best music marketing and song promotion strategies for 2025, this article will be helpful. We’ll dive into the best strategies and tips to help get your music exposed to the right audiences. We’ll also explore how to make the most of your music marketing efforts with best practices for an excellent ROI.

Read on to find out all you need to know.

How to Promote Your Music Online in 2025

Music promotion is an essential thing for artists. You cannot meet your goals if you do not market your songs to the people you want to target. The music industry, like many others, has become even more competitive. Artists need to put extra effort into rising above their competitors and cutting through the noise.

As mentioned earlier, there are various ways to get your music and brand into the market. How you implement the strategies discussed below will determine your success. Let’s take an in-depth look at some important ways you can use to promote your music in 2025.

Here’s the first one.

1. Build a Website and Email List

One of the most popular ways to promote music is through websites. The most common is by marketing music on free music promotion sites. Many companies like HUDL Music and Thematic help promote your music for free. There are many benefits of using these channels, including the ability to reach a wider audience and connecting with YouTube creators.

Although promoting through websites such as Thematic and many others can be an excellent idea, you can also do it on a personal website. You can build your music website from scratch, generate leads, and then build a solid audience. Besides the initial website building costs, your website will offer you a place for your new fans to find you and  free music marketing.

One feature that you must include on your music website is a contact form. This will help you gather the email addresses of your website visitors and build an email database. The good news is that with this strategy, you can combine your website and email marketing. You can then leverage the power of free music promotion strategies simultaneously.

2. Develop an Engaging Social Presence

Building a solid social presence can help take your music career to the next level. Social media has been and continues to be vital in helping artists market their music for free. However, the first thing to do is to ensure that you build a social media presence on various social platforms.

One social platform that has blown up recently, especially when it comes to music marketing, is TikTok. Many people are discovering new music through this platform, and that’s one thing artists should take advantage of when looking to take their career to another level.

Other platforms have also proven to be helpful for free music marketing. They include YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Using Thematic you can market your music to YouTube creators who will use it in their videos for free. This will help take your music to a broader audience than you could have otherwise reached.

3. Know Your Audience

Understanding your audience is essential for a musician. This means being sure of who you want to target with your music and the steps you want to take to reach them. Many artists fail to reach their potential when marketing music on social media, a personal website, or free music marketing sites.

You may not get the best results from your marketing efforts if you do not focus your efforts. Knowing your audience can help you create content that they resonate with and that will boost your success. It will also help you focus your social media efforts on the right social platforms.

You need to create a website with which your audience can easily interact and have content that answers their questions. For instance, you can include a FAQs page that guides your audience on where to download free music, where they can find your royalty free music, etc.

3. Get on Playlists

One of the popular ways to market music for free is to get on playlists. There are various examples of playlists, including Spotify and Apple Music. You can post your music on these platforms and have your target audience stream and even share with their friends right from the platforms.

The good thing is that it is free to share your music on these playlists. Besides, you can get your music on as many playlists and platforms as possible. This can help you reach a wide audience and increase your chances of attracting new leads.

Every platform that allows artists to get on their playlists also allows them to build profiles. Having a good profile on a website boosts your credibility and makes your audience trust you. This has a positive impact on your brand and also helps you take your career to new heights.

Music Marketing and Promotion Strategies

Different promotional strategies for musicians

As a musician, it is essential to explore various music marketing and promotion strategies to gain visibility and reach a wider audience. Some effective strategies include:

• Live Performances: Performing live at different venues helps you connect with fans and attract new followers.
• Social Media Promotion: Utilize platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to engage with fans, share your music, and build a loyal community.
• Collaborations: Collaborating with other musicians, influencers, or brands can expand your reach and introduce your music to new listeners.
• Music Videos: Creating visually appealing music videos can help captivate viewers and increase interest in your music.
• Contests and Giveaways: Running contests or giveaways can generate excitement, encourage fan participation, and attract new followers.

Importance of targeted promotion to reach the right audience

Targeted promotion is crucial to ensure your music reaches the right audience who are likely to appreciate and support your work. By identifying your target audience based on their music preferences, demographics, and behavioral patterns, you can focus your marketing efforts in a more targeted manner, increasing the chances of gaining genuine fans and supporters. It allows you to allocate your resources effectively and connect with people who are more likely to engage with your music.

How Thematic, as a free music promotion website, builds effective marketing for musicians

Thematic, a leading music promotion website, offers a unique platform for musicians to showcase their talents and gain exposure. With Thematic, you can submit your music to a community of content creators and influencers and get featured in their videos, vlogs, and social media content. This not only increases your visibility but also helps you reach a highly engaged audience across various platforms. Thematic’s innovative approach combines music and visual content, allowing you to connect with fans on a deeper level and create an immersive music promotion experience. Think of it like free influencer marketing for your music.

So to recap…

This article has taken an in-depth look at a few free music marketing strategies that any musician can implement. You can consider marketing yourself on free music promotion sites or creating an online presence. Music promotion sites bring various benefits, such as saving you the time you’d have spent building a personal website.

But then, having a personal website and building a social media presence is also beneficial to musician brands and careers in various ways. One is that having a website and social media presence brings you closer to your target audience, increasing your viewership, and music returns.

Looking for more free resources and tools for independent artists? Check out Thematic’s Artist Toolkit for a comprehensive collection of tips and best practices on promoting your music. You’ll find guides on music copyright, effective music promotion strategies, and, of course, the best free influencer marketing platform: Thematic, which makes it easy to get your music featured by influencers.

What is Music Publishing?

At its core, music publishing involves managing and monetizing the rights associated with musical compositions – the underlying lyrics and melody of a song. Music publishers work behind the scenes to ensure songwriters get paid what they earn, and may also promote songs, facilitate songwriting sessions, and secure sync placements in films, TV shows, and ads.

Who is Involved?

The music publishing ecosystem includes songwriters, producers, and composers, who create and hold the copyright to their works. These creatives must be affiliated with a collection society in their home territory to be recognized as copyright owners within this system. Music publishers work with collection societies to help manage these rights, licensing music and ensuring songwriters receive the remainder of their earnings. 

Songwriters, Producers, and Composers

These are the creative minds behind the music, responsible for crafting the lyrics and melodies that resonate with listeners. They hold the copyright to their compositions, which is crucial for earning royalties. This ownership not only protects their artistic work but also allows them to benefit financially when their music is played, streamed, or licensed. By creating original content, these creatives contribute to the diverse soundscape of the music industry and shape its cultural landscape.

Collection Societies

These organizations, including Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, and Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) such as ABRAMUS, GEMA, and SACEM, play a vital role in collecting royalties when songs are publicly performed, streamed, or used internationally. By monitoring the usage of music across various platforms, and working in tandem with music publishers, collection societies ensure that songwriters and other rightsholders receive fair compensation across different markets.

Music Publishers

These companies or individuals help manage the rights associated with songs by handling the complexities of licensing and registrations. They may promote songs and secure placements in various media, such as films, television shows, and advertisements, which can significantly enhance a song’s visibility and earning potential. By negotiating deals and managing contracts, music publishers work to maximize earnings for songwriters while also guiding them through the intricacies of the music business. Their expertise helps ensure that songwriters can focus on their creative processes, knowing their rights and revenues are being effectively managed.

Why Does Music Publishing Matter?

Understanding music publishing is crucial to a songwriter’s long-term success and financial stability. A few of the most important reasons include: 

• Maximize Earnings: By understanding different royalty types your song can earn, songwriters can explore all available revenue streams.
• Protect Their Rights: Registering songs with a publisher and a PRO or CMO safeguards rights, ensuring fair payment, especially for that future viral moment.
• Build Career Momentum: Music publishers connect songwriters with opportunities, from sync placements to licensing deals.

Types of Publishing Royalties

Understanding the different types of publishing royalties is essential for anyone in the music industry. This knowledge empowers songwriters and publishers to maximize earnings, protect their rights through proper registration, and make informed decisions about contracts. As the industry evolves, knowing how royalties work helps artists adapt and secure long-term financial stability. Below, we’ll explore the four primary types of publishing royalties – mechanical, performance, micro-sync, and print royalties – each crucial to a songwriter’s income.

Mechanical Royalties

Mechanical royalties are generated when songs are reproduced, whether through physical formats like CDs and vinyl or digital formats like downloads and streams. For example, when a song streams on Spotify or is downloaded from Apple Music, the songwriter earns mechanical royalties based on the number of streams or downloads. Each play or purchase contributes to the songwriter’s earnings, making mechanical royalties a critical revenue stream in today’s digital age.

Performance Royalties

Performance royalties are earned when songs are publicly performed, such as during live concerts, on the radio, or on streaming platforms. For example, every time Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” is played on the radio or performed in a venue, he earns performance royalties. Performance royalties are essential for songwriters and composers, as they generate income from every public performance of their music.

Micro-Sync Royalties

Micro-sync royalties are earned when songs are licensed for short-form video content, such as videos on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. For instance, Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” saw a resurgence in popularity – and royalties – when a viral TikTok video featured the song.

Every time music is used in this kind of user-generated content, ads, or small-scale projects, micro-sync royalties offer songwriters a growing revenue stream in the world of social media.

Print Royalties

Print royalties are generated from the sale of sheet music and other printed formats. For example, if a popular song appears in a published songbook or as sheet music available in music stores, the songwriter earns print royalties from each sale. This revenue stream allows songwriters to earn income as fans and musicians purchase sheet music for educational, performance, or personal use.

Getting Started with Music Publishing

Embarking on your music publishing journey can seem daunting, but taking the right steps is crucial for protecting your creative work and maximizing your earnings. By understanding the key actions you need to take, you can navigate the landscape of music publishing with confidence and better set yourself up for success in the industry.

1. Affiliate as a Songwriter at Your Local Society: Join a PRO or CMO in your area to ensure you are recognized as a songwriter and can collect publishing royalties. It’s a foundational step that many new songwriters overlook.
   
2. Explore Publishing Deals: As your songs start to gain streaming and usage activity, consider working with a music publisher or music publishing administrator like Songtrust, which can help you manage song registrations at your home society, as well as at other societies around the world where your songs are earning, to maximize your royalty collections.
   
3. Stay Informed: The music industry is ever-evolving. Keeping up with trends in digital distribution and changes in copyright laws will help you adapt and thrive.

By understanding the basics of music publishing and the various types of royalties your song can earn, you can take proactive steps to protect your creative work and ensure you’re compensated fairly. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to elevate your music career, knowledge is your best tool in this dynamic field.

For more tips, resources, and success stories, visit the Songtrust blog and resource center! Let’s make your music work for you!

Looking for more free resources and tools for independent artists? Check out Thematic’s Artist Toolkit for a comprehensive collection of tips and best practices on promoting your music. You’ll find guides on music copyright, effective music promotion strategies, and, of course, the best free influencer marketing platform: Thematic, which makes it easy to get your music featured by influencers.

This post on Understanding Music Publishing and Publishing Royalties: A Beginner’s Guide is brought to you by Thematic Partner Company Songtrust

Songtrust, a Downtown Company and intuitive partner for Thematic, is the industry’s most accessible music publishing administration platform for music creators and businesses at all stages of their careers.

They help songwriters monitor, register, and collect publishing income for their compositions and ensure that no songwriter leaves money on the table. We work together to reduce the complexities around music rights and publishing, empowering and educating along the way.