A few months back we spotted a TikTok video praising the curator behind Medieval Lofi Beats an insanely niche playlist that got us thinking about how looking outside of the box when promoting music should be something every artist should do.
The reason this playlist took TikTok by storm, at least according to the video, is that it gave listeners the ability to transport themselves somewhere else while doing housework or other mundane jobs – in this case, a medieval tavern. Ultimately, it’s a neat idea and one that has worked very well for both listeners and the curator.
It’s also a very simple idea: a playlist. An incredibly niche playlist at that, but it’s a playlist nonetheless. It’s also entirely possible that the curator had no intentions of this blowing up, but instead wanted to pull together a handful of tracks that had a similar theme or sound, but it just happened to be a theme listeners actually wanted to hear.
Admittedly, thinking outside the box with your music might be a difficult task to complete as you’ve likely had a clear idea of what you’ve wanted your music to sound like and how you’ve wanted to attribute a visual to that sound. But try for a second to escape the confines of genre, sure, you might have a lo-fi beat or a bedroom pop track, but is there a certain sound within that music that may resonate with a different audience?
Is it a guitar-heavy track? Do you dip in and out of unconventional musical scales (like Bebop, Locrian, or Phrygian)? Is your music in an odd time signature? While all these things may seem usual for your music because that was the plan all along, it may not be usual to the average listener.
Take a look at Odd Gods, a compilation album by Hidden Renaissance which focuses strictly on beats with odd time signatures. It’s unconventional and allowed for some wild results. This gave the opportunity to look not only at the hip-hop/rap genre when marketing their music, but also listeners looking for something a little different and leftfield within a genre they may already be familiar with.
We would always recommend artists utilise playlists to market their music as this is quickly becoming the main way listeners are consuming music. It doesn’t have to be too complex either, whether it’s a discography playlist, a playlist with inspirations alongside your own music, or a playlist around a certain theme relating to your music.
You don’t have to spend too much time on it either, just try to keep it updated once every so often with fresh music (and also be sure to include your own music of course).
These are just a few examples that show thinking outside of the box when marketing your music should be just as important as the usual marketing practices (pre-saves, social media, ads). Looking at themes that indirectly relate to your music could be the key to tapping into a set of listeners you may never have thought about.
If you’re looking for a helping hand to market your upcoming music to a different audience or to streamline an upcoming release, we may be able to help! Feel free to drop us an email with your demos and see how we can work with you.