In the age of streaming, it’s essential to strive to get your music, especially a new release, in front of as many people as possible. Major playlists with a high number of active listeners can assist in reaching new audiences, so it’s not surprising that many bands are often tempted to use third party playlist pitching services. However, these services can often cause more harm than good and ultimately eat up parts of your promotional budget that would be better spent elsewhere.
Continue reading for more information on the risks of hiring these services, and alternative methods for increasing the reach of your music.
Risks: Violating Streaming Platforms’ Policies
The majority of these third party pitching services are paid services, and so in order to deliver results for your money many operate with the use of bots or other means of creating fake listeners. Fundamentally, this goes against the terms and conditions of most streaming platforms. With a rise in these types of services, streaming platforms have the means to catch such violations with the ability to determine genuine listeners from artificial streams. There are repercussions for violating any terms of service. Detection of fake streams may lead to consequences ranging from having your streaming statistics reset to having a release removed from the platform altogether, ultimately costing you more time and money.
Risks: Reputation
The use of these pitching services is not only detectable by the streaming platforms, it is often visible to those who visit your profile or any industry professionals who take a look at your statistics. The knowledge that a band or artist is choosing to invest in the ‘get rich quick’-esque route rather than investing in building up genuine connections with real audiences is highly likely to deter industry professionals from wanting to work with you. It may also deter any potential new listeners who happen to discover your music organically.
Risks: Inauthentic ‘Audience’
The inauthentic ‘audience’ obtained through these third party companies is short term. This ‘audience’ won’t stick around forever, and they certainly won’t be buying your merch or attending any shows. There is the potential also to be dragged into a detrimental cycle of buying streams. Once the initial streams stop flowing and your numbers suddenly decrease, it is often tempting for an artist to continue purchasing more to maintain the illusion that they have a large streaming audience. It is best, therefore, not to make use of these pitching services in the first place.
Effective Alternatives
Find *your* audience. Take the time to thoroughly consider who the target market is for your music. Begin with the genre(s) you create, and any relevant adjacent ones, before exploring any subcultures, communities or fandoms that relate to the themes and aesthetics you explore through your music. Read more on this topic here.
Make sure you are set up for success on social media. Are you maintaining a reasonable posting schedule across your platforms? Is the content you are sharing of good quality? Are you actively engaging with existing and potential new fans in the online space? Social media is not only crucial but can also be highly impactful in building a genuine audience. Engagement is especially important. With a saturated market, genuine connections go a long way. Find more tips on increasing engagement here.
Invest your finances carefully. Most bands and artists have a set budget for promotion, for smaller bands, and those early on in their careers, it is even more crucial that any money spent is done so with care and consideration. Instead of pouring funds into pitching services, look into making use of ads. Online ads do require careful thought to get the best out of your hard earned cash (ensure to do the work on finding *your* audience). When implemented well, ads have the potential to direct real people to your music, and if they like what they hear they will actually stick around. Find a more detailed insight into ads here.
This blog is not intended to shame or ridicule anyone. Perhaps you have used these third party pitching sites before and simply weren’t aware that it is not best practice to use them, or perhaps at the time the risks didn’t bother you if it helped you to attain your goals, or maybe you didn’t even know these services exist. Whatever situation you are in, use your new found knowledge to make the best choices possible. Music promotion is a marathon, not a sprint. Real audiences take time to acquire, but they are attainable.