Josué Castellano · Music Producer
ESP +34 617 56 46 18 (WhatsApp/Telegram)
RUS +7 909 797 15 35 (Viber)
I help other musical creators to professionally shape and present to the world the gift that God has given them
How to claim your Spotify for Artists profile
If you’ve already uploaded one of your songs to a digital distributor, one of the first things you need to do is sign up for artist services and claim your artist profiles on major platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music.
And it is that registering with services like Spotify for Artists gives you access to a lot of useful statistics about your audience and very interesting exclusive functions.
WHY CLAIM YOUR ARTIST PROFILES
Signing up for artist services allows you to:
- Customize your artist profile (photos, Bio, live events,…)
- Propose your songs for the Playlists.
- Add Canvas to your songs.
- Promote merchandising items on your profile.
- See statistics about your audience (location, age) that can help you know who to target when promoting your music.
WHEN TO CLAIM YOUR ARTIST PROFILES
If you have not published anything yet and you are going to upload your first single or album, leave at least 6 weeks until the release to have time to claim your profile on the main platforms, record a video clip, promote the release, etc.
If you already have a song published, claim your profiles NOW.
HOW TO CLAIM YOUR SPOTIFY FOR ARTISTS’ PROFILE
Go to artists.spotify.com
STEP ONE Tell Spotify who you are.
STEP TWO Select your artist profie.
STEP THREE Confírm it with your email/socials.
STEP FOUR Download the app to have all this power in the palm of your hand.
STEP FIVE Do the same on Apple Music for Artists, Amazon Music for Artists, Deezer for Creators,…
How to write a press release
If you are serious about your music career and want your new song or album to reach more people, you also need to get featured in written media (print and digital) and for that, you need to create a press release to grab their attention.
WHAT‘S A PRESS RELEASE
It is a text with which you can ask journalists, bloggers, or communication agencies to report news about your music (release of a single or album, tour, important concert, etc.)
WHY WRITE A PRESS RELEASE
Local and cultural media have fewer and fewer journalists, collaborators, and time to dedicate to emerging artists. That is why it is important that you know how to write a press release to facilitate their work and capture their attention.
If the person who reads your press release listens to you, he likes your music and publishes it; You will be able to reach his audience, appear much more professional, position yourself in a niche as an artist, valuable content for your social media and many more benefits for your musical career.
HOW TO SEND A PRESS RELEASE
RESEARCH! See which media may interest you and try to get the email of the journalist responsible for the section that best suits you (music/culture/shows/entertainment).
Also, contact blogs about music or cultural activities in your city.
There are some digital media that publish all the press releases that come to them. Find them and send them your note to gain visibility.
Not everyone will always publish you, sometimes it will take weeks, and others they won’t even read your email, but don’t get frustrated and keep trying.
WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN A PRESS RELEASE
Order the information from the most important to the least important and, when you are clear, think about these elements:
HEADLINE
It is the hook that will make the reader want to continue reading. It is a fundamental part of the note and one of the most difficult to get right.
- It cannot be very long (60-80 characters)
- It must be attractive and impressive.
- It goes in larger font at the beginning of the page (without a point at the end).
- You can add a subheading but it is not mandatory (if you do, make it less important and it can be longer).
- If your note is going to be for a digital platform, try to get it to have good SEO positioning by adding keywords.
LEADING
Presents the most important information using the 5W (5 questions of journalism):
- who
- what
- where
- when
- why (why is it interesting?).
BODY
Here you have the opportunity to develop your press release and explain your news in more detail.
LAST PARAGRAPH (Artist Bio)
You can talk more about yourself or your group so that they know you.
CONTACT
Include your website, social networks, and contact email.
OTHER TIPS
- To make your press release more attractive, include a quality photo. You can also add a good video and links in which you can expand the information of your project.
- Always try to give your personal touch.
If this content helps you, tell me about your experience in the comments.
WERITTA – My friend (EN)
Happy release day Weritta!
Today “My friend” is out, the first single by WERITTA, in which I have had the pleasure of collaborating doing the instrumental part, mixing, and mastering the song.
I am very happy that this beautiful song is finally out; firstly because she deserves it, and secondly because when we spoke for the first time, she told me that it was hard for her to trust someone to work online.
Today, after seeing the results she’s achieved with me for “My friend”, she’s so happy that we’ve already started working on three more songs.
Listen to this beautiful song on your favorite platform
And follow this artist on Instagram / Twitter to get to know her better and learn more about her music.
What is an EPK and why do you need one
You’ve probably heard about EPKs before.
But what exactly is an EPK? What should it include? Why do you, as an artist, need one? How can you create your own EPK?
In this post, I’m going to answer these questions.
WHAT‘S AN EPK?
An Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is an online collection of promotional materials.
This is similar to a resume or CV, but for musicians!
EPKs are designed to provide music industry professionals (booking agents, venue managers, record labels, and the media) with information about who you are as an artist.
WHAT SHOULD AN EPK INCLUDE?
It depends on the level your musical career is at, but there are 3 key points:
- Biography of the artist. Tell the world who you are and what you do. Many recommend writing it in the third person. In another post I explained what points to include.
- Photos. Include high-quality photos or covers of your albums, which can be used for promotional purposes.
- Your music. Highlight your most popular songs or those that most authentically represent your artist personality. Include links to your music. I recommend that you directly integrate a player of your songs, using a platform like SoundCloud, to make it easier and faster to listen to your music.
You can also add:
- Music videos. Share your best video clips.
- Achievements/highlights. Include performances, interview quotes, awards, analytics showing the impact your music is having, etc.
- Upcoming releases. Announce your upcoming projects to maintain the hype.
- Contact information. Include your social networks, email, web,…
IMPORTANT: Always keep your information updated.
WHY DO YOU NEED AN EPK?
The main function of your EPK is to make yourself known and create possible alliances. As its use is so widespread, any manager or agent will expect you to have one if you are a moderately professional artist.
It is not recommended that you use your official website for the press, it is better that your website is directed to your fans and your EPK to the press.
HOW TO CREATE AN EPK (FREE)?
The easiest thing is to use a section of your website as an EPK. If you still don‘t have your own official website, in another post I will explain why you should create it and what to include.
There are many ways and resources to create a great website (and therefore your EPK) for free like WordPress, Wix, or even Google Sites. Of course, you can always turn to a professional.
If this information helps you, I would love to read about your experience in the comments.
5 ways to promote your music with content
Is your music not getting heard? Anyone who needs to get serious about using social media faces a big challenge: How do I get my music to reach more people?
And it is possible that if you are not succeeding it is because the quality of your music fails (with that I can help you) or its presentation.
In this post, I leave you 5 content ideas to promote your music that you can start applying over and over again until they work.
1. LIVE PERFORMANCE
Performing your song is one of the most powerful ways to promote your music, but you have to do it right. Here are some tips:
- Make sure the energy of the performance matches the energy of the song. (Ex. If your song is intimate make the performance calm, if it’s loud and aggressive make the performance match that.)
- Make the experience enjoyable, choose the location well, and take care of the audio and video quality.
2. STORYTELLING
Telling stories about your music will help people connect with you. You can do it in many ways, try this:
- What does your song talk about? Tell the story behind your song.
- Create sketches to show what the song is about instead of saying it directly.
- Use short texts to explain what your song is about.
- Make a lyric video of your song.
3. EMPHASIZE WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL
If you know what makes your music special, you can find ways to emphasize it to help you promote it.
- Create scenes that complement what your song conveys. (Ex. If your song is rock, use images that impact; if it’s romantic and intimate, sing it by candlelight, etc…) Find what fits you.
- Be yourself (Ex. Because it works for someone else to make parodies, it doesn’t have to work for you, etc. Be genuine.)
4. MINI MUSIC VIDEOS
You can make short (15-60 sec) video clips vertically.
- Lip sync to the song to use studio audio.
- Record in a place that you like outdoors to take advantage of the lighting.
- Make sure the energy of the video clip matches what the song conveys.
5. SOCIAL PROOF
If people see other people who like your music, it’s easier for them to go listen to it themselves.
- Share/re-share stories of people singing, dancing, and enjoying your music.
- Make reaction videos (ex, “I show my song to my best friend, watch what happens”)
- Make videos responding to comments from people who like your music.
If these tips help you, I’d love for you to tell me.
Release an album or a single?
What is better? Do I release an album or a single?
It’s a very common question among the independent artists I work with. And is that the way of consuming music, like everything, has changed.
I’d say it depends. On what? On what you are willing to invest in money and work, your repertoire, the fans you have, if you perform live or not,…
In this post, I leave you some pros and cons of the two options.
PROS OF RELEASING AN ALBUM
- The individual price of each song is usually less on an album
- By releasing more songs at once, your repertoire grows fast
- You can experiment more with your style
- You can use one theme/guide for the whole album
- You can create more expectation by doing various collaborations
- You have more songs that your fans know and can sing along to when you perform live
- You can go on a tour to present your album
- You can get a “Deluxe” version
CONS OF RELEASING AN ALBUM
- Making an album has a higher cost
- An album is riskier, especially if you are an emerging and independent artist.
- Recording an album requires a lot of time and work
- There will be songs from your album that will go more unnoticed
- If your fanbase is not very big it is difficult for many people to listen to it completely
PROS OF RELEASING A SINGLE
- A single is easier to promote
- Recording a single requires less work and time
- Releasing a single is cheaper
- You concentrate all your energy and creativity in a single song
- You can easily follow some trend
CONS OF RELEASING A SINGLE
- A bad release can slow down your growth
- You need to release a lot of singles to get recognition
- You need more releases to perform live
- You need a lot of singles to build a strong community/fanbase
- It is very difficult to release a “Deluxe” version
What do you prefer (as an artist or listener)? album or singles? Leave a comment
How much money do you earn for each play of your music on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, YouTube,…?
How to improve your vocals
The voice is the main element in most songs and with it, you can do wonders in recording sessions to enrich your productions.
Depending on the genre and style of the song, there are times when a single voice is enough to convey everything you want, you are not going to add a lot of voices and effects in an intimate and minimalist song, for example, right?
But in a style with more energy (it can be rock, hip-hop, pop,…) by adding vocal arrangements you can go from an amateur production to a much more professional one if you know what to do in the studio.
In this post, I leave you some ideas that can serve as a starting point when recording your next song.
- Record two takes of each backing vocals and harmonies track.
- Use ad-libs to fill in the empty spaces.
- Give some words or phrases more emphasis by adding layers.
- Doubles the lead vocal but an octave higher or lower.
- Create an atmosphere with your voices (Ohs, ahs,…)
- Add screams in the chorus to give it more energy.
- Add whispers in more intimate parts of the song.
And you, what techniques do you use in your recordings? Leave a comment to help other independent artists.
And if these tips help you, I’d love to read about your experience.
How to write an artist Bio
If you’re an independent artist and have already released at least one song, one of the first things you should do to gain full control of your music is to claim your artist profile on each platform (Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists, Amazon Music for Artists, etc.). The Bio is the way to present yourself to the world as an artist and it can be difficult to know how to start, that’s why I leave you some tips in this post.
1. INTRODUCTION
Try to sum up you and your music in one sentence.
2. YOUR MUSIC
Describe your sound as clearly as possible so anyone knows exactly what to expect.
Explain how you fit into a certain genre, talk about what makes your music special, and if you want, name well-known artists who inspire you and have a similar sound.
3. YOUR STORY
Show who you are and don’t try to get everyone to like you, it’s impossible (this is a pearl that I’m leaving here and it’s valid for everything you do in your musical career).
Tell where you come from, how you started in music and where you are now.
4. SOCIAL PROOF
If possible, show the opinion that others have of you using:
– Quotes/opinions from bloggers/influencers/journalists.
– Your streaming or social media numbers.
– Any award you have won.
– Any other outstanding achievement.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
It is not about writing an autobiographical book right now, you will do that when you are famous.
Be specific and follow these points to connect with your audience.
INTRODUCTION – YOUR MUSIC – YOUR STORY – SOCIAL PROOF
NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE TO BE PROFESSIONAL, YOU HAVE TO APPEAR SO.
MKADHD – Reignite EP (EN)
Happy release day, Michael!
“Reignite” is the second album by MKADHD. And it’s that this young singer and composer from Savannah (USA) has not stopped writing songs of all styles in the last year.
Listen and save his LP on your favorite streaming platform:
https://linktr.ee/etzeteraproductions
It is an honor that Michael has trusted me again to mix all these songs and thus continue to help him show the world who he is and what he does.
We keep working…
What is your favorite song? I read you in the comments.