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BUILDING A FAN BASE AS A MUSIC PRODUCER

BUILDING YOUR TRIBE

By Kevin MckinneyPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Photo On Unsplash By Edwin Andrade

There are many things that music producers think about while on their musical journey. Subjects like how to create better beats, how to network, how to mix and record better, etc, are all things that of course will help you in your craft. One thing that goes overlooked as a music producer is how to build a fan-base. The assumption is that if you build your brand big enough, that fans or your tribe will come, which has truth to it, but lets talk more about ways to be more intentional and make it happen.

  When it comes to building a fan-base, we all know the blueprint for a recording artist. Create songs , good ones, lots of them, promote yourself on social media or attract management that will do the work for you. Create a website or "home" that your potential fans can come to,and stay updated with you. Stay consistent and keep the momentum, wash, rinse and repeat. This can be said for music producers as well, but since quite a few of us are not artists as well as producers a lot of times we are mainly known by the artists we produce. However , times have changed and we as producers can be our own brand with fans of work without necessarily linking with a already known artists, even though that still may be the quickest path to notoriety.

So What Are Some Of The Ways That A Music Producer Can Build A Tribe Of Fans?

  Obviously the first way to build a tribe of fans is to work with artists, as mentioned earlier. If you are a producer who wants to do more than make beats online,be intentional and create songs with artists. Even if the artists is not known, if you like their lyrics or voice , reach out to them and make some magic. These organic collabs are the best because they give you both the potential to grown and build fans together. You never know, your beats might break an artist and push them further than they previously were going before you got together. Again this is a very intentional process that takes some research. Use social media to your advantage and use keyword research to find the type of artists you want to work with and reach out to them. The more songs you collab on the more material you have to promote to a potential tribe of fans.

  Another way to attract a tribe of fans is to create beat tapes or instrumental albums, for those music producers who are not interested in selling beats. This is a great way to get your name out there. Making beat tapes and instrumental projects is not a new thing, but with all the streaming services we have now, you can release full albums for free download, streaming only, or monetization. You can also niche down and create several instrumental projects if you are a multi genre music producer. One month you may release a trap beat project and the next month you may release a boom bap beat tape, or maybe you will focus on trap instrumentals for a year , then change the next year, it's all up to you. This is great for those who love making beats but don't want to sell them on you-tube. If you go this route, make sure you have good art work, a distributor (such as Distrokid) and have all the samples cleared (if any) , before officially releasing the project. From there promote, promote, and promote. Stay consistent and continue to build upward. 

  Another method to build more fans of your work as a music producer, that I mentioned but didn't mention in detail is to make beats and uploaded them on you-tube, This has been a effective way for producers to build up a big tribe of admirers. You have to stay very consistent and keep coming with the hot beats and if you can do that your brand build. There are many producers in interviews who seen their growth explode on you-tube in months , so it definitely works. The one thing I will say is that a lot of your fans will be other music producers on you-tube using this method. Nothing is wrong with that , but I just wanted to try to mention other ways that may help you build up a fan-base of non artist , non producer, causal music fans, but again uploading beats to you-tube consistently will work to get some traction for your brand overall. 

  Speaking of other methods, there is one that to me is kinda overlooked to build a fan-base as a music producer, and that is remixing. Remixing is a very, very valuable tool in building a fan-base as a music producer and it can help add to your production chops as well. If you are a music producer that typically doesn't work with artists, find a site to download a clean acapella of a artists you admire, match the BPM'S in your DAW, remix the song and upload. I actually did a remix of Wale and Miguel's song called "Lotus Flower Bomb" and uploaded it on you-tube , and in about a week and a half I had over 100,000 views with so many comments. I was shocked because I never thought about remixing in those terms, but that changed my view. I've also remixed Rhianna's "Diamonds" and several other songs, and considering I don't work with many artists, it was fun for me as if I was in a actual session building a beat around vocals, vocal changes, bridges and transitions. If you don't mind becoming a "re-mixer" this route can definitely get you a fan-base as a music producer.

  In all as you see there are several ways to build your tribe. You can do one of these , all of these or a combination. Whatever the case go hard at it, commit, stay focused and consistent and watch your admirers grow!

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About the Creator

Kevin Mckinney

Reader insights

Nice work

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

Top insight

  1. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

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