Hi, I assume you are looking for music marketing assistance. I will now get to the bottom of it and provide you with my list of top music marketing companies (as of 2022).
- Artistpush.com
- Indie Music Academy;
- Playlist Push;
- YouGrow;
- Omari MC;
- Independent Music Promotions;
- Pressed PR;
- Cyber PR;
- Two Story Media;
- Simpl;
- Venture;
- Groove Garden.
Before I go into details, I should mention that I have worked with seven of the companies and I have heard positive things about the four other companies. Because I believe these guys are great, affiliate links are used.
Let’s get that out of the way. Music marketing is an superbroad term.
It can mean very different things to different people.
Personal example: I went to college to study “Marketing”. Public Relations, Product Development and Market Research Methods were some of the classes I took. They all fall under different categories of “marketing”. After graduating from school, I worked in a digital marketing agency. I used none of the skills I had learned at school.
The point I am trying to make is that “marketing” can refer to almost any thing. Let me clarify what “music marketing” means to me and how it shapes the list I have of music marketing companies.
Let’s get started…
What is music marketing?
Music Marketing is the act of bringing music into a market.
This definition is very broad, I’m sure. It’s still very broad, I know. But it’s true. And b) this definition ends up generating two questions that help narrow things down.
What market are you bringing your music to?
Howare YOU bringing music to the market?
These questions will help you to identify your exact purpose.
The reality is that most music marketing firms are focused on helping you reach a market who would be interested but haven’t heard your music. While there are companies that can help musicians market to existing fans, the main problem many musicians face is “How do you get more people to listen to my music ?”
These are the most popular ways to get in front of new listeners – the answers “how do you bring the music to market?” – and they are what I will list below.
The most popular music marketing strategies in 2022
- Spotify plays the playlist promotion
- Influencer marketing (although there’s overlap between this and playlist promotion, but I’m talking about Tik Tok or Instagram influencers with it)
- Promotion (Getting your music featured in magazines, blogs and podcasts)
- Digital advertising is usually paid ads on Facebook Ads Manager which serves to Instagram or Google Ads which serves YouTube
- Sync licensing is the placement of music in commercials and movies.
This is where the rubber meets road (and why it took me so long to write this intro).
You’ll almost certainly be looking for music marketing firms in 2022 if you’re searching for it.
There is no one firm that can do all these things well. This will allow you to determine which firm is best suited for your needs.
Now it’s time for us to move on to the next step. You’ll notice that I have grouped the 11 listed firms according to the marketing categories they serve.
- Playlist / influencer marketing: Indie Music Academy, Playlist Push, YouGrow, Omari MC
- Promotion (or PR) Independent Music Promotions, Cyber PR, Two Story Media
- Digital advertising simpl. Venture
- Sync licensing: Groove Garden
The moral of the story? Don’t take this order too seriously. I am not saying Indie Music Academy is better than Groove Garden. Both companies do great work and do different things.
You can work with any music marketing company by first determining what you are looking for in music marketing and then identifying the right firm to match your needs.
Okay…
These are the music marketing companies that I recommend.
1.Artist Push
Artist Push, a Music and Social Media Growth Service, promises to be the “best music promotion service” for independent artists.
With their paid packages, they claim to offer an instant and effective way to get hundreds of followers, streams, and views.
Are they legitimate or should you stay away from their service?
Artist Push is a service that we review today. We’ll be looking at their features, pros, and cons and deciding whether or not we recommend them.
2. Indie Music Academy
They are my top choice for Spotify playlist promotion, which is, as of 2022 probably, the most popular music marketing tactic being used indie musicians. Spotify is such a large platform that artists often think of Spotify when growing their audience.
Because they are great at getting artists genuine, organic streams, they are my top choice. (Remember: streams are not generated by bots, but from real people.
You’ll see that I’m not just talking smoke. Indie Music Academy’s web page clearly explains their approach. This thorough Google Doc they have created outlines their playlist screening process better than any other playlist promotion service.
Spotify playlist promotion is a great way to market your music. The quality of your playlists is key. Ryan Waczek, founder of Indie Music Academy and above-average hair, is the person I trust most to provide quality placements.
Packages starting at $297 for 10,000 streams guaranteed and going up from there Spotify is the best platform to reach new listeners.
3. Playlist Push
My personal experience with Playlist Push has shown that it is a top-tier option to promote Spotify.
Playlist Push is an automated service that pitches your music. This is in contrast to Indie Music Academy. You won’t get any personal contact with them. The platform they have built is very professional and the playlists they pitch to are strong.
They recently ran a campaign for me that generated around $325 and 40,000 streams. But, even more important, it gave them a longer-term algorithmic boost. You can read the detailed review of this experience here. These numbers are fantastic, but they were not guaranteed. Playlist Push does not guaranteeany results, unlike many of the other services on this site. They just pitch your music to their network, and watch what happens.
They are a little bit of a risk. They are often the most cost-efficient option if they have strong, mainstream songs.
4. YouGrow
YouGrow is another great option for Spotify playlist promotion. A mid-level campaign I ran with them (currently priced $217, which is really great) got about 10,000 streams. It’s not as high as what they promise on their sales page but it’s still quite good. We also saw that the numbers were non-bot organic and real-person.
One drawback was that we were placed on a few odd playlists, including one called 2000s Throwbacks. Our track was not a throwback and was released in 2021. Matt, who is part of their Spotify team, was extremely communicative with us and made it clear what the placements were. He also gave us the opportunity to remove any listing that we desired.
Everything was kept and it turned out well – most placements were excellent, and based on what we saw, all streams were legitimate.
These guys are professional and do legitimate promotion.
They offer Tik Tok influencer marketing – , and they offer YouTube ads. Although I have not tried them for any of these offerings, I can tell you that they are well worth the effort if your search is for an agency with a broad range of services.
5. Omari MC
Omari MC – The OG. These guys are most likely the result of a search for “music marketing” or anything remotely related to it.
They know what they are doing, and that’s why they do it.
Omari has been a part of several campaigns I have run over the years and I can confirm that they deliver results. This is a detailed review that we created from the last time they used their Spotify service. The bottom line is that while the results were not spectacular, they were solid. Omari is a great guy who I have spoken to many times. He also knows a lot about music marketing.
The two most important selling points of Omari to me are:
Efficiency. They have promoted an insane amount of music and their processes are extremely efficient. Although they aren’t the most personable, they may be the most efficient.
Variety of services. Omari is able to do almost every type of music marketing, except sync licensing. This includes Spotify promotion, influencer market, Facebook and Instagram ads and Google ads. It also includes hiring the sign-spinning men you see on street corners. That last one is a joke. This is a great way to get all the information you need in one place.
6. Independent Music Promotions
The Spotify playlist promotion is what the four previous companies are most well-known for. We’re now moving to a new branch of music marketing, press promotion or, as it is affectionately called, music PR.
Independent Music Promotions is the company I have listed here. They are one of my favorite companies in getting media coverage for meaningful music, or what they call “music with depth”.
If you’re making generic pop music, you should steer clear. These guys can be a great option if your music is in a niche or if you put a lot of heart into it.
Independent Music Promotions was founded by James Moore. I had the pleasure of interviewing him (and who has been kind enough to interview me ). He is a master at what he does.
Packages start at $795, and include 10 guaranteed placements in the press. This is really impressive. You’ll also get targeted advertising in most of their campaigns.
You’ll also get a bonus: When you call, mention the code “TWOSTORY”. Each little bit counts, right?
7. Pressed PR
Pressed PR, aptly named, is another option for media coverage. Dawn Jones founded the agency. Dawn is an expert in PR and was also the first person I spoke to about press promotion while I was trying to start my own company.
Dawn is beautiful
The “independent creative” is the target audience for Pressed PR. They are worth looking at if you’re an independent musician. You can see their homepage and see their clients featured in American Songwriter and Forbes. They also offer branding services such as live photography and imagery.
Bottom line: Add this firm to your shortlist if you are looking for indie PR.
8. Cyber PR
Although I don’t know Ariel Hyatt, the founder and president Cyber PR, her writings have been invaluable in helping me navigate the PR world. If you are unsure whether to pay someone or are interested in doing PR yourself, then I recommend that you take my How To Get Covered In Music Blogs and Ariel’s Ultimate Guide to Music Publicity.
Although I may be biased, I believe both are well worth your time.
Cyber PR offers more than just press promotion. They also offer “Musician’s Total Tuneups” which are “personalized artist growth” plans. This is a great way to make PR investments really count. It’s easy to spend money in press without having a plan for career growth.
These guys can be a great resource for indie artists. Their case studies prove it.
9. Two Story Media
Ah, you caught my attention; I am adding my PR company to the top music marketing companies.
But, hey, I made it, so here we go.
Despite being biased, I believe we do a good job. We are focused on indie press coverage. Think mid-tier blogs such as Atwood Magazine or Ear To the Ground. However, we do pitch larger publications when we feel they would be a good fit. Additionally, we offer playlist promotion, consulting and consulting.
We offer guaranteed placements in our pitching campaigns, but not because we can guarantee specificplacements (which is morally wrong), but because you can trust us to keep pitching until you get results. If we don’t, then we will give full refunds. This is some pretty good stuff.
We’ve just updated our Spotify promotion with ads. You can Click here to read and maybe level up your Spotify.
You might also be interested in: We’re affordable, and I believe that EPKs are incredibly well written. I also think they’re quite enjoyable to work with.
However, I am biased once more.
10. Simpl.
We are now moving beyond the PR realm to the realm of paid ads. Paid social advertising is what simpl. does best.
Although I have not worked directly with these guys, I have done PR for artists who have. The basic idea is that they create Instagram, Facebook and YouTube ads to increase social followings and streams. According to the case studies, their ads work.
Paid advertising is a marketing tactic that’s similar to the original. It’s much easier to track your ROAS (return-on-adspend) these days than ever, but it can still be difficult to achieve efficient results. Google Ads Manager and Facebook Ads Manager can be confusing to use and could lead to a lot wasted money.
Working with simpl. One way to ensure things run smoothly is to work with simpl.
11. Venture
Venture is another company that I have heard great things about regarding running paid advertising campaigns. They do more than just paid ads. In fact, they do everything but sync. This includes Spotify playlist promo, tour promotion and email marketing. However, I am grouping them together because I can tell that their focus is digital strategy. This tends to heavily include paid ads.
Despite all that, they seem to be really good at it.
Their client list is impressive. They’ve worked with many artists including Moon Taxi, Meg Myers and Larkin Poe. It is worth noting that their headquarters are in Nashville. This is a great place to build indie music industry connections. They do work with artists from all over the world.
12. Groove Garden
Let me conclude this list by recommending Groove Garden as my top recommendation for sync licensing.
As I said at the beginning, I am not listing them last because they are the worst. They do sync licensing which is totally different than the other marketing strategies listed here. (Sync licensing refers to the practice of having music used in commercials, TV, and movies.
They’re doing it well, according to what I’ve seen.
This firm was recommended to me by a friend who had been placed in the Marvel series The Punisher. It was a sweet placement. I have been in touch with Melissa, the founder of this company, since then and am impressed by their approach. Cool fact: They don’t charge until you have a song placed. There’s no risk in working with them.
They re pretty selective about what they do.
To see if you would be a good match,
Final thoughts on music marketing
Here are my top music marketing companies for 2022. This list is a guideline for music marketing companies in 2022. While your specific needs will determine which company you choose, I am confident that all of these companies can serve you well.
Let me conclude by saying that although marketing can be tedious, it can ultimately lead to real connections with people who are truly interested in your music.
It’s well worth it.
Good Luck!
Let me know if you have any experiences with any of these firms in the comments. I’m always interested to keep this information up-to date.