Why is Nobody Listening to my Music?: 5 Tips to Increase your Music Streams

By Therese “Tiki Tee” Sheridan
August 5, 2023

You’ve done it! After spending hours creating the catchiest melody, writing the perfect lyrics and developing the ideal mix to highlight it all, you’ve got yourself the next hit single. The problem? Nobody is listening to it. Whether you’re looking to build a fanbase with your first release or you’re looking to bring traffic to your previous releases, here are five tips to increase the number of streams on your music. 

1.) Submit to Playlists

Whether it’s for a road trip, a party, a workout or a rainy day, playlists of all kinds allow listeners to enjoy music specific to their preferred genre and mood. As a result, getting placed on playlists is a great opportunity to extend the reach of your music, specifically to those within your target audience. To do this, you can either manually search and contact playlisters or you can submit through websites such as Daily Playlists or SubmitHub. Be sure to take note of your song’s genre, mood and vibe, as well as artists that share a similar sound to yours. Doing so will ensure that you are submitting to the playlists most beneficial for you. 

2.) Collaborate

As an individual artist or band it can be difficult to be recognized, especially within the early stages. Thankfully, the music industry is a collaborative one. To increase your streams, consider reaching out to other musicians. This can be with a producer, a singer, a rapper or an instrumentalist; It all depends on which makes the most sense with your sound. For an already released track, try having a remix version created by a producer. If you’re looking to release new music, try getting a similar artist as a feature. By collaborating with other musicians you can expose your music to other fanbases, allowing you to reach new listeners. 

3.) Perform Live 

You don’t need to be the opener for a world renowned band and you don’t need to launch an elaborate tour, but performing live (even at your local bar) is a great way to build exposure. After performing your song(s), remind the audience of your name and where they can stream your music. If they enjoyed what they heard, they can potentially be new fans who stream your music in the future.

Want to take your performances to the next level? Check out these 5 ways you can enhance your live performances.

4.) Promote on Social Media 

It may seem obvious, but in order to have your music heard, people need to know that it exists. In today’s digital age, one of the best ways to do this is through social media. Specifically, you want to make your music noticeable and easily accessible. No matter the platform, be sure to provide links that take your audience directly to where your music is streamed. This can be in your bio description, through your story using the link feature, or in a post. Keep in mind that on some platforms such as Instagram, links are not clickable in the caption. In this case, post about your music, but direct audiences to where they can easily access the link. To reach a wider audience, you can also include hashtags most relevant to you.

If you want to make the most of your social media accounts, be sure to avoid these 5 mistakes.

5.) Get Press Coverage 

While social media is a great way to encourage audiences to listen to your music, it’s not the only way. You can additionally try to land press coverage. To do this, reach out to music blogs, online magazines and local press to share announcements, receive artist features or have your music reviewed. This type of press can help generate buzz and attract new listeners.