YouTube was and remains one of the biggest content platforms around, and it’s a great place for musicians to get their music out there. Whether a musician is just beginning or they’re used to playing for a long time, starting a YouTube journey can be daunting. That’s why we created this article to help musicians fully utilize the huge platform and opportunity that YouTube is!
Customize the channel
The profile picture should be recognizable and reflect the musician and their content well. A channel banner can be set up too, which can be aesthetically pleasing or have more info about the channel. The channel description should contain what makes the musician unique, a little about them, and all available social media/streaming links that they have (TikTok, Instagram, etc.). This is all super easy, but it really helps channel visitors to find out more about the musician as well as see more of them on other social media.
There can even be a channel trailer or featured video to be spotlighted on the channel’s homepage, and can help viewers get a better idea of what the channel will be like, leading to a higher likelihood of subscribing. And then it’s on to uploading videos.
Video content
Covers of favorite songs, popular songs, or songs by trending artists are great ideas. But so are these:
- Behind the scenes of making music
- How to use (a certain software)
- How to play (a particular song)
- Music video reactions
- Tutorials
- How to make (a particular sound)
- Challenge videos – creating a song in an hour, writing music in a different genre than used to, writing a song using comments.
Aside from being fun and keeping things fresh for the musician, varying videos also showcase the musician’s personality and help attract and keep subscribers and viewers.
Video optimization
Just like with web pages and articles, uploading on YouTube can be optimized. Some things to focus on are:
- Video descriptions
- Titles
- Keyword tags
- End screens
- Thumbnails
Keywords or phrases depend on what is being optimized, but for example, a video that’s a cover of a song should contain the song names, original artist’s name, and then the musician’s name.
Video descriptions shouldn’t be spammed with keywords either, because YouTube actually marks these down in ranking. Their algorithm can tell when someone uploads spammy and nonsensical descriptions or titles. The description should have as many relevant keywords or phrases as possible in the first two lines (as this is what people will see when scrolling) and then below that custom info about the musician. There can also be hashtags included at the bottom.
Make use of thumbnails and end screens
Don’t go with auto-generated thumbnails! Create a custom one instead (Canva is a great tool for doing this). Thumbnails can be posed for before a video, or a still can be taken from the video itself. Editing it can then make it eye-catching, fun, and informative. This will lead to more clicks.
End screens are also a great way to keep people on the channel more. Once there are multiple videos uploaded to the channel, there is the option of linking to other (similar) videos after the current video is done being watched. There is also the option of a subscribe button.
Interact with the audience
Liking every comment, replying where applicable, and listening to what viewers want to see next shows that the musician cares and this helps viewers feel involved. This rewarding relationship helps solidify future viewership and retains subscribers.
Plus, with YouTube’s community tab, creators can post photos, messages, and take polls, so interacting doesn’t always have to be anchored by videos.
Be consistent
No one likes someone they can’t count on! Musicians should post regular content and stick to an upload schedule. Not only do viewers like this, but it means that there’s a higher likelihood that there will be content that appeals to a wider audience. Additionally, YouTube’s algorithm loves creators that upload regularly and will promote them more.
Network and collaborate
And finally, musicians should make friends on YouTube – after all, it is a social media platform. Subscribing to, commenting on, and liking other people’s content shows support for others in the same community. It might also get some reciprocity! Plus, collabs could be on the table, and those help bring another channel’s viewers to the musicians.
If you liked this article, there’s more where that came from. Here’s one about how social media has changed the music industry, and one on how to promote music in 2021.