Marketing Your New Song
“New Song!” sing-a-ma-jigs offer Christianity not stuck in the old tradition, but is not limited by it. And value the creative process as much, if not more, than the destination. “New Song” tells us to find our voice and our reason and dare to live by the lyrics given to us.
In the current month, we have many choices for worship. Some popular songs are: I’m Going to Raise You Some Mountain, Open Your Eyes, I Lift My Heart, Good Day Baby, I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles, Wonderful Tonight, Wonderful Lord, Living In A World Of Love, I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles Again, I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face, Home On The Range, Beautiful creation, Home On The Range II, Dance, Pray, Hallelujah, On Your Own accord. Then there is The Rainbow Connection by Bette Midler, Who Loves Mami, You Are My Sunshine, Blessed Are Those Who You Receive, Praise The Earth, I’m Always Rolling On The Floor, Longing To Fly, Blessed Mother, One Big Crowd, You Can’t Go wrong with Any of These New Songs! !
The problem with all of these new songs is they are hit singles. While a new song will build an audience and make you feel good about yourself, that is only half of the equation. You must know how to market your new single and bring it out in the marketplace. I believe in going ‘viral’ to the point where your single spreads like a virus so that others can sing along and ‘hear’ your new song. This viral marketing is done best by using the power of ‘word of mouth’.
For instance, if you were singing a new song about the current month, and it was a politically charged song (such as an attack on the Bush Administration or comments about a new government policy), would you be able to achieve success? Probably not. However, many people would hear your new song and instantly identify with the situation and rally around it to support a particular political cause. This type of marketing is what many bands utilize when they write a new song for the current month and use it as a single.
Another way to go viral with your new single is to play it at various places around town and engage in conversations. Perhaps you are singing at a club and someone mentions the song to their friends, who then talk to their friends and tell their friends, who tell their friends and so on and so forth. This form of word-of-mouth advertising is surprisingly effective. It also tends to bring more attention to your music related websites.
So, the next time you are sitting down to write a new song, think about your audience, your voice and the marketing you’ll do to get your new song into the market. Write your new song for yourself using a personal writing process and let it inspire others to join your team. Then take that team to the radio stations early and share your new song!