title taken from “Love of Music” by Melly Rose & Crazy

Caribbean Music Marketing Recap

First, thank you to everyone who attended the Clubhouse Chat “Caribbean Music Marketing: Real Solutions” on January 13th where we provided Caribbean artistes actionable advice from professional Marketers on how to use social media, podcasts, Influencers, and marketing copy to take their music career to the next level.

The panel included:

DJ Jel: one of the top Soca deejays and 1/2 of DiSocaAnalysts and also an expert in Social Media Marketing.

Mikelah: Founder of Style & Vibes website and podcast and an expert in Influencer Marketing.

Melly Rose: a multi-genre artiste from Trinidad with a background in Business.

Deanna (👋🏾): Founder of DysChick blog and DysChick Consulting with over 15 years of Copywriting and Retention Marketing experience.

What I thought would be a one-hour chat turned into a two hour discussion with gems being dropped left and right. Since Clubhouse does not yet allow seamless recording, I’m giving you the 3 key takeaways from each panelist.

Social Media marketing:

While we use social media daily (many of us check our feeds before we even get out of bed), it is an underutilized marketing channel for Caribbean artistes. Not only do artistes need to post when they have new music or go live to engage fans, they should also consider a strategy to be discoverable to new audiences. Here are some tips from DJ Jel:

1. Your content should be platform-specific. Do not assume that your TikTok video will have the same kind of engagement on Twitter. Also beware of linking your accounts. Instagram allows you to share on Twitter, but it will only display a link back to Instagram. That’s not the best user experience.

2. Post consistently. The best way to ensure you show up in your fans’ feeds is to post multiple times per day to give them several opportunities to interact with your content. The more a user interacts with your content, the more likely you are to show up in their feed.

3. Use social media to distribute your music directly to your fans. Jel advises using distributers like Tune Core and Distrokid to get your music added to “Sounds” on TikTok. Artistes may also want to consider adding your music to platforms that will allow DJs to use it in their video streams, such as Soundtrack by Twitch.

INfluencer marketing:

First, let’s establish what an “Influencer” is. An Influencer is someone who creates content that is relevant to your niche audience. His/Her fan base should consider this person a trusted authority in the space. Once you identify an Influencer, determine the best way to use him/her to amplify your digital voice. Here are some good tips from Mikelah on how to attract and engage with Influencers:

1. Content is king. Find someone who creates content where they recommend or showcase music. Artistes should consider reaching out to deejays, music bloggers, and dancers. Think outside of the box, too. Perhaps beauty bloggers and fitness coaches who feature music in their videos can also help promote your music.

2. Popular does not equal Influencer. Do not assume that because someone has a large following on social media that they are aligned with your brand. Influencers should be people who can draw in your audience and get them to listen to your music or purchase tickets to your shows. If they have 40k followers, but their posts average 100 likes and a handful of comments, their audience is not actively engaged and they are likely not going to be helpful.

3. Be clear on your goals and the goals of the Influencer. If you want to promote a particular song or event, communicate that. You should also know what you are willing to offer as compensation. Some Influencers require payment, exclusive content (dub plate, drop, interview, etc.), or even a business opportunity (feature in upcoming video, sponsorship, etc.)

Grass Roots and in-person promotion

You are the best resource for promoting your brand. In Caribbean music, many influencers will promote the artistes with whom they have a personal a relationship. Be sure that you are accessible inna real life. Here are some tips from multi-genre artiste Melly Rose about you can represent your brand:

1. Show up. In-person networking is effective and many influencers interact at social events. It’s good to be visible and talk to deejays, promoters, and other artistes about your experience and music. Be sure that you are always professional and humble. A bad interaction with an artiste can cause a deejay to harbor resentment or refuse to play your music. You don’t want to be known as stush or full of yourself.

2. You may need a middle man. For artistes who are vulnerable or inexperienced, it may be a good idea to find someone who can act on your behalf who will be least likely to have to endure harassment or inappropriate advances. (I’m being tactful here, but you know what I mean.) This person can accompany you to late-night studio sessions or private meetings and deflect unwanted advances. After all, this is about your business and you don’t want scandal threatening your career.

3. Never stop promoting yourself. Melly Rose does interviews and distributes her own email newsletters to let her fans know about her latest releases and upcoming projects. This is a great way to remain top of mind, plus it gives you something to talk about when reaching out to industry people who can advance your career.

Copywriting and Brand Marketing

As a writer, I find that too many people in Caribbean music underestimate the power of the written word. When promoters or agents are looking to describe you to booking agents or Carnival associations, it’s best to arm them with language that clearly explains who you are and what you offer.

1. Put up a real bio on your social media pages. While it’s great that you are “God’s Child,” it’s not exactly helpful to people who happen upon your page. A clear, concise description of who you are goes a long way in growing your following.

2. Websites matter. When someone Googles your name, your website shows up first. This is the best way to get people familiar with your brand and your music. Consider it a one-stop shop for all of your social media content. Be sure to have an engaging front page and be sure that somewhere on the site you tell your story and include a professional headshot. It also helps to have a downloadable press kit.

3. Own your list. Do not rely on social media to build your following. You should have your own email list so that you can directly communicate new music, upcoming shows, or other critical information to your audience. If you rely solely on social media, an algorithm change could limit your reach. Work with someone (perhaps DysChick Consulting) to create well-written email communications.

The lively Clubhouse discussion invoked advice from others in the Caribbean music industry like Justin Elliot, aka LL Cool Blaze, who recommended that artistes register for performance rights and be sure to have your music mixed to industry standards. AJ Da Costa, who manages TV & Press promotions at Columbia Records, advised having your music properly annotated on Spotify and Apple Music so that deejays and influencers can add them to playlists. Kasey Phillips of Precision Productions who warned artistes that a distributor is not responsible for marketing your music. In other words, don’t just put it on iTunes and “see how it does.” You have to do the work to make sure people know where to stream your songs.

While this was my first Clubhouse chat, I doubt it will be my last. Caribbean artistes and those of us interested in promoting our genres need spaces to share ideas and put together action plans to improve the way we do business. After listening to the impassioned discussion, I am optimistic about the future of Caribbean Music.

Update: CLICK HERE to check out this unsolicited feature of the Caribbean Music Marketing chat in the New York Daily News!