In the age of MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube, it should come as no surprise that social networking sites are proving to be the most effective tools of self-promotion for many emerging artists. But how can you, as an independent musician, share your music with the world through the use of social media? By learning how to use these social media outlets, you can reap the benefits of their features and share your music with people not just in your neighborhood, but around the world.



Social media relies heavily on the concept of global community by allowing people to connect to each other through everything from profiles to instant messaging to blogging. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook allow you to create profiles that are representative of who you are. Through a well-crafted space, you can introduce yourself to the world and allow them to get to know everything about you and your music. MySpace, for example, offers users the option of uploading their own music and sharing it with the rest of their “friends.”

An embedded music player on the artist's profile gives visitors the option of adding a particular song to their own profile, allowing people in their networks to listen to the artist's song and therefore giving you exposure that you wouldn't have had otherwise. Many new artists have successfully developed fan bases and have even propelled themselves from obscurity into Internet stardom using tools like this. After all, consider this: a virtually unknown artist with a thousand people in his network can get his music heard, not just by those thousand, but by the people in the extended networks as well. With the right strategy, that artist can be heard by thousands, if not by millions of people.

Another effective tool in social networking sites is the blog. A blog can allow you to communicate with everyone in your network in a way that is personable and effective. You can share news about your latest production, announce upcoming performances, or even just develop a connection with your audience. A blog can help you be more than just another artist on the Internet; it can help you create an identity that people can relate to. By making full use of a blog, you can create a personal bond with thousands of people at one time, enabling you to further develop a fan base and gain more exposure for your music.

YouTube and Flickr have quickly become some of the most visited sites on the ‘net. The use of video to connect with an audience has become one of the most popular tools for marketing a person's artistic endeavors. Forget MTV. You can create an original video that appeals to a mass market, and then post it on different sites using the HTML codes that these networks provide, giving you yet another vehicle through which you can share your music with the global community.

These tips on using social media to share your music are just the beginning. By joining these social networking sites and learning how to take full advantage of the features they have to offer, you can share your music not just with your next door neighbor, but also music fans in China, Europe, and the world beyond!