As subscribers continue to increase, it would be fair to say people are getting to grips with many of the streaming services exciting features. It can take a bit of getting used to though. We have put together some tips to help you master Apple Music and start increasing your streams.
Master Apple Music with Connect
This works like a social media platform, in the sense that it allows artists to share almost anything they want. Ideally, this should be content your fans will genuinely want to see and engage with. Try to include previews of new tracks, photos of your tour or even behind the scenes videos.
If your content is good enough, there’s a chance Apple will share it on the main Apple Music Connect page. To do any of this, your profile needs to get verified, but once done you’re good to go!
Social Media
In November 2015, Facebook announced a new post type called ‘Music Stories’. It was designed to enable users to better discover new music or to share tracks with their friends.
Music Stories appear as interactive content and is integrated with Apple Music (as well as Spotify and Deezer). It provides a 30-second preview of the music that will play directly on Facebook, without the need to go elsewhere. Users can then stream the music on Apple Music and can even save it to their own libraries.
Phrasing
It is best to use clear messaging when promoting your music on Apple Music or iTunes. For Apple Music, try using words such as “playing”, “listen,” or “hear” rather than “stream” or “streaming”, simply to avoid confusion. For iTunes, make it clear that you are directing them to the download store by using “Buy on iTunes.”
You can combine the messaging, but it is best to distinguish the offers: “Listen to *artist name’s* new song on Apple Music or buy it on iTunes.”
Widgets
Apple have also created a very handy widget that is turned into a preview player, which can be embedded onto any website. You can access this here and enter the URL to create and customise your widget.
However, this widget is sharing content that is behind the Apple Music pay-wall and will therefore only play 30-second song previews of the tracks unless the user is a logged-in Apple Music subscriber. It’s a good way to give people a taste of your music to encourage them to check it out further.
Artist Photos
A key way to master Apple Music s through artist photos. You can add artist photos to your profile so listeners can easily identify you. These photos will be displayed in search results, libraries of your listeners, similar artist suggestions, and on playlists pages where your song has been included.
One artist image will be used to represent you across the Apple Music and the iTunes store so it is important that this image is a clean and clear representation of you as an artist. The image must also be free of any borders or any website addresses.
The image must be 1:1 ratio square and be at least 2400 x 2400 pixels.
You can send us your artist image and providing it meets the above specifications we will update it on the Apple Music and iTunes store for you.
