Music marketing insights for artists and labels.
Practical guides for independent artists, managers and labels: how to promote a release, what each kind of promotion costs, how to tell real promotion from fake, and how small labels plan and pay for releases.
Release smarter, spend less on guesswork
A release has a short window. The weeks before and after it decide whether a song finds listeners, and most independent artists and small labels have to choose carefully where the budget goes: playlists, YouTube, press, ads or a marketing agency. Some of those options are real, and some sell numbers that do not come from real fans.
The articles below explain how each kind of promotion works, what it costs, and what a real report should show, with the sources for every figure. There are guides to promoting a release, building an electronic press kit, choosing a music marketing agency, spotting fake promotion before you pay, and planning releases for a small label.
If you want help with a release, Music Marketing runs your video as a Google Ads campaign on YouTube with guaranteed views, plus editorial features with your own digital cover, from $249. Every package and label plan is on the pricing page, and real campaigns, with the Google Ads screenshots, are in the music case studies. Free tools for artists include a YouTube promotion cost calculator, a streaming royalties calculator and EPK and press release templates.
New guides are added to this page as they are published.
Promoting a release
YouTube music video promotion: how it works, organic and paid, and what guaranteed views really mean
YouTube music promotion explained: free tools (search, Shorts, Premieres, Official Artist Channel), Google Ads video campaigns, and fake-view red flags.
Read the guide MusicLegit music promotion: how to tell it from a scam in 2026
Legit music promotion shows you where your money goes. The red flags of music promotion scams, what Spotify and YouTube ban, and a checklist before you pay.
Read the guide MusicHow to promote your music: a week-by-week release plan for independent artists
How to promote your music in 2026: a week-by-week release plan, from Spotify pitching and pre-saves to YouTube ads, Shorts, press and a $0 to $1,000 budget.
Read the guide MusicSpotify promotion in 2026: Spotify's own tools, playlist pitching, and what gets music removed
Spotify promotion in 2026: Spotify's own tools and who qualifies, what playlist pitching costs, what breaks Spotify's rules, and a checklist for your release.
Read the guide MusicBest music promotion services in 2026: what each type costs, what it can't promise, and who it suits
The best music promotion services in 2026 compared: playlist pitching, music PR, Spotify's tools and YouTube ads, with prices, rules and who each one suits.
Read the guidePress, press kits and agencies
How to choose a music marketing agency: the four types, how they charge, and what to check before you pay
How to choose a music marketing agency: the four types, how each one charges, what a real report shows, the red flags, and when a label should keep it in-house.
Read the guide MusicEPK for musicians: what goes in an electronic press kit, and who reads it
What to put in a musician's EPK: bio lengths, photos, tracks, video and contacts, what each reader looks for first, and how to fill an empty press section.
Read the guideRunning a label
Label services: what a label services deal gives an independent label, and what it takes in return
Label services explained for independent labels: what a label services deal includes, what you give up, how it compares with a record deal, and what to ask.
Read the guide MusicRecord label marketing: how labels promote artists, and a week-by-week plan you can repeat for every release
Record label marketing for small labels: how labels promote artists, a week-by-week release plan, budget priorities, what to outsource and what to measure.
Read the guide MusicHow to start a record label: structure, distribution, royalties and a simple business plan
How to start a record label in the US or UK: business structure, name checks, distribution, ISRCs, royalties, contracts, a business plan and your first release.
Read the guideWhat music marketing costs
How much does it cost to promote a music video on YouTube? Cost per view, budgets and package prices
What it costs to promote a music video on YouTube: about $0.02 to $0.05 a paid view in the US, what $100 to $2,500 buys by region, and managed package prices.
Read the guide MusicHow much does music PR cost? What a publicist charges, and what you get
A music PR campaign costs about $2,000 to $8,000 for a US single or EP and £500 to £3,000 in the UK. What each budget buys, and what nobody can guarantee.
Read the guideYour next release, seen and written about.
A YouTube campaign with guaranteed views plus an editorial feature, one payment per release.