Q&A with Simon Pelletier: How should artists set their marketing priorities?

This week, we sat down with Golden Path Music’s founder, Simon Pelletier, for an expert’s take on how artists can strategically use advances on marketing, new challenges in the music industry, and how small artists can overcome them.  

How have you seen the music industry change? What do those changes mean for professional musicians?  

Pelletier: The music industry has changed because of technology. [With] $500 you can buy an audio interface and record yourself in your bedroom, which is a good thing for artists because they have access to resources and tools to create music at cheaper prices. Before, it was really hard because you needed a label deal. Today that’s not the case. You can release anything you want on Spotify or with any other distribution company.  

The problem is that there are 60,000 new releases every day on Spotify, so to stand out, you need a team, resources, a good distribution company, and money to market your releases. It’s more competitive in a way, but artists have more opportunities because of the new technologies and companies like beatBread.  

What should artists keep in mind about advances? 

Pelletier: Pursue an advance for a specific reason, and have a plan. For example, at Golden Path Music we’ve found artists will spend a lot of time and money on creating songs and creating an album, but will forget to budget for marketing their music after the fact. An advance should be invested and reinvested in your career.  

What are some ways you’ve seen artists spend advances strategically on marketing?  

Pelletier: Lately, one of the things we’ve seen artists spend advances strategically on is TikTok marketing content. Those kinds of projects have the return on investment because they get people coming back and following you… and cross platform promotion works super well. If people are finding you on TikTok, they’ll go find you on Spotify and Instagram. You’ll invest in one campaign, and you’ll see returns for a few months after the campaign is done. So, for me, it’s one of the better ways you can invest the money. 

What should artists keep in mind when setting their marketing priorities?  

Pelletier: Your target audience. For example, if your music is for people 40+, maybe Facebook is the priority platform. Really look into your target audience and think about the best way to reach it. If you’re an artist in pop, R&B, or hip-hop, your demographic may be younger, so you’d focus on TikTok, and Instagram. If you’re doing rock music, maybe radio marketing.   

What piece of advice would you give to an artist just starting out? 

Pelletier: Spend a lot of time on your craft. If you can master your craft, be the best songwriter you can be, the best producer you can be, all the rest will be easier.