It’s probably been a while since someone asked you the classic, “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”, but it still rings true today. Whether you’re a songwriter, artist, producer, or even a sound engineer, if you don’t have an online identity it kind of feels like you don’t exist.
That’s why being able to market yourself is so vital in our increasingly oversaturated world of music (which according to Spotify includes over 82 million songs with 60,000 new ones added per day.) After all, how can you grow your audience or create new work opportunities if listeners and other creatives can’t link your work to you?
That’s where your online music portfolio comes in. Just like actors have IMDB and authors have Goodreads to catalog their work, music professionals need a trustworthy place to list all their projects and information. Let’s dive deeper into why you should invest time in making yours and how you can go about doing it.
An online music portfolio is a public place for music professionals to showcase their work so their audience and other collaborators can easily find more information about them. Portfolios can be hosted on artists' websites or on platforms that are specifically designed for this purpose.
Music portfolios are particularly important nowadays because it’s not as easy to find music credits as it was back in the days of cassette and CD booklets. The music industry has a huge problem with unmatched royalties due to missing information, with over $424.38 million accrued by digital service providers over the last decade that hasn’t been paid out to creators.
Managing music credits is complex in the digital age, so it helps to have a trustworthy place to consolidate all of that information and make sure credit is given where credit is due, especially if you’re involved behind the scenes.
Your portfolio goes beyond just links to your songs or projects you have contributed to. Here are some of the other elements you should consider including to show that you are serious about your craft and career:
If you’re part of a band, you’ll also want to display:
Think of the portfolio like a resume or CV, or your musical ‘LinkedIn’ page: a way to showcase your work and grow your personal brand. Whether you’re a songwriter, musician, or producer, it’s worth spending time to build a portfolio so you can easily share your work experience and achievements as your career progresses.
Here are some of the main benefits of having a music portfolio:
You may have created amazing music, but if nobody can find it (or information about you) it makes it a lot harder to grow your fanbase and promote concerts. An online portfolio combined with an active social media presence increases your chances of being discovered by listeners and other creatives for collaborative opportunities in the future.
When someone applies for a job in other industries, they usually send a resume and a portfolio of work samples. Music professionals are no different. Being able to back up your experience and skillset with a portfolio is a huge asset when it comes to pursuing new collaborations and building stronger relationships with industry pros.
Digital transformation in music has made it possible to produce, publish, distribute and promote your own music. On the upside, this broke down many traditional barriers to the industry. The downside? There’s a lot more competition. A professional music portfolio can help you differentiate yourself from hobbyists in a very crowded market.
Music credits help artists and performers get recognized for the work they’ve done and collect royalties. But the creative digital economy is complex and artists often leave money on the table because of incomplete metadata and unclaimed credits. Claiming credit for your creations goes a long way to helping get the recognition and compensation you’re due.
Apart from growing your audience, having an online music portfolio helps you build stronger relationships with your existing fanbase. By getting to know your work and background more closely, you can connect with them on a deeper level and show them more about the person behind the creations they listen to every day.
Musixmatch Pro empowers you to quickly build a creator profile that showcases everything you’ve worked on and who you’ve worked with.
On top of that, you can verify your artist profile if you’re part of a band or perform solo and claim ownership of songs you’ve written, composed, or collaborated on.
Finally, add and distribute your lyrics across all major digital streaming services and social networks like Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram, Amazon Music, and Google.
Learn more here
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