"Music promotion" gets used for everything from a single playlist submission to a year-long campaign. That vagueness is where most wasted budgets start. These ten questions come up with almost every independent release, in every genre and country.
1. Is promotion the same as marketing? Not quite. Marketing is the long game: who the artist is, who the audience is, and how the two meet over many releases. Promotion is the push around a specific moment, usually a release, a tour date or a video.
2. What channels count as promotion? Editorial and independent playlist pitching, press and blog coverage, radio and podcasts, short-form video and creator campaigns, paid ads, and live events. Most releases need only two or three of them done properly.
3. When should it start? Before the song is out. Distributors need the release early, and streaming services only accept editorial pitches for unreleased music.
4. Can I do it myself? Yes, many artists do. The trade-off is time and contacts. Doing a small amount well beats spreading thin across every channel.
5. What should I prepare first? Final master, artwork, a short bio, press photos, correct metadata and a one-sentence description of who the song is for.
6. How do I know if a service is legitimate? Legitimate promotion explains exactly what will be done and never guarantees a fixed number of streams or followers. Guarantees like that usually mean bots.
7. Does genre change the plan? It changes the outlets, not the logic. A metal single and a gospel single both need a clear audience, a release plan and the right gatekeepers; they just go to different ones.
8. Does my country limit what is possible? No. Streaming, social platforms and press are reachable from anywhere. What changes is which local outlets and platforms matter most.
9. What does success look like? Saves, follows, playlist adds you did not pay for, new fans you can reach again. Raw plays alone tell you little.
10. Where can I see the full picture? For a structured walk-through of channels, timelines and costs, MusicPromoToday's music promotion overview lays out how the pieces fit together.