Apple Music for Independent Artists: A Promotion Checklist

Many independent artists put most of their effort into one streaming service and treat the others as an afterthought. Apple Music has its own tools and its own listeners, and a little work there can pay off. Use this checklist on your next release.

Profile

• [ ] Claim your profile through Apple Music for Artists.
• [ ] Upload an artist image that matches your current era.
• [ ] Check that every release is credited to the right artist page, especially if your name is shared with someone else.

Release

• [ ] Deliver early through your distributor so the release appears as a pre-add.
• [ ] Make sure lyrics and credits are supplied where your distributor supports them.
• [ ] Check that explicit and clean versions are labelled correctly.

Promotion

• [ ] Use Apple Music links and badges on your website and in your link-in-bio, not only links to another service.
• [ ] Share pre-add links with fans who use Apple Music.
• [ ] Use the promotional assets Apple Music for Artists provides for sharing on social media.

After release

• [ ] Look at the analytics in Apple Music for Artists: which cities, which songs, which sources.
• [ ] Compare them with your other platforms. Different audiences sometimes show up in different places.

Remember

No checklist guarantees editorial playlist placement, and you should avoid anyone who promises it. What you can control is a clean profile, accurate metadata and fans who know where to find you.

MusicPromoToday's blog has a longer guide on how to promote music on Apple Music effectively.