YouTube for musicians – how to grow your YouTube channel and other advice

From advice on how to grow your YouTube music channel to maximizing your music marketing, our YouTube for musicians posts are full of practical advice and innovative ideas

Updated March 2020.

How to find pre-cleared and royalty-free video assets for your music videos
Video is one of the most powerful ways to get your music noticed. Amp it up by using pre-cleared and royalty-free video footage, SFX, eye-catching graphic overlays, and transitions.

Creative advice for your next music videos
Posting and sharing music videos is a great way to get your music noticed on social media. Thankfully, interesting videos are easier to make than ever.

Produce music videos that get attention
With the vast number of videos on the web, you can’t just record the same old footage and rise above the clutter. Here are 15 approaches to produce music videos that get attention.

What does it take to launch a successful music video?
There is no formula to create viral videos – the very nature of viral content is that it’s out of your control – but there are best practices you can employ for all the videos you release.

YouTube Cards and End Screens make your videos more effective
YouTube Cards and End Screens give your viewers a call to action and make your YouTube channel more effective in turning viewers into fans.

Vlogging For Musicians: Setup and staging
Once you have the equipment you need, the next step toward video domination is staging and recording. Part 2 of our Vlogging For Musicians series focuses on setting up for a professional result.

Vlogging For Musicians: The equipment you’ll need
For music artists looking to build a brand for themselves online, videos can factor heavily into a music marketing plan. This is part one of a two-part post with advice about vlogging for musicians. Here, we take a look at the equipment you’ll need to build you video empire.

YouTube Monetization for Songwriters
In our September Twitter chat (#DMchat), Downtown Music Publishing’s Chinua Green and Songtrust’s Jason Cerf fielded questions about how YouTube monetization works for songwriters.

Royalties on YouTube: five common misconceptions
With $2 billion in royalties paid to date, it’s worth understanding how royalties on YouTube work and how songwriters can get their share.

Eight music video ideas to help grow your YouTube channel
Traditional music videos are one way to introduce your music to an audience, but there are many other music video ideas – including mashups, vlogs, and animation – that can help your grow your YouTube channel.

Seven ways to increase YouTube views
If you’re an independent musician planning on posting videos to YouTube, work to increase YouTube views and the number of clicks for your next creation by following these seven steps.

How to make money on YouTube with your music
Use these five tips to help you make money from YouTube – the most popular music search engine in the world.

How to optimize your YouTube channel to get more views
Creating great videos is the first step, and here are 25 more to help you optimize your YouTube channel to attract more viewers and harness the power of YouTube.

How to make YouTube work for you
YouTube’s Creator Playbook provides best practices, optimization tips, and strategies to build an audience on YouTube.

Build a superfan base one video at a time
Engaging with your fans involves “check moves” – opportunities for positive interaction – and online videos are one way to build an audience on YouTube and beyond.

Use YouTube for more than music videos
Creating a video blog (AKA vlog) on YouTube is one creative way to connect to people, develop a persona, and ultimately promote your music.

How to leverage your YouTube music channel
More than just posting music videos online, a YouTube music channel is a must for every serious music marketing strategy that includes video.

Managing your online videos
The democratization of video technology has it’s upsides and downsides. Here are six tips to help you control online music videos featuring you – the ones you like… and not so much.

Why you want a music video
Don’t make a music video just because you think you should – make one if you can use it as an asset for your music promotion and to further establish yourself as the artist you want to be.

Get more views on YouTube
Getting your music video on an aggregator’s channel is one way to promote your own YouTube music channel.

How to get your music video viewed 1,000 times in one day
Make promotion for your music video a game and ask your fans to share

Wait! Don’t post that music video on YouTube without a sync license!
When you attempt to synch a sound recording of a song with a visual element, you need to obtain a sync license. Music synchronization licenses (sync license) are explained in this post about the legalities of cover songs on YouTube and other video outlets.

A musician, writer, and marketer, Andre Calilhanna manages and edits the Disc Makers and BookBaby Blogs. Follow Andre on Twitter @dre_cal. Email him at andre@discmakers.com.