Regardless of whether you’re a developing or established artist, the main goal here isn’t to rack up Spotify streams. Instead, the focus is on maximizing reach for discovery and brand awareness while building your social media following. Why?

Because growing a real audience is the foundation you need before streams, playlists or press can have any lasting impact. You want the ability to directly connect with potential fans so you can nurture those relationships to monetize later. That’s how you build a supportive fan base.

For the established artists, it’s important to regularly attract new eyes and ears to bring them into your marketing funnel. Having super fans is great, but business-wise, it can be challenging to sustain your career without bringing in new fans/customers regularly.

This plan won’t fit every type of artist or genre perfectly, but it should serve as a good starting point to figure out your content strategy.

The $1,000 Breakdown

• $600 → Short-form video content creation
• $400 → Social media ads (reserved only if a video pops off organically)

That’s it. Simple, clear and effective. The approach is a combination of organic posting and the smart use of paid media.
 

Why Content Comes First ($600)

Content is the core of this promotional plan, specifically video. Short-form video (think TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts) is the number one way people discover music today, especially for younger generations. These platforms are discovery engines that help push your content in front of new potential fans.

Many artists hate the idea of creating content, but the reality is that content has been key in promoting artists and their music, even before social media existed. From a marketing perspective, most online attention is on social media, so it only makes sense for artists to prioritize social media to build and grow their careers.

So if you’re serious about promoting a song and getting discovered by new people, you will need plenty of short-form video clips to post.

Here’s how I’d spend the $600:

• Hire a videographer if possible: See if you can find a local freelancer or someone looking for more experience with video who can do a video session for about $200 – $300 a session. For each shoot, aim for 2 to 4 hours at 2 or 3 locations. Within those locations, you’ll use different areas, angles, and backgrounds to give yourself more variety in your videos.
• Do multiple full song takes: Perform the song live or lip-sync it, just like you would in a traditional music video. Make sure to practice and rehearse beforehand so you can maximize your time shooting, especially if working with a videographer.
• Create volume: Chop up those takes into different clips. You can create a clip of the verses, chorus only, verse + chorus, bridge into chorus, or even a few standout lines within a verse. These clips can range from 10 to 90 seconds. If done right, one shoot can easily yield 20 to 40+ usable pieces of short-form videos.
• Switch things up: For each new location, bring outfit changes. Experiment with different camera angles, editing techniques, props or other actors to give you even more variety.
• Add text captions over the video: A lot of people scroll their news feed with the sound off. Using text on the video is one good way to catch someone’s eye and stop the scroll. This can be text captions of the lyrics as you’re performing them, or you can also use a text hook. Your hook should either signal who the song is for, communicate what it’s about, or intrigue the viewer to watch more. Some artists may choose not to use any text, and that can work perfectly fine too.

To learn more about creating short-form videos and what type of video you should be creating, check out this blog here.

After your first shoot, you should have a full month’s worth of daily content. Maybe even more if you post only on weekdays and recycle clips with new captions or hooks.

For posting on Instagram, you can use the new trial reels feature to test content. Posting a reel as a trial will only show it to non-followers to see how it performs before deciding to make it public on your profile and share it with the rest of your followers.

What if you can’t hire a videographer?
Use the $600 to invest in equipment: a tripod, lighting, and maybe editing software. Your smartphone camera is more than good enough, especially if you have one of the newer iPhones or Samsung Galaxies. Ask a friend to help shoot if needed. The key is consistency, not fancy production.

If you are shooting your own videos, check out this blog.
 

When to Use Ads ($400)

The remaining $400 is strictly for ads, but there’s a catch. You don’t spend it unless one of your videos starts taking off organically.

Think of ads as “fuel for the fire.” If a clip is already working well on its own, boosting it will amplify its reach and impact. Otherwise, spending ad money on a video from the beginning without trying it out first is a risky gamble.

Since we’re on a limited budget and you can test it for free, it makes sense to put money behind a video once you know it works as an organic post.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Post your first batch of 20–30 clips daily (or weekdays only). Once a day is fine.
2. Watch the numbers carefully: If a clip shows strong engagement numbers or signs or signs of virality, consider putting $100 – $200 behind the video.
3. Keep stacking: If a second video also does well, put another $100 behind it. You’ve got up to four shots with that $400.
4. Keep the momentum going: If a video goes viral and attracts followers, use another $300 to create a fresh batch of videos for the same song, in new locations or with new visuals, to keep the momentum alive.

What If Nothing Pops?

 
This is important: not every song is going to hit, and that’s okay. It may take posting multiple videos for months and experimenting with different songs to start seeing traction. Remember that what’s considered “good” music is subjective, so there’s no way any strategy is guaranteed to work right away.

If none of your clips take off after the first $300 session, don’t panic.

Here’s how to pivot:

• Use the second $300 for a new batch of videos, but this time for your next song.
• Keep the $400 in reserve for ads, in case something from the next batch pops.
• What about the first batch of videos? Keep posting them on Instagram as a ‘trail reel.’ This is a useful tool for creators to see how your videos perform for non-followers without having the video visible on your profile. However, you can’t post it exactly as you did before so you’ll need to change it up and experiment with different captions or text hooks.
• If the second song doesn’t move the needle, repeat the cycle with the third. Shoot another batch of videos and you should have $100 left over for ads.

Newer artists often need several songs before something resonates with an audience. It doesn’t mean your music sucks, it just means you’re still developing and experimenting. The problem is not the algorithm. Having the self-awareness and patience to not let poor responses to your videos affect your consistency will give you the best shot of finding success.
 

What About Playlists, Music Blogs, Radio or PR?

 
I wouldn’t spend money on any of these with a $1,000 budget. Here’s why:

• Playlists: Other than pitching to Spotify’s editorial playlists (which is free and worth doing), I wouldn’t pay for any playlisting services. Legit services can be expensive and it usually won’t build a fanbase. Streams and followers are siloed on their respective platforms, so you can’t reach directly to listeners… at least for now. Plus, there are a lot of playlisting scams. It carries some risk if your song lands on a botted playlist with fake streams.
• Music Blogs: We no longer live in the 2000s. Blogs aren’t how most people discover music anymore. Sites like SubmitHub or Groover can be fine to submit your songs for feedback, but don’t expect them to break your career.
• Radio: A majority of Americans still listen to the radio, but it’s a high barrier of entry and radio pitching services can be expensive. Unless your song goes massively virally and crosses over into the mainstream/traditional media, most songs aren’t going to be the right fit for radio programming on the popular stations where you would ideally want your music on. Of course, there are smaller local or college radio stations. But in my experience, it’s not cost-effective compared to what you can achieve on social media.
• PR Campaign: Hiring a publicist is costly, and even if you land a feature in a big outlet, it won’t necessarily move the needle for your business at this stage. Getting cover on Rolling Stone isn’t going to transform your career.

With limited resources, your focus should be squarely on creating content that reaches people where they already discover new music, social media.
 

Scaling the Plan

 
$1,000 might feel like a lot for a new or developing artist. But you can scale this plan down:

• $500 budget: $300 for content, $200 in reserve for ads.
• $250 budget: $150 for DIY content (tripod, lighting, editing apps), $100 for ads if something works.

The same logic and steps apply, but in smaller chunks.
 

Final Thoughts

 
Promoting your music and building real traction is one of the hardest parts of being a developing artist. If you’re not regularly performing live and reaching new listeners in person, your next best opportunity is on social media, specifically through short-form video. It’s been the engine behind breakout artists of all types for years, and it’ll remain essential heading into 2026.

Here’s a recap. If I had $1,000 to promote a song:

• $600 → Shoot short-form performance videos
• $400 → Keep in reserve for ads if a clip takes off organically or goes viral

No playlists. No blogs. No PR. No radio. Just consistent, engaging video content and smart use of ads.

Social media, especially video, is the most cost-effective way to promote your music and develop your brand. A playlist can expose someone to a new song, but a video can communicate a lot more about you. And at the end of the day, you don’t just want listeners who stream some of your songs or buy a vinyl record. You want fans who will recommend your music to their friends, show up to your live shows every time you’re in their city and buy merch regularly to support your career long-term.

Remember, the goal isn’t to inflate vanity metrics like streaming numbers. You want to grow your audience and fans who connect deeply with you as an artist and brand. That’s how you build a music career that lasts.

The post How Artists Should Spend a $1,000 Budget Promoting a Song in 2026 appeared first on D4 Music Marketing.

Even if you have a video go viral, it doesn’t stop there. There are things you want to do to capitalize on this momentum and keep it going for as long as you can.

Whether you’re still trying to build traction for yourself on social media or you find yourself on the cusp of a viral moment on social media, here are some points to do and consider. It’s always good to keep these points in the back of your mind so you’re ready when it happens.

1. Like and respond to comments to keep engagement up.

 
It may be a chore but try and respond to as many comments as you can. You don’t need to sit there all day but be sure to check in periodically to engage with your fans. Just be warned that there will be negative comments sprinkled in. Also, review any flagged comments on TikTok or Instagram. I often find positive comments get trapped there too. Lastly, consider going live on the platform where your video is going viral to engage with new potential fans in real-time.

2. Put ad money behind videos that are taking off organically.

 
This is the best time to invest money in social media ads since the viral video is shown to be effective in gaining attention and hitting a chord with viewers. You don’t need to spend anything too crazy. If you have the funds, a couple hundred dollars would be more than enough fuel to add the fire.

3. Pin the viral video to the top of your profile.

 
You always want to make sure to keep your top-performing videos on the top of your profiles. Whether it’s Instagram or TikTok, pin the best ones as you go to make sure new potential fans can easily find them so they’re more likely to follow you.

4. Keep posting more videos!

 
Getting the algorithm to consistently push out your video to non-followers is like catching a wave in surfing. Post another video with the same song within a day or two. No need to overdo it and post multiple videos in a day. Try a different verse or the same verse in a different location.

5. Study the viral video and experiment.

 
See if there’s anything about the video that may have triggered something for the viewers. Was it the second verse of your song that was used? Was it something you wore or the location of the video? Get a feel for what viewers are responding to and be willing to switch things up.

6. Mix up the types of content.

 
With this video going viral, it’s going to attract new followers who are just learning about you for the first time. This is a great opportunity to get a bit deeper about who you are, show your personality and introduce other songs and videos. Focus on engagement/nurture type of content or “middle funnel content”.

If you read my campaign breakdown where we had a few viral videos, you can see that we tried different types of content, like an open verse challenge and created videos responding to funny comments. Also, the artist is big into fashion so we tried doing “fit check” videos that did well to entertain and deepen the fan relationships.

7. Need to be nimble and flexible with your plans.

 
Monitor the analytics and act quickly. Because the video for the first song went viral at the beginning of the campaign, I had to change and adapt to what was going on. Our entire marketing and release schedule changed so we could make the most of this new momentum.

8. Encourage UGC (User Generated Content).

 
Getting shares on your video will help spread virality, but the hope is it “infects” someone with a large following who will share it or be inspired to create their own video using your song. This could be things like a meme, dance challenge, remix, open verse challenge, reaction or review. A true sign of a video going full-on mega viral is if other people are creating content from your song and it grows exponentially as if it has a life of its own.

The best example that comes to mind to illustrate this is Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road where his memes eventually led to a dance challenge that exploded on TikTok in 2018. The song became a global hit that reached 15x platinum, won multiple Grammys and holds the record for being #1 the longest on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

You can potentially manufacture that next level of virality by paying top influencers, but that can be a pricey campaign. It’s also possible to have it happen organically.

9. Optimize your profile for the next step.

 
Getting views and engagement on your viral video is exciting. You’ll likely see a large influx of new followers and your other recent videos will get more love from the algorithm. But what’s next? You want to make sure you have a way for new followers to take the next step in this fan relationship. Your profile link should go to either your website or a “link in bio” site where they can follow you on their favorite streaming platform, sign up for your email list, shop for merch or see your upcoming shows.

When you attract new fans into your marketing funnel with your viral video, you want to have your marketing foundation set so they can easily continue down the fan journey with minimal friction.

Conclusion

 
Even though we have a better understanding of how and why things go viral, it doesn’t make it any easier to do. After all, there is a lot of luck and timing involved too.

However, I’m seeing more and more artists go viral by posting short-form performance videos on Instagram and TikTok. One of the artists I work with had a few videos go viral during an album release campaign I ran. To read about my breakdown on the campaign and see examples of the viral videos, check out this blog here.

The post Going Viral? Here’s How Musicians Can Capitalize on the Momentum appeared first on D4 Music Marketing.

In this blog, I will go over how you can record your own videos without the need of any fancy cameras and minimal investments in equipment. All done simply through your mobile phone. Yes, you can still produce good quality video content with it. (Example of a ” target=”_blank”>viral video I shot with my iPhone 16 Pro). This guide is perfect if you’re new to video or you just want tips to make improve the video quality of your content.

I’ll specifically focus on cover song videos since it’s a very common and viable type of video content artists will release.

Using cover songs as a strategy to blow up isn’t as powerful as it used to be in the earlier days of YouTube just because of all the competition now. However, this doesn’t mean a good cover video can’t be effective to engage fans and earn new fans.

Whether or not you decide to do covers of other songs, at the very least this blog will still be useful for covering video basics you should know and essential equipment you should have.

Please Note: This blog contains affiliate links to Amazon, meaning that I get a small commission when you purchase any of the items I recommend. This is a great way to support the work that I do at no extra cost to you. Read my full affiliate link disclosure here.
 

1. Planning & Preparation

 
It’s always smart to take a step back to do some planning before hitting record. Here are some things to think about when you’re preparing.

Decide On a Song

The song you choose may influence your other decisions on where and how to shoot the video so you’ll want to figure this out first. Start with your favorite songs since you’ll likely be more familiar with the lyrics.

For more strategic purposes, you may want to do new, popular songs or songs that are trending since people are more likely to search for them and can stumble on your cover version of it. To get a pulse on what’s trending, you can use TikTok, Twitter, YouTube Charts or Google Trends.

Another strategy is to cover a song in a different style or genre to create something more unique. This has to be done tastefully because if something is off about it, you’ll go viral for the wrong reasons.

For some inspiration, check out one of the original cover song YouTubers Kina Grannis. Despite having over 1 million subscribers, she still puts cover songs consistently along with her originals for over 10 years now.

Lip Sync vs. Live Performance?

There’s two general ways you can record a cover video. You can either record yourself performing the song live or you can record the audio beforehand while you lip sync in the video. To keep it more simple and less work later, you’ll want to do the first option. This means you’ll also want to rehearse as much as possible before recording so there’s minimal takes.

Doing the lip sync version can be a bit more advanced and will require some post-production video work so I won’t get in depth in this guide. Unless of course, you play the cover song on speakers and record yourself live lip syncing, but that’s not going to provide the best results.

Where to Shoot

 
Indoors

Typically, you’re going to want to shoot indoors because it’s easier to control your surroundings. Find a spot in your space that you can tidy up. This could be a home studio, a nice space in the living room or even your bedroom. Just make sure it’s clean and not distracting.

Here’s an example by Butterscotch covering a song by Prince live on video in her room:

One important thing to consider if you’re recording live audio with your video is the acoustics of the room you’re in. Because sound bounces off walls, floors, ceilings and windows, you want to control those things to get the cleanest audio possible and eliminate echoes. If you have a home studio already, it makes sense to record there since you should have it soundproofed.

For starters, add rugs on non-carpeted floors and hang blankets on bare walls. I’m not an expert in this field, but check out some home tips on improving room acoustics. You can easily look up “room acoustic basics” on YouTube to learn more about the science behind it and even tutorials.

Outdoors

Shooting outside can be a great option, especially if you want a more appealing visual backdrop. It can even as simple as your backyard:

If you want to spend a bit of money, you can rent an Airbnb home with a nice backyard view.

There are a few things to consider when shooting outside:

• You’ll have to account for any random noise from street traffic, airplanes, nearby construction and animals. If you’re going to pre-record the cover song and lip sync in the video, consider adding some subtle outdoor sounds in post-production that make sense in the video to make it more realistic.
• The sun is a very powerful source of light so you have to be more careful when you shoot, which is covered in the next section.
• Shooting in certain public places for commercial purposes (which include cover song videos) might require a permit. For example, if you decide to shoot somewhere with a cool scenic background at a national park, you may need to pay for a permit to shoot. You can get kicked out or even fined for doing it without getting permission. Do some research beforehand by searching “(name of the place) + video permit“. Some places will allow low-impact filming for commercial purposes with a couple people as long as it’s not disruptive to other visitors.

Outdoor Example: Here’s a cover song video I recorded for my friends AstraLogik at a local park. They prerecorded the song before hand and played it in their ear piece as I recorded them lip syncing / playing along on the guitar. We recorded ambient sounds nearby and layered into the song later to help make it sound realistic. There was a slight overcast when we started recording, but as it got towards the end of the song, it gets brighter as the clouds moved away. The funny thing is it matches the lyrics she’s singing about how “there will be a brighter day,” which was totally coincidental.

Lighting

Having good lighting is crucial for a good video. You don’t want videos that’s too dark where people can’t see you and there’s a lot of noise/pixels. You also don’t want anything too bright where the video is blown out or you’re squinting from the bright sun.

For indoor lighting, you’ll want to consider setting up close to a window to get some natural light if shooting during the day.

If you’re shooting at night, you’ll likely need some extra light sources. This could be as simple as a room lamp with a shade over it to go with your ring light.

The placement of light sources, the type and color tint are all factors to help you get the best quality out of your videos, but it can be more technical. To keep things simple in this guide, I’ll touch on this in the advanced section of the blog.

If you do decide to shoot outdoors, you really have to be cautious about lighting, especially with the sun. The sun is a very strong and harsh source of light. Ideally, you’d want the sun to face you but it probably won’t look good if it’s making you squint the whole time. If you have the sun behind you, your face won’t be lit up. It can create a silhouette look that could be a look you’re going for.

If there’s an overcast or a cloudy day, this helps to diffuse the light and makes for a great time to record. Otherwise, it’s best to avoid shooting hours around noon or when the sun is at the highest peak. Times that are closer to sunrise or sunset (golden hour) are more ideal.
 

2. Equipment

 
There are some basic items you’ll need to help make shooting video much easier by yourself. You shouldn’t have to spend more than $100, assuming you already have a smartphone or iPad.

Smartphone:

You’ll want the most updated version whether it’s an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel. For an iPhone, you’ll want at least an iPhone 12, but having one of the newer models, like an iPhone 16 Pro, would be more than sufficient.

If you wanted to invest in a separate camera, I would recommend the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. I don’t have one personally, but I have a videographer friend that uses it for the artists he shoots. Looks surprisingly great for it’s size and performs well even in low light. I would definitely consider getting one for myself.

Tripod:

To shoot video by yourself, a tripod is essential. Because you’re using it with your iPhone, you don’t need a heavy-duty tripod. Here are some great options at affordable prices:

I recommend the Amazon Basics 60-inch lightweight tripod, which will run you about $30 dollars. This is something I used to have before I upgraded my DSLR.

You could also go with the Amazon Basics 16.5 – 50-inch lightweight tripod, which is smaller and costs almost half the price. Just be aware that these cheaper tripods are not ideal very expensive, heavier professional cameras, but are perfect for your phone camera.

Another great option is the Fugetek 51-inch tripod, which costs around $25. For its size, it’s ideal for smartphones. It also includes a phone mount so you don’t need to buy it separately.

Lastly, for something a little more sturdy, try the UBeesize 67-inch camera tripod for $38. This is more ideal if you want something that can be used for other heavier devices and not just smartphones. This also comes with a rotating phone mount.

Flexible Tripod:

In some cases, your traditional tripod may not work for you because of the lack of space. A flexible tripod is great for putting on a desk or table to record. Because the legs are flexible, you can manipulate it to sit how you want.

The brand I personally use is the Joby GorillaPod, which will run you around $45. This model is made for heavier cameras like DSLRs, but of course, it can be used for smartphones.

If you don’t use it with a DSLR, you can get the Joby GripTight ONE GorillaPod ($35) or the Joby GripTight Smartphone/Action Camera Flexible Tripod ($50). Both come with a phone mount.

Phone Mount/Adapter for Tripod:

Some tripods don’t come with a phone mount so you’ll need to buy one separately. There’s a bunch to choose from, but you just want to make sure it fits for your smartphone and it can rotate to your needs.

Vastar Smartphone Tripod Adapter ($8) will fit most smartphones and will rotate to shoot vertically or horizontally. You can also go with the Jansite phone tripod mount with remote 360 rotation for $10.

If you don’t mind paying up for a reputable brand, I recommend the Ulanzi ST-02S aluminum phone mount for $18. The best part is it has a cold shoe mount, which is a slot that allows you to attach an external microphone to connect to your iPhone for higher audio recording.

Lighting

Ring lights are very popular for recording and live streaming video on a smartphone. They often come with a tripod and phone adapter so you don’t need to buy them separately.

For $36, the UBeesize 10-inch LED Ring Light with tripod stand and phone holder is a great start. For something more compact that can be placed on a desk or table, I would go with the UBeesize 10-inch LED Ring Light with stand and phone holder for $25.

If it is in your budget, I would recommend using at least 2 light sources (a key light and a fill light). Your secondary source of light can be a softbox or a reflector.

The light reflector I have is a Neewer 43 Inch 5-in-1 Collapsible Multi-Disc Light Reflector. This can also be useful outside to reflect direct light from the sun to your subject. For those not familiar with a reflector, you can see how it’s being used in this video clip.

External Microphone (Optional):

The audio captured from your smartphone mic, especially the newer models, can be sufficient. However, if you want audio quality that’s a step up, you should consider connecting an external microphone.

The external mic I personally use for my DSLR is the Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone ($50), which is very popular model and brand. I was previously using the Comica CVM-VM10II Professional Cardioid Video Microphone, which did a decent job for the price ($32 – $36).

You can also consider the Moukey Universal Video Microphone ($30) or the Movo VXR10 Universal Video Microphone ($50).

To use an external mic, you will need an adapter from the mic (3.5 mm jack) to your specific smartphone because the 3 mics above do not include one. For iPhones, get the Apple Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter.

You will also need a place for the external mic to sit when connected to your phone. The Ulanzi ST-02S aluminum phone mount has a cold shoe slot for an external mic and it will fit on any tripod.
 

Gimbal / Phone Stabilizer (Optional):

If you want to move away from doing fixed shots with your smartphone, you may want consider incorporating some camera movements in your footage. Although not necessary, having a gimbal for your smartphone is a useful tool to level up your videos if you have someone helping you film. For those who are not familiar, a gimbal is device that helps to physically stabilize your smartphone and keep it balanced to give you smooth footage. This is a good investment to have if you plan to do other types of videos outside or want to incorporate movement.

A popular brand and model for gimbals is the DJI Osmo Mobile 6.

What I personally use and have is the Zhiyun Smooth 4 Gimbal Stabilizer. It works great for me because I have an iPhone 12 mini but you’ll need to see what type of phone the gimbal supports before you purchase. There’s a newer model available as well.

3. Camera Settings

 
Once you have all the preparation done, it’s almost time to start recording. Before starting, you’ll want to tweak some settings. As an iPhone user myself, I can only explain it for that device. Go to your ‘Settings’ app, and scroll down to ‘Camera’.

Resolution: This refers to how big the video size is. The most common resolution is HD (High Definition) at 1920 x 1080 pixels. There’s also 4K which is double the size of HD for higher quality, which also means it takes up more storage space and requires more processing power.

Frames Rates or FPS (Frames Per Second): FPS refers to how many still images does your camera capture in one second. The 3 typical FPS settings are 24, 30 and 60. A higher FPS makes the video more smoother for a lifelike/realistic look. 24 FPS gives it more of a cinematic feel you would see in movies or music videos, which is what you want for your cover song video.

Formats/Camera Capture: Not to get technical, but this just refers to the file format of the video. ‘High Efficiency’ allows file sizes to be smaller so you can store more videos on your phone, but it can be tricky to work with if you use video editing software like Adobe Premiere. ‘Most Compatible’ results in bigger video sizes but it can work easier in different apps. If you’re just going to keep the cover video simple and edit on your phone, you can use ‘High Efficiency’. But I prefer to go with ‘Most Compatible’ over ‘High Efficiency’.

What should you use? The ideal setting you’ll want to shoot is either 1080p (HD) or 4K at 24 FPS. For iPhones, you can only shoot 24 FPS at 4K so go with that.

Another alternative is to shoot 60 FPS at 1080p and convert it to 24 FPS in a video editing software like Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro. This requires more advanced knowledge, so for simplicity sake, just shoot 4K at 24 FPS.

Just keep in mind that for platforms like YouTube and Facebook, 4K is ideal because the resolution will adapt to the viewer’s preference or internet connection speed. If you’re posting to Instagram, you’ll only need 1920 x 1080p because it doesn’t support 4K.
 

4. Setting Up the Shot / Recording Video

Composition: Composing a shot just means deciding where the subject is within the shot. You may have heard of the Rule of Thirds before in photography. The basic idea is that if you divide your video frame into thirds vertically and horizontally, you’ll get something that looks like a tic tac toe grid (see above). When composing your video, you want the subject (you) to sit along where the 4 points that these lines intersect. The top horizontal line should line up where the eyes are to help improve the composition as well. Using the Rule of Thirds is said to make the shot more balanced and interesting. This is not a hard rule that you have to follow but it’s a great start for composing your video. Our natural tendency is to have the subject right in the middle, which is fine too but maybe aim to have the eyes line up with the top horizontal line.

You can add a grid overlay for your Camera app to help with composing your shots. On your iPhone, go to ‘Settings’ and scroll down to select ‘Camera’. Under the ‘Composition’ section, turn on ‘Grid’. When you pop back into your camera app, you’ll see the white lines over your screen.

Backdrop: Tidy up the area behind you if you’re indoors. Make sure the background looks presentable and not distracting.

Lighting: Typically, you’ll just set up the light in front of the camera, which is fine. If you can implement some of the 3 point lighting setup techniques, even with just 2 light sources (key and fill), that would be more ideal. If shooting during the day, you can use the window as a second source of light in addition to something like a ring light. Be careful with shooting in a room with overhead lights directly below you or in front of you as it can create ugly shadows on your face, especially under your eyes.

Sound: Don’t forget to turn off any air filters, appliances, fans or anything that can be distracting. Make sure the room acoustics are good by adding things to absorb unwanted echoes and cover bare walls and non-carpeted floors.

Front or Back Camera? The camera on the back of your camera is likely to be better than the front facing one. The problem is you’re not going to be able to adjust your shot as easily without being able to see the screen unless you use the front facing camera. Do some test shots until you get it right or have someone help you. Otherwise, the front facing camera can work.

Test Shots: Be sure to do some test shots to see how it looks and sounds. If you have an external mic connected, you may have to unplug it to hear it playback on your phone speakers. If you’re doing a lip sync version and you want to play it off as it’s a live recording, make sure the right cables are plugged in and devices are on.

Get basic assistance: It’s possible you can do this all yourself. But if you have a friend or partner who can help out, even if they don’t know anything about video, you should see if they can give you a hand. This could be as simple as setting up the shot and pressing the record button.
 

5. Post-Production / Editing

 
Once you record the video, you may want to do some basic touch ups or clean up the footage like cut dead air at the beginning or end. Although I haven’t used it, YouTube allows you to make basic edits once you upload the video to their servers.

You can also download a video editing app to edit the footage on your smartphone. I personally use InShot, which is available for both iOs and Android. There is a free version you can use, but features and functions will be limited. If you upgrade to Pro, it costs $3.99 a month or $19.99 a year. You can also pay a one-time cost of $49.99, which is what I did.
 

6. Upload / Search Optimization

 
Once the cover song video is ready, the most likely place you’ll be uploading your cover song / video content is YouTube. Here’s some basic things you’ll want to optimize so your video is more likely to be discovered and watched.

YouTube Thumbnails – The most important element is the thumbnail because it’s what people notice first in search results. The idea is you want to attract people to click on your video. You can just use a frame in the video, but I recommend using a tool like Canva to add some text to make it stand out.

Video Title – Ideally, start with the name of the original artist and song title then your artist name. What appears first in the title is generally considered more important so you want the more popular artist to be listed first for search purposes.

Original Artist Name – Song Title (‘Your Artist Name’ Cover)

Video Description – Fill this out as much relevant information as you can. Include who the original song is by, lyrics to the song, your short bio, a link to your website and social media links. If you released the song on digital platforms, include a smart link for people to listen on their preferred service.

Tags – Tags are keywords to help YouTube understand what your video is about. Add all the proper and relevant keywords for your video. Don’t stuff random terms that are not related to the video. In order of importance, tags are at the bottom compared to the title, thumbnail and description so don’t spend too much time getting all the right tags.
 

Advanced Video Tactics

 
In this section, I just want to touch on a few ideas to take your cover song videos to the next level. It does require video editing software like Adobe Premiere or Apple’s Final Cut Pro or another person to help. Nothing here is too complicated though as there are plenty of video tutorials on YouTube that show you how to do these things with your video editing software of choice.

Green Screen

One way to make your cover songs a bit more dynamic is using a green screen in the background so you can.

Here’s an example where we used a green screen for Butterscotch’s cover of My Favorite Things. Butterscotch shot all the video footage and sent them to me to edit.

If you’re looking to buy one, I personally own and recommend is the Neewer Chromakey Backdrops, Double-Sided Green Screen and Blue Screen, 2-in-1 Collapsible and Reversible Background ($47). It does not come with a stand or something to hold it up so you’ll need to buy that separately.

If you want something more stationary, you can try the YAYOYA Green Screen Backdrop Kit with Stand 5×6.5 ft. ($43) or the Heysliy Green Screen Backdrop with Stand Kit for 5 X 6.5 ft. ($60).

Couple things you need to pay attention to when setting up your green screens are shadows and green screen reflections. Here are some tips to get the perfect green screen setup.

Gimbal – Video Stabilizer

For those who don’t know, a gimbal is a device that helps to stabilize your videos when you’re shooting. If you want to record a more dynamic cover song video and you have another hand to help, you may set up another angle using a gimbal.

The Zhiyun Smooth 4 Professional Gimbal Stabilizer ($100) is what I used for my iPhone 8 and now iPhone 12 mini. This does not work well with iPhone 11 and up so make sure whatever gimbal you go with that it actually fits your phone like the Zhiyun Smooth 5. This version comes with an attachable LED fill light.

Another mobile phone gimbal to consider is the DJI Osmo 3 ($99) or the DJI OM 4 ($150).

Some smartphones like the newer iPhones have built-in video stabilization so you may not need a gimbal.

Multiple Camera Setup

If you want to get a bit fancier, you might want to do a multiple camera setup with multiple smartphones or mobile devices.

This is more advanced so it’ll require post-production work to piece the videos together so I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re just starting out and you don’t have any experience with video editing. Depending on the type of music you do or play, I would say no more than 3 cameras.

Also, I highly recommend using the same exact device. So if you have an iPhone 12, make sure the other other cameras are at least iPhone 11 and not like an iPhone 6.

The reason is because each camera brand records and processes color a bit differently. There may be subtle differences in each shot. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a minor issue but I figure you should be aware of it.

Three-Point Lighting Setup

If you have the resources and time to learn some lighting basics, this can help elevate your video quality. Typically, our natural inclination is to place the light directly in front of us. For practical purposes, it’s fine. However, this isn’t ideal because it flattens the subject. What helps make a good quality video is strategically placing or manipulating lights to create depth and dimension for the subject to stand out.

There are tons of different free video tutorials you can watch. Here’s one of them:

Upgraded Video Capturing App

If you want to use a more advanced video capturing app, I personally use ProCam. One of the big reasons I use it is because it has a built image stabilizer to smooth out handheld shots. If you’re just doing still video on a tripod, this isn’t important but you can also customize a lot of other camera settings you can’t do on your iPhone.
 

Conclusion

 
Cover songs are one type of content that you should have in your arsenal. Everything covered in this blog should help you make better video quality with your smartphone. You can still make quality videos without using expensive cameras and equipment to elevate your music career.

Related Blog: How to Create Short Form Video Content to Gain New Fans As A Musician

The post 6-Step Guide to Make Quality Cover Song Videos With Your Smartphone appeared first on D4 Music Marketing.

During this trip, I had the chance to consult and create content with Marcus Miller alongside his wife and manager, Brenda Miller. One of the things we created was a video of Marcus eating ramen at Ippudo, a popular ramen chain from Japan known for their Tonkotsu ramen. We were in Fukuoka, where Ippudo was founded in 1985, and ate at the very first location.

Here’s the video I made that got 190k+ views:

Seems random for a musician to post, I know, but it actually performed quite well and exceeded our expectations.

This month’s blog is going to be a bit different from what I usually post since I didn’t have time to work on something while I was in Japan. I’m going to share my experiences working with Marcus Miller on things like that ramen video and touch on some key points on content creation.

My original plan was to do an in depth blog and e-book on content creation for music artist, but this could be a nice introduction for it.

I’m going to use Marcus Miller as a case study for creating content so it can help you think about how you approach your content.
 

Who is Marcus Miller?

 
I imagine many people reading this won’t know who Marcus Miller is. To be honest, I didn’t know who he was either, due to the fact that I don’t listen to jazz. I learned that he’s a legendary bass player who has worked with Miles Davis and other many other big names in music.

You might think that this blog doesn’t apply to you because you may not have 600k+ Facebook followers. Or simply because you’re not a legendary jazz musician. However, I still believe there’s something to learn from this, even if you don’t have the fan base, brand or reputation he has.

Because of the type of music he does and the generation he comes from, Marcus hasn’t really made the most out of social media. They’ve had a Facebook page since 2010, but only recently created an Instagram account in 2015. Even then, they weren’t really active on Instagram until May of 2018. In other words, they are still learning and exploring what works for them.
 

What is Content Marketing?

 
Content and content marketing have been big buzzwords within the online marketing world for many years now. For those not familiar with the concept, this is a good starting point. Otherwise, you can jump into the next section.

The goal of content is to either inform, engage, educate or entertain the consumer to develop a stronger relationship with the brand or company. Through this blog I publish on, I create content that aims to educate and inform artists and musicians like yourself.

The thing is, this idea of creating content to build a brand and fan base has been around for a very long time with traditional media (TV, radio, print). Articles in a newspaper or magazine is content that is meant to get your attention so companies can get ads in front of you. It’s no different than media companies (before Netflix) creating TV shows for you to watch in order for them to make money off advertising.

In this digital age, we have the ability to quantify it much easier and accurately with social media followers and subscribers. In fact, as an artist, you have the tools and ability to become that TV station, magazine or newspaper.

It’s important to understand that as a music artist or musician, you are a content creator. The songs and music videos you create are content. Typically, that is the extent of what musicians put out on social media, but it doesn’t have to be.

As an artist and brand, you should see yourself as a media company. Social media is your distribution channel for the content you create. What you decide to create should aim to reach new people, deepening relationships and defining your brand. Your music is always going to be a big part of it, but you don’t have to be limited by it. By thinking of yourself as media company, I believe it’ll allow you to build your brand and grow your audience more effectively.
 

Brainstorming Content

 
Prior to the shooting of the ramen video, we discussed and shot a few other pieces of content related to the Japan Tour. With Butterscotch as a special guest, we did an intro video where they did a little beatbox and bass jam.

The idea was to showcase Butterscotch to Marcus’s audience since the tour was promoting her as the special guest. I put some clips of them performing together during soundcheck and the live show which we ended up posting on their channels.

A fun idea I’ve thought about was Butterscotch teaching Marcus how to beatbox while Marcus teaches Butterscotch how to play the bass. I didn’t think Marcus would do it, but Brenda ended up suggesting it, and he was down for it. We recorded on my phone to make it feel more personal but we haven’t posted it yet. I think it’ll be a fun video to share so I’ll be updating the blog once they post it.

Screenshot of the video Marcus teaches Butterscotch to play the bass.

Screenshot of the video I made of them together.

Marcus Miller recording voice overs for a video I recorded.

How the Ramen Video Came About

 
Before I get into the ramen video, most of the content ideas were premeditated. A majority of it was just being able to come up with ideas in the moment and recognizing the different opportunities based on what’s going on.

The night before we flew into Fukuoka for their last show, I was told by a local in Nagoya that this is where popular ramen chains like Ippudo and Ichiran first started. As a big ramen fan myself, I was excited to try it at the original locations.

My first idea was to have Marcus and Butterscotch eat ramen at one of these places together and document the interaction. Unfortunately him and his wife got lost, so I ended up eating with Butterscotch and the band. It just so happened that they were playing jazz music.

When they eventually found us leaving, I stayed back to film Marcus trying out Ippudo for the first time on my phone. The fact that they were playing his favorite era of jazz music in the background, was a perfect tie in for the video.

Surprisingly, the video did really well and exceeded our expectations considering the video was 4 minutes long of him eating ramen and commenting about the music playing in the background. It’s quite slow with a few funny parts of him not knowing how to open the door and struggling with the noodles.

As of the publishing of this blog, the video has hit about 190k views on Facebook. It’s the third highest viewed video he’s put out.

The two videos with higher views are extremely good pieces of content, one related to his father, and the other was a video clip of him playing with Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire).
 

Compared to His Other Videos

 
Although he’s only put out about 27 videos on Facebook since joining in 2010, there’s no way this ramen video would have topped these two other videos. I share my thoughts on why and what makes it good content.

Preacher’s Kid (354k views)

The video is a song dedicated to Marcus Miller’s father, who recently passed away in 2018. Aside from the beautiful song in this 11 minute video, he starts off by sharing an amazing story about his father and the context for the song. It’s a touching and emotional video considering he posted this for Father’s Day.

When you share something like this with a lot of sentimental value, it tends to get good engagement. This should be obvious when you share content that triggers strong emotions.

Playing with Verdine White on stage (194k views)

For those who know who Verdine White is, this would be considered a somewhat epic video. I honestly didn’t know who he was either until last year when Butterscotch opened for Earth, Wind & Fire. Verdine White is the bassist for Earth, Wind & Fire and one of the original founding members.

In the video, Marcus Miller jams out with Verdine White during an Earth, Wind & Fire set in Japan a few years ago.

Live show footage tends to be overdone and get boring when posted, unless there’s something cool, novel or unique about the experience.

For this video, it was great to have two legendary, bass players jam out together so you can see why it got a lot of traction.

Not All About Views

 
When accessing if a piece of content is successful, we have to remember that it’s not all about views. For platforms like Facebook and Instagram, a view is counted when someone watches a video for 3 seconds or more. Watching something for 3 or even 10 seconds isn’t going to get you the impact you want from a piece of content. A metric like audience retention or minutes watched is a better measure.

What we should be evaluating is the engagement numbers, such as comments and shares in relation to the number of views. Likes aren’t as valuable because you can just click a button and without really having to watch it.

Essentially you just divide the engagement metric (likes, comments or shares) by the number of views and multiple by 100 to get the engagement rate. This just tells you the percentage of people who take an action from viewing the video.

Here’s a breakdown of how I would evaluate the performance for a video:

Ramen video (Published in January 2019)

Views: 157k
Likes: 5.6k
Comments: 203
Shares: 712

Engagement Rates
Likes 3.57%
Comments 0.13%
Shares 0.45%

Verdine White video (Published in September 2016)

Views: 194k
Likes: 6.2k
Comments: 184
Shares: 1,833

Engagement Rates
Likes 3.2%
Comments 0.09%
Shares 0.94%

Preacher’s Kid video (Published in June 2018)

Views: 354k
Likes: 7.4k
Comments: 826
Shares: 5,874

Engagement Rates
Likes 2.1%
Comments 0.23%
Shares 1.66%

Even though the ramen video had a higher rate of likes than the other 2 videos, it doesn’t compare to the other two important metrics of comments and shares. It got more views, but the ramen video didn’t really activate viewers the same way as his top performing video, the Preacher’s Kid.

I know this breakdown is on Facebook and I believe Instagram is the more important platform at the moment, especially for more of the younger artists out there who are reading this. Instagram doesn’t have a share metric, but hopefully this section demonstrates how you might evaluate a video’s performance.
 

Conclusion: What can you learn from all this?

 
1) Being an artist or musician today isn’t all about music.

One of the very common themes I write about in my blog is the idea of building a brand. A brand can have, and should have, different facets to it outside of just the music. Of course, as a newer, less established artist, this may not be an easy process.

I’ve written a lot of blogs on branding so I suggest checking them out.

Even though a video of someone eating ramen is a bit random, it was still entertaining and relevant to Marcus Miller’s audience because of the jazz music playing at the ramen shop. Most musicians reading this won’t necessarily recreate his success if they just went to some ramen spot and record themselves eating it, but I think the more important message is how the idea came about rather than the idea itself.

2) Good content doesn’t need to be “professional.”

The ramen video I shot and made was all done on my iPhone on a gimbal. I used an app called ProCam to capture the footage and pieced it together with the app called inShot. It’s really amazing what you can do with just a smartphone nowadays.

Don’t think you need expensive equipment or software to make good content. The trend I’ve noticed is that people seem to respond more to lower production value because it comes off as more authentic and personable.

3) Don’t worry about the length of the video.

The average attention span for humans in our digital age is about 5 to 8 seconds. Generally you want keep things as short and to the point as possible. People who are scrolling in their timelines or news feeds aren’t necessary there to watch long pieces of content.

However, don’t let this dictate the length of your video. If the content is good, it shouldn’t matter how long it is (within reason of course). Obviously on Instagram, you are limited to a one minute video unless you post multiple one minute clips or post to IGTV where there’s a 10 minute limit. For lengthier videos, it belongs on Facebook or YouTube. You actually will get better organic reach for videos 3 minutes or longer.

The ramen video was slightly over 4 minutes. It has its moments, but it does drag a little bit. In the midst of getting this video out quickly, I didn’t have a chance to really review the video otherwise I would have shortened it a bit. Don’t get me wrong, it did well, but just don’t fall into this idea that everything has to be short and quick.

4) Know your audience.

One of the things that we theorized was that Marcus Miller’s audience doesn’t really care about anything other than seeing him play the bass. Because his fan base tends to veer towards an older crowd and generation, we figured they may not care to see him eat ramen or show his personality outside of the music.

The better you know your audience, the better you can provide content they will like and resonate with. Best way to know your audience?…

5) Keep experimenting.

The big key takeaway from this blog should be to experiment. You still want to try to tie your content to either your music or brand.

We had no clue that this ramen video would perform the way it did. You just don’t know until you try. When experimenting, try spacing things out so people don’t get thrown off from what they are used to seeing.

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The post Content Creation: Musicians Can Learn from a Legendary Bassist Eating Ramen in Japan appeared first on D4 Music Marketing.