Here is a list of my favorite and most recommended tools and resources that I’ve personally used to get my music streamed over 4,000,000 times on Spotify as an artist.
I’m admittedly quite cheap, so all of the tools that I recommend are cost-effective, completely free, or have a crazy amount of bang-for-your-buck value.
I also want to mention that any of the paid services or tools listed here are most likely affiliate links, so if you do decide to use any of them, I’ll earn a small commission.
But in all honesty, these are the exact tools that I personally use, love, and recommend to anyone – including my own friends and family.
To learn more about the best marketing tools and resources for musicians and music artists, simply keep on reading, my friend. ?
The Best Music Artist Resources & Tools
These are hands down, the best resources and tools for musicians:
Music Distribution
To get your music on Spotify on all the other streaming services, I use DistroKid because you get unlimited song uploads for a low annual price.
If you want to learn more about DistroKid and music distribution, check out the in-depth DistroKid review that I’ve put together.
Or, if you want to get started with DistroKid right now, you can save on your first year with the DistroKid discount.
Music Publishing Royalties Collection
For collecting all of the publishing, mechanical, and live performance royalties owed to me whenever my music gets streamed or played, my go-to is Songtrust.
Songtrust is a publishing administration company which means that in addition to collecting all of those royalties for me, they do it on a global level.
To learn if Songtrust is right for you, I’d recommend checking out this article on Songtrust vs BMI.
And if you want to get started with Songtrust right now, I’d recommend learning about the Songtrust discount code so that you can get the best price. ?
Website & Smart Links
I’m personally not a big fan of the link-in-bio and smart links for music pages like ToneDen and Hyppeddit.
Instead, I prefer having a full-blown WordPress website that allows me to have a full website in addition to unlimited music links.
For getting started with this, I really like Bluehost because it is the cheapest and a theme called Thrive Themes because it is the most flexible and easiest to use.
I’ve actually created a free Smart Links Course that you can take to learn how to get set up and start getting more streams with custom smart links (I’ve even included the templates I am using!).
Mailing List / Email / Newsletter
For maintaining a mailing list and sending out emails and newsletters to my audience, I like Mailchimp because it’s free and quite easy to use.
The Best Spotify Resources For Music Artists
These are the best free resources you can use to grow your streams on Spotify:
Facebook Ads For Spotify Success
Although Facebook Ads can be a real pain to get working properly, there is no denying that they are incredible for growing Spotify streams and getting your music in front of real fans.
This is why I’ve put together a completely free course that you can check out called Facebook Ads For Musicians’ Spotify Streams. 🙂
Free Spotify Analytics From Spotify
Spotify For Artists is a service created by Spotify to help artists keep track of their stats, promote their music, and control their overall presence on Spotify.
For a deeper look, I’ve created a handy Spotify For Artists – App & Dashboard Guide to help you make the most out of Spotify For Artists.
Free Check List I Used To Get 3,000,000+ Spotify Streams
I’ve made the exact check list that I personally used to get 3,000,000+ Spotify streams available for free download to anyone who wants it.
The check list is actually fully interactive, so for each step you can click on it to get more information about the step, how you can complete it easier, and why it’s so important.
You can get your 7-step check list for FREE by clicking right here. ?
Free Course Reveals How To Get More Streams With Custom Smart Links
I’ve also created a free Smart Links Course that you can take to learn how to get set up and start getting more streams with custom smart links.
Inside of the free course you can actually get free templates for Smart Link pages that I’ve used to get over 3,000,000 streams on Spotify.
Get your Ultimate Smart Link Course + Templates for FREE by clicking right here. ?
Free Cheat Sheet That Reveals How To Get On Spotify Without A Record Label
If you’re just getting started with Spotify, I’ve created a free cheat sheet to show you how to get on Spotify on a budget and without a record label.
Get your cheat sheet for FREE by clicking right here.
Music Distributor Alternatives
Although my top suggestion for a music distributor is definitely DistroKid, I’ve gone ahead and compared DK to other popular services in case you are in the market for a new digital distributor or are simply just curious.
Popular alternatives to a music distribution service like DistroKid include TuneCore, CdBaby, Ditto, and Amuse.
If you would like to see how DistroKid compares to these services, more closely check out this articles:
- DistroKid vs TuneCore
- DistroKid vs CdBaby
- DistroKid vs UnitedMasters
- DistroKid vs Ditto
- DistroKid vs Amuse
- DistroKid vs SoundCloud
Or, if you would like a more detailed look into what DistroKid has to offer, you can check out my big fat DistroKid review. ?
P.S. If you also want to learn about music publishing and make sure that you are not leaving any money on the table with your music distribution setup, I’d recommend checking out these 2 articles:
How To Get More Streams With Custom Smart Links
The best alternative to the endless amount of smart links, landing pages, and link-in-bio style pages out there is to simply build your own custom smart links by using WordPress.
I do this myself with my very own WordPress-based website (aka the one you are on right now) and find it to be way more flexible and effective, particularly if you want to do the Spotify algorithm hack by running Facebook and Instagram ads to your smart link pages.
The reasons I’d recommend doing this over using any smart link creator is because:
- Without paying for these services, you can create smart links that are exactly in the style of Hypeddit, Linktree, Toneden, HyperFollow, etc.
- Get more streams to your music by using my highly tested and conversion-optimized smart link template
- Look more professional and credible by having a custom domain and no other company’s branding on them
- Get your brand and identity across by perfectly customizing your smart links to look exactly how you want them to
On top of this, you’d actually have a legit and professional full-blown website and not just some smart links for promoting your music.
For a free step-by-step course on how to get started with this, check out my free course on smart links for music.
