How to Become a Musician on YouTube

Brandi Glass
5 min read
Woman Wearing Gray Tank Top Playing Black Cutaway Acoustic Guitar

Launching a YouTube channel as a new musician may seem daunting. There are millions of competitors, multiple factors to consider, and tricks you need to know to stand out among a sea of others.

But just because there is some work you need to do to get things started, that doesn’t mean you can’t establish a successful channel and see results in a few months.

We’ll cover the basics of how to become a musician on YouTube, with a list of steps to take – and others to avoid – to give you a strong start.

Why YouTube?

YouTube is a powerful social media platform that you can use to reach a global audience. You can share your music and connect with fans, helping you build a fanbase and promote your work. Additionally, YouTube has over 2.6 billion active users, and 122 million people visit the platform daily.

In the past, it was difficult to reach this many people, especially as a new musician with no contacts. But with some effort, you can worry less about how to become a musician on YouTube and focus more on gaining followers, promoting your music, and making money doing something you love.

The Do’s: Essential Steps to Start

Before you start, there are essential steps you should take to help you establish a strong presence on YouTube and attract listeners to your music. Let’s dive in and explore the best ways to get your music heard on the world’s largest video-sharing platform.

Start With a Plan

Starting a YouTube channel as a musician requires a solid plan and a clear understanding of how the platform’s tools work. If you want to know how to become a musician on YouTube, you need to consider several factors, such as:

  • Determining your target audience
  • The type of content you will produce
  • Your goals and milestones
  • Creating a solid marketing strategy

A plan helps you stay focused and organized as you build your presence. It also enables you to set specific, measurable goals for your channel, making it easier to track your progress and adjust if you fall off track.

Know Your Target Audience

Knowing your target audience is essential as a musician on any platform, including YouTube. This knowledge also lets you choose the best marketing channels to reach out to others. It enables you to tailor your content and marketing strategy to the people most likely to engage with and listen to your music. Knowing your audience also improves the chances of building a fanbase, increasing interactions, and getting shared.

Take a Crash Course in Marketing and SEO

You must market your channel and learn SEO to increase followers on YouTube. If you can’t invest in a course, you can find videos and articles online that guide you through the process.

Marketing helps you promote your music and reach a wider audience. Some ways you can do so is by focusing on the following:

  • Using other social media platforms to raise awareness about your channel
  • Creating a website where you can collect emails and start with email marketing
  • Collaborating with influencers to increase awareness of your music and attract new listeners

SEO is essential because it helps your videos rank higher in search results on YouTube and Google. By optimizing your video titles, descriptions, and tags, your videos will appear in search results when people are looking for music like yours.

Watch Your Competitors - And Take Notes

It helps to start by seeing what is already out there and following their lead when in doubt. By analyzing your competitors’ videos, you can determine the following:

  • What content is most popular with your target audience
  • Optimal video length
  • Overall production value
  • The tone and style of your videos
  • What content users are engaging with the most
  • Branding ideas

This strategy gives you ideas for your content and helps you to identify areas where you can improve. Studying competitor videos also lets you identify gaps in the market where there is a lack of content. By filling these gaps, you can attract viewers looking for specific types of music or content not available from other musicians in your genre.

The Don’ts: Avoid Making These Common Mistakes

Now that you know the basic “do’s” of becoming a musician on YouTube, there are a few things you should not do once you launch. These tips will help you to avoid common pitfalls and set yourself up for success on the platform.

Skimp on Professional Equipment

Never underestimate the value of professional equipment as a musician on YouTube, especially with many competitors. Professional equipment enhances the quality of your videos. It makes them more visually appealing, shareable, and likely to be recommended by others. Professional equipment helps increase visibility and attract new listeners, helping you improve your channel’s overall audio and video quality.

Create Low-Quality Content

One essential tip when learning how to become a musician on YouTube is prioritizing high-quality content. High-quality content is more engaging and exciting, attracting people who will watch and share your videos. It attracts and retains viewers, building a dedicated fan base over time. It also establishes you as a professional and credible musician.

Moreover, high-quality content makes your channel more attractive to potential collaborators, such as social media influencers and music industry professionals. It helps create opportunities to grow your career. YouTube’s algorithm also favors high-quality content, so it’s more likely to appear higher in search results and recommended videos.

Ignore Comments and Followers

Followers are what make your channel thrive. Never ignore comments and followers because engaging with your audience can help to build a dedicated fanbase and increase your visibility.

Responding to viewer comments projects a message that you value your audience’s opinions and care about their engagement with your music. Engaging with your followers helps create a sense of community and makes your channel more engaging.

Avoid Consistency in Posts and Quality

Remember to stay consistent in your posting time and video quality. This strategy helps you attract and retain viewers, build a dedicated fanbase, establish credibility, and increase visibility. With a Regular posting schedule and quality level, you can increase engagement and retention, attract new listeners, and boost your visibility in search results and recommended videos.

Why You Need a Musician Resume

Now that you know how to become a musician on YouTube, the final step is to create a musician resume. You may assume you don’t need one because your work is visible through your channel, but this is not the case.

Having a customized resume from Rocket Resume helps you showcase your credibility and professionalism as an artist. Your resume lists your experience, skills, and accomplishments in the music industry, helping you stand out from other musicians who don’t put in the extra effort. When you have that information ready, you can use it to your advantage if a surprise offer or collaboration arises.

Rocket Resume’s intuitive resume builder helps you format a CV in minutes. Simply choose the best format, type in the information following the prompts, and your resume is ready to use.

A well-formatted resume from Rocket Resume ensures that your CV goes to the right hands. All resumes from the platform pass Applicant Tracking Systems without issue, putting your mind at ease when submitting online.

Are you ready to start your career as a musician on YouTube? Get your resume today from Rocket Resume and get $20 off on your first order.