apps for independent musicians

(Post via Robert Loustaunau) Electronic Dance Music (EDM) has exploded into one of America’s most dominant music genres, with festivals across the country drawing millions of fans annually. From Chicago’s underground EDM scene to Houston’s thriving electronic music community, EDM artists are finding unprecedented opportunities to connect with massive audiences. YouTube, by far, has always been ahead of the curve in being able to successfully serve as a bonafide platform for cool content creators and EDM artists community alike.

For the artists’ community though, YouTube finds itself in the midst of this roaring upsurge of streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, where one would wonder if YouTube is still as lucrative. The answer is yes, however, the catch really is that if you don’t use the platform in conjunction with your favorite streaming platform (read Spotify), it may not entirely serve the purpose. It’s 2025, and with the rise of virtual event marketing and streaming platforms, the music landscape continues evolving, while you can’t go out there and play live, YouTube has been doing something special for the artist community. YouTube For Artists comes with a super-advanced analytics suite, an exclusive community, and official artist channels. Read on to know how exactly you can leverage this.

Promoting your Music on YouTube

Promoting your Music on YouTube isn’t exactly revolutionary. In recent years, the content-sharing platform has beefed up its incentives for creatives looking to grow a subscriber-base and monetize their music. For the DIY musician, the challenge is rising above that seemingly infinite noise of YouTube content and its pesky algorithms. Here we’ll outline how to make your channel a hub for promoting the biggest music festivals in America and unstoppable, watchable content that the algorithms just can’t keep at bay.

Put Your Best-Flick Forward.

Whether you’re promoting EDM concerts in Chicago or planning to sell jazz fest tickets, your channel should immediately showcase your best work. Have your best or newest music playing at the start of the page or readily clickable. A majority of viewers decide whether or not they’re going to subscribe to a channel in the first 30 seconds of scanning the page. If they’ve ended up on your page then that’s already a great start for you. But now you need to hook them. Have your newest release or most popular upload playing automatically as they enter your channel. That, or have a welcome video that immediately makes the page personable between you and the viewer.

Clear Call-To-Action

You don’t want it to be hard for your viewer to find more of what they like. At the start and end of videos, as well as throughout your profile, make your call-to-action easy to see, and simple to click. The Backlink channel with Brian Dean has a really useful tutorial that explains the “In and Outs” of creating an effective call-to-action as well as tips on all aspects of YouTube strategy. A call-to-action can be linked to your Instagram, Spotify, and your website ( get one if you don’t have one!). Also, end your videos with explicit calls-to-action for viewers to leave a comment. Anything that will provoke further engagement among viewers is key.

Keep it Consistent

Whether you’re covering famous music festivals or local events like Arts Beats and Eats 2025, choosing a day and time of the week to consistently upload content will more likely gain you a consistent fan base. Followers and fellow artists from your community are more invested in you if they can rely on you to stick to an upload schedule. You’ve most likely spent a lot of time developing your band or music to fit a certain style. You want the feelings fans associate with that style to transfer over into your YouTube page. Work on developing your page to mirror your music. This could mean creating a layout with video thumbnails and color schemes that match that of your album artwork.

No Returns Without Tags

The tags you choose to represent your videos with will be your first line of attack in ranking among the ocean of YouTube videos. You want to cast a wide net but you also want to be casting it in the right place. Tags are the primary source that YouTube algorithm’s use to place your video.

Your first tag should match the keyword you have chosen to represent your video and should also be included in the video title. If the video in question is your “Music Vlog at the Hollywood Bowl,” than an appropriate first keyword might be “Hollywood Bowl or “Music Vlog.” For your next view tags, use variations of that keyword. Perhaps “Gig Vlog,” “Vlog,” or “Hollywood Music.” For your final few tags, use general terms that encapsulate the big picture of your video: “live music” or “LA music scene.” For festival coverage, consider tags like “biggest festivals in America“, “EDM Houston“, or “festivals in the United States“ to capture broader searches.

Another way to get your tags working for you is by using the same ones as other popular videos that are similar to your’s. Websites like TubeBuddy and vidIQ allow you to quickly check the tags of high ranking videos allowing you to slap on the same tags for a chance to show up beside them in a search.

Keep it Short Lengthy

This isn’t Twitter folks. 140 characters isn’t excessive. In fact, research has shown that writing longer descriptions for your videos actually helps your ranking. 100-200 word descriptions work well, especially when covering topics like RFID wristbands at festivals or streaming vs cable music consumption. This is because the more specific you are, the more YouTube bots have to work with when sorting you for organic searches.

By the same logic, longer videos, usually 8-15 minutes long, rank better. Just by making longer content you are quickly increasing the chances that your video will get more watch time. So if you’re wondering how to turn that 3 and a half minute music video you’re premiering into ideal-length content, get creative. Add bonus content to the ends of your music videos; a behind-the-scenes feature or heartfelt message from you and your band to your followers serves two purposes. It gets that run-time up closer to the sweet spot and it humanizes you and your content, giving fans a connection to you and your band that would otherwise be lost in cut-and-dry music video.

Co-Market

Make this Space a HomeMany YouTubers rely on one another to promote their own channels. Teaming up with other artists, collaborating, or guest appearing in each others’ videos is mutually beneficial when both parties exchange niches of fans and followers. Websites like youbloomConnect make this co-marketing simple by matching you with compatible artists that suit your style and are based nearby. This makes collaboration seamless and if you end up finding a good match, youbloomConnect will even help you to set up gigs with the other artists. Check out our Connect Guide to learn more about everything youbloomConnect can do for artists.

Finally, you want your channel to be more than a glorified playlist; that’s what Spotify is for. YouTube is the perfect platform to show your followers the minds behind the music and to establish a personal connection with subscribers. Feeling a relationship with a YouTuber promises a much higher return rate of loyal viewers between uploads. This can’t be done with a music video alone. Create band interviews, behind-the-scenes gig vlogs, or an informational video. And don’t forget to end each video with some specific call out to your viewers: “Leave a comment about your favorite part of that gig, what band we should collaborate with next,” etc.

If you’re looking for a simpler way to join these networks, check out youbloom Connect and/ or sign up here: https://www.youbloom.com/artist-apply/ where you can get partnered to perform with other local artists, build a steady fan-base, and even get your band on the road.

While we see hundreds of music apps on the play stores and app stores for music-lovers to listen to and download their favorite songs, there aren’t many for budding artists and musicians.

These are the people who might be looking to connect with other music artists and succeed in their music careers.

However, in the recent past, new apps made their way into app stores for musicians to connect with each other in same vicinities, find local musicians and discover new spaces to display their music. Succeeding as a musician in a highly competitive world is no joke. But there’s a ray of hope for newbie musicians now.

Here are our 6 favorite apps that are helping new musicians succeed and get in touch with their contemporaries:

1. Jambro

Referred to as a ‘Tinder for musicians’, the app’s goal is to be the best possible solution for musicians at a time when quite often they are not given due worth, respect and opportunities.

Since one of the major obstacles musicians face is the lack of space to get together and play music, the founders of Jambro decided to help musicians get over this major obstacle. The makers of this app spoke about the vision behind Jambro and said that they want local musicians to get out of their comfort zones and get together as a community that loves and creates music.

Jambro is easy to use – whether you are a guitarist, singer or pianist, all you need to do is search the app to find other musicians in your vicinity.

2. BandFriend

This app presents a new way to local musicians to collaborate by providing them with a great opportunity to jam together, come up with a new band or even have study sessions together.

The app detects your location and subsequently shows you possible matches who share your skills, interests and favorite music styles. Even if you are new to learning an instrument and are an upcoming budding artist, the app still lets you connect with others to study and learn the instrument together.

BandFriend also has SoundCloud and YouTube integration which lets the musicians show off their talent online and also watch videos and listen to songs by other artists in an attempt to help them find the perfect match.

3. GigTown

Providing musicians with an opportunity to market themselves for free on a broader stage, GigTown brings musicians, venues and party planners together. The real power and strength of this app is in its ability to connect musicians, fans and venues in a brilliant manner.

Moreover, with the option to search musician profiles, this app is a great way to establish connections beyond the already established world of music. The app allows musicians to upload audio tracks, video performances and personal information, which besides helping them promote themselves, also connects them with other artists who share similar interests.

4. Musicr

If you are looking for awesome musicians to jam out with, this app will help you do just that. Musicr is designed to bring local musicians together for the love of music.

Users of the app simply fill a profile that showcases their interests and proficiency and the instruments that they like to play. Musicians can then search for people with similar music interests and connect with them, form a band together, practice with each other and also share music tricks and tips.

5. Indaba Music

This app is more like an online community that brings musicians, the general public publishers, and radio stations, together It is a wonderful platform for new and old musicians to collaborate, work on music recordings, and interact with music professionals and fans alike.

Users of this app can also add new tracks or work on existing ones in an attempt to make music with people all around the world who share similar interests.

6. Sonicbids

This is more of an interactive open space for musicians and promoters to help them get together, collaborate and come up with jamming sessions and gigs. It also allows budding musicians to get more gigs, attain industry exposure and network with other musicians. Sonicbids helps other people find talent on this platform, get in touch with those musicians and advertise playing opportunities. Additionally, independent musicians can also connect with promoters and music-loving audience to expand their music careers.

The music industry is growing industry which is in the process of expanding and reaching out to an ever-increasing audience. While these apps and platforms are definitely helping new musicians succeed in what they love and gain exposure, an underlying reason for the growth of this industry is music’s positive effect on brain health.

Author Bio

Kamil Riaz Kara is an HR Professional and Inbound Marketer. He has completed his Masters in Administrative Science from the University of Karachi. Currently, he is writing on mental health, fitness and lifestyle. Visit his company blog and check the latest post on Online Dementia Test.

Artist Community: Promote Your Music on YouTube for EDM Festivals (2025)