7 Steps for Starting a Music Production Company

7 Steps for Starting a Music Production Company


Have you always wanted to become a music producer? Do you want to start your own production company? As with starting a band or establishing yourself as a solo act, there is plenty of long hours and hard work that goes into producing. But, with careful planning and dedication, you can start your own music production company.

You do not need office space to get started. As with bands, you can begin your music production career from your own home. Here are 7 simple steps to help you get started as a music producer.

#1 – Learn Your Business and Develop Your Skills

First, you need to know what you are doing. If you don’t have a musical background, a musical education, or musical experience, you should focus on your skills. Learn more about the business. Read articles, browse music insider websites, and soak up as much information as you can.

Depending on your situation, you may also want to consider getting a degree in music production, sound engineering, or recording. Another option is to seek an internship at a professional recording studio. This provides hands on learning.

#2 – Get the Right Equipment

You should have the ability to make music from your own home. Unless you have the funding to create a professional quality studio, you should ensure you have the basics. This means having a computer or laptop with audio software. If you plan on recording with live instruments, you will obviously need additional recording equipment.

Check out the following YouTube video from user David Scott as he covers some of this info in a little more detail:

#3 – Choose a Space for Your Home Studio

You will want to setup your main workspace in an area that is free of distractions. For example, if possible, do not place your equipment in your living room.

You want to place it somewhere with minimal chances for interruption or noise disturbances. Basements are often good options, as they can help dampen the sound and are easier to soundproof.

#4 – Choose a Name for Your Company

If you have not yet established a name for yourself, or you have plans of building your company to include staff, you may want to come up with a unique business name. Instead of using your own name, you could establish a business for your music production.

If you decide to create a business and choose a name for this company, you will need to file a DBA (doing business as) form. Depending on the state where you live, you may need to file additional paperwork and tax forms.

#5 – Get Marketing Material

There are two sides to marketing your fledgling production skills. You will need to market yourself locally and online. For in-person meetings, you will definitely want to have your own business cards. This is an affordable step.

You’ll find many online sites that offer great deals on personalized business cards. Other marketing material to consider using includes pamphlets, flyers, and posters.

#6 – Get a Website

Next, comes the online marketing. For starters, you’ll need a website. Every business needs a site and you don’t need to spend a lot to create one.

You can find hosting plans for as low as $5 to $10 per month for the first year. These will often come with a free domain name, which should either be the same as your own name or your production company. From there, you can use WordPress to build your own personalized website. You don’t need any web design experience.

#6 – Start Producing Your Own Music

If you have not yet produced music with other artists, you could begin producing your own music. You obviously have the skills to create music if you’re interested in producing music. Work on your own tracks and upload them to SoundCloud. You’ll have material that you can present to local and regional recording artists as a sampling of your work.

#7 – Seek Out Local Talent

At some point, you’ll want to actually start producing music. You’ll need to be active in your local music scene and make contacts with local artists. Find artists with similar tastes and style. Seek out local talent and negotiate the terms of working together. If you don’t have a standard production contract, you can find plenty of templates online.

Starting your own music production company is not an easy process. It will require a lot of hard work. These 7 steps are a good starting point, but you are going to have to stick with it. Continue looking for new learning opportunities and ways to promote your music.

Along with these 7 steps, you’ll need to promote your music. Whether you are producing your own music or working with other artists, music promotion will be a key part of your success.

How to Promote Your Music in Kenya

In this section, I will show you how to promote your music in Kenya.

See, Kenya has a vibrant music industry with many rising stars. 

As such, there is a need to stand out and let people notice your presence.

And to do that, here are some of the most effective ways to promote your music in Kenya:

1). Albums worth listening to

Create an album has been proven to be one of the most effective ways for musicians to get their message out there. 

You want this album to reflect current trends and tastes so it will appeal to listeners who have similar interests. 

A lot of groups release singles before they start promoting albums too because people can’t wait longer than two weeks between new songs! 

2). Fire up social media

One easy way to promote your music in Kenya is by using social media.

Social sites like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram allow you to show snippets of new songs.

You can also share behind-the-scenes pictures with fans who will want more information on upcoming releases. 

Artists in Kenya need to be constantly posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with fresh and engaging content.

You can also partner with influencers in Kenya to get the word out about your new music. 

But pay attention:

It’s also important not to rely just on these platforms for the promotion.

3). Do not ignore your music website

You will want to create your own website with contact information so people can find out more about you and be able to buy tickets for concerts. 

Work hard at updating your site regularly with news from performances as well as new content (videos, blog posts about their process).

This will not only keep fans up-to-date but may also generate some buzz for the artist.

4). Talk to music blogs

Additionally, it’s a good idea to get involved with blogs that focus specifically on Kenyan artists; this can lead to interviews and connections which could really take your career into overdrive!

For those starting out, make sure you follow any relevant blog posts about the up-and-coming artists, engage with these sites so people know about you too.

5). Nail Your YouTube channel

For those who have a YouTube channel, it’s crucial that they work on posting regular videos and improving production quality!

It’s crucial to create an emotional connection with your audience through this medium as well.

As such, think about what kinds of stories you want to tell and how best to do it.

One more thing; make sure there is variety in camera angles, editing styles/techniques, length of the video, etc.

This way if someone watches one or two clips from your channel they won’t feel like watching anymore because everything looks too same. 

It’s important not to use copyrighted content such as another artist’s song without their permission!  

Remember also that adding tags in the description box under “Video Description” will help with search engine optimization for other people who are looking for these types of videos too!

Once you have created an original video, it needs some attention so please share it on all social media platforms every time you update it with new content- Facebook, Twitter etcetera.

One tip that has really helped me is to use YouTube Thumbnails. These are like a personalized business card for your videos and you can edit the text, add images, or even video clips of yourself in action!

6). Join music streaming services

Another way to promote music in Kenya is to join music service platforms like Spotify, Boomplay, or Apple Music where you can upload your music and be discoverable to listeners around the world.

If you can’t do it yourself, get someone to help.

They will need ids/passwords for any platforms like iTunes Connect or Spotify.

This should help them upload your releases, then they’ll need your social media profiles so they can promote you on there.

And lastly, a way to contact you in case they need anything.

You may also want them to have a press kit or some music samples from your catalog as well.

In short, just make sure it’s easy for whoever does the promotion.

7). TikTok! TikTok!

Another way is to promote your music in Kenya is to post on TikTok.

This is a new social media platform that allows users to share short clips lip-syncing or dancing to songs with friends and followers.

8). Live DJ shows

Also, consider hosting live shows or DJ sets where you can sell tickets to people who want an exclusive performance from you.

This is one of the most effective ways to promote your music in Kenya.

9). Email marketing

It’s also important not to neglect the importance of email marketing.

Use newsletters as a key tool for providing valuable content.

This should keep subscribers up-to-date with what you are doing on iTunes, Spotify, Boom Place.

And whenever there is a new release or something, blast an email to your list with the news.

Finally, make sure you have all your contacts at hand before promotions start because when they do kick off things happen fast!

Ultimately though, promotion is about being visible enough where people can find your music; this may mean spending some money advertising on social media or giving away CDs to increase visibility. 

In conclusion

To promote your music in Kenya there are many different avenues for artists to choose from.

And each of them has its own benefits and drawbacks. 

Whether or not something will work out well depends on what kind of promotions you do as well as how much time and patience they invest into it. 

Remember these tips when promoting your music in Kenya!


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