Last week, I showed you 3 important things you probably ignore while uploading YouTube videos. Today, I’m going to share with you, two of the most important accounts every musician should have.

Before the release of my first single in 2013, I spent the last five months in 2012 reading and learning about the music industry, around the globe and in Nigeria. I learnt a lot of things that helped me (and still helps me) in my music. Things like accounts I needed to open, songwriting tips, promotion tips, etc. I just didn’t have money to implement a lot of the things I learnt. Now, I know a lot has changed/ evolved in the music industry since then, but some things have remained unchanged. So, here are two accounts you should have as a musician.

1. An account with a video streaming site.

In the era that we live in, visuals is everything. As an artist, it is not enough to have songs released in audio format, you need to release visual content for your listeners/ fans as well. And to do that, you need to have an account with a video streaming site.

Even though there are many video streaming sites today, YouTube remains the most popular. In fact, I originally titled this first point as “You need a YouTube account”, but I decided to change it just before I uploaded.

You see, YouTube is the largest video streaming site in the world, with over 2 billion logged-in users monthly, and more than 500 hours of video content uploaded per minute. YouTube remains where millions of people discover new music daily. But beyond being the largest video streaming site, another reason you should consider having a YouTube account is that YouTube is owned by Google, the biggest search engine in the world. So, having your video on YouTube increases your chances of popping up on google search (well, there are other things involved, but that’s an article for another day).

So, you see, it is absolutely essential that you have an account with a video streaming site, especially Youtube.

2. An account with an audio streaming site.

Today, unlike 15 years ago, there are several audio streaming sites, some of which include Spotify, Apple music, YouTube music, Soundcloud, Audiomack, Boomplay, etc. The list is endless. It is true that Spotify has become number 1 music streaming site in the world, but considering how difficult it is to get your music on Spotify (actually you need a third- party music distributor to do that) and the fact that Apple music only works on Iphones, Soundcloud still remains a great option especially for us over here in Africa. In fact, labels and industry executives would still ask for your Soundcloud link if they want to know what you sound like. Another advantage of Soundcloud is that it enables you to place widget on any site, such that your song can be played directly from the site. This could be helpful when you finally build a website for your music.

Yes, you can upload your songs on different sites for the sake of promotion, but you should still have all your songs (at least your best songs) on a widely accepted music streaming site like Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. That way anyone could google your name and find your songs in one place. Untill you are able to build a website for your music, this is next best option you have to appear professional. And it is absolutely essential that you do so.

Now you may ask, what about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Snapchat and the likes… I didn’t include those because I assume you are already on two or more of those platforms. Those platforms are general for everyone and you can use those to promote your music and drive traffic to where you have all your music. My focus on this article are the sites you need, specifically, as musician.

I’d like to know what you think, so please leave a comment below.