5 ways to engage your community, from behind a screen

Music is a team sport. You’ll need listeners, managers, collaborators and so many others to help you build a successful career. While branching out from your studio or rehearsal space might seem tough in isolation, you can still find ways to engage your local scene, so that when you’re back out there, the networking will come all the more easily.

When the SoundCloud Creator Forum hit ATL for A3C we sat down with several artists and music executives to discuss the tight knit Atlanta music community and how you can get the most out of yours. View a clip from the panel below, and read on for our favorite five takeaways.

Full panel video on “The Power of Community” can be viewed on our YouTube page now.

Refine your sound: Make sure you’re putting in the work and have a vision. Hone your skills and figure out what you want your sound to be. Over time, people will take notice, and they’ll be that much more excited to listen or work with you if they understand what you’re all about.

Tell your story: It’s easy to fall victim to trends or make music you think people will want to listen to. However, the best way to find your tribe is to be yourself. It may seem scary to speak from the heart rather than lean on common themes, but the more unique your story, the more your community will gravitate toward you.

Get out there: While shows, events and other social gatherings give you a surefire way to plug into your scene and to network face-to-face, right now you can find digital ways to do that. Start following local venues or gather other artists in your town to put on a livestream; before you know it, you could find your next band member, tour opener or manager and be building your community – even from behind a screen.

Data is your friend: No matter how popular you are, connecting with your fans will take trial and error. Luckily, data (like SoundCloud’s stats tab) can remove a lot of the guesswork. Review your song stats early and often so you can meet fans where they are with the content they enjoy the most.

Be consistent with your content: As an artist, the content you share is your best mode of advertising. You never know who will share your next video or bring a friend to your upcoming show. So your best bet is to create, collaborate and share often to keep fans, potential team members and future collaborators coming back to your page.

We’re filming all of the panels, Q&A’s, and live content from our SoundCloud Creator Forum live events. You can check back here for recaps, subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to know when a new video drops, and visit our creator guide to get access to everything you need to know to grow your career on SoundCloud.