Apple Music Connect offers independent artists innovative and socially compelling ways to present themselves in their profiles, unlike some of the other streaming services out there.. Apple’s iTunes store has become a one-stop-shop for fans to purchase songs and videos, stream music, and interact with a massive library of artists, creating a unique community of dedicated users who expect their favorite artist’s pages to be as up-to-date and engaging as possible.
With that being said, here are some of the best ways for you to take full advantage of your Apple Music Connect profile:
1. Claim and customize your artist page
Once your music has been added to the library via one of Apple’s approved aggregators like AWAL, and you’ve claimed your page via this link, you can start customizing your artist profile as you see fit. Keep in mind that the profile image is long and narrow when viewed on a desktop, so make sure to have your logo or image in the center of the frame with lots of negative space around it.
2. Invest in a handheld Apple device
Comparable to Facebook’s timeline feature, you can share images, videos, and other media with Connect to show your followers what you’ve been up to, although you have to use an iPhone or iPod touch to do so. Once you have one of Apple’s touchscreen devices and your profile claimed, you can begin customizing your page and posting to Connect.
3. Start publishing creative, mixed media
Use your handheld Apple device to post photos, audio, a video, or Soundbite (a voice recording taken with your iPhone or iPod). Audio can be up to 120 minutes, and videos can be up to 15. These files must be 2GB or smaller in size, while photos must be JPEG or PNG format, and less than 15MB. In other words, for those of you not tech-savvy when it comes to digital files, these are all large, high-resolution sizes and your media will look great. More guidelines can be found here.
While it’s important to recognize posted content isn’t monetized here, sharing media is still a great way to engage with your fanbase. Be descriptive when titling your media, because users can search for those items later on using key terms you may have written in the item description. Items you post to Connect will not show up on your artist page, but rather only on a user’s personal Connect timeline.
4. Give your audience some added value
Use Connect’s “Attach to Album” feature to associate your audio or video with one of your published releases. This is a great opportunity to post a music video for one of your tracks, or an exclusive quick chat/fun fact about an album or song. It’s important to remind your fans that they are important to you, and that they are gaining something unique or exclusive by giving you their follow.
5. Update your profile images as-needed
When you have a new release, don’t be afraid to change up the appearance of your profile. You can temporarily make your cover image reflect your recent album, or use it to show upcoming tour dates.
6. Integrate your Connect page with other sites
Share your published content even further along the web by embedding it onto your artist website. You can gain more followers, or at least remind people that you have an Apple Music Connect profile, by sharing posts on Facebook and Twitter, directly from the app on your iPhone or iPod. To make things easier, you can set your profile up to automatically share Connect updates directly to your social media pages.
Screenshot via 9to5Mac
Keep in mind that once an item has been posted, it can be deleted, but cannot be edited.
7. Get yourself noticed
Engage with others on Apple Music Connect by commenting on or shouting out other artist’s work. This is a great way to get noticed within the app, and draw others to your page to directly stream your music — whereas on many other social media sites, fans will have to link-out to actually listen to your music when they discover you. Take advantage of the fact that a user can view a comment of yours on Connect, and immediately connect to your artist page and hear your sound.
Take your connection with Apple Music to the next level. Become an AWAL member and see how we can help you out!
