The Australian music landscape and industry continues to undergo numerous changes that affect the artists releasing music within it – at all levels.
It can be hard to navigate it as an indie artist, with the rise of streaming platforms influencing the discovery of new music.
Still! Releasing new music as an indie artist is definitely still a fruitful endeavour if you have your vision and strategy for delivery clear and locked in.
Community radio and online media remain crucial elements of a successful roll out, as does a keen sense of who your audience is.
Depending on your release, you might be looking to engage the assistance of a music marketing or music publicity team just to take things that extra step further.
Sammie Walsh, founder of Australian music marketing agency beehive has been developing artist relationships with media and broader audiences across genres through a variety of campaigns that extends to not just music PR, but also streaming strategy, social media and digital marketing campaigns.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2025, beehive has worked with a diverse roster of Australian and international artists to execute release, tour, streaming, social media or digital marketing campaigns for a wide range of clients including The VANNS, JET, Evie Irie, Greta Stanley, TLC, Wanderer Festival, BIGSOUND, Puree, Tia Gostelow, Dear Seattle, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, South Summit, Hollow Coves, Ziggy Alberts and more!
With her team of publicists, social media strategists and digital marketers based around the country, Sammie lives and breathes music and when it comes to indie artists, there’s nothing she enjoys more than helping them see their ideas come to fruition.
She also knows how the industry is changing and how difficult it can be for artists to have their music stand out, so she clues us in on some hacks when it comes to planning out your release.
WHAT’S THE FIRST MISTAKE AN INDIE ARTIST CAN MAKE WHEN IT COMES TO RELEASING MUSIC – HOW CAN THEY OVERCOME THIS / HOW WOULD MUSIC PR HELP?
TIMING! Make sure you have all your ducks in a row, your master ready and ingested with distro, your video ready, fresh press shots and an idea of what you are going to do when.
We have so many artists come to us without the master, the video film date set and no press shots, but a firm release date.
Most times then they often face inevitable delays when things run overtime and feel very stressed and very overwhelmed. If you get it all ready first, then set your release date you are going to have a much better chance of success. You can upload to the portal earlier, pitch it earlier, build your timeline and have room to creatively think about the role out.
Give yourself time to have that beautiful video colour graded and edited as many times as your heart desires! (sorry video editors)
FOR INDIE ARTISTS APPROACHING MUSIC PR FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT IS THE FIRST THING THEY SHOULD BE DOING BEFORE THEY PITCH IN TO AN AGENCY?
Tell us who you are and what’s happening. If you have multiple releases, tell us and share all the music, share your recent stats (social media, streaming) and what you have coming up – headline shows, supports and your vision for the role out.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR INDIE ARTISTS TO KNOW THEIR AUDIENCE BEFORE PLANNING THEIR FIRST RELEASE? HOW CAN THEY RESEARCH WHAT THIS IS?
Look to your peers. Spotify is a great tool in the Fans Also Like section, go down that rabbit hole and find your peers, see what they are doing, what playlists are they on, who do they play shows with, how many times have they released in the last year, where was it covered editorially, what radio shows spun them, what was their release posting strategy?
Having a good idea of their journey will help you to realistically conceptualize yours.
LET’S TALK ASSETS – FOR AN ARTIST WHO HAS NEVER RELEASED MUSIC BEFORE AND IS MAYBE ON A BUDGET, WHAT SORT OF ASSETS SHOULD THEY FOCUS ON GETTING TOGETHER FOR A ROLLOUT STRATEGY? Video assets should be a top priority, this doesn’t mean a full length clip, but video assets that you can chop up and use across your social media DSPs.
Think of it as an extension of telling your release’s story. Slick press shots, you don’t need to spend a bomb to look great, I’ve seen some great shots done over the years without breaking the bank.
Look to your peers, do your shots look as good as theirs? If not, it’s likely that’s what the people you are sending it to will see too and if you’re competing for space, you might lose out because of that.
I’ve seen releases turned down over the years as the assets didn’t match the quality of the song.
HOW IMPORTANT IS AN ARTIST’S RELATIONSHIP WITH MEDIA – ONLINE, DSP AND RADIO?
EXTREMLY! Editors are music fans and they can get you in front of even more music fans! T
urning 10 this year, it’s one of my favourite things to know that we have worked with a lot of the same people in those editorial roles (or different ones) for the whole ten years!
They’re of course our colleagues, but many are now our dear friends. We see them champion music from baby bands through to profile artists.
The Australian music scene is filled with people who love music and genuinely want to help, we are very very lucky.
Building those relationships will not only be great for your career, but your soul to know how lucky you are to work in this small but passionate community of music lovers.
HOW WOULD YOU SAY THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SPACE HAS CHANGED WITH REGARDS TO HOW EASY IT IS FOR ARTISTS TO BECOME NOTICED, SINCE YOU STARTED YOUR BUSINESS (WHAT IS THIS DOWN TO)?
Social media has been a wonderful tool for direct relationships with fans. The more we see people lean into those direct relationships and focus on building a genuine community the better.
From a music marketing perspective I truly believe all aspects need to be considered and nurtured, social media, DSP, radio & editorial all help to move the dial.
Make sure you’re constantly looking at your data to see what’s working, what’s not and where your fans are!
WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR INDIE ARTISTS WHO ARE PLANNING MORE MUSIC RELEASE STRATEGIES BEYOND THEIR FIRST DROP (think of this as in playing the long game etc)?
Consistency of releases, the game has definitely changed in how often you should be releasing.
We like the general rule of thumb of DSP single every 6 weeks, radio/editorial every 12 and leap frog these. 5 + singles off an album is great!
Head to Beehive for more info – you can also stay connected via Instagram
