It’s no secret that social media is overwhelming. There are endless platforms under that umbrella—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube, Twitch. As more emerge, our need to engage with them grows. One ideal platform for musicians today is Reddit. Since its 2005 founding, the site has become a powerful resource for topics across the board. It’s especially useful for musicians. This includes established names looking to deepen listener connection as well as emerging artists seeking new fans.
Learn the Rules
Chances are, artists have used Reddit before, whether they realize it or not. Still, some may feel overwhelmed diving in and using it as a tool for promotion and performance. Here are a few things they can do to get into the swing of it the platform. Artists will need to get acquainted with two key facets of Reddit: the different subreddits and the rules. Yes, there are rules.
The main rule for musicians on Reddit is “no self-promotion.” Artists are welcome to share music and ask for opinions. Yet, hopping on once a year to tell people to check out a new single won’t fly. Reddit communities are genuine. Listeners know right away when something is not authentic. That’s not a bad thing, however. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why Reddit is so great.
Community First
“We believe in the importance a community can have in getting your music heard,” says Matty Monroe, who runs r/indieheads. “The best way to do that is to become a part of it. On r/indieheads, we have so many great users with different tastes and opinions. There’s always a discussion to be had. Why not be a part of it?”
Another key aspect is the different thread types. Indeed, there’s a thread for nearly every imaginable genre. This makes it easy for everyone to find their place on the site. It’s one of the biggest benefits that Reddit has to offer. “There are so many places with communities looking for different things in music,” Monroe says. “Almost always, there’s an active place for anyone to post their music.”
He adds, “I grew up on forums—especially rap forums. What made those so great was how much they offered beyond the surface level. So, if you’re willing to engage with the community you’ll find a lot of potential fans in the making.”
Ask Me Anything
Tommy Siegel is the guitarist/vocalist in Washington, D.C. pop/rock outfit, Jukebox The Ghost. He’s also a solo musician and cartoonist who uses Reddit, mostly for the latter. “I love doing stuff like that,” Siegel says of the Ask Me Anything (AMA) his band participated in on Reddit back in 2016. “The internet can feel like a giant megaphone into the void. AMAs are nice reminders that these are real people. The chance to have a one-on-one interaction with someone genuinely engaged with my work is incredibly satisfying and sweet.”
Azure Ray, a pop duo made up of Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink, recently hosted an AMA on Reddit as well. “It was fun to connect with people and we are so excited about this new record we just finished. The experience was like back-and-forth texting with people from all over the world,” Taylor, who is also the founder of the indie label Flower Moon Records, explains.
“It allows artists to not only connect with fans but reach out to new ones who like other bands in your genre,” Taylor adds. “There isn’t another platform based on dialogue, actual conversations between artists and fans. It’s unique and cool in this way.”
Like every platform, it’s possible to watch artists go viral in real-time. What’s unique is how it happens—through real, genuine communication.
"The chance to have a one-on-one interaction with someone genuinely engaged with my work is incredibly satisfying and sweet." -Tommy Siegel
Artist-Fan Connection
Monroe recalls a special moment he had the chance to witness in the early days of the subreddit. “St. Vincent had a radio show on Apple Music a few years ago called ‘St. Vincent’s Mixtape Delivery Service,’” he says. A popular Reddit user received a curated playlist from Annie Clark. “He’d been going through some mental health problems,” Monroe explains. “To see how much joy they felt getting a playlist from their favorite artist is something I’ll never forget.”
Reddit welcomes experimentation, too. After all, sticking around and trying new things over a period is what builds the community. For Siegel, he uses the site mainly for cartooning. “Music requires patience, ideally some headphones, and more than 30 seconds. The catch with social media is that you have to have a visual component that’s good enough in and of itself. For me, that was cartooning,” he says.
A Space of Their Own
He does add that the platform does do a good job of making artists feel heard. “Where Reddit flourishes with music is in the niche discussion communities. Jukebox the Ghost has a subreddit, not in an official capacity on our end, of course. It’s lovely to see fans communicating and debating.”
“Music requires its own spaces to compete with itself–rather than against memes–for oxygen,” Siegel adds. Artists can take advantage of Reddit and put in the time to join the appropriate communities. If they do, they can receive just that: their own space for their music.
"These are moderated spaces with many avenues of discussion, Even if you're scared to participate at first, it's interesting to read." -Matty Monroe
How to Get Started
So you want to get into Reddit. Where do you start? Monroe recommends indie, pop, and hip-hop fans begin with this trifecta: r/indieheads, r/popheads, and r/hiphopheads. These are spots where you can discover new music by checking out the latest posts.
“Beyond that, these are all moderated spaces with many avenues of discussion,” Monroe says. “Even if you’re scared to participate at first, it’s interesting to read about the new Phoebe Bridgers song or how the Billboard Hot 100 is shaping up.” Monore feels that while other social media outlets thrive on toxicity, but that’s rarely the case on these three subreddits.
For a lot of people, Reddit offers a certain nostalgia for the forum days of the early 2000s. Hopefully, in the future, the site can expand and modernize on that, while giving artists space and community to flourish.
