Apple Music Plays

The revenues that streaming services such as Amazon Music, Spotify and Apple Music generate are huge, at least for the services themselves. But what about the artists who make their music available? For them, Apple Music at least means they don't go away empty-handed. But the dream of becoming rich and famous rarely comes true. There is too much competition and too little awareness of how such services work.

If you want to use Apple Music marketing to improve your position in the music industry, it's important to get to grips with how it works. One of the most important features for self-promotion are the playlists, which are created not only by users but also by Apple itself.

If users have to choose favourites from 50 million music titles, they will inevitably have to filter. The filter might involve following the playlists of other users, either because they like the same genre, because they have similar listening habits or because they are personal friends.

Apple Music's own marketing processes offer these functions in abundance. Playlists also help strengthen community solidarity. What do your friends listen to? What are influencers saying? What do music writers or your favourite musicians recommend? These are the crucial questions that many listeners ask when choosing when and where to press "Play".

First of all, it should be obvious that anyone who does not make it onto a playlist has practically no chance of being discovered on a streaming service. Only those who have already achieved a high number of plays, or who use promotional tools, will end up on playlists. One such tool, which requires only minimal outlay, is to buy plays.

As a professional online marketing agency offering this service in Germany, we are often met with amazement when we explain that this service exists. Many people still don't seem to realise that Apple Music plays can be bought.

In English-speaking countries, it is well known that numerous stars have only become known via a streaming service because they have bought their way onto the playlists of influencers. Everyone in the music industry is familiar with the term "payola", which basically means

"pay-to-play" (although for newcomers to Apple Music marketing, such a strategy is not recommended, especially as it would cost a lot of money).

Apple Music itself only takes action against fake accounts. And buying plays is simply a tool that the logic of the algorithm dictates. Buying plays will not mark your account out as fake provided:

• You only buy plays that originate from real accounts, do not use bots and do not make a direct bid for a place on the playlist.
• Keep a sense of proportion when you buy plays. If you've only received ten plays for a song over a long period of time, it will scarcely be credible if the next day the number jumps to one thousand or ten thousand.

So how do you best proceed if you want to buy plays on Apple Music and promote your profile? The answer is: just as you would even if you weren't buying plays. Work hard and win new followers with an appealing profile. Take advantage of marketing opportunities provided by Apple. For example, you can

• Use the Apple Toolbox to create marketing tools such as badges and widgets and link your music titles.
• Join the affiliate programme.
• Work with the statistics provided to get to know your target group better.
• See which of your titles have racked up the most plays (and when and where).
• Get friends to write reviews for your tracks.

Be clear about one thing. Not only do you evaluate your statistics as part of your marketing strategy; Apple itself does the same. The results will determine which playlists you end up on, who your music is displayed to and what recommendations are given. If currently nothing is happening for you in this respect, you can upgrade your ranking by buying plays in reasonable numbers, either as a one-off or regularly.

As a professional marketing agency, we differentiate very clearly between fake purchases (as when you try to buy your way onto a playlist) and buying a certain number of plays for your account in order to boos your marketing. And remember that buying plays is no substitute for uploading music that fans and followers really love.

In summary, get yourself noticed by using the small advantage you can gain by buying plays. Success won't come overnight, but it will come when you get to grips with streaming services as intensively as if they were another instrument you are learning to play.

Buying plays on Apple Music, at low package prices and exclusively from genuine accounts, will help to get your career off the ground.