Artists love the new stuff. The new single, the new video, the new idea. But most of the time, the songs that are going to make you money, get you followers, and keep your name alive are the ones you already dropped. Your catalog is gold — and you’re probably ignoring it.
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Why Old Music Still Wins
Here’s the truth: your new song is exciting to you, but your audience doesn’t know it yet. Meanwhile, your old music has had time to live, breathe, and collect data. Streams, comments, playlists, fan videos — it’s all proof that people care.
That’s why catalog music consistently outperforms new releases worldwide. The longer a song’s been out, the more the algorithm understands who it’s for. The more time it’s had to collect streams and engagement, the easier it is to push again — for almost no cost. Same with albums – read more on that here.
If you’re ignoring that advantage because you want to “move on,” you’re wasting one of your most powerful assets.
Use the Data You Already Have
You don’t need to guess what people like. The platforms already tell you. You can go into YouTube Studio, Spotify for Artists, or even your Instagram insights and see which songs, videos, or clips people still engage with. Those numbers are your cheat code.
If you haven’t done this yet, start here: How to Use Analytics to See What Fans Actually Like.
- YouTube: Look at which songs have the longest average watch time or most traffic sources from search.
- Spotify: Check “Top Songs” and see what’s held steady over the last 6 months — that’s your real fan base talking.
- Instagram: Review reels and stories — which snippets got replays or shares?
Once you know what people love, that’s where you double down.
How to Bring Your Old Songs Back to Life
You don’t need to make a full-scale music video to revive an old track. You just need to give it something new to talk about. Here’s how to do it:
- Create a short 15–30 second vertical video for the catchiest part of the song.
- Make an official lyric video — fans still love reading along.
- Put together a visualizer — even simple background motion gives it polish.
- Film a mini performance or behind-the-scenes story about how it was made.
- Drop a remix or invite another artist to add a verse.
- Do a short studio performance in front of the mic and sync your best take.
You don’t need big budgets — just consistent, creative reinvestment. A 20-second video of the best part of an old track will almost always perform better than a brand-new song no one’s heard before.
Clean Up the Back End
Another reason to revisit your old music is technical. A lot of your early releases probably weren’t even properly distributed. Maybe they ended up on a YouTube Topic Channel you don’t control. Maybe they never made it to DSPs. Maybe fans uploaded them first.
Fix that:
- Re-release songs that aren’t on DSPs officially under your verified artist profile.
- Claim your Topic Channels and consolidate traffic under your Official Artist Channel.
- Make sure your metadata is correct and linked to your publishing info.
- Upload official videos for your most popular songs on your main channel so you own that traffic.
This is how you take control of your catalog — and how you turn old streams into new money. Read more about digital admin here.
Why Artists Ignore This (and Why They’re Wrong)
Most artists ignore their old catalog out of ego. You want to believe the new stuff is better — that you’ve evolved, that your audience will too. But fans move slower than you think. Most of them are still living inside the world you built with your first album or breakout track. That’s what they fell in love with.
So keep evolving — but don’t abandon what’s already proven to work. Respect your catalog. Promote it. Use it as your foundation, not your history.
The Takeaway
Your catalog isn’t just old music — it’s your most valuable creative real estate. Reuse it. Repackage it. Promote it again. In a world where a hundred thousand new songs come out every day, the ones that have already connected are the ones that can still grow.
Turn Strategy into Action
If you’re ready to give your catalog a second life, check out our Content Creation services and start with How to Use Analytics to See What Fans Actually Like.
360 Promo is a full-service music marketing, promotion, distribution and admin company. Learn more about us and what we do at 360 Promo, follow us on Instagram and contact us to tailor a plan that works for you.