Let me first comment on the image above, "SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MUSIC, IF YOU LIKE IT, BUY IT." Of course I whole-heartedly agree with this statement but would add, "...STREAM IT, ADD IT TO YOUR PLAYLISTS, SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA..." and so on. Most independent artists have spent lots of time and their own MONEY to get their music heard, gain fans and have their music appreciated. But I assume those same artists would want to at least break even, or better yet, see some sort of rate of return on the money they spent to promote themselves. Wouldn't you? Enough about that.
So, my son approached me the other day asking me to make a beat for him so he could record some vocals and make a song. He said he wanted to submit it to a popular podcast and he was sure it would "HIT!" He brought in his laptop, music production hardware that was gifted to him a couple of years ago which he had no idea how to use (and I was unfamiliar with as well), and expected me to produce a track on the spot. I love my my son and would do anything for him, but I explained to him that it wasn't going to be that easy. I further explained that I all ready have a music software program I work with for my vocals, not so much for making "beats" any more. We continued our discussion for a few more minutes, it was getting late but I let him know I would definitely help him out.
Being an independent artist has been a difficult journey. Be ready to accept criticism. Sometimes the criticism is constructive but beware of those "haters" out there who'd like nothing more than to see you fail. There have been times when I wanted to just give up. I've spent many hours, thousands of dollars, and learned a lot of what not to do. But through trial and error, I learned what has worked for me and I want to share some things I've learned that may help further your music careers.
Unless you're already an accomplished music producer/beat maker, I highly recommend you lease or buy your beats. Leasing is a great way to start, it's a relatively inexpensive way to obtain a beat. You won't outright "own" the rights unless you request to buy the "exclusive rights", but you'll at least have a great sounding instrumental to work with. The format of the track you receive will be MP3, WAV, and you can also request "stems" so that your sound engineer can produce the best possible sounding mix/mastered track for you. Here are a few sites where you can lease beats from professional music producers:
Once you have your beat, where to record? You can take your beat with you to a local studio to record your vocals which could easily cost you hundreds of dollars. Or do what I did, buy your own music production software and record from home. You'll also need a microphone you can connect to your computer. I'd also recommend getting a microphone isolation shield and a "pop blocker." It may take some time to learn how to use the software but it will also increase your skillset and save you tons of money in the long run. I personally use Logic Pro X but Ableton is great too.
Once you've recorded your song, DO NOT RELEASE IT as-is! You'll need to get it professionally mixed and mastered. If you're recording at a studio, you can ask the engineer to provide you with a mixed/mastered song. I only know of one person who I trust to transform my track into a radio-ready song, and that's Dave Fore. For more information on how to contact Dave, please refer to my previous post regarding this Billboard charting sound engineer.
Once you have a single that is ready for release, you'll want to submit it through an intermediary music distribution service that will be able to get it distributed through Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Napster, Pandora, Google Play, etc. I currently use Distrokid since it costs approximately $20 per year to distribute unlimited number of tracks. I've also used Tunecore in the past but the cost is approximately $10 to upload one track, and if you're one of those prolific writers, submitting your music could get expensive. Both services will get your music out there for fans to buy and/or stream your music online.
Once the music distribution service has received the "thumbs up" for your song to "go live" from online stores, you'll receive your UPC and ISRC codes. You'll need the codes to register your music so that you are eligible to receive royalties when your song is played. Make sure you register as an artist with BMI, ASCAP, or other service that keeps track of music royalties, before you start registering your songs. If you've obtained "exclusive rights" to the song, I suggest copyrighting it with the U.S. Copyright office. If you are anticipating FM and online radio airplay, make sure you also register your track with Nielsen and Mediabase. Refer to the links below.
Now it's time to start promoting your single. First thing you should do is upload it to all of your music and social media pages so that your fans can stream it. If you don't all ready have one, make sure you have a Soundcloud page, a ReverbNation page, a YouTube channel, and of course, you should be promoting your track on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social media sites. In addition, there are some sites where you can promote and/or upload your music. I found a site called Hypeddit that has a music exchange with other artists to help build your fanbase. You can get email addresses using Hypeddit to send your fans updates, so be sure you also create a Mail Chimp account too. If you want to get it directly to DJ's, I recommend you upload your song to Digital DJ Pool and DemoDrop. Both are free to use and work very well. You want to get your song on as many playlists as possible so be sure you submit your song through Soundplate. Another way to get your song in the hands of playlist curators and music bloggers is SubmitHub, though they are highly selective. Don't get discouraged if your single is declined because you may get some great feedback in the process. One last recommendation, if you have a budget of at least $1K or more and are looking for radio airplay, I recommend Hale Promotions internet radio promotion campaign. Raymond Hale is the owner and he'll evaluate your song to see if it's one that he can promote. He does not accept all songs but it's worth a try. With his 3-month internet radio promotion campaign, I was able to get my single Savage featuring Trey Songz to the top of the Digital Radio Tracker charts!
https://soundplate.com
In conclusion, this is not a complete and comprehensive DIY guide for independent artists. However, it is a compilation of knowledge and resources I've acquired over the years. I believe the information here will help increase your music business knowledge and avoid some of the mistakes I made along the way. Best of luck to you all!
