Marketing Archives -

In the pursuit of a career as an independent artist, the dream of turning passion into a sustainable profession often feels like a distant goal. However, with the digital landscape providing unprecedented opportunities, realizing this dream is within reach for many. One of the core challenges faced by aspiring musicians is delivering high-quality content consistently without draining financial resources. Let’s delve into the intricacies of this challenge and explore innovative solutions that can revolutionize your journey as an independent artist.

The path to success in the music industry is paved with consistent releases. Experts advise releasing new music every four to five weeks to maintain relevance and engage your audience effectively. As an independent artist, I’ve experimented with this strategy myself, pushing boundaries by releasing cover versions, remixes, and alternate renditions of existing tracks alongside original compositions. Each release garnered incremental traction, highlighting the importance of a regular content schedule.

Yet, amidst the enthusiasm for frequent releases lies a formidable obstacle: the quest for high-quality production within tight timeframes and budget constraints. Many artists grapple with the dilemma of either investing substantial time to master the intricacies of music production or allocating significant financial resources to engage professional engineers. However, there exists a middle ground that offers a pragmatic solution to this conundrum.

Investing in a modest recording setup comprising a decent microphone, interface, and essential software can serve as a cost-effective foundation for your musical endeavors. With these tools at your disposal, you can embark on a journey of self-learning, gradually honing your recording and production skills from the comfort of your own space. This initial investment, typically around $1000, empowers you to take control of your creative process and eliminates the need for exorbitant studio fees.

However, recognizing the value of professional expertise is paramount. While self-production may suffice for preliminary recordings, enlisting the services of an experienced engineer or producer can elevate your tracks to industry standards. By focusing solely on mixing, mastering, and refining your raw recordings, you can significantly reduce production costs without compromising on quality. Additionally, exploring alternative resources such as pre-made beats or sample libraries can further streamline the production process and minimize expenses.

Embracing this hybrid approach not only optimizes your budget but also cultivates a symbiotic relationship between artistic autonomy and professional collaboration. By leveraging your skills and resources judiciously, you can navigate the competitive landscape of the music industry with confidence and resilience. Moreover, adopting a pragmatic mindset towards investment and innovation empowers you to adapt to evolving trends and seize opportunities for growth.

As you embark on your journey as an independent artist, remember that success is not defined solely by commercial acclaim or financial gain. It is a multifaceted pursuit fueled by passion, perseverance, and a commitment to artistic integrity. By embracing creativity, resourcefulness, and collaboration, you can defy conventional barriers and carve out a distinctive niche in the vibrant tapestry of the music industry. Together, let us embark on this transformative odyssey, fueled by the unwavering belief in the power of music to inspire, unite, and transcend.

If you found this article insightful, consider sharing it with fellow independent artists seeking to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. Your support fuels our collective journey towards creative fulfillment and sustainable success. Stay tuned for more empowering insights, practical tips, and inspiring stories to fuel your artistic aspirations. Until then, keep creating, innovating, and embracing the limitless potential of your musical vision.

In conclusion, the journey of an independent artist is marked by numerous challenges, yet it is also brimming with boundless opportunities for innovation and growth. By embracing a strategic approach to production, leveraging technology, and nurturing collaborative partnerships, you can unlock the true potential of your musical aspirations. Remember, success is not a destination but a dynamic evolution fueled by passion, perseverance, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. As you navigate the intricate terrain of the music industry, may you find inspiration, fulfillment, and profound joy in every note, chord, and melody you create.

An independent or indie artist is an artist who publish his music on his own. An independent artist is so to say self-employed, an entrepreneur, in the music business who is doing, next to the whole music thing, the management and the marketing for example.

Modern music industry

These days it is as easy to publish music as it never was before. Everyone who has a computer with an internet connection can upload music to the common music streaming platforms at almost zero costs.

Also music production became way easier than let’s say 20 years ago. Modern technology makes it possible, that these huge recording studios are not absolutely necessary.

That’s why many artists start to record their music on their own in the rehearsal room for example. That makes record deals almost unnecessary.

These artists who publish their own music on their own are called independent artists or easily indie artists (has nothing necessarily to do with the genre). Because that is what they are: independent.

The complete business

But that also means they have to do everything else what’s around the music as well on their own.

They have to be the songwriters, the Instrumentalists and vocalists, the producers and often also the engineers.

But next to it they have to be managers, booking agents, artwork creatives, marketing experts and so on.

It´s not just writing songs, playing an instrument and to sing along. You have also to record the songs in a quality that is comfortable to listen to and carries the emotion of the song. Also you have to mix and arrange the song in a good structure, that fits the art on the one hand but also makes it possible to sell the song. After that you have to make it fit to streaming platforms or CD formats and to be sure it sounds the best it can on all different devices. Not to forget that old kitchen radio and modern bluetooth speakers.

But after that the job ain´t done. Actually the hard works starts right now. Because all the work isn´t it worth when nobody listens to the songs. So you have to make sure to get it heard. You have to make the artwork for the song, the video(s), you have to provide the platforms with the lyrics and additional informations. You have to send it to curators for playlists and radio stations and so on. You have to manage the library so that the older songs are not forgotten over the newer releases. You have to engage with the fans.

I think you can slowly imagine what´s all connected to it.

A lot of hard work

All together is really a lot of work. It needs a lot of organisation to get it all done and stay creative at the same time.

It can also cost a lot of money. Especially in the beginning. And also especially in the beginning the return on investment is, let’s say, unavailable.

Let’s talk numbers

You know what an artist gets per stream? It’s currently about 0,003 $ per stream, but only when you listen to at least 30 seconds of the song. That has changed the whole structure of modern music and release strategies. It’s necessary to keep the intros short and to enter the first chorus within these first 30 seconds. Also the whole songs are getting shorter as what they used to be before the streaming era. When a song is about 6 minutes long you get also 0.003 $ per stream. So when a song would only be 3 minutes long you could double the amount of return when two streams are counted in the same time.

So let’s say you need about 1,500 $ to make an average living. In streams it would be 500.000 streams. And to reach 500.000 streams on a monthly basis is really a lot of hard work. Especially when you think of that are about 60.000 new songs are uploaded to Spotify daily.

Everything has it’s pros and cons. It has never been easier to be an independent artist but to make a living out of it seems to be more difficult than it has ever been before. That’s why signing a contract on a huge label definitely has it’s right to exist.

What you can do to support your favorite independent artist

Software driven platforms

It’s all about the algorithms. Not only social media but streaming platforms as well are algorithm driven. All these platforms make a living of their users. So they will keep you on their platform as long as possible. To achieve this, it is necessary that you are given the content you are really interested in. And that is where the algorithms comes in. The software analysis you as the customer and the content to find the best next fit.

But the algorithms can not work without proper data. And that is where you come in turn. Because of there is not data available for new artists and new music. But you can help to gain that data without any costs.

What you can do for free

Hit the like buttons on the songs you like, share them with your friends and family and also in your own playlists. Feed the algorithms with proper data so that it can come to work and suggest the new songs to others listener that might like the music to gain streams.

It’s also important to make connections. Add new songs together with other artists that fit together in your playlist. Also cross over to social media, like and comment posts. A huge impact would be when you name artists together. For example in a story “hey I found this great track from artist a. It sounds a little similar to this track from artist b”. You know what I mean?

Follow your artists on their social media accounts and even better join their email lists because it also helps a lot to stay in tune on upcoming releases. It’s important how many streams and songs gets especially in the first hours. If there are enough streams in a short period of time the algorithms notice that and become aware of what is happening with this special song.

So it’s up to you to support your favorite artists and help them out to keep up with making and publishing new music. They don’t have these huge marketing budgets to buy into the proper data for the algorithms or drive huge campaigns on their releases. They are reliant on you, on their fans.

Talking for myself as being an independent artist as well: thank you very much for your support so far. You all make it possible for me to do what I love to do! Can´t say it often enough: Thank you 🙂

Category: Marketing

Unlocking Success: How Independent Artists Can Produce High-Quality Music Without Breaking the Bank

What is an independent or indie artist?