10 Hard & Awful Truths About Being an Independent Artist (And What You Can Do About It)

For independent artists, the road to stardom is not always red-carpeted and bathed in the spotlight. Obstacles and challenges can unnerve even the most determined indie artist. However, knowing what you can do about these ten hard and awful truths about being an independent artist can ensure a smoother and more successful journey.

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Discerning Your Niche

Discovering your niche will be one of the most empowering moments of your career. Whether you are an artist, a producer, or any creative, the amount to which you develop your own creative voice will greatly impact your path towards success. Our niche makes us easily identifiable and marketable. The better we define it, the more we will open our connection to our fans and clients.

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Five Tips For Aspiring Musicians

When I was a kid I took guitar lessons. In this short article I want to share a few tips that helped me.

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Popular Myths About Starting A Music Career

Over the years so many artists have been scared off the music industry by some entirely destructive myths. We love helping an independent artist find success and watching them prove all the horrible myths wrong!

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How To Grow Your Music Career (Even During A Pandemic)

Wait, isn’t the world on halt? Hasn’t 2020 been a year of failure and pullbacks? 

While this year has been disappointing, there are two types of people responding to the coronavirus. Some are pouting and being affected heavily, while others are adapting and doing better than they ever have. Here’s how you can continue to scale your music career – even if your gigs, shows, and sources of income are non-existent at the moment.

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Could You Be Stalling Your Own Career?

When you’re releasing music, you’ll always get periods of slow growth and increased growth. Here, we want to discuss a couple of key things we hear from artists on a regular basis, and how it might be stalling your growth…

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How To Be A Musician With A Day Job

Being a musician with a day job is tough. 

I get it. I am one.

You may work a career position, go to school, or raise children (which I also do).

And you might feel you lack the time, energy, and focus to really get your music career going. 

Good news. There are changes you can make today to balance music with your day job. 

And I want to share four of those changes. If you implement them, you can shift the trajectory of your career so it’s aiming where you want it to.

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Overcoming Your Former Self: Becoming A New Musician Through High Self-Esteem

When analyzing the driving factor behind your decisions, there is one common denominator that many people overlook: self-esteem. Self-esteem is a reflection of your perceived value. If you do not have a positive self-image, your motivation to achieve great things diminishes. Because of this, it is important to work on empowering yourself to better actionize your goals.

People suffering from low self-esteem are probably wondering “where do I start?” in regards to feeling worthy. The key to improving self-esteem is to gradually take steps towards repairing a negative self-image. Over time, these seemingly small steps will become a habit and create a greater self-worth.

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Tips For Starting Your Own Record Label

The music industry has undergone some transformation over the last couple of decades. Our digital landscape has been instrumental in altering the shape of how we consume tunes, how artists make music, and how the business operates. One of the positive effects is encouraging a DIY approach to all areas of the industry.

This means that there is a propensity for musicians to have direct access to audiences. They can release their music via streaming platforms such as YouTube and Spotify rather than rely upon the costly physical media that has dominated the industry This also presents openings for entrepreneurs who want to start their own indie labels. 

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Why You Need A Backup Plan As A Musician

They say go all-in.

They say quit your job and don’t give yourself a safety net, or else you won’t succeed in music.

But is that actually true? Should musicians have a backup plan? 

Let’s talk about this idea of backup plans, diversifying your music career, and creating long-term goals. 

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How To Find The Right PR Firm As A Musician

Odds are you’ve just released a new album or single and you’re thinking about the best way to get it out there, engage your fans, and make the largest impact possible. If that’s the case, it’s time to consider finding a PR firm to help you out.

Good thinking—you’re already a step ahead of the rest by knowing that simply releasing and hoping your fans notice is not a good strategy.

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How To Start Your Own Independent Music Career

Kick-starting an independent music career is an exciting prospect, but it demands unwavering ambition and ample insight. If you’re considering pursuing a career in this industry, here are some helpful suggestions that’ll set you up for success.

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What Does “Success” In Music Mean?

Guest post by Patrick McGuire. This article originally appeared on Soundfly’s Flypaper

For some, it’s the ability to pay one’s bills exclusively through making music. Others think they’ll find it once their songs hit a certain number of plays over streaming platforms, or once they sell out of a run of physical copies of a new album. I personally love being on the road, and am always striving to feel like the crowd out there is really excited to see me play my music. That’s when I feel truly successful.

Success means something different to every musician, but one thing is clear: Musical success is no longer, and may never again be, what it used to be. I’ve been thinking about this question a lot, what success really means right now. Here are my thoughts on the matter.

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Networking For Introverts

As a newsletter recipient of Dorie Clark (keynote speaker, author of “Stand Out Networking”) I became aware of a fantastic article in the Harvard Business Review that suits my company tamanguu very well, in which she discusses the challenges and solutions for introverts in business networking.

Many music artists, but also music managers, who I met in my music business career, were introverted people. It sounds as paradoxical as it is when Dorie Clark characterises herself as introverted, despite she is often on stage as a keynote speaker. However, performing on stage is something different than business networking off the stage. Also for extroverts, this article includes some useful hints and insights.

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