4 Things Beginner Indie Artists Should Know
So you've started making music? You found a few beats, wrote lyrics and recorded at least 3-5 tracks that have all been mixed, mastered and ready for release. So now what? Where do you put your music? How do people hear it? How do you fully become a performing artist?
We know that the process of making the art is a lot easier than making it in the industry. Here are 4 important things that all beginning Indie artists should know
1. Distribution
2. PROs (Performing Rights Organization)
3. Copyrights
4. Social Media Platforms
Of course it will take more than just these 4 items to grow your brand and presence as an artist, but this should help you to get a good start on your way to a more organized music career.
1. Distribution
Distribution is how music gets into the hands of consumers. Signing up for any of the predominant distribution companies will help to put your music on Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and more major streaming platforms. GMI is a strong advocate for Distro Kid, but we encourage all artists to do the research for themselves and to check out other companies such as CB Baby and Tunecore.
2. PRO's
Whether you're an artist, writer for an artist, or producer, you'll need to sign up with a PRO before going forward. PROs such as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC provide intermediary functions, particularly collection of royalties, between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works in public locations such as shopping and dining venues. So basically, signing up for a PRO is another source of revenue. GMI is a strong advocate for ASCAP, but again, we always encourage you to do your research and take a look at all of your options.
3. Copyrights
If you're this far in music, I would hope you're familiar with what a copyright is. If not, no worries! That's why we're here. A Copyright is the exclusive right given to the creator (producer, writer, artist) of a creative work to reproduce the work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself.
4. Social Media Platforms
We live in the digital era of news and entertainment, meaning that if you have no internet presence, you probably won't get too far. Make sure that you create a Facebook, Instagram and Twitter separate from your personal account. In addition, all of your artist social media platforms should be turned into a business account so that you can view your insights and track the trends in your page visitors. Be sure to make your artistry pages public and not hidden under private, so that you're easily found.
For more information on artist development and essentials, use our contact form and we'd be happy to point you in the best direction! Contact Us
