The New Artist Model For Independent Rappers,And Singers
Boy has shit changed in the music game. It went from record labels pimping rappers for every dam dime they could to artist being able to use the internet to build them a loyal fanbase, get exposure, and release and sell their music whenever the hell they feel like it. Now don't get me wrong record labels still have all the connects to get the promotion, press coverage, tours,etc,but now with the internet you have access to the exact same companies it just takes a little time and research.
Of course we know that cd sales have went down the drain,but its a dam lie when they say artist don't sell music anymore they just don't sell cd's anymore because everything is digital so people are buying music still they are just purchasing it in a digital format, and once again you don't need the major labels to get your music distributed now you can use sites like Itunes to get your music to the world and it only takes about 15 min.
The New artist model for indie artist is about building your own brand and you having control over your fanbase,tours,music releases, and more. Here are a couple of things as an independent artist that are mandatory if you want to take your career to the next level and make a full time living from your music without a label taking 70 percent of your income.
You have to be active on the top social media sites so you can connect with your fans on a regular basis and on top of that nowadays everybody is online so you can also use social media sites to generate new fans also.Some of the main sites that are a must to be active on are Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter,Tumblr, and Reddit Music .These sites all have over a million visitors a month and these sites can make your music go viral easy but the whole goal with these sites isn't to spam your music on peoples walls and in their inbox the goal is to build a real relationship and then slowly and indirectly.
1.Having your own website with an email capture for is a must also at the end of the day this is about building your name and brand not another companies brand like Reverbnation,or Soundcloud that is just plain retarded. You should use those sites as funnel sites to send the traffic to your own website that way you can have an email capture form that collects viewers emails and then you will also have a list of music fans you can build a relationship with and covert them into a buying fan
Also there are a ton of sites where you can get free responsive website themes that are professional and slick and you can be up and running within a hr.
2.Building Your Team-It takes a team to make it in this business and there is only 24 hrs in a day and you the artist should be focusing on recording music you don't have the time to contact bloggers,music sites, venues,radio stations,or make your own mixtape or album cover designs and do all the other networking that is involved in the music biz.
I understand at first you might not have the budget to afford these people upfront (keep in mind their not expensive at all) , but you should do your research now if you don't have a budget ready just so you can start to build a relationship with these people in these niches.
You need a manager.A good manager will already have good contacts in the music biz but if not your manager should always stay busy trying to get you quality shows booked, interviews,talking to label reps and any and everything that has to do with you getting more brand awareness and getting you paid.
You need your own graphic designer. As an independent artist you have to make sure you brand yourself like a professional just like the major artist because your image and plays a big role in your music career.You need to checkout some different graphic designers and find someone who has the type of feel your looking for. Make sure you look at their portfolio so you can see some of their mixtape cover art, flyer designs, and logo designs you don't want to settle for less when it comes to your graphics because thats what reels people in to checkout your music. I would make sure they have some professional high quality mixtape covers and make sure the mixtape cover art is Hi-def ,then I would do the same thing for the logo designs and flyer designs also.
You need a publicist or a online promotion team. I know this sounds expensive and it is and isn't lol a publicist might want a couple of thousand a month to run a social media campaign and to get your music music bloggers and sites they should already have an established relationship with.
You could also have your niece or friend do the exact samething as far as pushing your music online and contacting bloggers and get your music to them so they can write about you on their high traffic sites.Blogger have the power to get your music and stories to hundreds of thousands of music fans, dj's and A&R's at the push of a button.
You could also go on a freelancer site and pay someone 20 bucks a week to push your music on all the social media sites and contact blog sites for 3hrs a day and that is well worth it, plus it gives you more free time to work on music and perfecting your craft.Just take a look at all these new independent music artist you see blowing up nowadays from Kevin Gates to Fetty Wap they're all over the music blogs sites anywhere you go and they make sure everything that represents their brand is professional from their custom mixtape cover designs to their club flyer designs..
If your trying to get to that next level apply some of this information you just read and I guarantee you will get positive results.
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