10 Best Tips to be a Successful Independent Artist
1. Whenever possible post your music on every website you can find. People can’t love you until they’ve heard you, and it usually takes some repeat exposure before they’ll get around to listening.
2. Make it visual. Make a video. Borrow talent and resources to help you make it look good. If it’s good, post it everywhere you can. If not, figure out why it’s not and do it again.
3. Get gigs. Take anything, don’t be picky. Again, they can’t like you if they’ve never heard you. You know those VH1 interviews where the big names look back fondly on all they had to put up with in the early years? That could be you.
4. Where are you on the Web? Put together a website. A band without a web presence doesn’t seem like a big deal. Update it often. Make sure you post your music and information about your upcoming gigs.
5. Get onto social networking sites. If you’re not at least on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouMusic you’re missing out on millions of potential new fans. And update constantly, including media. If a picture’s worth a thousand words, video’s worth a million.
6. Now for some Press. Put together press releases of your gigs and send them everywhere. Most of them won’t get published most of the time but when one does, it will be extremely valuable to your success as an indie artist.
7. Put a CD together. Find a friend who does graphic design and get a professional cover and label on it. Sell copies on your website. You may not sell many but just having it as an option helps to add legitimacy.
8. Take this seriously. Don’t show up late for gigs, forget lyricsdon’t be sloppy. Don’t presume that people can’t be put off just because your music’s goodthere are millions of bands vying for their attention.
9. Be Good to your customers. Be good to your fans. Enough of them and the labels will come knocking.
10. Ask for help. Get the band to ask everyone they know to ask everyone they know to help promote you. Give them CDs and get them excited with you. They’ll help you find gigs, websites on which to post your music and video, and people that will run your press releases.
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