Eps 1: The Ultimate Guide to the Music industry
— Oppressed Dynasty Entertainment Show
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Host
Isobel Graves
Podcast Content
There are aggregators and distributors out there that can push your music onto every platform that is appropriate for every indie artist, and all you have to do is decide where you want your music to be found. As an indie artist, you are going to be working with companies like CD Baby, TuneCore, or DistroKid to get your music onto streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. This requires understanding music licensing, especially now that streaming services are so popular and easy to access.
Understanding how music licensing works for businesses is critical, so that you can make the best decisions for your customers, all the while complying with laws and regulations. Everyone wants to see their businesses grow, so understanding music licensing only benefits you, your customers, and your employees down the road. To be their most efficient, businesses of every type need to understand how important music is to their customers and brand identity.
Most of all, branding from within allows for strategic, intentional decisions to be made in the business of your music. Even in the beginning stages of your music career, it is critical that you begin thinking about your artists brand specifically. As you define it, you will find out exactly how you need to communicate it across every facet of your music marketing.
If you are wondering what type of archetype is best for your music, my 3-Ways To Brand Your Music Cheat Sheet can tell you. If you want to trademark your music, my cheatsheet will show you 3 simple ways to align your music with branding. I will explain more in the second step, but #3 is a crucial starting point if you want to stand out as a unique artist with an authentic music brand.
This guide is an easy, step-by-step tutorial anyone, including beginning artists, can use to get gigs. The key to making money from music is growing your fanbase slowly but surely, and by taking the steps included in this guide, you will increase your income while growing your fanbase. Getting allows you to spend less, purchase more licensing, put out more music, and gradually grow your fanbase until you are ready for the next step.
The goal of music marketing is to grow as an artist while eventually monetizing this growth somehow. Influencers, music bloggers, and popular YouTubers are always great to recommend, and if you can get yourself and your music talked about by the right people, you are going to grow your fanbase. For your music to do the things that they do best, you have to capture your fans attention.
Promote on Facebook, tell your friends, even tell friends who do not know anything about your musical adventures. As a musician, branding your music is tough...there are now so many people making music on the internet, competing for attention. The growth of streaming and YouTube music as vehicles to success in the industry has meant there are thousands of unsigned bands, solo artists, and other musicians competing for attention, and without the right marketing, even the greatest songs in the world are not going to gain any attention.
There are a ton of places where fans can stream and/or download your music digitally, including Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, etc. This is particularly true for DJs and producers, since the barrier for making your music electronically is now just as low as downloading music production software. Licensing online beats is not a new thing, since music producers have been releasing their own beats under license for years.
What started as just a few hundred producers on sites such as Soundclick and MySpace has now grown to become a huge industry of music licensing, led by platforms like BeatStars, Airbit, and Soundee. As a go-to destination for new, cutting-edge music, SoundCloud has continued to flourish in the indie music scene, even allowing artists to book their own tours using data that they have provided. Music production has never been easier, and todays resources allow just about anyone to start a site from which they can sell beats.
Derivative works are extremely common within the Beat Licensing Industry, and it is likely that you encounter one every day. Of course, you should never simply copy something or use someone elses artwork without giving credit, but doing a little research really helps to figure out which approaches to pursue and to stay on top of your game. Your manager needs to know the landscape and the current trends of the music industry well enough to help guide you to making sound decisions regarding your music marketing.
Because marketing is such a crucial area to focus on within your music career, the core players that you will work with are likely going to look like a similar group that you might already have around you. Start from a business mind-set , stay current on industry trends, and figure out how key players might help you with your own music career. It can be a full-time job marketing your music, and while you should invest just as much energy in this as in making the music, you do not want to spend time on strategies that are not working.
Logically, most booking agents and managers will only work with artists who are already booked to play shows, however, you may be able to persuade one of them by showing off your incredible musicianship, passion, and drive. Classical may not fit the clientele, and finding royalty-free music or getting access to originals may be a long process. These guidelines may help you in considering what kind of music might fit in your company.