Over the years, I’ve noticed that the number one problem emerging artists have is marketing their music to gain new fans and grow a loyal fanbase. It’s the most common question that I see in my inbox. In our current climate right now, the key to get yourself in front of potential fans in a cost effective way is through short form video content. Typically, musicians will associate this type of short form content with the dance, lip sync and crazy challenge videos found on TikTok. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be any of that. This trend of short form videos can actual be quite simple ..read more

2024 Update: This blog was originally published in 2018, but I recently updated it to reflect the changes I’ve seen in the past 6 years. Have you recently decided that you want to pursue your passion for music, but have no idea where to start? If you’ve been doing music as a hobby for a while now and you want to get more serious, you’re in the right place. In this blog, I cover all the major pieces and beginning steps you will need to take for starting your music career as an independent artist. Although this guide caters more towards performing artists, singer-songwriters, bands and rappers ..read more

We all know it’s hard to get your music noticed and grow a fanbase in today’s content saturated world. Have you ever thought about how much harder it would have been to make a living with your music as an independent artist WITHOUT the internet and social media? Or how about without powerful computers (desktops, laptops, smart phones) to conveniently record and produce music from home? In this blog, I want to share some key lessons we can learn from DIY independent music artists from the 1990s, specifically in the underground hip hop scene in the United States. Even if you don’t listen to or m ..read more

You’ve put a lot of thought into creating the right designs for merch based on your brand and music. With those designs, you decided on the best way to get those items made. Now, it’s time to sell! For many independent artists, live shows don’t come as frequently so you want to make sure you’re maximizing these opportunities to sell when you’re performing live. In this blog, we’ll go over all of the basics that you should keep in mind for selling merch in person and some tips to maximize your efforts. Please Note: This blog contains affiliate links to Amazon, meaning that I get a small commiss ..read more

The one thing that never fails to piss off creators and artists are social media algorithms! The days of free organic reach have been well behind us. Basically, ancient history at this point. Although the perception of how TikTok serves content to users seems to be more favorable, the complaints have more so been with Instagram and Facebook (both owned by Meta of course). To be fair, the YouTube algorithm doesn’t share your new video uploads to all of your subscribers either. What can musicians do to overcome this challenge with algorithms? Or is it even the source of the problem in the first ..read more

Note: This is an option blog piece that is a bit different from what I usually publish. It is meant to be a complementary piece to go with my Tactics For Musicians To Beat Social Media Algorithms blog. Whenever a musician posts about tickets to an upcoming show or new merch, there can be a noticeable dip in engagement and organic reach compared to other types of posts. I’ve seen it happen firsthand many times. Does this always happen? No. Have I seen sales types of posts do really well organically? Yes. The commonly held belief is that social media platforms will intentionally suppress the org ..read more

Getting noticed as an emerging, independent artist is not easy. Thankfully, there are opportunities for you to get exposure to be discovered and potentially grow your fan base. The best part is its FREE to apply! In this blog, I share 5 live performance discovery platforms that basically any musician can apply for a chance to get featured in front of new potential fans. Before You Apply   Even though these discovery platforms are free to apply, make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance to succeed. You don’t want to waste your time, or anyone else’s, by submitting when you’re clearl ..read more

Please Note: I am not a financial advisor or tax consultant. The contents of this blog is for educational purposes only. Nothing contained here is financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. Be sure to talk with a professional tax consultant or accountant if you’re unsure about filing taxes as a musician. The information contained is specifically for those who live and work in the United States. Have you started bringing in income from music and you’re unsure of how to prepare for taxes? Being able to earn money as a musician is the first key step from something just being a hobby to becoming ..read more

Please Note: I am not a financial advisor or tax consultant. The contents of this blog is for educational purposes only. Nothing contained here is financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. Be sure to talk with a professional tax consultant or accountant if you’re unsure about filing taxes as a musician. The information contained is specifically for those who live and work in the United States. As gratifying as it may be to make a living off your art, the tough reality of being an independent artist is that you’re required to handle not only the creative side, but all aspects of the business ..read more

This is the first part of a series on Web3 / NFTs for music artists. In this introductory blog, I explain why so many think that NFTs are a scam and cover the very basics of NFTs and the blockchain. My hope is musicians will rethink this narrative and keep an open mind because there is a lot of good potential for the music industry as this Web3 space continues to develop. As someone new to this space, I share my experiences with buying into some NFT projects to see if they really are scams.   Within the past 3 years or so, there has been a lot of chatter around NFTs in headlines and vario ..read more