Don’t know where to go and what to do from here. Most people locally who know me know the song and associate me with ‘music guy’. Do I upload the song now on spotify/youtube? Do I chase mixing work instead?

 

If you go straight to Spotify/Youtube you might as well go straight to the unemployment line while you're uploading that song. Those are dead ends for new and DIY solo indie artists. Seriously, if you have a hit song on your hands, get your ducks in a row to fully establish, monetize yourself and your music/skills, build a fan base, bookings etc, if that is the goal - what is the goal? And how did it get to the radio station(s) in the first place if not through a label promo distro or something?

 

thanks for answering. I’ve emailed the radio and introduced myself and people at the radio including director listened to the song and said yes it’s going live. That was it. Isn’t it a bit harder to build fanbase without spotify/youtube?

 

That's good, but understand that it's local radio only. Radio is great but if you want to be heard by a wider audience it has to be available online. You need it on Spotify, Apple Music, etc for sure. Are you under a distributor? Might wanna look into it because it helps consolidate the data on all your releases too in all these various platforms. Keep building your online presence and do try to make an impact locally as well. It is where you're from and I'm sure there will be people that will like that.

Also, I don't understand what you meant by "chase mixing work". Are you establishing yourself as an artist or a mixer? Your song is on the radio so I think you should capitalize on the former, should you not?

 

First of all, congratulations that you and others can hear your song on the radio.

I would love to hear more from you though:
- What kind of radio station is it?
- What is the range of the station?
- In which country is it broadcasting?
- Do you get money for it?
- How old are you?
- I would like to hear the song - is there a link to the radio station and what is the name of your song and who is the artist?
- It's hard to recommend something if you don't know the song or the genre!
- I also can't judge if you have talent without hearing more from you.

I ask you to differentiate a little more and not to generalize so much.
I also ask you to work a little more on your self-confidence.
Especially young people in this uncertain time are very insecure and very concerned about what other people think about them.
I would also send your song to other radio stations. I would upload your song to Spotify and Bandcamp.

Do you already have a free SoundCloud account? You could upload other tracks of yours there as well.
How many pieces have you already produced), I don't know how good you are - maybe you should introduce
yourself to a record company later. I would also contact other online media and do a little promotion.

 

Nice and congratulations! All im saying is you need to cover the basics of branding yourself, music copyright, publishing, licensing, distribution, royalty collection etc to protect and monetize as well as market and promote yourself. Harder? Well, I think you're proving to yourself no. You got further than most simply by hustling a bit locally. You've already got however many thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of listeners, right? Now dot your i's and cross your t's, get your brand together and keep up the momentum. Web presence, shows. press, merch, forthcoming releases. Send out demos to labels you respect or if so inclined setup and do it yourself, but do it right.

Uploading straight to Spotify/Youtube does nothing for you - everything for them. There is always money being made, just not the actual music/content creators making it because of this right here. There are what, 70,000 songs uploaded to Spotify alone every single day? Something like 1/3 of all songs never get a unique stream, much less any royalty money. Not saying you shouldn't use the tools available, just that it should be done right, if your goal is to build a successful professional career in the industry that is.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 12, 2023

I could be your father but I'm at a similar point in life now. Having some music to deliver but wondering what's the best way to go about it. Choices are vast, hard to grasp and one should be very careful not to get scammed. Musicians nowadays make most money with live acts but that's pretty impossible for me as I'm too old for that shite. If you can pull off live acts, that would make it all so much easier.

So I'm actually considering releasing some sample libraries and presets... that might be more profitable.

I've been talking to some people in the industry (who are also my clients - either mixing or mastering, recording live acts, or computer maintenance is what I do) and they say the best way to start is finding a music publishing company willing to publish your work - what used to be a record label. They take care of your presence on all the music streaming services, radio stations and live acts. Kinda like your manager. It's much easier that way than doing it yourself. They're usually well connected, too.

It is tricky to find an MPC that likes your music, though. One should look for labels specialised in publishing the same genre of music you make.

 

Last edited: Jan 12, 2023

Lois is probably wondering what it sounds like. Soon, my friend, soon. Very creative and lonely winter here... (divorcing... I feel devastated )

The album is called "You Fucking Beatch" joking. It's just a working title.

 

Hi @DPA, I think you have talent and a great future ahead of you. I listened to your piece and now I follow you on SoundCloud.
Here is your piece again, you unfortunately posted in the middle of the quote.