That is my current perspective of the climate of today’s music industry and whether I am right or wrong it is how I feel. You see in today’s industry there are more tools then ever at the disposal of an independent artist. But instead of embracing the tools many of these artists simply get in the way of their own and others success.
Now let’s be clear, when I say ‘success’ I don’t mean world tours and the cover of Rolling Stone… What I mean by success is making music a priority in your life, making it your main career and your full time job, even if it means maintaining a shitty second job which is often required to ensure the rent is paid. I should also be clear this is not so much an attack at casual bands that are comfortable releasing their albums on CD’s in homemade’s printed slim cases and playing local watering holes… this is more so an attack on all the bands that bitch the second another band begins to pick up steam yet would rather complain about the success others then make the necessary effort to find their own success. Whenever a band does this they are ultimately the catalyst of their own demise instead of their own success.
I’m twenty seven years old and I am positive that I am living in age where too many people still expect to have things handed to them by the industry…. and this disillusion is still everywhere I look. Up and coming bands expect it and bands that have been around for decades still dream it. The fact is the old world gate-keepers of the industry are making less and less of an impact in the big picture, retail CD stores are now DVD stores with limited shelf space for the newest Brittany Spears release. Twenty plus years ago there was little question of success if you didn’t have major label backing but now that is no longer the case, independent bands are teaming with independent labels with independent distribution and thanks to the world-wide web, digital distribution and online CD stores more artists are being heard then ever. Granted the modern day artist might only be making enough to get by and no longer millions of dollars, but I for one would rather scrape by in the industry then scrape by working at a menial job I despise.
There is an abundance of resources available to help independent musicians, but even with so many options being overwhelming isn’t the problem. The problem is that independent musicians are often too lazy to help themselves.
So please do yourself a favor and check out these suggested tools:
HAULIX – www.haulix.com
Haulix is a new tool designed for the digital delivery of promotional materials. They are mostly targeted at Publicists/Labels but they do have a package for an independent artist to upload a single album for digital delivery. And where is tailored towards the music industry it beats the shit out of YouSendIt and similar file sending sites.
FANBRIDGE – www.fanbridge.com
Fanbridge is a provider of email and mobile fan list management for bands. Packages begin at no charge depending on how many messages you are sending each month. Plus you can do HTML emails with easy, pre-built templates.
REVERBNATION – www.reverbnation.com
Though most of you likely know about Reverbnation, I have just started using it again (after over a years absence) and am realizing what a great resource it is. Widgets are great!
Lastly if you haven’t yet seen my article on ‘DIY Band Promotion’ please download a free copy here.
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