Hope for the Unsigned: Getting Noticed on the Internet

The process of releasing an album goes beyond the large task of writing the music it contains. The music needs to be professionally recorded and mass distributed to anyone who is willing to listen, which is no easy task in itself. Traditionally, an artist will try to sign a recording contract with a record label to release their music to the public. However, getting signed is very difficult in itself, and still does not guarantee success. Also, when signing a recording contract, you agree to give up most of the rights to your own creations and a good portion of any revenue generated through your music.

However, with the rise of the Internet age, musicians have been able to take advantage of the utility by independently releasing digital recordings of their music for distribution online. Amateur musicians as well as professional musicians have attempted to reach their fans without the aid of a record label with varying success, bucking the traditional business model of the music industry while paving the road for future artists to reach an audience.

Pioneering a new idea or business model comes with its share of ups and downs. When you’re no longer following an already established blueprint, trial and error is the only method at your disposal for navigating blindly towards your goal. As a result, success varies and so do the methods and tools available to the artist.

Aggregators and Online Stores

For an unsigned artist, using the Internet to distribute your music can be an indispensable tool for your success. There are many places to publish your music for a fee, or even for free to the public. The most popular of these services by far is the iTunes store. Apple requires all artists to release their music through a record label or through a music aggregator to sell in their store (Ehrlich,2011). For an unsigned artist, a music aggregator can be a great tool to their cause.

A music aggregator is a company who stores, collects, and helps promote music on the Internet to larger stores and distributors. iTunes and other similar online stores deal with the music aggregator rather than thousands of independent artists. Using aggregators and record labels helps fill their stores with huge amounts of music as fast and as easy as possible. Also, the stores deal directly with the labels and aggregators for legal purposes. Usually the aggregator requires a small fee for their assistance, however the artist still maintains ownership of their music and also receives various other benefits the aggregator offers. And unlike record companies, anyone can list their music with an aggregator.

One of the more popular aggregators is http://www.cdbaby.com/. Cdbaby offers several tiers of service, ranging from free to 89$ per album, with each tier offering different services to the artist. Services include registering and licensing your music as well as distributing digitally in multiple online stores and thousands of brick-and-mortar locations. The company also assists in promotion by making recommendations to its customers, although that’s where their help ends (Rohter,2014).

For an artist with a building fan base, these are great methods of distributing your music for a low cost and with little effort. The music needs to already be recorded to distribute, which should be done professionally in a studio. Also, the artist needs to be proactively promoting themselves, which can be done for free using various other tools of the Internet.

Social Media for Self Promotion

Artists are not limited to large online stores and retailers for promotion and distribution. One such popular site which specializes primarily in music is the web site www.bandcamp.com. Band Camp offers the artist a customizable web site to promote and upload their music to. The artist can either charge for their music, giving a small portion to Band Camp for their sales, or even give their music away for free, which helps an amateur artist gain exposure. No music aggregator is needed to use Band Camp as the artist does all sales and promotion of the material.

Standard social media sites are also helpful. Artists such as Esmee Denters (Shahid,2015)and Justin Bieber (Adib,2009)have been discovered by posting videos of themselves on the popular streaming service, www.youtube.com. A video of someone singing or playing an instrument can get people’s attention, including signed artists, record labels, and other artists looking to collaborate. Social media sites such as Facebook can help promote and link to an artist’s web page or give information on show dates and other pertinent news related to the artist. It is important to be creative and open minded while using the Internet to self promote and distribute, as you never know what will be the newest and best method to achieve your goals as a budding artist.

Success is not Guaranteed

While these tools are incredibly helpful to an artist, there are many other obstacles and factors that contribute to one’s success. Without the aid of a record label, the artist bears all costs of recording and distributing the materials. The cost of professional recording tools are extremely high and for the most part difficult to master. It is recommended to record your music in a professional studio, or at least send your music to a professional for volume mastering. You can record the greatest song in the world, but if it sounds bad on the recording no one will want to listen to it.

One should also keep in mind when using these means for promotion, they are joining an extremely large pool of other signed and unsigned artists competing for attention and sales through the independent markets. Amateur music sites are less accessed than traditional web stores such as iTunes. And selling on a site like iTunes still doesn’t guarantee success as you are competing with professional artists with large bank rolls for sales while you fight to gain attention through less accessed means.

The odds against an amateur artist may seem insurmountable, but they are not. In fact, all recording artists at one point had to start out as amateurs. The modern tools of today make being heard around the world easier than ever before. Leverage the access the Internet gives to give yourself the best chance for musical success.

Works Cited

Ehrlich, B. (2011, May 11). HOW TO: Get Your Music on iTunes. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/05/20/getting-music-on-itunes/

Rohter, L. (2014, August 12). Log In — The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/arts/music/cd-baby-a-company-for-the-niche-musician.html

Adib, D. (2009, November 14). Teen Pop Star Justin Bieber Discovered on YouTube — ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/teen-pop-star-justin-bieber-discovered-youtube/story?id=9068403

Shahid, S. (2015, January 24). Esmee Denters impresses ALL four judges on The Voice UK | Daily Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2924851/She-s-got-spinning-YouTube-sensation-Esmee-Denters-makes-music-comeback-impresses-four-judges-Voice-UK.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490