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Music Marketing Blog

A Resource for Independent Artists
Mar 30
Love2

Does Spotify and Apple Music Owe You Money? What Songwriters Need to Know About the MLC

By Music Business, Music Streaming, Spotify No Comments

As a musician, the last thing you want to do is leave money on the table. So what can you do to make sure you’re getting all the money you’re owed from your music?

Many musicians may not realize this, but there’s a lot of music royalties floating out there waiting to be claimed by their rightful owners. Over 424 million dollars in mechanical royalties generated from digital service providers (DSPs) were left unclaimed due to the lack of data or having the incorrect information to match and pay out the rightful copyright owners.

Thankfully for artists, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) officially launched in January of 2021 to help address this issue. How does the MLC help exactly? Read More

Feb 28
Love6

How to NOT Get Scammed with “Music Promotion” Services

By Music Business, Music Promotion 3 Comments

Navigating the music business can be very tricky, especially for newer musicians. It’s hard to know who to trust when there are many people looking to exploit and take advantage of impressionable artists who will try anything to make it in this business.

The music business, like other entertainment industries, is filled with scammers. It is such a lucrative career path that many have set up operations to take advantage of these artists to make money. The area you’ll most likely encounter scammers in the music industry is in music promotion. After all, one of the biggest struggles artists have is getting their music heard and gaining exposure to build a fanbase.

There are a lot of music promotion companies out there, but not all will serve your best interests. This blog will help you make better decisions when looking for ways to promote your music while avoiding potential scams. It’s already challenging for musicians not making enough money from music so the last thing you want to do is spend on something that doesn’t work. Read More

Jan 31
Love2

Twitch for Music Artists: How to Make Money on Twitch (eBook Preview)

By Livestreaming, Twitch No Comments

This is a preview of my new eBook “Twitch Starter Guide for Music Artists.” I’m sharing the first few introductory chapters that provide more of an overview of Twitch and how to make money on the platform as it pertains to musicians. For detailed guidance and instructions on how to start your Twitch channel, grow your audience and enhance your livestream experiences, you can purchase my full eBook here. I have a special introductory offer for the 1st edition so save time and money by getting a copy today. Read More

Dec 31
Love43
Clubhouse App Musicians

What is Clubhouse and Why Musicians Should Be Excited It + New User Tips

By Social Media No Comments

Update: It looks like Clubhouse has shifted their focus to expanding their user base much sooner than anticipated. There are currently over 10 million users now and it’s growing globally, which is up from 600,000 when I joined in December of 2020. They are now out of beta and available for the public to join. I added some for new users down below. Some information in this blog may become outdated as this app grows, but I’ll do my best to keep this page updated as soon as I hear anything new.

There’s a new social media startup that’s generating a lot of buzz due to the high profile celebrities currently active on it as well as some controversy. The app is called Clubhouse and it can potentially be the next big social media platform.

Clubhouse launched in early March of 2020, but I was late to the party as I heard about the app for the first time on 12/22/20 and got an invite the day after. Impressed and excited by its potential for wider adoption, I wanted to write this blog to give musicians a heads up of what may come and share my observations. Read More

Nov 29
Love9
Submit to Music Blogs

40 Music Blogs to Submit Your Songs for Exposure… But Is It Worth It?

By Music Marketing, Music Promotion 2 Comments

The biggest challenge emerging artists face is building a loyal fan base. Nowadays, it ain’t easy to get people to listen to your music in our content-saturated digital reality.

At the same time, there are different strategies and tactics to promote yourself and get your music in front of new potential fans. One of them is pitching to independent music blogs that have their own dedicated following. These bloggers are music lovers who enjoy sharing good music with their readers.

I created a list of 40 active music blogs that, as of 2023, you can submit and pitch your songs for exposure, at little to no cost… but is it really worth your time? Read More

Oct 26
Love2
Team

Level Up: The Musicians Guide for Building a Team

By Music Business No Comments

Being an independent artist doesn’t mean you have to do everything alone. In fact, you shouldn’t.

The best advice that Tierra Whack received came from Andre 3000 (Outkast). He told her it was very important to build a strong team to help exponentiate her career. Having this support system isn’t just about handling specific tasks for your business, it’s also to help you plan your next steps, keep you grounded and offer emotional support when needed.

If you really want to take your music career to the next level, you will eventually need a team. They don’t necessarily have to be people who you hire to work exclusively with you. At the very least, you need to form relationships and a network with skilled people who are good at what they do.

As someone who works on a number of artist teams myself, I’m going to cover what types of people you may need as an independent, how you may find them and what qualities to look for in each member of your team. Read More

Sep 21
Love2
Allee Willis with Butterscotch

The Most Important Songwriting Lesson From Hall of Fame Songwriter Allee Willis

By Songwriting No Comments

Who is Allee Willis?

Chances are you have heard at least one of her songs she’s written as she has been credited for many classic cultural hits including Earth, Wind & Fire’s hit “September” and the Friend’s Theme song “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts.

I had the incredible honor of meeting Allee and attending one of her parties at her LA home when she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The following day, she wrote a song with Butterscotch, as I documented the songwriting session. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences in my music career so far. Read More

Aug 26
Love53
Single Release Checklist for Independent Artists

The Ultimate Single Release Checklist for Independent Artist

By Music Business, Music Distribution, Music Promotion 9 Comments

Last Updated on 4/27/2023

Planning to release a new single? Don’t want to miss any steps?

Putting out a new song is relatively straightforward, but there are a lot of things that go into the process of a successful release.

In this blog, I will discuss everything independent artists need to know about releasing singles. On top of that, I will share all my personal checklists that I use for my clients. I will literally cover the entire process in depth so you don’t have to worry about forgetting any steps. Whenever you release music, feel free to use this blog as a reference so you have all your bases covered. Read More

Jul 22
Love18
Smart Links

What’s the Best Smart Link Tool for Promoting Your Music Effectively?

By Music Marketing, Music Tools 5 Comments

When it comes to marketing your music online, a tool/service that every artist needs is a smart link for your music releases. For those who are more marketing savvy, you may know it as a landing or pivot page.

Although Spotify is the most popular paid streaming service, not everyone uses it and it’s not possible to link to all the different outlets your music is on when promoting it. This is where a smart link or music landing page comes in.

A smart link directs the user to a web page that contains links to all the different places people can buy or listen to your new release. In some cases, you may want to include other relevant links, song snippets and videos in your marketing efforts. Read More

Jun 23
Love6
Spotify Playlist Guide

Spotify Playlist Guide: How to Improve Discoverability for Your Music

By Music Streaming, Playlists, Spotify One Comment

In this modern digital age, streaming has become the primary way for us to discover, listen, and share new music. For musicians, this accessibility has allowed their songs to be discovered by new potential fans from all over the world.

One of the ways to reach new fans is through Spotify playlists.

Spotify playlists can potentially put you in front of the right people who are more likely to be into your music and turn into proper fans.

As an independent artist, it’s important to understand how Spotify works and how its playlist system can bridge the gap between you and potential fans.

However, the climate for streaming platforms like Spotify has become highly competitive, so just uploading your song will not be enough. Keep in mind that over 100,000 new songs are added to Spotify each day!

In this blog, I will go over the different types of Spotify playlists as a discovery tool to help you get more exposure for your music. Read More