SoloDisc

Remember back in the day when everyone wanted to be on the radio? It was like a rite-of-passage! That’s how you could say you “made it” or you were “going places” with music. Today, we still stay and use those things, but there’s so much more at our disposal. One of the most powerful tools available, and still one of the least used to it’s full potential, is YouTube!

YouTube has grown from a mustard seed into a massive mountain of intelligent algorithms and analytical data you can use to promote your brand and music from coast to coast for free! The opportunity for exposure and engagement with your core fans is insurmountable. Seriously, you couldn’t offer them more engagement even if you invited them to your living room for an intimate album signing and performance WITH milk and cookies.  Settings have been enhanced to give you the ability to release music, perform live, sell merchandise, and keep everyone informed at the click of a mouse all from your home or office. One of the most important features, which we will focus on specifically in this post, is the audience available for you to market to. 

All of us here at SoloDisc can remember growing up and being advised by TV, teachers, cousins, counselors, pastors, parents and preachers NOT to pursue a career in music and/or entertainment because not everyone makes it. Before you could become completely excited and after you’ve over-invested, other people and their opinions have stomped all over your dreams, aspirations, and ambition.  Even though those people were all wrong, they weren’t imagining roadblocks or end results! We know that you could demolish the “Single Ladies” routine 8-count by 8-count in your parent’s den on any given Tuesday, but the fact of the matter is not everyone is Beyoncé and everyone won’t become synonymous with pop culture or even come close to the top of the charts. Good thing you don’t have to do any of those things to have a viable career in music. 

“There’s nothing new under the sun”, as it’s said, so how could anyone expect to maintain any type of artistic integrity if everything has been done already? Sooner or later you’re bound to pen a melody someone else has thought of or used at least a dozen times. As devastating as that may sound to some artists, it’s not a realization that should come as a shock. After all, there are only 7 musical notes if you’re not counting the first note in the following interval, but does that shut the door to innovation in music? 

One of the most powerful things you can do as an artist is acknowledge your influences and pay homage to an artist who has inspired you along your journey, but the single most powerful thing you can do as an artist is to innovate and forge something in spite of everything being done already. Many people will draw comparisons and liken your hard work and passion to the work and passions of others, but that doesn’t define you as an artist. 

Whitney Houston’s most notable work of her career, “I Will Always Love You”, is actually a cover of Dolly Parton’s original song of the same title, but this didn’t prevent her from standing out as an artist or jeopardize her artistic integrity.  She is still praised today after her death for her rendition of Dolly’s song. Furthermore, anyone unfamiliar with Dolly Parton would likely tell you that song is Whitney’s and no one else’s. 

How often have you heard people ask you who or what you sound like? In terms of artistry, naturally, you wouldn’t draw a comparison to someone else; or would you? As you’re increasingly becoming more aware in being an independent artist,  artistry doesn’t always have as much to do with market viability and trends in sales and popularity as we might think or prefer. Here at SoloDisc, we’ve got some solid advice for budding artists in entertainment struggling with defining their sound!

New and emerging independent artist are changing and challenging everything we thought we knew about marketing and consumer behavior. At one time it was a dream to be a viable artist without the support and bank account of a major label. 

Modern inventions like the internet, made marketing and distributing music easier than it has ever been. Even still, does being independent truly mean being independent? 

Don’t let the name SoloDisc sway you into believing that it’s just a one-pull-all event. We know just as well as most of you that there are many cogs and wheels involved in moving an artists career forward and creating even a simple project. 

With so many moving parts and different functions to be completed, you need lots of different skilled individuals and technology to bring it all to fruition. How does that happen as an independent artist?