Putting material out

[Mista_Ed]

Yo yall

Since I've got myself a new music pc... Ive been back at the production for the past few months after a 10 year break - basically since i closed the studio in the uk. its been absolutely brilliant to pick back up again, actually pretty life changing to be creative again in this way to be totally honest ...ive realised just how satisfying this is for me - and how important it is that i actually create again. 

Over a 2002 to 2012 - we created literally THOUSANDS of audio projects between 3 of us working at the studio... But the changes you naturally make, when moving from one side of the world to another, led to me putting music making on the back burner to work on another business here, which i dont regret for a second, as its really helped to set me and my partner up in this country (and even allowed us to get residency and citizenship in New Zealand eventually) - but now is the time to return to music - i have no more excuses, not to. 

So I'm currently 12 tracks deep and they're pretty much flying out again really easily, which is fuckin awesome. Im really happy with the material so far, and im certain theyll only get better the more i do (they already have in a short space of time) 

I watched a wee video from a producer recently (might have even been shared here on dv actually) who argued the toss about always putting your material out, even if youre not totally 100% on it yourself, as other people enjoy certain things which YOU might not... This really struck a chord with me, as its particularly difficult to be objective with your own material. I also read something from the late freddy Kruger / red astaire (rip) to the effect of - "if you make good music, get it out there, as theres always a listener to appreciate it... But theyre probably not found in your own neighborhood" 

Which begs the question - whats the best way for me to get my new material out there and into people's ears?

Shit like Spotify didn't even exist before - we were all MySpace lol.... I know ppl still use soundcloud, which ive never really used much to any effect, bar uploading some stuff back in the day (i do have an account) but whats the port of call these days? 

Bandcamp? Spotify? I know theres digital distribution now (distrokid etc) but im Pretty in the dark as to the steps i could take that might be best to get shit moving. Im not trying to "launch a music career" especially at 43 lol - but i definitely wanna give myself the best shot at getting my shit heard.

If anyone has any 'modern day advice' - id appreciate any heads up with any ideas!! 

Also happy to upload some shit somewhere if any one wants to preview the work too... (but dont know where to pop anything either haha) 

Chur

 

 

[djdiggla]

IDK how you get music on Spotify but if anyone does would be interesting to hear. Same for getting music licensed in ads/movies/tv. 

 

Seems like Bandcamp is the way to go for direct sales. They seem to be favored by artists and has become increasingly the place people go to buy tracks. I read that's how Mr. Carmack has supported himself for many years. Jon also told me that's where he buys most all his music which was a surprise. I've started browsing more and it's got a lot of good stuff without feeling completely saturated or artificially manipulated by bigger labels. You can follow artists which means people that do get updates as you put new stuff out making essentially a hassle free email blast feature. 

 

 

[Steve]

I really like Bandcamp as a buyer, plus they only take a 15% cut of sales - and that drops to 10% if you hit $5,000 worth of sales - which is decent.

As for putting your music on Spotify, Apple Music etc., check out TuneCore.

[Deft]

I buy as much as possible via Bandcamp, seems like it's the best / easiest way to support artists. Someone will tell me it's a scam now.

[Jon]

I use Distrokid for distribution to streaming services for my independent releases and then sell via bandcamp, and try to push that on my socials as the main place to buy music from my various projects - you can build up a mailing list with bandcamp too so people who have bought your music before can get notifications when you release new projects etc. I would cast as wide a net as possible with the different platforms just so you're present on them (e.g. still having your tracks on Tidal if you personally only use Spotify etc).

[JHouse]

Yeah, Distrokid is the move, and it's mad cheap.

Might I suggest checking out the Producer Grind on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Producergrind

I've learned sooooo f'n much about getting ish out there to the masses, capitalizing on it, as well as avoiding the common pitfalls. Some of their best podcasts were in 2019 and 2020, then it went to shit for a bit in 2021, but now it's substantially better. I literally take notes (old school pen and paper) when I watch these interviews. You really learn how people come up in the music production game from a wide array of artists/producers. I've been kinda mapping out a plan to following, taking ideas from this guy, that person, and the other dude, then ditching what I detest (like cold calling fools).