On my podcast, we chop it up with plenty of different artists and professionals. We’ve had graphic designers, painters, stylists, and more. But, the most frequent artists to come through are music.
A lot of my friends are rappers, singers, and musicians. A big topic of discussion in that space is the indie artist route and signing to a major label. There’s no right answer, honestly. There’s different paths that work for different people, but I do want to give some quick tips I learned that could help somebody just starting out.
- Distribution Services are exactly what the name implies. They will get your music into online stores or streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal. Examples include: DistroKid, UnitedMasters, CDbaby
- Performing Rights Organizations are kind of like middle men. They collect royalties on copyrighted work, and basically monitor where, when, and how your work is being used. Major PROs include: BMI, ASCAP, SESAC
- Streaming Collection is necessary nowadays too. Song Trust is a digital rights management platform that keeps up with your streams globally.
- Radio Collection is important if you make it big enough to get played on the radio. Sound Exchange is another digital rights organization that specializes in radio collection.
“Paperwork makes that paper work”, these are just some technical things to knock out out before dropping your first project!
