Release your own music

Streaming pays pennies, and nobody is coming to give you permission. Here's why I release my own music anyway, and the fear I had to get past first.

1. 1 Why Music Streaming is Broken (And What Composers Can Do About It)What 400,000 streams actually paid, and what to do instead 4 min
2. 2 The Truth About 'Making It': The Ongoing Composer Journey 4 min
3. 3 I'm scared, but I am going to do this 4 min

A label needs a catalogue. These are the habits that let me finish a lot of music without it all sounding the same.

1. 4 15 Albums in 3 Months: The One Habit That Made It Possible 2 min
2. 5 Music that is authentic to you - - DOAMM#4Finding the "you" in your music 1 min
3. 6 Lo-fi vibes and embracing "low quality" --DOAMM#3Why a finished demo beats a perfect track you never release 1 min
4. 7 I've Got The Name Of The New Project -- DOAMM17Naming an artist project and making the album art 1 min

Distribution, playlists and packaging. For step-by-step help with Spotify for Artists and DistroKid settings, see the guides on Composer HQ.

1. 8 Distrokid Review: An honest take from an indie musicianTwenty artist projects in, here's what I think of it 4 min
2. 9 The first "official" playlist is LIVE! 2 min
3. 10 Trying to figure out what works 1 min

What the numbers look like after release, and how to build listeners who stick around.

1. 11 This week's numbers - 1 2 min
2. 12 The Direct-to-Fan Project 7 min
3. 13 The YouTube Strategy That Built 700K Subscribers: How One Composer Turned Belief Into IncomeHow one composer built 700,000 YouTube subscribers 8 min