IOTM Blog
Posted: Nov 18, 2025
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"I know you’re tired of being told you have to always be on: posting, promoting, chasing streams, keeping up with the endless hamster wheel. But if you want to give yourself a good shot at consistently jolting the algorithms, I suggest you release singles every five or six weeks...This post is here to provide you with a step-by-step framework for how to pull this off — without losing your mind." View Full Article
Posted: Oct 8, 2025
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Jason Lekberg, a musician with 20+ years of experience in the industry and creator of Hard Target.
"As indie artists, marketing can feel overwhelming. There is no shortage of companies promoting “shortcuts”, including the social networks themselves. Whether or not you’ve ever executed a campaign before, you are likely skeptical of them all. And rightly so. Between AI, bots and trolls, the internet is more toxic and crowded than ever. There are few better examples of a necessary evil. How do you focus? How do you know which path is right, and which is essentially setting your money on fire."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 1, 2025
Category: Licensing
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**Guest post written by Sync Songwriter. Their mission is to not only help independent artists and songwriters learn and understand the sync licensing world but to also help them build relationships with music supervisors.
"Recently, I had the chance to sit down on a Zoom call with two heavy-hitters in the music industry: a music supervisor who works on Oscar-winning films and an entertainment lawyer who represents some of the biggest stars and labels in the world — while also advocating for indie songwriters. We had a candid, in-depth conversation about the growing role of AI in music creation, especially as it relates to licensing for film and TV. What followed was a revealing look into both the opportunities and the landmines that artists need to understand as this technology evolves. As AI in music licensing becomes a more urgent topic, artists need clarity on what’s legally safe — and what’s not."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 12, 2025
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Scott Helmer, a touring singer-songwriter whose music blends rock and pop with heartfelt storytelling and powerful vocals. He has opened for Heart, Eddie Money, 3 Doors Down, Jeff Bridges, and Eric Burdon & The Animals. A Guinness World Records title holder, he has performed over 1,000 shows and helped raise millions for good causes.
"I’ve removed all of my music from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and every other major streaming platform. I’ve also deleted my YouTube channel and all social media accounts. No more chasing algorithms. No more playing a rigged game where real artists are buried by bots and manufactured content. No more relying on tech giants to reach people who already want to hear from me. From now on, everything I create—music, videos, tour dates, photos, and merch—lives only at my website. I’ve gone 100 percent direct-to-fan."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 16, 2025
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.
"Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a massive impact on the music industry, and many musicians and listeners are concerned about the transformations the technology is bringing about...Artists are rightfully concerned about how this will affect music composition and their ability to earn. While these are legitimate concerns, AI is a game-changer in how artists market their music."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 9, 2025
Category: Music Streaming
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**Guest post written by Chris of Pitchplaylists.com.
"Getting your music on Spotify playlists isn’t just a bonus it can be a game-changer. With more than 40 million artists featured on Spotify playlists every month, playlisting has become one of the top ways to grow your audience, increase streams, and build real momentum. But how do you actually get your music on those playlists and more importantly how do you stay there? Let’s break it down in simple steps, plus show you how Pitchplaylists makes the whole process easier and more effective."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 1, 2025
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Octavius Crouch, Founder & CEO of Red Octave.
"If you're an independent artist or label looking to hire a team for label services, the options can be overwhelming. From companies with polished pitch decks to flashy Instagram pages showing off work with major-label artists, it can be hard to tell who actually knows how to build success from the ground up and who only knows how to ride on someone else's momentum...When you’re hiring a label-services team, you need partners who understand what it means to grow something from zero."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 10, 2025
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.
"In the fast-evolving music industry, some promotional tactics that were once effective have become outdated or less impactful. Here are some music promotion strategies that may no longer work as well as they used to..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 2, 2025
Category: Social Media
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**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"I’ve been thinking a lot about social media music promotion...when I start to reflect and take stock of the year we’ve had. This one has been complicated, to say the least. I’ve lost a lot of sleep thinking about the massive shifts in music marketing...Creatives have felt these impacts profoundly. We watched in awe as Taylor Swift changed the GNP in every city she stormed through while many of us scratched our heads, wondering how to build our own audiences in this evolving environment. Social media has transformed, and its implications for music promotion must be unpacked." View Full Article
Posted: Aug 20, 2024
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post by Musician Indie Coalition, Business-Based Artist Development Experts who help DIY Musicians develop, launch and scale their music careers.
"As an independent artist in the modern music industry, having a direct line of communication with your fans is absolutely paramount when promoting your music...Two of the most powerful channels at your disposal for marketing music are email marketing and social media marketing. Both are fantastic tools that allow you to connect directly with your audience, share updates, tour dates, promote new releases and sell products and tickets to live shows. So let’s discuss each..."
Posted: Jul 9, 2024
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Mariami of Sungate Records.
"In an age where the internet and international communities are on display 24/7, independent artists have an enormous opportunity to invite a larger audience into their world. By sharing aspects of their culture—whether it's through food, clothing, lyrics, or images of their hometowns—artists can create a deeply personal and engaging narrative...Here are five ways our Sungate Records artists are tapping into their cultural individuality to build unique platforms online..."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 21, 2024
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by James Hill, a veteran of the music industry. He has worked at Warner Reprise Records and then Interscope/ Geffen Records and now helps indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD, custom vinyl records and merch company in LA.
"So aside from talking and interacting with your fans, you can also try using quantitative data from different analytical tools. You might get overwhelmed with all of it, especially if you hate numbers. But I tell you, they’re worth investing a few minutes of your time. Plus, they’re actually not that hard. In this article, we will mainly be talking about the different tools you can use to analyze your fans and how they are important. Let’s start!" View Full Article
Posted: Apr 23, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Cássio from CS Discos.
"In this age, making music is not nearly enough, in contrast with earlier times, when making good music until a producer liked it was the most common path. Saturation in the market and the breaking of the barrier to publishing a music catalog created a market in which the majority of content is never seen. With roughly 100,000 tracks being uploaded daily on Spotify, the offer is exponentially higher than the demand..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 13, 2023
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"Here are some killer Holiday Tips to help you increase your engagement with your fans! As an artist, there is no better time than the HOLIDAZE to work on building engagement and connections with your fans." View Full Article
Posted: Oct 25, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post originally featured in the PlaylistSupply Blog.
"In the evolving music landscape, streaming platforms like Spotify have reshaped how music is consumed. For independent artists, this evolution presents both an opportunity and a challenge. While it’s easier than ever to distribute music, the challenge of getting noticed amidst a sea of tracks has intensified. So, how do indie artists stand out?"
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 26, 2023
Category: Social Media
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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.
"Every week, something new is trending on TikTok. Hell, it seems like something new has taken the platform by storm almost every day. Hopping on the latest trends is a great way to get seen by more people and blow up the engagement on your present and past posts. Whether you’re on the hunt for audio, effect or hashtag trends, there are tons of ways to find what’s popping off on TikTok."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 20, 2023
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Adam Percy of Bandzoogle.
"No matter your genre or style, if you’re a musician, chances are you’ll be looking at playing shows on a tour. For a lot of musicians, crossing the country and playing in other parts of the world is the dream - and it can be a huge component for your success as you reach outside of your core local fans...One of the best ways to set up a tour and hit the road effectively is to network and plan gig swaps. It’s a helpful way to find suitable venues as well as broaden your audience reach. Here we’ll look at figuring out if gig swapping is a good fit for your band, and how to get started with it."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 6, 2023
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Sarah Beth Perry of With the Band, originally featured in Soundfly's Flypaper blog.
"All artists want to get their music into the hands of more fans, but the real challenge lies in how to properly target potential fans with your marketing campaigns. With the rise of social media, fans are spread out all over the world, and they want to feel seen and recognized by their favorite artists. I want to help you better understand your fanbase by analyzing the demographics of fans who you interact with both online and in person...We use the following methods to help create marketing campaigns for major artists like the Jonas Brothers and Kacey Musgraves." View Full Article
Posted: Aug 23, 2023
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Jubran Haddad, originally posted on Chartmetric's blog.
"Discover the key stages, real-life examples, and essential tips for artists to navigate the fan journey from discovery to advocacy." View Full Article
Posted: May 23, 2023
Category: Social Media
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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.
"Instagram Reels is the perfect place to post creative video content and engage with your audience on Instagram at the same time. If you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to Reels, there are a lot of ways you can still create them with existing content you already have or things you already love. From behind-the-scenes clips to easy memes, here are 7 ideas you have to try..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 11, 2023
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post by One Submit, the smart way to promote music.
"Now is truly the best time to be an independent artist. Thanks to the internet, everything is feasible and accessible. Regardless of whether you are just starting out in music or are already an established professional, spreading music around the world has become easier than before. As an artist you can promote your music independently and efficiently without needing to break the bank."
Posted: Mar 21, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Kristen Ford, Nashville based indie rock act with a passion for music business and a book on DIY touring in the works.
1. Live Performances 2. Online Sales/Consignment/Out the trunk sales 3. Sync/Licensing placements 4. Private Events/Colleges 5. Streaming income...
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 21, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post written by Jack Sutherland, 20 Year Web Development & Music Marketing Lead and Founder of Band Pioneer.
"The Internet has drastically transformed the music industry over the past 20 years. The tools we record it with, the strategies we use to promote it, and even the distribution of profit has all been revamped due to the Internet. And this transformation has opened up a lot of new opportunities for bands and solo artists to control their own destinies."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 31, 2023
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.
"Effective marketing is a fundamental part of being an artist. Without it, you, your music, and your branding can only go so far. This is where spending the money for thoughtful and dependable marketing comes into play. But how do you know how much money is the right amount to help you achieve your goals? In this part of our marketing journey series, we’ll break down everything you need to know about building a successful marketing budget..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 18, 2023
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Lacie Blue, director of artist relations at Musik and Film Promotions.
"Nashville used to be the land where dreams came true for musicians. Superstar makers would walk into a bar and swoop up the “next big thing”—pretty soon you had Garth Brooks. Perhaps it still happens…once in a blue moon. Once upon a time, musicians and songwriters created music to create. They performed because it was in their blood to perform. They didn’t care if they fit into a genre. They wanted to connect to people on a higher level through music. Gone are those days. (But not the musicians…)"
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