IOTM Blog
Posted: Nov 4, 2025
Category: The Musician Business
make money music business songwriting keys to success career goals practice finances teach learned skills
**Guest post written by Tyler James Cook, an independent musician from South Carolina.
"while there are more outlets for musicians than ever before, the much-vaunted democratization of music has made our jobs even more difficult. Instead of being a songwriter and musician, we must fill multiple additional roles, all of which might help us get towards the indie musician's dream: financial security through music. It is a noble and achievable goal, but it takes time. During all that practicing, recording, performing, promoting, and touring, musicians need to feed themselves. The solution is elegant in its simplicity, and immensely profitable: teach private music lessons...Here are a few reasons why indie musicians should make time for private lessons..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 29, 2025
Category: Indie on the Move
indie on the move show booking cold pitching music technology follow up iotm tutorials music venues
For those of you that have used the QuickPitch functionality on the site, you may notice venues getting marked as "recently emailed" from time to time. This video explains how and why...
Posted: Oct 22, 2025
Category: Songwriting
songwriting keys to success recording the legit musician know your instrument effects technology get creative
**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"Think about all the great music made in all of history. We only have a relatively small amount of it created with the latest technology and access to almost anything we need to be delivered to our doorstep. I want to give you an exercise in limitations. What can you learn about yourself and your music by putting certain limits on your creative process?"
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 14, 2025
Category: Promotion
promotion music streaming services music album release pr campaign press have a story direct to fan cyber pr videos singles waterfall release strategy journalists
**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"I run a music publicity and marketing firm, which means I frequently discuss release plans. Many of you have recorded full albums...And I get it. Albums are sacred. They’re art forms, not content drops...If you’re releasing a full album, you need to know that long-form media coverage — those thoughtful, in-depth reviews of your entire record — are very, very hard to come by today. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t present full albums... It just means that this part of your release journey — the press part — probably won’t look like it did ten or even five years ago. This post explains why no one is reviewing your album anymore — and what to focus on instead." View Full Article
Posted: Oct 8, 2025
Category: Marketing
social media marketing promotional budget know your audience targeted advertising artificial intelligence hard target
**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
social media licensing copyright have a story music libraries artificial intelligence trends technology sync songwriter music supervisors
**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: Sep 23, 2025
Category: Indie on the Move
music venues networking music festivals indie artists college information following iotm tutorials
If you are familiar with the site, then you may be aware that you can follow not only venues, festivals, and colleges, but also other community members. This information is readily available in the follows section of your account, but it is easier to browse and interact with that information via the corresponding directories. Here's how you can do so...
Posted: Sep 16, 2025
Category: The Musician Business
marketing music business get creative musician indie coalition be authentic merch keys to success logos
**Guest post by Musician Indie Coalition, Business-Based Artist Development Experts who help DIY Musicians develop, launch and scale their music careers.
"In the music world...your artist or band name plays a massively important role in shaping audience perception and marketing opportunities from the very start. When selecting your artists or band name, you should give significant thought and consideration."
Posted: Sep 10, 2025
Category: Music Streaming
spotify fan engagement community support music streaming services discovery super fans symphonic distribution consistency advocacy
**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.
"The reality is… not every fan is created equal. Some people will stumble across your track on a playlist and move on, while others will keep coming back, saving your songs, and actually buying tickets when you’re in town. In your Spotify for Artists dashboard, these are called your super listeners, aka the ones who go beyond casual listening and become the backbone of your fanbase. In this post, we’ll break down how to understand them and use them to your advantage. Here’s the rundown..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 3, 2025
Category: The Musician Business
promotion music business get creative collaboration gigging grow your audience stage presence beats music makes you move
**Guest post written by Barbara Samuelson of Music Makes You Move.
"Indie bands often focus on raw instruments, heartfelt lyrics, and live energy. DJs specialize in reading the crowd, building anticipation, and dropping tracks that shake the floor. When the two worlds collide, something powerful happens. You don’t just have a concert—you have an experience."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 26, 2025
Category: Indie on the Move
show booking user experience know your options email iotm tutorials
The answer is because those emails (individual and QuickPitch) go directly into the inbox that those talent buyers use for their booking and outside of the Indie on the Move system. The messages sections of IOTM accounts are reserved for user to user communications and stay within the platform.
Posted: Aug 19, 2025
Category: Promotion
live performances songwriting licensing cover songs bandzoogle copyright music discovery keys to success tonality get creative
**Guest post written by Julia Kater for Bandzoogle.com.
"No matter what tools you use or how smart your promotional strategy is, quality and creativity in your actual music is what wins fans over, and keeps them coming back. That's why one of the best audience-building strategies for indie musicians these days is still the same as it was a decade ago: cover songs. But not just any covers; covers that truly stand out. A creative, personal take on a familiar song gives new fans a musical on-ramp into your world. Think of it like a gateway: the right cover can grab attention through familiarity, then win people over with your originality and style."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 12, 2025
Category: Marketing
social media amazon youtube promotion live performances spotify touring strategy podcasts newsletters fan engagement music streaming services radio airplay press direct to fan apple music physical vs. digital
**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: Aug 5, 2025
Category: Technology
promotion music business fan engagement google alerts know your options google the legit musician hacks technology
**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"If you’re a band manager, publicist, or just a die-hard fan trying to keep tabs on your favorite act, staying informed about every mention online can feel overwhelming. Luckily, Google Alerts is a free and powerful tool that can do most of the legwork for you. In this post, I’ll walk you through how to use Google Alerts to monitor a band’s online presence—whether you’re trying to track press coverage, spot fan activity, or get ahead of potential PR issues."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 30, 2025
Category: Indie on the Move
networking create opportunities iotm tutorials alert preferences personalized experience
From your account dropdown menu in the top right hand corner of the site, there is an option for settings...but the "Manage Follow" button on that page can take you to the more advanced alert customizations...All of these preferences will help you to be as informed as possible about the opportunities on the site while limiting the unwanted/irrelevant alerts.
Posted: Jul 23, 2025
Category: Technology
youtube bobby owsinski content google artificial intelligence video marketing ai slop
**Guest post written by Bobby Owsinski, originally featured in the Music 3.0 Blog.
"If there’s one thing that just about everyone can agree on, it’s that AI-generated content known as “AI slop” is seriously boring and beginning to clog up the internet. Not only that, it’s pushing out content created by humans as sometimes recommendation engines can’t tell the difference. If this continues, you may see users begin to flee existing streaming and social platforms in search of true authentic content. In fact, content with flaws may soon become a sort of badge of honor for creators. To that end, YouTube has announced steps to combat AI slop in its upcoming update to its terms of service agreement."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 16, 2025
Category: Marketing
record labels social media marketing spotify music business promotional budget grow your audience artificial intelligence yona marie music
**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
social media promotion spotify online presence persistence playlists playlisting music discovery discover weekly fresh finds
**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
social media merch touring youtube promotion budget pr campaign videos data transparency expectations niche digital influencers label services red octave
**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 24, 2025
Category: Music Festivals
music festivals cold pitching music technology know your options music conferences iotm tutorials
Unfortunately you cannot. This is for a couple of reasons: 1. Most music festivals and conferences just don't use email to book. 2. We want people to be knowledgeable about a festival or conference before doing their outreach. 3. There are plenty of times that a submission fee will be required along with your submission.
Posted: Jun 17, 2025
Category: Merch
merch make money online distribution promotion vinyl call-to-action budget have a story video marketing disc makers other bands credit cards
**Guest post written by Tony van Veen, originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog.
"One of the questions our Disc Makers product specialists get asked the most is this: If I spend $1000 to press vinyl, will I make my money back? In this article, I’ll discuss the cost of vinyl records and what your profit margins will be when you sell your records directly to fans. This will allow us to calculate how many records you’ll need to sell to cover your vinyl manufacturing cost. I’ll also explain the profit margins for distributors and stores, and I’ll provide some surefire tips for making money on vinyl. Let’s get started..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 10, 2025
Category: Promotion
social media radio promotion newsletters fan engagement keys to success press kits mobile friendly get personal physical vs. digital playlisting yona marie music
**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: Jun 3, 2025
Category: Fans
merch make money fan engagement super fans monetization data marketing plan budget qr codes disturbed nfc merch touring
**Guest post by Morgan Coates, Head of Music Partnerships at IYK.
"Most artists don’t know much about the fans attending their shows. That detailed demographic data is often siloed in ticketing platforms and with promoters, who aren’t incentivized to share fan data with artists. This is a massive issue for artists looking to maximize their return on the touring investment. After all, the people that show up to support you on tour are your most engaged fans. Over the life of a tour, thousands of fans could attend your shows and buy your merch, yet you don't know who they are."
Posted: May 27, 2025
Category: Show Booking
indie on the move music venues show booking keys to success know your options be efficient iotm tutorials
There are a couple of reasons why a venue would be classified as "excluded" when using the IOTM QuickPitch to reach out to music venues and colleges/universities: 1. That venue does not use email to book. 2. That venue only or mostly works with local talent. 3. That venue is primarily a rental facility...With that being said though, there can be a lot of valuable options in the excluded list, so do not hesitate to go through it individually once your QuickPitch is approved.
Posted: May 20, 2025
Category: Selling Music
make money spotify vinyl music streaming services distribution royalties cd's disc makers data isrc code
**Guest post written by Scott McCormick, originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog.
"Whether you’re releasing tracks digitally or on physical formats like CDs and vinyl, ISRC codes are indispensable tools for tracking sales and revenue. These unique identifiers will ensure your music gets the credit it deserves and will enable proper revenue tracking and compensation. If you’re new to ISRC codes, don’t worry — this guide will demystify the process and show you how to obtain ISRC codes for your music."
View Full Article