Posted: 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."

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Posted: Mar 14, 2023

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Musik and Film Promotions.

 

"You read articles that give "the truth"-- that say Indie Artist can't get airplay, Right? -- WRONG! It's a BIG world out there! Musik Radio Promotions has charted artists in the top 10 in many charts around the world...Indie Artists are playing on thousands of stations - some on TENS of thousands. How, you ask?"

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Posted: 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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Posted: Jun 15, 2022

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by David Andrew Wiebe, founder & CEO at The Music Entrepreneur HQ.

 

"Have you ever sat down to work out all the ways you could possibly make money with music? I have, and I was surprised at the sheer number of ways I came up with. If you’re new to the music business, then it’s not your fault that you don’t know all the secrets yet. So, in this guide we cover a variety of ways musicians make money."

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Posted: Mar 21, 2022

Category: Selling Music

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**Guest post written by Melanie Kealey of Bandzoogle.

 

"Whether you’re an up and coming indie artist, or have a new album almost ready, releasing a single is a great way to create some momentum around your music. A single can not only get your fans excited, but can be pitched to press, radio, or playlists to build some buzz. Along with this, you should sell a single from your official website...Anyone who gets to your website is interested in finding out more about you - so make it a priority to pitch your single and the story behind it. Here’s how to prepare, release and sell a single from your music website."

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Posted: Feb 2, 2022

Category: Royalties

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**Guest post written by Blake Morgan, artist, musician, record producer, CEO of ECR Music Group, and founder of #IRespectMusic. Originally featured on Hypebot.com.

 

"Artist and advocate Blake Morgan has penned a letter on behalf of more than 14,000 petition signers calling for artists to finally get paid when their music is played on AM/FM radio...The letter was sent to the Board of Directors at the two largest radio broadcasters in the US, iHeartRadio and Cumulus Media. Both earn billions of dollars in ad revenue yearly while refusing to share it with the performing artists whose music makes it all possible. This Wednesday February 2nd at 10 AM ET. the House Judiciary will hold a public hearing on changing that by passing the American Music Fairness Act."

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Posted: Nov 27, 2017

Category: Fans

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**Guest post written by Amanda Kenyon founder of Blue Crane Music, a New England based artist management, booking, and consulting service dedicated to helping musicians grow their careers.

 

"Do you ever wonder how other people discover new music? YOUR music? We did...So we did what any modern day Joe would do to answer such a question: ask friends on social media. And here you have it, the unofficial survey results."

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Posted: Aug 7, 2017

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Michael Corcoran of musicSUBMIT.

 

"Let’s say you’ve reached out to a few college and internet radio stations with your music...and - gasp - the Radio Station actually replied to say they listened and really dug your stuff...You’re still a few steps away from actually getting the airplay you’ve been promised. If you neglect these final steps, don’t be surprised if your song never gets played on that station."

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Posted: Oct 12, 2015

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.

 

"I’ve been a vocational musician for almost 30 years...This is an incredibly difficult business to make any sort of sustainable living at for that long, so inevitably people ask me what advice I would have for anyone who wants to do the same. Opinions are certainly like assholes, but I’ll give you my take on that. Do with it what you will..."

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Posted: Sep 21, 2015

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Michael Corcoran of musicSUBMIT.

 

"It goes without saying, all bands and musicians want to get their songs on the radio. There’s no point drumming up all the benefits of having your music broadcast to thousands of listeners with one spin on the radio. And of course radio stations want to find songs they think their audiences will want to hear...

 

But therein lies a nearly century-old problem for both artists and radio stations..."

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Posted: Apr 13, 2015

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by BeTH isBell, host of The Flower Power Hour and the New Releases show on KMUD, an FM station in Northern California.

 

"1. We have a music library at the station where we label and file all CDs, and vinyl records, that we receive from artists, labels, and distributors. What I've noticed is that CDs in jewel cases or digipaks with the artist and album name on spine get pulled for airplay 5x-10x more frequently than CDs in slim cases or sleeves where the artist/album name, and sometimes, the CD itself can't be seen hiding on the shelf squeezed between the CDs in jewel cases. Truth..."

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Posted: Jul 28, 2014

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Erica Sinkovic, CD Baby's Web Product Manager and general music enthusiast, as featured in the DIY Musician Blog.

 

"Whether you’re an independent artist or signed to an independent label, you’re sure to have a lot on your plate already. Between booking shows, debating merch, planning your next big marketing move, juggling social media-insanity, oh yeah, and writing new material, the last thing you want to add to your plate is a radio campaign...I’m here to tell you: don’t abandon radio."

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Posted: Jun 9, 2014

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Patrick Hertz of Tinderbox Music. This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog.

 

"College radio is a unique mix of non-commercial stations that range from small-watt student-run operations to huge, vastly influential public and/or community stations. This spectrum allows for most any independent artist to find terrestrial radio airplay – that is, of course, if the music is good..."

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Posted: Feb 10, 2014

Category: Royalties

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**Guest post written by Blake Morgan, artist, musician, record producer, and founder and owner of ECR Music Group.

 

"The Washington beltway turned a deaf ear to artists' rights until one guy, one activist, wrote the words "I Respect Music" on an index card and showed it to the world. Now, thousands upon thousands of music makers and music lovers are standing together and making history by adding their names to a petition that is not only shaking up the music world, it's shaking up Congress."

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