Tanja writes and says that she’s having a hard time selling her music online. She has her songs listed with all of the major e-tailers, yet she’s not seeing the kinds of results she’d like to see.
I think we can all relate, Tanja. For every one artist who is just killing it, there are thousands struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The first thing I will tell you is that you have to hang in there. This is a learning process.
My guess is that, if you’re writing asking for help, it probably means that you’re going it alone. I think it’s a commonly held belief that, to be an indie artist, you have to do everything yourself. By that I mean that you don’t have any professional help. You might have a family member or friend helping you out, but nobody who’s in the business. It’s just you and your team of volunteer helpers.
If you want advice, you may buy a book or go online and read forums and blog posts. You may download many of the free resources that Disc Makers™ and CD Baby™ offer. Hey, I’m not knocking them. Those are great resources. I’ve read them myself. They’re very helpful.
But, that’s like trying to teach yourself how to play guitar. There are few that can do it successfully. At some point you need help, guidance and direction. You need a real person who can look at your marketing objectively and see the holes that you may be missing.
An independent artist doesn’t have to be an independent artist, if you know what I mean. The music business landscape is changing dramatically. Instead of large record labels, we are now seeing small labels appearing all over the place. There are a lot of people with a lot of experience. The point is, you have more options that just getting signed to a major label or doing it all by your lonesome.
In today’s world, you can get professional guidance, or coaching, without having to sign your life over.
Tanja, I would recommend that you consider investing in hiring a coach that can help steer you through the rough waters. It doesn’t have to be a life-time commitment, or even a 3 album commitment. The nice thing about hiring a coach is that they work for you. You don’t work for them, as is the case when you sign a recording contract. That means you can let them go when they are no longer servicing your needs.
I think if you take that step first, a great coach can teach you how to sell your music online.
I will offer my own advice on the matter coming up in a future post. Stay tuned.