Are you an unsigned or independent (indie) musician looking for ways to promote yourself and your music? If this is you, you probably know that spreading awareness of you, your band and your music is one of the most important objectives in the early stages of your soon to be illustrious fame of a career. You probably also know , all too well maybe, in fact, that at this point in your marketing agenda, the need to spread the awareness using little or no part of your crunched budget is imperative.
Many artists and new, unsigned musicians automatically assume that without a giant source of money, few promotional efforts are possible. This is certainly not the case though, which is fortunate. There happen to be a great many of ways to get your name out there and your music widely recognized and distributed without spending any significant sum of money. It just requires some thinking outside of the box, which lucky for you, I have already done a little to get you started. The following is an overview of self promotional ideas for unsigned indie musicians on a budget.
Upload your Mp3s
Believe it or not, MySpace is not your only outlet to showcase one or two of your songs for free. There are sites all over the internet designed to help unsigned artists promote their music and to allow music enthusiasts the opportunity to discover new, lesser known bands. Almost all of these sites are free to submit your artist profile , at least one mp3 upload and some of the more extensive ones offer greater social networking capabilities.
Free Classifieds
Browse the classifieds frequently and place your own ads all over the web. There are hundreds of free classified portals and many even for specifically musicians. The most useful classifieds to promote your band, your music, your upcoming events, etc will likely be found through the general classifieds link which is part of the majority of the major musician resources sites. Here’s an additional tip. While you are in these sections placing your own promo ad, take a look at the others already placed. Many people or organizations hosting contests or events that need performers to play use the classifieds as well for their free advertising. You just may find a killer hidden opportunity.
There are hundreds, probably thousands of radio stations out there that stream their music for online listeners. A simple search for internet radio should lead you to a bunch of them. These stations are always looking for great new music to introduce to listeners. Study the station website to find out what genre of music they tend to stream and proceed to identify the music submission guidelines where appropriate.
Benefit or Charity Concerts
Is there a particular cause or charity you feel passionate about? If not, it might be a good time to find one. Read websites dedicated to serving nonprofits and charities, such as Idealist or Guidestar and think about an organization or mission you’d feel proud to support. Next, you might want to consider contacting the nonprofits in your area that deal with your cause and offer your musical performances services pro bono to be available to play at one of their upcoming fundraisers. Nonprofits are always on a tight budget and usually welcome volunteer services with much appreciation and enthusiasm. Depending how large the fundraiser is, you’ll be able to spread awareness of your music to that many more people. Be sure to bring CDs, whether you choose to sell them or give them away for free.
Hop on a compilation Gig
Whether it’s a tribute album, a CD to raise money for troops in Iraq or the end result of a music giant like CMJ’s latest contest, there are tons of ongoing opportunities out there to join up with other artists for a compilation CD. These chances are slightly challenging to find, but a good place to start your search would be to contact the host of an existing compilation. Chances are they put them out regularly with varying themes or otherwise have an affiliation with someone working ion a project currently.
