IOTM Blog
Posted: Jun 11, 2024
Category: Songwriting
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**Guest post written by Bug Hunter, a "thoughtful, self-reflective pop" singer-songwriter out of Seattle.
"As a full-time song-writer, I have done my best to keep putting out new content often enough to keep my audience interested in my music while making sure everything about each song meets a SUPER high bar I’ve set for myself in terms of content and lyricism. I’ve averaged a new album every 1.5 years. But 40+ songs later, I found myself coming to the ends of my own experiences and imagination. I’ve covered fresh love, heart-break, sibling rivalry, and screen-peaking emails on airplanes. I’ve even ventured into ghostly neighbors, time-traveling toasters, and metaphorical bank robberies that may or may not be a stand-in for taking too many samples at Costco. I’ve covered all the usual bases."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 4, 2024
Category: Technology
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**Guest post by One Submit, a music promotion service.
"AI software can compose tunes, duplicate artists' voices with vocal synthesis, and even create music. Vocal deep fakes routinely take TikTok by storm, replicating the voices of artists like Taylor Swift, Post Malone and Olivia Rodrigo. Be that as it may, ever progressing AI programs can do more than just mirror performers - there are developing fears that they may start to replace musicians, producers and threaten an artist's career within the recording industry...Sony Music Group's letter to over 700 software designers reveals a fear that AI technology now encroaches on the value of human artistry and copyright possession within the music business."
Posted: May 29, 2024
Category: Show Booking
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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 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: May 14, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Modern Musician and featured in their blog.
"You love making music and in order to keep moving forward, you need to create a sustainable income. So how do musicians make money from their music? It’s something a lot of independent artists struggle to do… but we’ve got answers!...I’d like to introduce you to a simple system that will help you to earn a real living from your music..."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 7, 2024
Category: Tips & Tricks
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**Guest post written by Anatolii Vered, owner & founder of "I am Ghost Producer."
"A ghost producer is a music professional who creates tracks for other artists. They craft melodies, beats, and harmonies exclusively behind the scenes. The finished track is then released under the name of the artist or a record label. The ghost producer isn't credited for their work or contributions. This practice allows artists to focus on their brand, image, and performance. This blog post delves into the world of ghost producers. It unveils the mystery and explains their important role in the music industry."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 1, 2024
Category: Show Booking
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Following up with music venues that do not respond to booking inquiries is an important part of the booking process. After all, persistence is key to landing the most gigs. Things do get a bit more complicated though when you are talking about sending a second cold pitch to a group of venues included in an Indie on the Move QuickPitch email. The first step is to remove the venues that did respond initially so those conversations can continue individually. Then once the venues list is updated, you can very easily add a relevant follow up message and new pitch name. You'll see we already took care of the proper formatting. This video will show you the rest of the process.
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: Apr 17, 2024
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Downupright, a producer, composer, & DJ from Buffalo, NY. They/them have released many projects over the years under a variety of different artist names. In their “spare” time, Downupright is a serial startup entrepreneur and fractional Chief Technology Officer of between four and ten startups at once.
"Across [three projects between 2015 and 2024], the unifying theme was that I was asking more from my listeners and backers than simply “go stream my track”, “follow me on TikTok” etc… I was asking them to participate. I wanted them to have some skin in the game."
Posted: Apr 9, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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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.
"Having a career in music is not all sunshine and rainbows, and I’m sure you already know that, especially during the pandemic. To start a career in the music industry, you need to not only release good music but you have to be willing to learn the trade, to advertise yourself, get to know the right people, and many more. It’s too tedious! But still worth it. Let’s head on and enumerate the 25 reasons why being a musician today is awesome." View Full Article
Posted: Apr 3, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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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.
"Having a career in music is not all sunshine and rainbows, and I’m sure you already know that, especially during the pandemic. To start a career in the music industry, you need to not only release good music but you have to be willing to learn the trade, to advertise yourself, get to know the right people, and many more. It’s too tedious! But still worth it. Let’s head on and enumerate the 25 reasons why being a musician today is awesome." View Full Article
Posted: Mar 26, 2024
Category: Show Booking
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1. Ask the talent buyers for recommendations. 2. Ask local people that you know. 3. Check out the venues' websites. 4. Post a show availability on IOTM. 5. Use YouTube. 6. Search for acts via the IOTM members directory.
Posted: Mar 19, 2024
Category: Promotion
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**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"Here at Cyber PR, musicians frequently call and ask me to write and blast a press release. The strongest reason to write a press release is for a particular event (like a show, a benefit, or a special occasion) OR for a very niche market (a “genre” of music is not a niche but a charity benefit or a tech related news piece like you are featured in a new app is!) I discourage blasting but I do encourage well-researched outreach. Here is how to create a press release in 8 steps." View Full Article
Posted: Mar 12, 2024
Category: Music Streaming
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**Guest post written by Greg Fuhs, co-manager of indie label Dying Code Media and member of indie bands Anti-Social Club and Object X.
"As you may have heard, Spotify recently announced that it will no longer pay royalties for songs receiving less than 1,000 streams per year, instead redirecting those funds to artists with songs exceeding that threshold. The company claims this is to better support “emerging and professional artists” and estimates they will redistribute as much as $1 billion over five years. They also claim that small indie artists won’t miss this money – although I don’t think Spotify asked any of us about this..."
Posted: Mar 5, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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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, you’ve finally decided to release an album. Wuhoo! But listen up – getting your album out there isn’t just about tossing it into the world. It’s more like planning a grand wedding for 1000 people – you need a solid plan. In this guide, we’re going through fifteen essential tips—covering everything from using digital tools to finding the right partners—to make your album release stress-free (or at least less stressful than usual). Let’s get started!" View Full Article
Posted: Feb 28, 2024
Category: Show Booking
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Indie on the Move offers a couple of different account/subscription levels: free, premium, and deluxe. While you can find a point by point breakdown of those features on the site's pricing page, this video shows you how those features can be put to use as it relates to your show/tour booking through the platform.
Posted: Feb 21, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Matt Santry, founder of www.WellPaidMusician.com.
"2024 Tax Tip for Self-Employed Performers: This year (2024), pay all your contractors via one electronic pay method like PayPal or Venmo so that you can reduce or eliminate issuing 1099s next year. This is because of the new 1099-K."
Posted: Feb 13, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Aaron Enneking as featured in the artist growth blog.
"Whether you manage a single artist or a roster of talent, keeping track of it all is no easy feat. From juggling emails, texts, and phone calls to coordinating travel logistics, navigating disparate calendars, and managing big personalities, there’s a lot of chance for error. Luckily, there are some great artist management tools out there to help you keep track of it all. You just have to know what to look for, as most project management tools aren’t geared for the music and entertainment space. So to help you choose the best artist management software for your organization, we’re looking at 10 questions you should ask when evaluating your options." View Full Article
Posted: Feb 7, 2024
Category: Recording
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**Guest post written by Nick Braren, owner and operator of Upaya Sound. This was originally an excerpt from his new book COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL – The Art Of Recording Music Unveiled.
"Recording vocals should be a fairly simple undertaking, as we are only using one mic, with one sound source – what can possibly go wrong? The problems arise mostly on the performance side, and as a producer, I see it as my job to provide the setting for the best vocal performance possible."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 31, 2024
Category: Show Booking
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While we do have community driven sections of the site, specifically the availabilities, the most effective method of using the platform to get shows and tours booked is via direct outreach to the venues, colleges, and festivals in our venues database.
Posted: Jan 24, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by David Andrew Wiebe, founder & CEO at The Music Entrepreneur HQ.
"If you’re having trouble prioritizing music in your life, you’re certainly not alone...there is a way to ensure you prioritize music in your weekly schedule, no matter how busy you think you might be. The question is... Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen? If you want to find out whether you’re going to make the cut, read on..."
Posted: Jan 17, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Oren Sharon, founder of One Submit, a music promotion platform for independent artists.
"Spotify recently announced it has made serious changes to its royalty model that will affect independent musicians, digital distributors, and eventually the whole music industry. [This] is a summary of the changes made by Spotify, starting on January 1, 2024, and their anticipated impact on Spotify's royalty pool and all the players in the industry."
Posted: Jan 10, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"Sometimes we feel like we aren’t doing well when in fact we are doing better than ever. There are moments when we achieve something great only to feel like we missed the mark. Why does our success sometimes feel like a failure?"
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 3, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Aaron Enneking as featured in the artist growth blog.
"Managing an unsigned artist can be a challenging yet immensely rewarding experience...Without the backing of a record label, you (and your artist) will have to take on multiple roles and responsibilities to ensure their success. However, don’t let that discourage you! As artists like Macklemore and Chance the Rapper have shown, there’s no limit to what an unsigned artist can achieve. In this article, we'll discuss eight tips for how to manage an unsigned artist and help them navigate the music industry." View Full Article
Posted: Dec 20, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Baxter Brown, CEO/Founder of Muze, a platform all about connecting talented professionals in the music industry with people who need their skills.
"The music industry, like the songs it houses, is constantly evolving. With every passing year, new technologies and trends reshape the way music is created, consumed, and shared. As we step into 2024, it’s clearer than ever that independent artists have an unparalleled opportunity to make their mark on the music scene. However, this new frontier comes with its fair share of challenges and obstacles. In this guide, we’ll explore how independent musicians can not only survive but thrive in today’s digital landscape." View Full Article