Being an indie musician is one thing, and being a successful one is another. For some starting indie music artists, reaching success in this industry could be tough.

Is it really that hard?

Well, it depends on you.

There are indeed a lot of competitors everywhere. Many people would be better than you. A lot would learn faster than you. And some people are also naturally more fortunate than others. These are just some of the challenges you may encounter along the way.

But the question is: Are you up for these challenges?

If you said yes, then you are already one step ahead of everyone who would like to make it.

Truth is, there is really no right or wrong formula when reaching the success you want, but there are proven ways to make it easier to achieve. And below are some of the best ones you may try.

#1 Learn As Much As You Can

As an independent music artist, you have to do most things on your own. Use your spare time wisely by learning things that other people would have done for you such as video editing, music production, creating an album, and mixing songs.

This is a game changer especially if you are on a tight budget. Imagine having to hire different people in the hopes of getting the output that you want, and still ending up with something that is not close to what you thought you’d get. That’s a bummer, isn’t it?

The luxury of being an independent musician is being able to do it all on your own and be able to control everything, even the littlest details. Be a master of the process, and you will surely end up with exquisite music.

#2 Create Your Unique Brand

Come up with a unique branding that fits your personality as an indie music artist. Create different ways to allow your listeners to see how unique you are and why they should listen to your music.

Make sure to plan your branding as well to fit every part of the music you will release. You cannot have a great song and a bad lyric video. You cannot have a great album cover and a bad song. Make sure all is balanced and in line with your chosen branding.

Branding includes fashion choices, catchphrases, the type of music played, and more. As they always say, you do you.

The grind as an indie musician is on going and requires just as much work as creating the music you love.

#3 Keep Making Music

Keep releasing music and be consistent with it. This is very important when you’re trying to build your audience. You cannot just release an EP, and then not release anything for the next months or so.

If you don’t keep making music and you stop providing your listeners with new content, they will leave you and you may have to start again from zero.

Being consistent, creating quality pieces, and continuous communication with your audience is the key to keeping them and making them grow in number. Make sure that at least once a week, you are doing something for your audience so that they can constantly know that you're busy creating new music for them.

#4 Be Professional

Always know that the first impression last. If you want to be a successful indie musician, then you would need to take things seriously. And you can do that by practicing professionalism.

It’s essential to be polite to the people you meet in the industry. These people are more likely to work with you if you're approachable as well.

Being snappy or rude closes opportunities instantly for you. Leaving a great impression that you are professional in what you do will put you in a stronger position for future projects.

#5 Act on Your Goals

If you're doing everything right and you’re still wondering when exactly you're going to break through as an independent artist, then you might be lacking some action.

Find time to meet people in the music industry. Give yourself a chance to be out there. Don’t make excuses in your head such as you don’t have time, or you have a full-time job. Because if you really want to make it happen, you have to put action into your goals.

You can’t just tell the world you are passionate about making music, and just wait for them to hear you. You must be proactive in reaching people.

Use the power of social media to network efficiently. You can also publish your music on SharePro to build your audience base and continuously get better in your craft with the help of the platform’s industry professionals.

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Conclusion

Success as an indie musician doesn’t just come overnight. However, if you are consistent enough in trying to reach your goals one step at a time, no matter how small the progress is, then you’ll get results in no time.

As long as you love what you do, you make time to create quality music, and you believe in yourself, then the opportunities will be endless for you.

Wherever you are in your music journey, we are rooting for your success. And we absolutely feel that you’ll get there sooner than you can imagine!

References:

IndieConnect | SoundTech | DiscTopia | RebootRecording | YouTube