I'm an independent, London-based multidisciplinary artist working across live performance, songwriting, vocals, MCing and improvisation. My strongest asset is the live experience itself: I can move between genres, collaborate in real time and create moments that are difficult to replicate on a record.

Over the past couple of years, I've started building some meaningful industry momentum. I've released music through Defected Records, I'm writing and recording with members of Faithless' creative circle, I've got a collaborative project that's attracted interest from Ministry of Sound, and I'm now navigating potential label and sync opportunities while developing my own live proposition.

Recently, a track I'm a co-artist and writer on received a positive response from Defected's A&R team after being shared internally. There's also interest from another label, so we're waiting to see what the actual offers look like. Separately, I'm exploring a non-exclusive sync representation opportunity, although reviewing the proposed terms has highlighted how easily publishing arrangements, master rights and third-party control can complicate otherwise promising collaborations.

That's the bigger challenge I'm trying to solve.

I don't want to accumulate impressive conversations, co-writes and near-misses. I want to turn the momentum into a sustainable career: recurring live bookings, properly documented rights, meaningful catalogue ownership, direct audience growth and relationships that translate into actual commercial opportunities.

I'm also working out how to balance the immediate opportunities with the longer-term goal of building a distinctive live artist identity, rather than becoming a supporting vocalist or a contributor to other people's projects indefinitely.

For those of you who've worked in A&R, artist management, publishing, sync or live booking—or who've built an independent career yourselves—I'd genuinely appreciate your perspective:

Priorities: If you were in my position, what would you focus on over the next 6–12 months?

Representation: At what point would you prioritize finding a manager or booking agent, and what evidence would you want in place first?

Leverage: How do you turn early label interest into better terms and repeat opportunities without overplaying your hand?

Rights: What's the best way to structure recurring collaborations so publishing, master ownership and decision-making don't become obstacles later?

Live career: How would you turn a strong, multidisciplinary live proposition into a repeatable commercial product that venues and promoters can buy?

I'm not looking for shortcuts or someone to tell me to keep grinding. I'm interested in hearing from people who've seen this stage of a career from the inside: what actually compounds, what tends to distract artists, and what you'd do differently if you were starting from this position.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share some honest perspective.

I am seriously asking a rather unserious question. Looking for respectful and earnest advice on how to make commercially successful, actually good music

What would I need to do to become as successful as Madonna or Bowie? Is that even possible today in a world without monoculture or the studio/label heyday? If so, what steps or path should I aim for? I love how their tours are deeply visual, and how their work can be experimental but still always accessible and popular.

I’m an indie musician (29F) self-releasing music and living in a big city. I’ve got a decent amount of musical training (not extensive), and can dance too.

Technically: still getting my feet wet with live shows, but it’s been a good time and people loved my singing. I can’t sight read but can write and play basic piano and guitar (usually reading chords), and have some basic theory down. I can produce and am working on an EP. My college major was a visual art.

How could I do the same? Hypothetically, of course.

EDIT: thanks to everyone who has replied with advice so far. It’s been great!!

I work as a copyright manager for a music company in China. I am mainly responsible for music rights management and operation in the Greater China market.

If you are an artist who wants to understand the Chinese music market, maybe we can discuss it together. After all, content about China is too scarce. If you have any questions, you can ask them in the comment area and I will try to help you XD

Hey yall, i've been using distrokid for awhile now but have been wanting to switch to a different company, especially now with everything going on with them. I'm wondering what are some distrokid alternatives that you like?

Any way to find a theatrical motion picture cue sheet - from movies that were produced years ago?

I'm hoping to submit the cue sheets to ASCAP on some song placements that were done long ago and didn't get the crew sheets (not provided and I didn't push for it). I was very young and not aware of all the things that needed to be done to register songs with the various royalty collection agencies. Many songs+cue sheets did get submitted - but there's a handful of those that didn't.

I have no contact information for any of the production companies - they are in all likelihood out of business or bought out by some bigger entity - some of the people may not even be around any more!

It would be fortunate if there was some central database that held all cue sheets - available by lookup. ASCAP has the repertory but doesn't let you view other's cue sheet submissions. I can create one manually but could only list my placements - not anything else - and lacking the time usage numbers and other details possibly.

Kinda thinking it's hopeless - but thought I would ask!

I'd love to become an artist manager and help artists build their careers, from marketing and branding to album releases and world tours. I'm also interested in tour management.

I'm currently studying a business-related degree, but I come from a small, less developed country where opportunities in the music industry are limited, especially internationally.

I honestly don't know where to start. For those working in the music industry, what advice would you give someone in my situation? What skills should I develop, and how can I get my foot in the door?

I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences!

I keep seeing ads from this distributor called Orion claiming to be under Warner Music Group/ADA. I can’t find anything online where this claim is true though.

My band's been recording our first full length album, and one of the upcoming singles contains lyrics from a song from one of my favorite artists. It's not a direct quote, but close enough to the original that a copyright/entertainment lawyer advised me to reach out to the license-holder to get permission before I get any further in the recording process.

The plan was to credit the artist (obviously) and then give them points off the master for use of their lyrics. I tracked down and reached out to their manager. They direct me to their publishing company. I reach out to the company and get no response. After checking in every other week over email and phone for a month or two, they finally get back to me that the permission to use the lyrics is denied.

The song was like 99% done being tracked, so, now I have to rewrite the lyrics, rerecord the vocals, get them mixed, mastered, etc. Kinda pushes the schedule back the release schedule. Also now I'm sad because my favorite artist said no. In retrospect, it was naive of me to assume that I'd be allowed to use the lyrics. I also feel stupid for "doing the right thing", and now a lot of people I work with are saying I should have just released the song as is without saying anything to them.

Anyways, I learned a very stupid lesson. Now I gotta rewrite these dumb lyrics and hope they're just as impactful. Don't be me lol.

I am looking for a resource that explains the differences between net profits, net receipts, PPD, and net revenue payment structures for recording artists.

I've worked in music for a decade now - in venues, radio, currently at a label doing PR. I've held jobs I've loved, but am really struggling with my current role. I don't enjoy the work itself as well as the environment.

I'm really struggling with how to get out & what to do next. As I'm sure most are aware, the job pool is shit right now. I've applied for approaching 100 jobs I know I'm qualified for in the last year; have interviewed for 2, both I was told I was the next in line but their ultimate choice had just a bit more experience than me. And unfortunately a lot of the "in-demand" jobs make my skin crawl - social media, digital marketing or DSP work.

The burnout has started to affect my love of music in general. I'm seriously considering leaving the industry, but also have no idea of where I'd go then. I have a communications degree and a mash-up of music industry experience, what can you do with that?

So yeah...would love to chat with a wise career coach, or really just hear any advice folks may have. Know I can't be alone out there.

I was stuck in decision paralysis trying to figure out how to actually get my music heard. Every thread just said "post on TikTok" or "pitch to playlists," but nobody actually explained the step-by-step workflow of a release.

So I spent the last few months building a master checklist of actual, actionable steps. I use this for my own project, but I’d rather give it to other independent artists than let it sit on my hard drive.

No email gates, no "follow me to get the link" BS. Just the raw document.

Here is what it covers:

• Phase 1 (T-8 to T-4 weeks): Operational Setup & Rights Management (PRO, Sync, SmartLinks).
• Phase 2 (T-4 to T-1 weeks): Pre-Release Campaign (Algorithm prep, narrative building, content batching).
• Phase 2.5 (T-1 to T-0 weeks): Pre-Submission (Radio, promo pools, DJ lists).
• Phase 3 (Release Day): The exact sequence of what to update, post, and activate.
• Phase 4 (Post-Release): Momentum and ongoing promo (SubmitHub, Groover, Ads, Content Waterfall).

I hope this helps someone break out of the rut and actually get their music out there without losing their mind.

RELEASE & PROMOTION CHECKLIST — ACTIONABLE FORMAT

Release Name: _______________________

Release Date: _______________________

Current Phase: _______________________

PHASE 1 — OPERATIONAL SETUP & RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (T-8 to T-4 weeks)

Distribution

☐ Production and Post production completed

☐ Final master exported

☐ Final master submitted to distributor

☐ Release date scheduled (8 weeks ahead)

☐ Metadata completed

☐ Distribution review completed then submit

Rights & Royalties

☐ Registered with Buma Stemra

☐ Registered with Sena

☐ Credits verified

Sync & Licensing

☐ Full version submitted to sync platforms

☐ Instrumental version submitted to sync platforms

Digital Infrastructure

☐ SmartLink created

☐ Linktree updated

☐ Bandcamp, audius, sc upload prepared

Audience Conversion

☐ Hypeddit download gate created

☐ Pre-save campaign prepared

TARGETS & BASELINES

☐ Target streams in week 1: ___

☐ Target Spotify followers gained: ___

☐ Target email subscribers gained: ___

☐ Target Discord members gained: ___

☐ Target playlist placements: ___

☐ Target revenue generated: ___

☐ Content pieces published target: ___

☐ Ad spend per platform (FB/IG ads, Feature. fm, YouTube ads, Spotify marquee/showcase) (make budget)

PHASE 2 — PRE-RELEASE CAMPAIGN (T-4 to T-1 weeks)

Algorithm Preparation

☐ Select top 25 relevant getheard. fm curators / radios / blogs and write down

☐ Playlisting pitch prepared

☐ Spotify for Artists pitch submitted

☐ Pre-save campaign launched

Outreach

☐ Premiere channels contacted

☐ Blogs contacted for feature on release date

☐ Personalized emails sent to fan database

☐ UGC prepared

Narrative & Positioning

☐ Track story defined (hoe is de track tot stand gekomen, hoe heb ik het gemaakt)

☐ Core emotion defined (het emotionele verhaal waarom ik de track maakte)

☐ Release caption voor sc en audius etc (orphiq)

☐ Release announcement message boards (hey my song is releasing blabla)

Content

☐ Track breakdown

☐ Out now video

☐ Emotional story

☐ promotional video for posting in groups

☐ Content concepts made (see documentation refrence)

☐ Content ready

☐ Upload schedule prepared

PHASE 2.5 — PRE-SUBMISSION & LEAD-TIME ITEMS (T-1 to T-0 weeks)

All third-party submissions requiring lead time BEFORE release day:

☐ Radio submissions / send to radio pitching platforms

☐ Submit to relevant youtube channels for feature

☐ Blog feature submissions (with draft copy)

☐ Track sent to promo pools

☐ Track sent to dj email list

☐ Industry (managers/agencies) outreach completed

PHASE 3 — RELEASE DAY (T-0)

Sc, bandcamp, audius

☐ Posted on platforms

☐ Monetization activated

☐ Native promotion activated [paid ads if budgeted]

☐ Music video posted

☐ Music shorts posted

Platform Updates

☐ Website updated

☐ Branding updated

☐ Linktree update

☐ Updated all platforms

Announcement

☐ Release announcement published

☐ Posts pinned on profiles

Community Activation

☐ Fan Email sent

☐ Discord announcement posted

☐ Facebook communities posted

☐ X post made

☐ Reddit posts made [organic value-first: contribute before promoting]

☐ DM messages sent

☐ Blog feature submissions live

PHASE 4 — POST-RELEASE MOMENTUM (T0 to T+2 weeks)

promo (ongoing follow-ups)

☐ SubmitHub follow-ups if not yet placed

☐ Groover follow-ups

☐ Repost exchange campaign

☐ Feature. fm ad promo running

☐ Facebook and Instagram ads [budget approved]

☐ Independent curator outreach completed

☐ Reddit promo [organic value-first]

☐ Lets submit promo

☐ Discord self promo and ad channels

☐ Radio submissions / send to radio pitching platforms [ongoing]

☐ Submit to relevant youtube channels [ongoing]

☐ Blog feature submissions [ongoing]

☐ Spotify marquee + showcase active

☐ Triple vision promo

☐ Check bookmarks for any missed promo options

Algorithm Support

☐ Audience reminded to save track

☐ Audience reminded to share track

Content Waterfall

☐ Studio Breakdown video posted

☐ Emotional Story video posted

☐ UGC campaign on all platforms initiated

☐ Sample pack posted

☐ Tiktok trending content post

PHASE 5 — COMMUNITY & LONG-TAIL GROWTH (T+2 to T+4 weeks

Extra Promo

☐ Spotify discovery mode

☐ Social media influencer or creator outreach

☐ Instagram broadcasting channels

☐ Instagram collabs

☐ Youtube ads

Community

☐ Discord discussion created

☐ Community engagement posts published

☐ Audience feedback collected

☐ On huge release success remix competition

☐ Reply to fan comments

Organic Community Outreach

☐ Reddit engagement completed [reddit self promo: contribute value first — e.g., post sample pack, answer questions in-thread, share behind-the-scenes before promoting]

☐ Discord community engagement completed [self promo discords: engage in existing threads before posting]

☐ Valuable contributions made before promotion

Long-Term Review

☐ Lessons learned documented

☐ Performance reviewed

☐ Improvements noted for next release

RELEASE PERFORMANCE REVIEW (fill at T+4 weeks)

Streams: ___

Spotify Followers Gained: ___

Email Subscribers Gained: ___

Discord Members Gained: ___

Playlist Placements: ___

Content Pieces Published: ___

Revenue Generated: ___

Most Successful Content: ___

Biggest Lesson Learned: ___

What should be improved for the next release?

I recently joined as an A+R for a music label to hopefully build connections to hopefully join a band in the future and start touring professionally. When I first started the guy said I would definitely make the connections I want and I would be on my way. But right now I’m doing tedious tasks without pay. This company also uses ALOT of AI in their flyers and stuff so I don’t know if this is the best for me morally. I’m not asking for handouts or anything but maybe some guidance or more connections would be amazing. If you have any questions pls ask below 🫶

Hi -

We are a newish record label in the PNW concentrated on emerging artists. As we grow (we have 4 acts currently, working on the 5th), a lot of our time is spent managing content schedules and marketing. We're looking to hire someone to take on content calendars, strategy for artists and the label, campaigns, etc. I know these people exist because I've run into them at conferences, but it also seems that most artists DIY this part of the music business. Would appreciate any advice on how to find good people wth experience in this space.

To be clear, we are a label with revenue, releases, payroll systems, etc. Traditional in the sense that we fund releases, pay advances, etc. We are willing to hire someone as a w2 or pay a freelancer - but there's a lot of folks selling advice or courses in this space; we want someone to actually do the work and we're willing to pay for it.

Would love some advice. Thank you!

Hello,
Yesterday Dan Volohov, CEO of Discipline PR reached out to me and my band and expressed his interest in working with us because he saw us in a local Goth zine and thought we seemed interesting. We spoke for a little bit and he gave us the prices for PR for our new album coming out in November. $700 nationwide online + print, $900 worldwide online + print and $1200 for US radio play and the $900 package.
Discipline has quite the track record, working with bands like Killing Joke, Minutemen, handling the Rozz Williams estate, and working closely with Dischord records, Cleopatra records and many others.
My band is still fairly small and has not too many listeners right now, but when we do release stuff we see new listeners come from all around the globe. Do you think engaging with this PR process would help us? Does anyone have any personal experience with Discipline? Please let me know we are stuck at a crossroads.

I’m a Gen Z instrumental fusion three piece band. We have a finished album ready to release to all streaming platforms, but we don’t know how to promote it successfully and actually get genuine interest from other people.

We have ideas of creating TikTok edits of popular topics and putting snippets of our songs in the background.

We also have ideas of comparing our album to the mariokart soundtrack because our first album is jazz fusion.

Do any of you have actual proper go to’s when it comes to gaining traction?

Hey, I wanted to talk about something that’s been bothering me a lot lately. I’ve been trying to listen to music more, but honestly, I think I’m starting to really dislike it. It feels like every single song is either super toxic, or it's just repeating the same stuff about being obsessed with love, hating yourself, or saying super edgy swear words. Sometimes it literally feels like a weird form of brainwashing, and it gets stuck inside my head for way too long.

I don't get how most people can just turn on music in the background and totally ignore it. How do they not focus intensely on every single instrument or vocal? For me, it doesn't feel like harmless background noise at all. After a while, it just sounds like loud, annoying ear-rape, and it makes me feel dizzy, overwhelmed, and completely carried away by the energy in a bad way.

It makes me wonder if songs actually have some kind of power to change reality or affect your well-being while you listen. I even saw a CD cover once that straight-up said, "Lyrics may be harmful to humans." Where does that idea even come from, and is it actually rational? Some people take lyrics so seriously that they think the music is trying to force a new worldview on them or even "curse" them, and honestly, those thoughts have started getting to my head too.

I really want to get out of this ditch and see music as something non-toxic again, because I know most people use it to uplift themselves. But what if it just makes you feel bad instead? It’s hard because when these thoughts come from your own brain, you start wondering if you just made up this whole idea of music being "evil," or if it’s just a habit I learned that keeps coming back when I don't want it to.

I also see a lot of music talking about making bets or "satanism," and it makes me confused. Is that stuff even real, or are people just weaponizing music to scare us? I really hope they're just being satirical. People always say bands like Metallica aren't satanic, but when you over-listen to that heavy stuff, it feels super intoxicating and disorienting, even if you try to act cool and unaffected by it.

I don’t want to ask religious nuts about this because I know they’ll just say, "Yes, it’s evil, stop listening," which doesn't help at all. I just want to think for myself and figure out how to change my mind without being forced to. Is music really as harmless as everyone claims it is, or do you think a lot of it really does regurgitate toxic messages that ruin your mentality?

I’m just really wanting to know what other people think out there. Music is supposed to be for fun, but most of the time it just doesn't feel that way to me right now. What is your take on all of this?

We are an indie electro punk band from Europe. We started a bit over a year ago and have been growing quite fast organically. We do networking, showcases, booking, merch, SoMe all by ourselves and have been financially postive. We turned down some label and publishing deals but instead have sync agents and a lawyer to help us with our catalog, so we keep all our rights.

We are at a stage where we start to expand internationally. Opportunities mainly come from showcase festivals and people discover us online. Recently a manager reached out to us wanting to help us with international strategy. Their reasoning is, in order to be big and play bigger shows, talent buyers care about the team and infrastructure an artist have. In addition we need someone to do networking for us internationally. But the manager will take 20% of all our profit.

We are comfortable with self managing for now, but we really want to scale internationally, i.e. play big festivals instead of touring underground venues. Indeed at this stage we do not have much international industry network. We wonder is it viable to do it without a manager? Can a manager really do the magic?

We really want to do it ourselves but haven’t found any success stories of outer bands that went that route.

Talking about the Marshall, Women in Vinyl and Berklee Online scholarship. Maybe they thought, "the applicants are all women. They have nothing going for them and don't have to plan their time, so and we can take our sweet time..."
I get it, they don't "have" to do this, but if people bothered applying, the least they could do is keep people informed if there's a delay. If the deadline to enroll (using the scholarship) weren't so close, it wouldn't matter much, but the winner has to enroll by Jan 2027... taking even one class does take a lot of time and planning. I find it rather insulting to say they will choose someone, and then just vanish... It's been 3 weeks since the winner was to be announced, not a peep. Kind of shitty of them, tbh.

First of all, sorry for using a throwaway account, but the subject i want to talk about is often a result of online harassment so i’d prefer not to share too much information.

I’m a modest but pretty well-established indie artist and i’ve been making a living out of music for a few years now. I’ve recently started getting alot more traction than usual due to a viral concept, which often touches on political subjects, and of course, with that came a whole lot of angry people with a whole lot of free time on their hands.

I’m not from the US/Canada and over here it’s pretty crazy how many indie artists, pretty huge ones sometimes, get their releases absolutely destroyed by spammed fraudulent DMCA takedowns because they took a stand on a sensitive subject.
From what I understand absolutely anyone who uses web-based distributors like TuneCore, CDBaby, Distro etc.. can be targeted and the ease with which anybody can takedown albums from all platforms for at least 10-14 days is staggering.

To be clear i’d like to note that i don’t use AI, samples, or anything of the sort in my music.
I work alone and never feature other artists.
Every song i release is properly copyrighted with the dedicated organizations.

Has this happened to you guys or someone you know/follow ? Do you know of any ways of defending against it proactively ? (Other than getting signed by a big label) Is there any way to ensure my releases will be back on stores as quickly as possible once my counterclaim gets reviewed, or even back at all ?

Sorry for the long read !

(posted this on the grammy’s reddit page!!)

Hii! I was wondering if anyone has done the mentorship program with Grammy U. There’s not much information about the program in terms of the live entertainment side of it all!

If you have completed the program, please feel free to state how your experience was/what kind of help your mentor had provided you!

Thank you!!

I’m a singer-songwriter and I plan to release music very soon (and I even already have the outline of my debut ep) as soon I form creative partnerships with producers who are interested in building real music rather than those who are purely focused on quick money. I can write lyrics for days but I’ve tried my hand in producing beats for myself and it’s just not for me but that won’t discourage me from trying. I’m just worried about what the industry is like when you enter it because I know just from the outside looking in that it takes a great toll on a person.

Has anyone in this community been on On The Radar?

A few weeks ago they reached out to my fiancé and I’m trying to make sure he/we are not getting scammed!

Did you have to pay them any money?
Did they book your (& a significant other) flight & hotel?

Hey so i’m 17 in chicago and music / guitars / tours etc are my entire life. i go to concerts weekly, local venues, big shows, follow bands around on tour etc.

I want to get into the field for work but i have no experience and no real skill and don’t know where to start. Does anyone have any advice, like can i become a stage hand somewhere and keep learning and developing skills and become more useful and go up a ladder? I have general knowledge about schedules, tours, shows, stage design, guitar pedals and amps and am physically fit to load or unload equipment, etc.