How do you "get your music out there?"

I’ve put out some music on bandcamp and played a couple small shows so that’s pretty cool, but what else can you do?

The only way it happens for me is sheer chance/luck. It doesn’t matter how hard I try to promote myself. Someone will just stumble upon something I made and it’ll explode for a few days and then go back to almost no exposure. It’s very frustrating. I keep trying to send demos out but just can’t seem to get anyone’s attention!

The only way it happens for me is sheer chance/luck. It doesn't matter how hard I try to promote myself. Someone will just stumble upon something I made and it'll explode for a few days and then go back to almost no exposure. It's very frustrating. I keep trying to send demos out but just can't seem to get anyone's attention!

Agreed. Today the music you produce is secondary, at best. The looks, the hype seem to be much more important when it comes to who gets noticed and who doesn’t. I mean these always have mattered but today they do more than ever. I’m an old fart and all I’m good at (if I am…) is making music… ironically, I work in marketing and communication but simply refuse to look at my musical work as a product which should be marketed. I do what I like and every now and then there’s some overlapping with a few others also liking what I do. Other than that, it’s what @pselodux said: sheer chance.

I do what I like and every now and then there's some overlapping with a few others also liking what I do.

Same here, don’t even care if others like what I do (although it is nice!), making music is just a wee hobby for me.

I think @jooga1972 is right though, getting noticed or making it or however you want to term it is down to sheer chance and, to a large extent, image / hype which is all rather depressing so I don’t even go there.

When I used to play in my band we just did our thing on our own terms. We were happy with the diy ethic we’d established and the label we released through was run in the same fashion. So we paid to record our albums, they paid to get it pressed and we split the cds and sold through mail order, gigs and website. They gave us good backing (promotion/merch/tours) and we were able to rlease stuff and tour on our own terms (2 of us ar teachers, one a civil engineer - so had jobs to maintain). Tbh my electonic stuff is for me, if anyone else enjoys it then fair enough.

First thing : I’d say get in touch with other music lovers in your region : musicians, local radio shows…

The only way it happens for me is sheer chance/luck. It doesn't matter how hard I try to promote myself. Someone will just stumble upon something I made and it'll explode for a few days and then go back to almost no exposure. It's very frustrating. I keep trying to send demos out but just can't seem to get anyone's attention!

Agreed. Today the music you produce is secondary, at best. The looks, the hype seem to be much more important when it comes to who gets noticed and who doesn’t. I mean these always have mattered but today they do more than ever. I’m an old fart and all I’m good at (if I am…) is making music… ironically, I work in marketing and communication but simply refuse to look at my musical work as a product which should be marketed. I do what I like and every now and then there’s some overlapping with a few others also liking what I do. Other than that, it’s what @pselodux said: sheer chance.

Yup, my girlfriend suggested that I get a manager, I wonder if that’d actually work though… Nobody else I know in the chip scene seems to have a manager, but I can’t seem to go a week without seeing one of my peers releasing an EP/album on a label somewhere. Shit, I’ve been playing gigs for 15 years, and making electronic music for almost 20, you’d think it’d get easier!

Cool, interesting thoughts guys
Of course I’m not trying to became famous but was just wondering what people do

Good thread.
Live music/gigs is a good way of building momentum and making contacts .Any semi pro work on the local scene, DJing or community festivals.
Recorded music can almost be a calling card or part of the set.

As stated above I think it comes down to networking in the right places as well as luck.

I make hiphop beats, and I moved right next to a dude which scratching skills are out of this world. BOOM we started playing together right away, me dropping homegrown loops on the SP404 and him on scratch n cut. 100% luck.

Then I went to a warehouse party once, got a bit tired of the music and asked if I could play my beats from soundcloud and this chick says “that’s dope we need to have you play at the club, I’m the event manager”. Took some months but the neighbour and I opened for the Scratch perverts which we felt really lucky for. From living room stright to club opening for a fairly big act in the scene.

We both have full time jobs so we can’t take much time off which kind of kills the motivation to network with the right lads (usually late at night…) and push our luck.

Also some people are good at selling themselves which make them look “big” to others regardless of their musical efforts. Any gots to get back to my daily work!!! Cheers

First thing : I'd say get in touch with other music lovers in your region : musicians, local radio shows...

A cool thing to do is to come up with a unique way to perform, so finding another artist that would do something else than music is a good way to build something original.

Getting involved in a collective is a smart way to find amazing people.

There are some in my town were Art is very underrated. So I guess there are such collective everywhere on Earth ^^

Once you got a one-hour set, you might want to accumulate dates to get some experience.

Being at least two people is cool for this, or you might feel lonely at some point and this leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Be careful to never be high before/while performing !

Well, I’ve been involved in making music for nearly 30 years now, I made countless one-hour sets, was the member of several collectives, etc. I guess it’s my ‘no compromise’ attitude that keeps me where I’ve always been. I hate it and I like it. In my experience (and am sure there’s nothing novel in this…) when they deal with art in general, most folks want to see and hear clear, straightforward messages that don’t get them thinking too much. Predictability, as I see it, is an essential compontent in commercially successful projects. Then again, I just don’t like or want to do predictable music but that’s my decision so I’ll be in the underground forever.

Very interesting thread.
No radio, no cd, no label, only soundcloud…I’m wondering to open my bandcamp page but not sure if it’s ready. All these things needs time.
I would like to try collaborating too, but it’s not so easy to find.

Remix competitions can be helpful for exposure. Especially remixing for groups that aren’t super popular, but aren’t unknown either.

Its really a combination of all these things.

Presenting a consistent message across all the social media and music sharing sites. It can take a lot of time and energy and if you’ve got a band then duties might be able to be spread across band member to “work it”. As a single performer or a DJ it will be harder.

You want to try to post somewhat regularly so fans can keep you in mind. You want to participate in your “scene” both online and and in “real-space” so people know you are an active artist.

As someone who was in the music business in the 80’s and early 90s (see deadmilkmen.com) with no internet presence and then getting back into it in 2008 - its a totally different world. I will tell you that paid promotion companies are doing a lot of business these days and they are almost always required to make any headway online. Unless you somehow get a viral post to take off onyour own - the promotion companies really help get reviewers aware of your releases and can get press interviews etc.

http://youtu.be/XVQ8c19unnM

If you can move to a major centre like LA NY Berlin London, and actually afford to live there and make connections that is the #1 way. Aside from that you gotta keep grinding, getting better, sending out demos in a calculated way. Send your albums to blogs and blogs and blogs. I put in work for over a decade before I started to get any kind of fan/label/media response. So, move to a big city if you can and keep grinding and get a bit of luck too.

I’m tempted to just start my own damn web label, since a few people just don’t really understand what I’ve been aiming for with my 0F.digital project (really, how hard is it to ‘get’ minimal tech?)… something encouraging super minimalist/repetitive music. Perhaps that way everyone on the label can help to cross-promote and such… and could perhaps even be a stepping stone to a larger label.

This sums up one particular mindset for me (not mine tbh). If you want to be the professional musician then it takes dedication to every aspect of the craft. Just like the many many hours most of us will have put in to be successful in our own professional lives.

Music, for me is to have fun. I'm not trying to monetise anything. I want the experiences, memories and joy that comes with creating and performing. I have a drive to make music for its own end. Engaging in online communities such as this one creates opportunities to be part of something larger e.g. Song battles. Remix collabs etc. A community well worth visiting/joining is http://llllllll.co

I already heard of such things, especially morning pen+paper. Why didn’t I do this already?

As an aside, are the tracks created for the battles curated in any way? When i contribute to other community music projects they are normally compiled as a free album download on bandcamp. This in turn would expose listeners of one artist to many more. Also, its nice to send to blogs as they can write about the theme tying it together e.g only using op1, or all sounds sampled from aquatic mammals (you get what i mean haha).

As an aside, are the tracks created for the battles curated in any way? When i contribute to other community music projects they are normally compiled as a free album download on bandcamp. This in turn would expose listeners of one artist to many more. Also, its nice to send to blogs as they can write about the theme tying it together e.g only using op1, or all sounds sampled from aquatic mammals (you get what i mean haha).

Alright Steve,

I think I’ve seen mention to things of that nature on this site. I think it’s a great idea! The reason I’m interested in it is because I’d like to fire up my NS-10’s, cross reference the mixes with my Senheisser HD 700’s and Adam A8X’s and do as much I can with my mastering abilities. I think everyone is a winner. I get to practice the art of mastering with great gear and a plugin suite to match on, people who I read about everyday, and hopefully bring together a somewhat overall family sound. Of course, that is in an ideal world.

I thought a good place to start might be with the battle winners of each the Op-1 and the new pocket operators battles that have now commenced. Maybe I/you/we could open a blog account like a tumbler or something, I don’t really know about that stuff but I do know, going back to your original point @steveoath, that I think it’s a great idea!!! What further suggestions do you, or anyone else, have?