Establishing a career as an independent artist means you are ready to invest all the time and effort it’ll require to be successful. This includes access to the right independent musician resources and tools.
Please don’t beat yourself up about the mistakes you are bound to make as its part of the learning process. Just see it as you are paying your dues on your climb to success and prominence.
You cannot afford to be stagnant as an indie artist; you need to keep being better at what you do. That’s why we’ve put together these resources for independent artists to help you sharpen your musicianship with little stumbling blocks in your way.
1. A Pair of Headphones- Analyzing Music
You’ll be like seriously! Yes, it would help if you had headphones to be able to analyze music from a technical perspective. It’s about learning from the success and failures of other artists. Make sure the headphone is good enough to produce the best of sound into your ears.
2. A Journal- Writing Lyrics and Journaling
Your mental health needs to be at its best at all times. Your songwriting pad can even serve as your journal. It should not be about lyrics, but things you are thankful for. Being an indie artist requires you to be mentally healthy as it can be tiring and stressful.
3. Disctopia– Music Promotion Resources For Independent Artists
Being absent on the top platform dedicated to indie artists and other creatives can be your greatest undoing. You should never complain of being broke if you cannot make good use of this resource. With Disctopia, you have full creative control and true freedom. This is an important resource every independent artist must utilize.
4. An Ear Training App
Your musical skills can be better with an ear training app. With these apps, you can train your ears anywhere and anytime. Don’t let any moment of downtime go to waste; plug your ears and practice.
5. A Fitness App
Don’t be surprised about this, but being an independent artist requires you to have a well-toned voice, mind, and body. When you are fit, you’ll be able to rehearse and practice for a longer period. Make use of wearables also and monitor your vital signs. Exercising improves your ability to play without tension.
6. Remember The Milk-Staying Organized
As an indie artist, you need to keep your art and life organized. Keep everything from your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks tracked. Don’t forget to set reminders for texts, chat, and other areas of your life. You can use tools such as Remember The Milk and Todoist to get things in shape.
7. Vocal Warm Up-Voice Exercise
Never go out on stage without being vocally ready and prepared. That’s where the Vocal Warm Up app comes into the picture. It can be customized to suit your vocal range and depth. Regardless of where you are, you’ll never be caught unprepared for any performance.
8. Hootsuite-Social Media Management
Social media is an essential aspect of music today. It’s the channel through which musicians can keep in touch with their fans. As an independent artist, Hootsuite will give you the tools you need to be out there within reach of your fans at all times.
9. SoundTracking– Music Sharing and Search Visibility
Never lose an opportunity to reach more fans as an indie artist, and that’s precisely what SoundTracking does. Helping you to share songs through social media, email, and even SMS. It has the potential to increase search visibility on both search engines and social media.
10. Instagram- Fan Engagement
Considering that it’s free, with over 200 million users, every independent musician must have an established presence on Instagram. Use Instagram to showcase to your fans what your everyday life looks like as an artist.
11. Youtube- Showcasing Music Videos
Being the number one video platform, you cannot do without Youtube as an artist. There’s no better way to showcase your visuals to the world than Youtube. Your videos are better taken seriously when you share them through Youtube.
12. This Business of Music- An Insight Into Legal Side of Music
Just think of this book as the Bible of the music industry. With over 500,000 copies sold, you cannot get it wrong with this book. A bit outdated already, but still a great resource to understand the nitty-gritty of music from a legal perspective.
13. Music Marketing For The DIY Musician- Music Marketing For Indie Artists
While there may be thousands of books about music marketing, only a few address specifically indie artists. In this book, you’ll find all the tools and techniques being employed by major labels to market artists.
14. MetroTimer– Practicing on The Move
With 8 Metronome sound available, you can be rehearsing and practicing from anyway, even on the go. It’s the most accurate metronome app on the Appstore for many reasons.
15. BackTrax– Backing Tracks Player
When you are on stage, you can still play your backing track from your device. There’s even a progress timer that lets you know how far you are into the song. The sweetest part of the app is the lyric prompt and auto-pause feature.
16. Setlist Helper– Creating Setlists
There is an embarrassing scenario that often plays out among performing musicians. It’s the confusion that is created by the change in key when chords are written over texts. This confusion can be entirely avoided with the setlist helper app.
17. Decibel X Noisemeter– Venue Volume Control
As an indie artist, you will find yourself playing in a venue where there’s a dB limit. With this tool, you can keep the volume of your instrument under control. The app helps to keep sound pressure and volume under control.
18. Splits– Generating Simple Contracts
Don’t ever agree to a verbal or gentleman’s agreement while working with other artists. Keep track of your contribution to a song with Splits. In a click, you can generate ownership agreements and assign ownership percentages.
19. Upwork or Fiverr- Outsourcing Tasks
As an indie artist, you may not have the luxury of having your team. Not to worry, a freelance platform can get a lot done for you. From designing artwork, social media management, and even songwriting.
20. A Condenser Mic- Home Recording
Nothing beats a good condenser mic when you need to record samples from home. Not that it will beat working from a studio, but it will give you the impression you need about your music. Not a must actually, but having one will give you an edge as an indie artist.
Final Thoughts
With these independent musician resources, you are guaranteed to go far in your quest for success as an independent musician. There might be more, but equipping yourself with these will be a good start for a successful independent music career.
