The Rally Cry of the Indie!

You know, when I talk to many of my friends from all over the music spectrum, I find that we all have more in common than just making music. Sure, we almost “have” to classify our music, though putting labels on things that we create is something that we ALL hate doing. But just for the sake of this conversation, I think that we have to realize something: if we are looking to be “trailblazers” and “controllers of our destinies” then we are all indie artists, musicians, managers, producers and industry professionals.

Now, what do you mean that we are all Indies? Since I “cut my teeth” on creating and writing Soul and R&B music, I was finding it hard to narrow my search early on in my career when I looked for resources to help me. I, too, thought that Rock bands made indie music. I immediately began to think of the 3-5 piece garage band that loaded up their vans and traveled to “dive bars” to make a little money doing original music. If this is your view, then you are still correct. You see, Indie music is a genre and a description. It’s a noun and an adjective.

So with all of that said (and to completely wrap up the “classroom” section of our conversation!) Indie music is defined as Rock music that takes its name from "independent," which describes both the do-it-yourself attitudes of its bands and the small, lower-budget nature of the labels that release the music. The key words here are “attitudes”, “lower-budget” and “do-it-yourself.” Do you release music on your own? Do you believe that the “old ways” of releasing music: cut a demo, send your demo to an A&R, get signed to a lucrative record deal, release a hit, sell CDs, get on radio, etc., needs a major kick in the backside? Do you KNOW that you are the one that can supply the kick? Well, guess what, YOU are an indie! You may not make music that sounds like Beck, but you are someone that is among the growing number of “movers and shakers” who are going to make it on their own terms. YOU are an indie! You create INDIE music!

So what’s next? Now that you are hearing the “Rally Cry of the Indie,” what are you going to do about it? Are you going to dust off your library card and go find the resources you need? Are you going to take a look at the fact that Macklemore was not an overnight sensation that made a song about shopping at the thrift song and got famous out-of-the-blue, or are you going to take a look at the fact that he and his partner Ryan Lewis have taught us all some lessons about what it means to staying true to who you are? Are you going to let the fact that many in the Hip-hop community have dismissed him as a member of a genre that can get played no matter what they put out stop you from learning that he was able to keep all of his royalties because he and Lewis created an album with NO SAMPLES or GUEST APPEARANCES (two things that always kill a budget)? Am I going to keep asking you questions, or am I going to give you some resources? Just making sure that you were paying attention.

Hungry Artiz, the goal this conversation with you is to tell you that we are all one in this Indie Revolution. Limiting yourself, if only to stop and define what you are NOT for extended periods of time, is limiting to your career. It’s ok to say, “Hey, I am not a Country singer.” That’s fine, as you still have to define your audience. What is not ok is missing out on some valuable resources or lessons that could mean the difference between dreaming about making a living doing what you love and continuing to listen to your music on your iPod and making no effort to share your gifts with the world.

Update Your Status

Hello, Hungry Artiz. I hope that your month has been full of creativity, inspiration and motivation to reach your goals.

This month, I decided to take a look at another topic that I am asked most about by my musician friends and fellow Hungry Artiz: web sites. This is another one of those topics that I have found to be one of those scary things that most musicians don’t like to talk about, let alone go out and actually create. How do I know? Well, you could have counted me in that number too during the early stages of my career.

Now, I’ll try not to date myself when I tell you this, but I can remember a time when there was no Internet. There was no Facebook or Twitter. More than that, I can remember when the only way I could log onto the Internet in the beginning stages of its popularity was if there was no one on the telephone in the next room. Hard to imagine that my youngest son never experienced a world without cable, let alone one where logging onto the web meant that we had to pick a phone number from a long list and wait for a weird tone.

Okay, enough of that, I am totally dating myself.

Today, there is NOTHING that you can’t do online. You can watch your favorite television show or movie. You can buy a house or even order a pizza. My question is, why in the world would you ever believe that you can be a successful musician without having a viable website? Why would you see the merits in being able to keep up with your favorite television show On Demand, but not give your music a chance to be Googled or listened to by those who are surfing the web for gossip?

Hungry Artiz, this month I want you to think about your website. If you don’t have one, then well, you are missing out. Now, since we like to keep our conversations with each other motivating, I don’t want you to be discouraged if you do not have one. I just want you to think about something: are you on Facebook? If you are taking the time to let everyone know that you are having a great day, then you could be using that time to update your fans on your next gig, or show them behind the scenes footage of you in the studio working hard on your next album. Now I don’t knock Facebook, because I do have a Facebook page. It’s there for a reason and it is up to you to define what it is. If Facebook is the ONLY way fans can reach you, then you need to be asking yourself a few more pressing questions about what you want out of your professional music career. As hard as it is to believe (now brace yourself for this one) everyone is not on Facebook. Prince does not have a Facebook page.

Listen guys, I know that some of us are not computer-savvy web designers, nor do we have the money to pay thousands of dollars to create a spectacular “Internet wonderland” where things are flying across the screen in perfect sync with your music! The good news is: we don’t have to be. There are hundreds of resources out there that don’t require that you know how to write code or design websites. The best part is that many of them are FREE to use or try. Many of them, like Bandzoogle, even come with all of the tools you need to update your fans, post your gigs and even blog. Most, like Nimbit, even allow you to sell your music and merchandise. Got a t-shirt with your band’s logo on it? Share it with your fans on your website!

Make sure you check out the ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Here are a few other ones that I think that you will find to be easy to set up and maintain, yet powerful enough to get the “buzz” going on the Inter-web:

HostBaby - CD and digital music distributors CDBaby’s website creation and hosting

Four Four – free website creation platform created by two former musicians

Reverbnation – not technically a website, but has some of the same tools, super-easy to maintain and even has a blog

Onesheet – virtually, maintenance free; links to your social media, just a SINGLE PAGE

Squarespace – professional quality templates that are easily customized

This is, by no means, the end-all-listing-of the-best ever . In fact, I’d like you all to feel free to leave suggestions or even talk about some that you have found.

Now, get out there and build that site! After you have updated your status, of coarse! Here is a quick video to help you get started (now, there is no excuse!) Until we speak again, stay HUNGRY!