How To Be An Independent Artist: Identity, Branding, & Independence

1. How To Be An Independent Artist Introduction: Hi, my name is Bennett, and welcome to How to be An independent artist. If you're an emerging artist and you're trying to figure out how to build your career without a label or you've released some music, and you're a bit stuck on what comes next. Then this course is for you. I'm a singer songwriter, producer, and an independent artist myself. I've had my music played on BBC Introducing, multiple playlists and I've gigged up and down the country, all without a manager, a label, or a team behind me. So I know firsthand how overwhelming it can all feel, but also how empowering it can feel when you start figuring it all out. This course is your step by step guide on building a sustainable music career on your own terms. We'll cover everything you need to know to thrive to be an independent artist today. You'll learn how to define your artist identity and discover what makes the consistent brand and online presence, strategically plan and release your music, how to market your songs and grow your audience. Understand how distribution, streaming platforms, and playlists really work and navigating the business side, like royalties, live shows, sync and labels. I want this to feel like your toolkit that you can keep coming back to and not just a checklist that you watch once and then forget. And this isn't just theory. Each lesson includes real world examples, practical tips, and exercises to help you apply what you've been learning immediately. So join this course and let's build your music career. 2. Discovering Your Artist Identity: Hi, I'm Bennett and welcome back to How to be An independent artist. Before we dive into branding, marketing and distribution and all the logistics of being an independent artist, we need to start with the most important piece, you, who you are as an artist, what you stand for, what you sound like, how you make people feel. Your artist identity is the core that you build everything else around. So many independent artists skip this part, and they just go straight to releasing music. All without first understanding who they are and what they want to say. And when that foundation isn't clear, Everything becomes harder, creating visuals, writing consistent buyos, choosing the right songs, and attracting the right audience. In this lesson, we're going to do deep internal work to find your artist identity so that every business and creative decision you make going forward aligns with that. So what is your artist identity? Your artists identity is more than just your music genre or your stage name. It's your creative fingerprint. It's how people recognize your work and how you recognize yourself in it. And it's made up of a few things. Your sound, your message, your visual world, your story, and your values. Think about artists like Billy Eilish, Scissor, Sam Fender, or Ray. They each have distinct identities. Their songs, their visuals, and even their interviews all feel cohesive because they know who they are, and they're rooted in that. So let's break it down into some reflective questions that will help you get clarity. What do you always write about whether you mean to or not? Are your songs about vulnerability, empowerment, nostalgia, mental health? How do you want people to feel after hearing your music? Uplifted, confident, energized, understood. What genres and artist inspire you the most? And why? Not just sonically, but emotionally, visually and lyrically. And what can you borrow from them? And what's your personal story? Your background, Your upbringing, your challenges, your culture, your passion. And if your music was a movie, what would it look like? What colors, moods, and scenes would appear. And take your time to really sit with these. There's no right or wrong answers. It's all about becoming more intentional and self aware. In a saturated music market, the temptation is often to copy what's trending, but being like everybody else won't make you stand out. More often than not, it'll make you disappear. But true artist identity isn't about building a persona. It's about stripping away anything that isn't authentic. It's finding what's already there and timesing it by 1,000. But that doesn't mean you can't evolve. The best artists do. Look at Taylor Swift's transformation from country to pop to Indie folk, but we need to notice her storytelling has always stayed central. Consistency doesn't mean repetition. Means coherence. To make this a bit more hands on, here's an exercise you can do. You could create an artist's mood board using Pintrest or canvas or cutting out some images from magazines and create a visual representation of your artist's world, your colors, your vibes, your fashion, your aesthetic, your mood. But don't overthink it. Just go with what resonates. Another exercise you can do is write an artist manifesto. In one page or less, just describe who you are as an artist, what you believe in, why you make music, and what your voice adds to the world. But this isn't for an Instagram bio or for press. It's literally just for you. It's something to come back to when you feel like you're veering off track or feeling overwhelmed. Artist identity is your foundation. It's your guide to your visuals, your songwriting, your social media, and even who you collaborate with. The clearer you are about who you are, the more confident and intentional your decisions will be. In the next lesson, we'll take your foundation and begin to craft a cohesive brand around it so that your audience not only hears you but also sees you, but take your time with this first lesson and don't be afraid to explore. I'll see you in the next lesson. 3. Building Your Artist Brand: Hi, I'm Bennett and welcome to How To An independent artist. Now that you've begun to uncover your artist identity, your sound, your story, your values, it's time to translate that into your brand. The word brand can often be a bit commercial and feel off putting to artists. You might think, I'm not a business, I just want to make music. Your brand isn't about selling out or changing yourself for others. It's about clearly and consistently presenting who you already are. So when someone comes across your music, your videos, your posts, feel something that aligns with your sound and your message. Branding just helps your audience understand you faster. And in this age of short attention spans and algorithm based discovery, that clarity is so powerful. So what is an artist's brand? Your brand is your external representation of your identity. It's how you show up visually, emotionally, and experimentally across platforms and performances. This includes visuals like colors, fonts, photo shoots, websites, your tone of voice, how you write emails, your captions, your bios, even your lyrics. Values and personality? What do you stand for? What energy do you bring? And consistency. Not sameness, but cohesion and all touch points. This isn't about creating a fake persona. It's about amplifying your most true self in a recognizable way. So let's talk about aesthetics. Even if you're not a designer, understanding how your visual world connects with your music is essential. Ask yourself what colors represent your sound? What era? Dead or mood is your music rooted in? Are you gritty and underground, clean and futuristic or vintage and nostalgic? Similar to your artist moodboard, you could create a brand board, including fashion styles, album covers, photography ideas, color swatches, and even fonts that you like. And these aren't superficial choices. If your lyrics are emotionally raw, does your artwork communicate that? Or if your music is fun and bold. Does your visual presence reflect that? Remember, everything visual should feel like your music sounds. Now, here is where a lot of independent artists get stuck posting on social media. Posting on social media can feel like a chore most of the time, but when you understand your brand, it becomes so much easier. So here's what you can think about. Think about your bio. Keep it short, simple, and clear. You can mentor your genre or your vibe or a recent accomplishment. Instead of singer songwriter, making music, try Indie pop artist making anthems for overthinkers. Your feed in general. Think of Instagram or TikTok as an extension of your world. Are you cinematic, raw, personal, funny? And let that tone lead your content. And speaking of content categories, you can mix things up, but always stay in your brand. So you can show behind the scenes studios. Lyric snippets, outfits of the day, personal storytelling of causes that you care about. Your online presence should reflect you as an artist, not just an online content creator. You really don't need to be doing the latest TikTok dances. You need to connect with the people that will love your work for what it is. Now, you don't need a huge team to build a strong brand. So here's what can help you. For a consistency. You can find two or three friends that are interested in photography and have a good camera, and you can use similar editing or filters across your platforms. You can take advantage of free tools like Canva. You can have your little DIY branding kits on hand, and these can have all your color codes, your fonts, and all your social media buos ready. And this can save you a lot of time when you're building releases and campaigns. So practice your voice, whether you're writing a caption or speaking in a video, how do you sound? Are you poetic? Are you direct? Are you funny? Are you quirky? This goal is for people to experience your world, not just your music. So here's a little exercise you can do. You can write a one sentence artist statement. In one sentence, describe who you are as an artist and what someone should expect when they come across your work. For example, I make Indie pop music for people that romanticize the little things and overthink everything. Keep refining until it feels true. So in conclusion, your brand is the bridge between your art and your audience. You build recognition, build deeper connections, and present yourself with confidence without needing a label to do it for you. In the next lesson, we'll explore how to actually release your music independently, planning your release, choosing the right distributor, pitching to playlists, and so much more. I'll see you in the next lesson. 4. Releasing Your Music Independently The Right Way : Bennett and welcome back to How to be An independent artist. Now that you've begun shaping your artist identity and building your brand, it's time to look at one of the most critical parts of your music journey, how to actually release your music as an independent artist. Releasing a song isn't just uploading it and hitting publish. There's an entire eco system that comes with building momentum, reaching listeners, and doing justice to the music that you've worked so hard on. In this lesson, we'll dive deep in how to plan your release timeline, choose a distributor. Prep your assets, maximize your pre release strategy, and understand metadata, credits and playlist pitching. By the end of this, you'll have a full blueprint to follow over your next release. So let's start. A successful release begins with a plan. Ideally, you want a minimum of four to six weeks between finishing your master and your release date. So here's a basic timeline structure for you. So week zero, final mix and master are finished. Week one, we choose a distributor and schedule the release. Week two to four, we're building hype, visuals, pre saves, teasers, and the announcement day. Week five and six, we're pitching it to press, blogs, playlists, and pre release content starts to roll out. And then it's released da. Your song is out into the public. And then there's the post release, so we keep the momentum going. Share behind the scenes, repost feedback, submit to independent curators, or we could also film an acoustic version or a visualizer. This example helps you build anticipation instead of rushing the process. So let's talk about distributors. A music distributor helps you get your songs on all streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, TikTok and Instagram. An independent artist myself, here are some trusted options. We have Distro kid, TuneCore, CD Baby, and Ditto. But here are some things to consider. I would really look into if they have royalty splits, if they have good customer support, and extensive platform reach, and also whether if they collect publishing royalties because a lot don't on these distributors' websites, this is where you'd upload the final song, and you type in all of your metadata, so like the song title, the ISRC code, additional contributors to the song, if you have any. But also a little side note. Make sure to double check your spelling, your capitalization, and your credits because these can't always be fixed after release. To make the most of your release, you need assets that support your song and your story. This includes things like artwork a bio and press release, a lyric video or a static video, teasers and reels on TikTok and Instagram, and also a pre save link. Think of these assets as your launch kit. They should all reflect your brand. So let's quickly touch back on metadata. This is one area that many independent artists overlook. This is the information that travels with your song no matter where it goes. This includes your ISRC codes. This is a unique identifier of each song that you have. This is a code that your distributor can generate or you can register one yourself. Songwriters, producers, and contributors. You should name everybody accurately so royalties can be paid correctly. And finally, publish wrote the song, you own the copyright. But to collect publishing royalties, you need to be registered with a PRO. Skipping this step can mean you won't get paid the money you owed because even small streams add up over time. So let's talk about visibility. Getting your song actually heard can be a major challenge, but there are very smart ways to increase your reach. One of these ways is Spotify for artists. Once your song is uploaded and scheduled, you can go to your Spotify F artists and actually submit your song for playlist consideration. And the earlier that you do this, the better your chances are. Some other pitching options are websites like submit Hub, Groover, or emailing Indie blogs and creators directly. So here's a little exercise. Let's build your release plan. So let's choose your release date, select your distributor, start writing your press release and your bios, and draft a checklist of assets you'll need, like artwork, teasers, pre save links, et cetera, and research five playlists and blogs that you can submit to. This plan can become your personal roadmap that you can refer back to and refine over time, and you can end up using it for every single release. And finally, you don't need a label to have a successful release. What you do need is clarity, preparation, and consistency. In the next lesson, we'll move into the world of marketing and audience growth, how to promote your music with intention, building fan loyalty, and avoiding the most common mistakes that Indie artists make when trying to go viral. I'll see you in the next lesson. 5. Music Marketing & Audience Growth: Hi, I'm Bennett and welcome back to How to be an independent artist. Now that you understand how to release your music independently, now it's time to talk about how to make people actually care about it. This lesson is all about marketing your music and growing your audience. And not just for one release, but over time. Marketing doesn't have to feel fake or overwhelming. It's simply the way you share your story and connect with your listeners, but you do need the right strategies. In this lesson, we'll cover the difference between attention and connection, building a content strategy that doesn't burn you out, what works and what to ignore on social media, email lists, fan funnels and audience ownership, collaborations and cross promotion. And finally, marketing budgets, how much to spend and where? Many Indie artists focus solely on getting views and streams. But marketing should be about building trust and resonance with your audience. Even if that starts with just ten people. Now, here's what real marketing means. It means telling a consistent and clear story, creating experiences, being discoverable in the right places, and building an emotional connection. For example, let's look at Billy Eilish. Her marketing is an extension of who she is. The visuals, the tone, even the way that she interacts with her fans feels honest and real, and that's what we're aiming for. Comes to social media, you don't need to be on every single platform. I would focus on one to two platforms that you actually enjoy and feel that you can be consistent with. My top picks would be Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube shorts. And here's some content ideas that actually really work for independent artists. Videos like songwriting breakdowns. How did you get this lyric? Where did it come from? Raw vocal tips and acoustic sessions, teasers leading up to the release and post release thank yous and reactions. But also a little tip, I would always try and avoid saying new song out now. I would always try and frame it with a story or a feeling or a visual. So let me pause a quick question. If social media disappeared tomorrow, how would you reach your fans? That's why it's so essential to build an email list. This is often called your fan Funnel. It's how people move from discovering you to becoming a true real fan. They first hear a clip on TikTok or find you on a playlist. Then they follow you on Instagram and comment, and then you can DM them or link them to your Linktree. They pre save your track or buy some of your merch. Then from that you can collect their email addresses, and then you'll have the ability to send them updates, early listens via email or text. You could use platforms like MailchiM, Substack or convert kit for email newsletters, Linktree, beacons, or Koji for Smartlinks that collect contact info. You could also create a discord or patron if you want to build a deeper community space. Building this fan journey matters so much more than chasing virality. One of the fastest ways to grow is to collaborate strategically. This can be with content creators or other artists within your genre. But I would really make sure that your audience is align. Don't just collab with someone because they have a bunch of followers. I would choose people that have similar energy, vibes and genre. So when it comes to advertisements, if you're ready to invest, ads can be incredibly powerful. I would start with Instagram and Facebook ads to help you promote your video content. You could try out Spotify marquee campaigns. You could also try out TikTok ads for your content. But please don't spend the money if you don't have it. But also don't spend the money if you already haven't figured out what content resonates with your audience. So here's an exercise you can do to practice your marketing. Create a simple content calendar two weeks prior to your release and it might look something like this. Day one will have a lyric teaser on TikTok and Instagram reels. Day three will have an acoustic teaser. Day five will talk about the song inspiration story on a carousel or a video. Day seven will be a countdown post and a preserve reminder. Day nine will go live on TikTok or Instagram and have a Q&A with listeners. Day 11 will have a release day video and say thank you to everyone that preserved and showed their love. Day 13 will post another reel on TikTok and Instagram to boost the song. In this plan, I would include content ideas, platforms, and captions. And I would try to schedule about 70% in advance so you don't become so overwhelmed. So overall, marketing isn't about being loud. It's about being intentional. You already have something worth sharing, and that's your music. And now it's all about putting systems in place so more people can discover it. In the next lesson, we'll dive deeper into navigating the music industry from understanding label deals and publishing to how to protect your rights as an artist. I'll see you in the next lesson. 6. Understanding the Music Industry: Hi, I'm Bennett and welcome back to How to be An independent artist. As an independent artist, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the industry with terms like masters, publishing, PROs, sync deals. It's no surprise that many Indie artists just choose to ignore it altogether. But here's the truth. You don't need to be signed to understand them all. And if you do understand the system, you'll protect your rights, avoid bad deals, and make smart long term decisions. In this lesson, we'll touch on the difference between master rights and publishing rights. Music publishers and labels really do performance rights organizations, PROs, and how to collect royalties, 360 deals versus distribution deals, and common contract traps and red flags to look out for. This is about artist empowerment, not just business. There are two core rights that every song contains Master rights, which is the recording itself, and publishing rights, which is the underlying composition like melody, chords and lyrics. Indie artist that writes and records their own songs, you likely own both unless you sign them away. Owning your masters and publishing means long term control and earnings. And this is one of the biggest advantages of staying independent. So let's touch on PROs. To get paid for your songwriting, you need to be registered with a PRO, which is a performance rights organization. In the UK, this is PRS for Music. But in the US, this is ASCAP or BMI. These organizations collect and pay out radio plays, live performance royalties, and TV film or streaming platform performances. You should also register with MCPS in the UK or the MLC in the USA to collect mechanical royalties. This is a separate stream that's generated by reproductions. So if you're an Indie artist and you haven't registered with a PRO yet, I would do that yesterday. So let's talk about what record labels and publishers actually do. So let's clear up the difference. Labels invest in recording, marketing and distribution. And these guys typically own the masters, and publishers help exploit your songwriting and collect publishing royalties, and they usually take 15 to 50% of your publishing in exchange. These companies offer funding, access, and infrastructure. But in exchange, they take a sometimes for life. So if you ever come across these opportunities, I would ask yourself, Are you giving away your rights or just licensing them? What creative control are you keeping? Are they delivering specific services or offering vague opportunities? So let's talk about distribution and 360 deals. Distribution services help you get all of your music onto every single streaming platform. And these are all non exclusive and you get to keep your rights. Some distributors offer label style services and sometimes taking a percentage in exchange for playless support and marketing. Th 60 deals, on the other hand, are often offered by major labels. And often means they take a cut of everything. Music sales, touring, merch, in exchange of investing heavily in your career. Deals are not inherently bad, but they require lawyer review and leverage. And if you're already earning from merchant live shows, I would think really carefully before signing away a percentage. Before signing anything, here's a few red flags to look out for. In petuity language. This means forever be really cautious about giving away rights permanently, no reversion clause. You should have a way to reclaim your rights after a set period if nothing is happening. Vague services, marketing support and playlist pitching needs to be specific and measurable. High percentage cuts with no investment. If somebody takes 50% and offers no budget or strategy, that's not a fair deal. And finally, no audit clause. You should have the right to check how they're accounting and reporting income. I would always have an entertainment lawyer review the contracts if you can. Ideally, someone that represents the artists, not the labels. Understanding the industry doesn't make you less creative. It makes you more empowered. Whether you stay fully independent or eventually partner with these labels, you'll be entering those conversations informed, confident, and most of all, protected. In the next lesson, we'll dive deeper into monetizing your music and your career. I'll see you in the next lesson. 7. Monetising Your Music & Career: Hi, I'm Bennett and welcome back to How to be an independent artist. When most people think about making money as an artist, they think about streams. But if you've actually seen your Spotify payout, you know that if you're not pulling in millions and millions of streams per month, you're not going to pay your rent. The truth is successful independent artists don't just rely on one income stream. They build multiple revenue sources that support their career over time. In this lesson, we'll cover how stream. It actually pays and what affects your income. Diversifying your income through live shows, merchandise, and more. Realistic income expectations, and how to think like a creative entrepreneur. So let's start off with a big elephant in the room. Streaming. Spotify pays around not point naught not three to not point naught, not five pence per stream. And that's before your distributor, your collaborator, and your PROs take their cut. For example, 10,000 streams equals 30 to 50 pounds, and 100,000 streams equals 300 to 500 pounds. And you actually can grow that through virality, volume, and playlist support. But this really does take time, and it shouldn't be your sole source of income. Some important factors are whether you're the master whether you're the sole artist or splitting royalties. Where your streams are coming from, some countries pay a lot more and whether the streams are coming from paid users or free users. Live shows are the most reliable and personal ways to generate income and also build a real fanbase. And the ways to monetize are ticket sales, performance fees, support slots, and busking, and also your merchandise at shows. Also, even if it is a small gig, you need to register your set list with a PRO. You can get paid live performance royalties from any gig. Even if it's an open mic. But make sure you're keeping track of your set list, your attendance, your merchandise that's been sold, and the venue contracts. So let's talk about sync licensing. I've been mentioning this quite a few times. Sync licensing is when your song has been played in a TV show or a film or even a video game or a YouTube video. And this can generate from hundreds to thousands of pounds per placement. And here's a few ways you can do it. You can submit your songs to music libraries like Audio Network and music Bed. You can reach out to sync agents or music supervisors, or you can use platforms like Song trader or Disco to get your song synced. However, to be eligible, you need to on your master and your publishing rights. Your metadata must be correct. So you don't need to be famous. You just need to be organized. So let's talk about merchandise. If fans like your music, they might like wearing it or holding it. So this can include t shirts and hoodies, stickers, CDs and vinyl. Yes, some people still buy them. Handwritten lyrics or handwritten notes. But also make sure that your merch is visually appealing, not just band merch. Another form of income is digital products or education. So if you're skilled in songwriting, producing, branding, you can create digital products and services. You can create sample packs and instrumentals, songwriting guides or e books, one on one coaching or feedback sessions, or even online classes like this one. There's also organizations and grants available for independent artists. The UK, there's the PRS Foundation and Health musicians and the Arts Council in England. In the US, there's ASCAP Foundation, MusiaRS and the National Endowment of the Arts. These can fund your recording projects, your touring, your merchandise, even your music videos, and business development. You could also pitch to other brands for small sponsorships. Obviously, if your brand identity aligns with those. I would start with small Indie brands to build up your credibility before going for the major brands. So here's a little exercise we can do. Make a list of every revenue stream you're currently using and highlight what's bringing in income right now? What do you need to develop over the next three months? And what do you need to research more? This map will help you track your real world income and guide you so being an independent artist is all about building your own ecosystem and not relying on one hit or one platform to do it all for you. Streaming is only one part of the picture. So before we bring this course to an end, I just want to say, music is an art, but it's also a business. And if you want a sustainable music career, you need to treat it like one. Learning how to protect your work, collect your royalties, and understanding your rights doesn't help you just make money. It also helps you take yourself seriously. And when you do others will, too. And this may be the final lesson of this course, but in a way, it's just the beginning. So you now have a lot of knowledge to build, launch, and grow yourself as an independent artist. I hope you found this course useful and empowers you to create music with confidence and also building a life doing what you love. Once again, I'm Bennett and I'll see you next time.