About The Money: Music Distribution As An Investment

Imagine you’re a new, independent artist looking to test the waters of the business they call music. You have a soul-sucking day job, but hey, gotta pay the rent, right? Soon you’d love to quit and make music full time, but first you need to get some momentum going. You bedroom-produced a handful of songs and you’re ready to get streamed. Got $50 to drop on digital distribution for those five songs? “Ayyyyyy, I haven’t even bought a nice microphone yet!”

Do you really want to begin your career hundreds of dollars in the hole?

You can’t catch your dreams if you go broke trying. That’s why we’re dethroning The Old Way with Select Distribution, the smart, budget-friendly way to get your music on the biggest streaming platforms in the world. The Old Way requires you to spend at least $10 per song and $50 per album to get on “hundreds” of streaming sites, apps, and stores. That’s a fine offer for the more established artist with thousands of fans. That guy is confident he’ll make his money back in a few months. But the up-and-comer, well, she needs to be a bit more choosy with her money. Want to do some quick math?

DaveAbout The Money: Music Distribution As An Investment
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How Cuesta Loeb Signed To Fierce Panda Records

Hailing from NYC, multi-instrumentalist Cuesta Loeb comes from a family of musicians. Inspired by popular ’90s artists like Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins, Fiona Apple, and (early) Sheryl Crow, she found her home in Dream pop with dark, haunting melodies, and ethereal instrumentation and vocals.

It’s that unique blend that caught the attention of Fierce Panda, who she signed to after submitting to one of our opportunities.

“We had no idea what we were actually looking for until we found ‘it’ and that ‘it’ was Cuesta Loeb. Fundamentally it was the quality of their ‘Dive’ track which stood out from the pack – the fabulous shoegazey sonics were essentially familiar, but the combination of ethereal melodies and low-slung guitars was something we’d never quite heard before.”

Check out this interview with Cuesta Loeb, where she shares how to be strategic in promoting your music, why it’s important to have a plan, and what’s up next for her.

RebeccaHow Cuesta Loeb Signed To Fierce Panda Records
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The Importance Of Building Up Hype: Meet The Cheap Thrills

The Cheap Thrills are a garage/psych pop band from Liverpool, UK. Their sound is a combination of garage bands from the sixties and a resurgence of bands from the 2000s.

It’s that same sound that caught the attention of End Of The Trail Records, who they signed to after submitting to one of our opportunities. According to the label, what attracted them to the band were their songs.

“Pop psych at it’s best we think. At the time of writing they have just had their new single played on BBC Radio 6 by the mighty Steve Lamacq. Which is a great thing for any band in the UK!!!”

Check out this interview with The Cheap Thrills where they share the secret to getting promoters to book you, how to build up hype around your band, and what’s up next for them.

RebeccaThe Importance Of Building Up Hype: Meet The Cheap Thrills
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Artist Interview: Mojave Nomads

Mojave Nomads hail from the Utah music scene, where pop music dominates. But with influences like Portugal. The Man, Broken Bells, and The 1975, it’s no wonder their indie, funk, 80’s tinged sound stood out when they submitted their song to one of our opportunities.

American Musical Supply picked them from thousands of submissions to play at the D’Angelico Showroom in New York in front of a hand-selected crowd of industry professionals.

We spoke to them about how they got started, the submission process, and what’s next for them.

RebeccaArtist Interview: Mojave Nomads
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Label Interview: Pacific Records

California-based indie label Pacific Records is running an opportunity through us where they’ll be conducting A&R research to identify potential ReverbNation artists to add to its roster. The label is looking to expand its roster with exciting new bands covering all genres of music.

Pacific Records has evolved from its humble beginnings as a retail record store chain into a multi-dimensional entity that includes recording studios, engineering services, CD replication, screen printing, and talent buying services, while its primary focus remains as an independent record label and music publisher.

We spoke to Martin Guigui, Senior Vice President & Director of A&R, at Pacific Records about how they got started, what kind of artists they look for, advice for artists submitting to records labels, and lots more. Check out their interview!

RebeccaLabel Interview: Pacific Records
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Artist Interview: The Leones

If you take epic piano riffs and dreamy synths, then mix them with influences like 80’s horror movies and Neil Young, you get The Leones. Hailing from Buffalo, NY, they dub their sound “ghost-gaze,” which is a great way to describe their haunting, cinematic sound.

The Leones submitted their song to one of our opportunities where they were picked from thousands of bands to be signed to End Of The Trail Records. We spoke to them about how they got started, the submission process, and what’s next for them.

RebeccaArtist Interview: The Leones
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3 Tips to Protect Your Music if SoundCloud Goes Bust

You may have heard the news concerning SoundCloud’s future. No one can see into the future, but what if SoundCloud does go away? What will happen to your music? How about your fans? Where will they go? IS IT TIME TO FREAK OUT YET?!!!!! Well, no. But, also, kind of yes.

Regardless of what actually happens to SoundCloud, this should be a moment of awakening for artists of all types. There are a few actions you can take – right…dang….now – to protect your music and your digital relationships with fans in uncertain times like these. And yes, before we go any further, let’s address the elephant in the room:

Is ReverbNation a good replacement for SoundCloud?

Jay3 Tips to Protect Your Music if SoundCloud Goes Bust
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I Am Nice: Sammy Brue’s Debut Album & Interview

He’s been described as a “15-year-old folk hero of the future,” a “wunderkind,” and an “Americana prodigy,” while simultaneously holding on to his teenager-ness; hanging with friends, playing video games, and skateboarding different spots. Sammy Brue just released his debut album, I Am Nice, on Friday, June 16th, and the Portland, Oregon native is undoubtedly about to become a household name. We spent some time with him, asking questions about life as a young artist, musical inspiration, and the grabbing inside scoop on that infamous hat of his.

KrissyI Am Nice: Sammy Brue’s Debut Album & Interview
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