I’m going to start a thread of simple tips for independent artists that can make a big difference to your releases

1. Sign up to @Musixmatch - get a verified artist profile, and input your lyrics. This is the site which sends your lyrics to Instagram. You will need to sync them in time. https://support.musixmatch.com/article/195-how-to-get-your-lyrics-on-instagram-stories

2. Make sure when writing your lyrics for online sites you write it out fully, not x2 if things are repeated, don’t include “hook/chorus” etc. If swear words aren’t bleeped don’t put asterisks in them.

3. Send your releases to @bbcintroducing this is one of the best ways for independent artists to get on BBC radio

4. Create a metadata spreadsheet. As well as including length, song name etc include links to your artwork in it for sites like @Genius, that way you don’t have to search for your artwork every time you need the link.

5. Make sure to get the full names of your producers and sign some kind of contract which sets out what will happen if the song gets signed to a label.

6. Always create clean versions of your songs, certain territories won’t allow songs to be released with explicit language.

7. SAVE UP to invest in your career, digital marketing PR, radio plugging etc all costs money. If you‘sleep not willing to invest in your own music why would anybody else?

8. Get opinions. It doesn’t take a music expert to tell if a song is good. We all knew “Happy” was going to be a hit when we first heard it. Send a private SoundCloud link to your friends. They might tell you it’s good but never listen to the song again, take that as you will.

9. Keep track of your costs. If you know how much you’re spending on releases, you’ll know whether you’re starting to make profit or not when your money starts to come in.

10. Pay attention to your analytics. Don’t just focus on places where you want people to love your music, focus on the people do love it

11. Find multiple revenue streams. Sign up to @PRSforMusic, or your local royalties / publishing collection body if you’re outside the UK. I’m always shocked when I meet people who haven’t heard of PRS even years into their career.