I think we can all agree that 2020 was a crazy year. Between the pandemic, civil unrest, and an extra-long election cycle, we’re all ready to move on to 2021. Meanwhile, all this uncertainty opened up the door for some great conversations here on The Crafty Musician, where we got to take a closer look at topics like home recording and live streaming, passive income strategies, and new ways to promote your music and engage with fans through social media. We here at TCM are honored to be a continued resource for independent artists as they look to start or build their careers in music. As we eagerly say goodbye to 2020, let’s take a look at your favorite TCM articles of this past year and proudly celebrate our Top 10 Posts from 2020…
#10) 10 Powerful and Free WordPress Themes for Musicians
Building and maintaining a website is one of the most important things you can do for your business as a musician. Your website is the information hub for your empire. It works 24/7 to engage, educate, and inform viewers. It also has the vital job of converting visitors into subscribers, convincing prospects to hire you for entertainment, and selling your music and merchandise. Consequently, your official online presence must be powerful, polished, and of the highest quality. Read on…
#9) Top 10 Must-Have Accessories for Your Home Studio
It used to be that if you were going to record your music, you had to hire an engineer and rent out a studio by the hour. While that is still an option to consider, especially if you want the highest quality output, by no means is it your only choice. With so many great digital audio programs available like Garage Band and Pro Tools, anyone can now turn their room into an effective home studio. Read on…
#8) 50 Blog Post Ideas for Musicians
For an artist, it can be hard to keep up with a blog hosted on your own website. Additionally, sometimes you just don’t have anything to say. However, maintaining an active blog gives you an opportunity to add another layer of complexity to your brand. Another good reason musicians should maintain a consistent blog is for the SEO benefits! If you’re looking for something to say on your musician or artist blog, look no further. Read on…
#7) How to Submit Music to Radio Stations
One of the cornerstones of being a musician or an artist, in general, is having your work exposed to as many people as possible. We have an innate desire to communicate the messages that are in our hearts and soul through the medium of music. Radio represents a way for us to do that. Unfortunately, with the increased market share taken by mainstream music, radio airplay has become a much more difficult milestone for independent musicians. There is always a way around the gatekeepers, but you have to know where to look and how to present yourself in the best light. Read on…
#6) 5 Passive Income Strategies for Musicians
As I’m sure you know, making a living as a musician is not for the faint of heart. The income we earn from performing can be very unpredictable. The fact is, you can be making tons of money doing music but then one wild and crazy thing happens that puts you out of work and thus totally eliminates that source of income. Case in point, the current situation with the coronavirus. A lot of musicians around the entire globe are suddenly out of work. This season that we’re in highlights the need for musicians to build multiple streams of income. Enter passive income ideas for musicians! Read on…
Watch Anitra’s great video on this same subject here.
#5) 20 Video Content Ideas for Musicians on YouTube
Consistently adding videos to your youtube channel is the key to getting more views and ultimately gaining more fans. Besides the standard music videos and live performance recordings, there are all kinds of other videos you can upload to keep your channel full of great content and to keep their fans engaged and entertained. Read on…
#4) Free Live Streaming Platforms For Musicians & Singers To Get Paid
Live streaming is becoming the buzzword for musicians and singers who wish to sustain their music career amidst the many cancellations and postponements of music events due to the new norm of social distancing and stay-at-home orders. Although live streaming monetization is a relatively new frontier for performing artists, most of these platforms are getting into high gear to churn out more income-generating features to support online singers and musicians. Read on…
#3) Best Live Streaming Equipment for Musicians
Whichever way you slice it, live streaming has become a popular way to replace in-person shows during this pandemic and if we’re being honest, live streaming might be here to stay. If you’re a musician hoping to do live streaming there are a few key pieces of essential gear that you should have. In this article we list the best live streaming gear for musicians to look and sound their absolute best! Read on…
#2) 50 Engaging Content Ideas Musicians Can Use For Social Media
It can be difficult to remain consistent and engaging on social media as an artist, especially when you don’t feel like you have anything new to say. A lot of artists tend to just go on a hiatus during that time. But this can be counter-productive to your goals and make you lose momentum. That’s why we’ve come up with 50 content ideas to help you stay relevant and engaging on social media. Read on…
Want more content ideas? Get our free Social Media Content Calendar with 3 months’ worth of great post ideas here.
#1) 10 Highly Effective Ways to Promote a Single Release Yourself
Do you have a new song you’re about to release? Did you recently release a new song and are looking for ways to promote it? Releasing new music is a constant task for music artists and it’s increasingly important to find effective ways to promote and get your music out for exposure. Music promotion efforts can not only bring more exposure, but it can move your career to higher levels. Additionally, putting a strategic marketing plan in place to promote your music can boost your efforts exponentially. Read on…
In total, we posted 53 new articles this year, a record for The Crafty Musician blog. We’re committed to continuing to bring you more interesting and valuable content to better equip you on your journeys as independent musicians. We thank you sincerely for your loyalty and support and wish you a happy new year! See you in 2021…
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Wow, what a year! Thanks for putting this together! It sure does put some things into perspective on what’s important to independent artists. Especially during this digital age, we really do need to up our game when it comes to promoting our music online. I sure can do better in that area personally. Shout out to all our readers and Happy New Year!
Absolutely! There’s always an opportunity to improve our games, especially when it comes to promoting our music online.