The music industry is a dynamic world. If you have been keeping up with the charts and awards season recently, you would have noticed something that is pretty disturbing – there are only a handful of artists that have been established in the industry for a while, who have been garnering the most attention and whose music has been making waves. It seems more like a popularity contest than an actual recognition for music. Also, popular genres like pop, R&B, rap, etc. have been gaining recognition, leaving behind the more “less-popular” genres like indie, folk, rock and now to a certain extent even metal. So, what happens to those independent or small time artists who want to make a name for themselves and share their music? Large record companies these days are concentrating more on those singers and bands who are winning at the popularity contest, more than for the originality of their work. In reality, more fans, the more money is made and that seems to be what everyone is looking for these days.
The great part about the music industry is that is changing constantly, adjusting to artists big and small to find their work straight from their studios to the ears of their listeners. Even the greats like Rihanna have now directed their music through streaming sites like Tidal and cut out the greedy middlemen altogether. Here are Top Streaming Sites For Independent Artists:
Spotify
Spotify
Probably one of the top streaming sites available, Spotify has over 20 million options to choose from. This site is mainstream, so you will get the most popular lot, right down to international independent artists. Spotify can work on any platform, so whether you have an iPhone, Windows Phone or Android, you can take your music where you want. However, Spotify isn’t available worldwide, so make sure you first understand the audience you are trying to target before putting up your music here.
The Sixty One
The Sixty One
This site is created for independent artists to reach an audience without having to spend on marketing or advertising at all. The Sixty One allows FREE streaming of music, so you are bound to reach a wide audience eager to discover offbeat and yet undiscovered music here very easily. Also, your music can be downloaded, so that’s another bonus you don’t want to miss out on.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud
Who here on this earth hasn’t heard of SoundCloud yet? It is a super popular site, as it allows artists to create music on the platform itself, and share it with the world. Those looking in a particular genre are more likely to come across what an independent and relatively unknown artist has put up. They also have the option of sharing it to their Social Media profile. There is free streaming of music and an artist can install the option of the user being able to download their music as well.
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio
A gigantic platform, iHeartRadio is used to stream a variety of music through radio stations covering every genre that you can think of. And all of this for free. iHeartRadio has become extremely popular, because you can handle your music on a variety of devices and share your playlist as well.
Tidal
Tidal
Some of the biggest artists out there are sharing their music through Tidal. Though a fully paying service, it allows you to download the tracks, full albums at a time. It also claims to pay the highest amount of royalties to artists. Tidal is just picking up, but seems that it’s going to become one of the most popular music streaming sites that there is, mostly due to the sponsorship and promotion from the biggest names, such as Rihanna and Kanye West.
For more streaming sites, visit LifeHack.org.
