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Like many musicians, waiting for a record label to find you can take a long time and even then, it may not be worth it. Instead, musicians are taking matters into their own hands and selling music by promoting it on MySpace. Since MySpace reaches millions of viewers each day, chances are you will be able to sell your music, make a profit, and create a fan base without needing to sign a recording contract.

Being your own boss

Without a recording contract, you will be able to choose the songs for your CD, the order of those songs, and when you want to record them. You will also be able to design cover art, inside pages, and other merchandise you may want to sell in conjunction with the CD or music downloads.

You will also be able to choose if you want to strictly sell songs that can be downloaded or if you want to record an actual CD.

You can choose to sell your music in different ways by creating a web site where people can download songs, or working with third-party distribution web sites that will take of packaging and shipping. Promoting your CD or downloadable songs on MySpace is a great way to generate interest. Make sure you include the URL of the site that is selling your music so fans will know where to go.

Cost of releasing your music

The cost of selling your music is much less expensive than it used to be. While you don’t have to produce a CD, many musicians do anyway as a way to show their professionalism and so they can sell the CD at local gigs and events. Radio stations and other broadcasters need CDs in order to play them on the air.

When looking for web sites to package and distribute your CD, find ones that are popular or ask advice from other musicians who have gone the same route. You may have to raise money for these costs by playing extra gigs, or selling downloads first, but it will be worth it. Use MySpace as a way to generate interest, get advice, and find out more information. There are many forums that can help answer any questions you have.

Creating a band web site

While MySpace is currently working on building a storefront where musicians can sell their merchandise directly on the site, you may have to create your own web site and sell your CD there until this new feature is up and running. But that doesn’t mean you cant advertise on MySpace, work with other musicians to cross-sell music, or find other ways to promote your sound.

A band web site should be an extension of your MySpace profile page. Include your web site on your profile page so fans will know where to go when they want to buy a CD, see additional photos, or find out where you will be playing next.

MySpace is a great way to promote your music and help your CD or downloadable songs sell even faster. The internet is a large landscape, but with a little help from MySpace, you will be able to let fans know where they can buy your music and learn more about your sound.

You are absolutely ecstatic because you have written all your songs, produced the music and your CD is complete!! You find yourself jumping for joy and then it dawns on you–People have got to hear this! But how? When? Where do I begin? This is the thought of many people dealing with an independent music career. And luckily independent music in the music industry can succeed!

You’ve finished your work now you want the world to hear your creations. It may not be until you are faced with the idea of actually delivering it to the world that you realize you have no clue as to where to begin.

Well, don’t worry! After you’ve taken the time to read this you will be well on your way to releasing your music to the world. Because you are involved in independent music and have not been picked up by any major record label your approach will be a little different from the signed musician.

You will do all of the work, including promoting, marketing and selling. But don’t worry; there are plenty of avenues to do just this. Fortunately the Indie industry is booming and there are plenty of companies that cater to the needs of Indie artists.

Since people involved in independent music don’t have the front money that signed artists do, marketing and selling cheaply is the way to do it. You can either burn and reproduce the CD’s yourself or you can hire someone to do it but that is going to cost a bit more. You are also going to have to consider artwork for the cover. When exploring this, look for companies that operate on a print on demand type service. This way you don’t overproduce and spend more money than needed.

Get a website where you can sell the CD yourself. Set up a Paypal account so you can accept payments for your CD. This is free and simple and tons of people already have a Paypal account. Remember, your main goal is to turn profits not break the bank!

CD Baby is a perfect resource for independent music sellers. For any Indie artist, this site is an absolute must! They provide distribution for independent artists and musicians only! They started out as an online service. They have a set fee for submitting your music to their site and having them host a store front for each album you send them. Go and check them out. When the CD’s sell they send you the check, that’s right, YOUR CHECK!

Lastly, consider a UPC barcode for your CD. This way you can log your CD’s and sell them in record stores that sell independent music! These are the best first steps in getting your music heard by millions around the world! Follow these steps and you will open the door to literally a world of possibilities for you and your music.

The world in the music industry has a lot of issues and events that trigger critiques to give their opinions and views regarding a certain subject. These views are either constructive or destructive to the enthusiasts in the music world. There can be learning or lessons that can be derived from these opinions especially if the person that aired out his views has established credibility about the subject on hand.

This is one reason why Music Biz is an interesting site from which independent artists can visit. It is full of articles that relate to particular subject in the music industry. If an independent artist wants to gain ground and get updates in the music world, he can read various articles in Music Biz and know about what the music business is facing. The articles in Music Biz are not news though but are commentaries, opinions and point of views of music insiders. Music Biz, however, make sure that the articles added to their site are reasonable, related to specific incident, relevant and informative. The experiences and discussions in the articles may be subjective but one who wants to know the world of music can gain something from these articles.

Music Biz is a unique community site intended to cater independent artists, music enthusiasts, disc jockeys, music marketers, and other players in the music business. Unlike other community sites that feature an individual profile, Music Biz features articles based on certain issues concerning the music industry. These articles come from different sources or contributors who air out personal opinions and analyses on whatever subject they have related to the music world. Although this is so, contributors are encouraged to practice responsible journalism so as not to be too disrespectful to certain issues. Articles in Music Biz are not necessarily facts but more on critiques and scrutiny.

However, this is not the only composition of Music Biz site. One of their menus shows real news about different music events, artists, and the business as a whole. The news in Music Biz links to the original source of the news. Independent artists can get real updates and real news in the music industry in Music Biz. The news is up to date and new events and issues are added every now and then.

Aside from editorials and news, visitors in Music Biz can also read feature articles in the music industry. Feature articles present interesting and factual events and subjects. Independent artists can get their updates from these features as well. The feature article, just like editorials, can be contributed by anybody as long as it is credible and reliable. Proper editing is also done to ensure that it meets the Music Biz standard to categorize it as feature articles. Members who log in to Music Biz can also contribute reviews regarding existing articles and other issues.

There are more than just articles, editorials, news, or features that Music Biz can offer. There is forum for music enthusiasts, marketplace where visitors or members can buy CD or DVD copies, and reviews.

Most independent artists and music enthusiast wants to get a head start of what the music world is all about. While there are still some events, updates, issues and review, existing in the music industry, there is no doubt that any independent artist interested in music can be heard and known as long as they know how to play well in the industry. Some express music creativity for fame, while others do it as a hobby. Whatever their intentions are, independent artists do their craft as a general expression of themselves. They will be heard if they know the world on how their craft works and how they can survive.

There are many avenues for one’s music creativity. Most of which are provided not only for work but also for entertainment such as theaters, movies, or as independent performance. There are certain groups who accommodate one’s creative expression and when good, it creates popularity. Most independent artists search for these opportunities wherever they can find. Independent artist can do well in the competitive world of artistry when they are equipped with knowledge on how to go about with selling their expressions and capturing the interests of the public.

In the music world, independent artists can look into several resources where they can get knowledge on how music industry works. These resources provide knowledge to independent artists on the stand of other workers in the music industries who provides possibility on how to make an independent artists’ craft succeed. One of these resources can be seen in Music Biz site online. Music Biz provides articles related to the music industry. The articles are opinions and analyses that come from the players in the music industry such as artists, producers, recorders, music marketers, music distributors, music enthusiasts and other contributors from the music world. Independent artists and other interested music lovers can capture the thoughts of these music insiders by the way they express their opinions in the articles.

Articles contributed to Music Biz are scrutinized and edited well to meet the standard of how the articles should be presented. Articles are required to be specific in terms of music events and situations that support the comment or opinions. Generality does not provide the needed knowledge of the readers in the music world. Since articles are more of opinion or comment rather news, Music Biz requires that contributors should be reasonable and logical in their observation, experience or own point of view of a certain subject concerning the music industry. Writers are also encouraged to write new perspectives, issues, and events in their articles to add to the spool of articles already in the site. Lastly, Music Biz encourages contributors in the music world to be identified so they can be known and establish their credibility among readers. However, if the writer wishes to be anonymous, especially when discussing critical issues or events, Music Biz will also respect that.

Music lovers, independent artists and other music players can learn from the articles in Music Biz. It will help them set their pace and understand what music enthusiasts think about what is going on in the music world.

The One Mic Nite Open Talent Showcase (OneMicNite@gmail.com), happening every Monday night in New York’s East Village, is a combination of of indie music or dance, theatre, poetry, art, and informal networking, in an open mic acoustic style setting. Latin Alternative Music Conference opens in New York July 7-11, and is geared towards the marketing of Spanish-language alternative music while striving for maximum exposure for Latin artists and repertoire in the U.S. marketplace. The Los Angeles Post Production Group (LAPPG) is a member driven organization for anyone with an interest or passion for film finishing and the post-production process, and will be meeting July 8 featuring Robert Mellette from ‘Dances With Films’ as well as A.J. Tesler and Jenny Stames from Independent TV Festival. Several panels are held during the first weekend of the Long Island International Film Expo – usually consisting of a distribution panel, a scriptwriting panel, legal music panel and a filmmaker panel and breakfast, running July 9-19 in New York. The Fourth meeting of The Lacuna (Net)works Film and Tv Networking happens on July 10 in London, and is suited for film makers, crew, actors, models, writers, photographers to do some networking, talk about premieres, meet new people and contacts, get business cards exchanged.

The 17th International Animation Festival, Anima Mundi 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, July 10-19, will present competition screenings, special programs, retrospectives, international guests and professional workshops, particularly one called, Open Studio, that allows the spectator to become the creator and exercise their imagination in seven different visualization techniques. Bryan Bertino, a writer/director who made his feature film debut with The Strangers. will speak at the July 11 Alameda Writers Group Meeting, July 11 in Glendale, about breaking into Hollywood, the struggles of directing your own work, and how he’s built his career. The Urban Individualists, a multicultural network of collaborating individualists working under the direction of Helene Ruiz (ruizhelene@aol.com), will be present at a July 17 public reception in Williamsburg, Brooklyn featuring music and poetry, opening an exhibition of works that will “dissect and examine aspects concerning the heart, from the banal to the complex.” The Sacramento Film and Music Festival, running July 17-26 in Sacramento, likes to point to a track record of picking films that go on to win major awards and/or achieve distribution beyond the festival circuit. But they also puts on “Sac Music Seen”, an original program for the Festival that pairs local filmmakers and musicians to make music videos, where bands submit their music and filmmakers provide the images.

Casual Games Association holds its annual agenda of events for the casual games industry, July 22-25, Casual Connect Seattle, bringing together talented and knowledgeable experts in the field for essential learning and  networking. Actress Scarlett Johansson will open LA Shorts Fest July 23-31, a festival accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, and that reportedly attracts more than 10,000 moviegoers, filmmakers and entertainment professionals looking for new talent. The Fourth International Conference on the Arts in Society, in conjunction with the Venice Biennale, happening in Venezia, July 28-31, addresses a range of issues and themes relating to the arts in society, and is a conference for any person with an interest in and a concern for art practice, public art, art theory, research and policy, curatorial and museum studies, and art education in any of its forms. The Independent Television Festival is a festival for independently produced, original and innovative television pilots and webseries in West Hollywood, July 31 to August 6, and with the support of institutions like Comcast, Current TV, Brightcove and FX and the talent of pilotmakers from all over the world, ITVFest facilitates independent production beyond the silver screen as a viable platform in which directors, writers and producers can showcase their original visions for the small screen.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are also available at popular video sites around the Web like MySpace, YouTube, Daily Motion, as well as on The Actor’s Checklist podcast blog. Follow the posting of the news summary on Twitter at: twitter.com/actorschecklist. This month on the video news summary you will again see a dynamic array of artists in performance of film and music. These videos are now available on the Free Home Video Showcase which now serves as an archive for all past video presentations but without the audio news narration. The Actor’s Checklist is proud announce the return of the photo gallery which you can visit to upload valuable head shots or other photos of your choice, create profiles, and use your pictures or others found on the gallery as ecards which you can email to friends and associates with messages.

The Association of Independent Music (AIM) is holding a special event to celebrate 50 years of successful independent music which will include a gig, a five part television series, a one off auction on ebay and the release of a double CD full of “independent” covers. Artists including The Prodigy, The Charlatans and Maximo Park have all given their backing to the cause and plan to donate songs for the album. Songs to be covered include Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart, PIL’s Public Image and Ghost Town by The Specials.

Independents Day marks the anniversary of Chris Blackwell and Graeme Goodall’s indie label, Island Records. The Jamaican-born label signed giants U2 before selling to Polygram in 1989, a trend which many independent labels followed. Creation and Factory records disappeared in the 1990’s whilst others folded through a calamity of errors from over expansion to cashflow problems.

Independent music is responsible for more than 25% of the UK’s music scene and is claimed to have pioneered the music industry for many years. Alison Wenham, Chairman for AIM stated that [independents] had been “at the forefront of every single new musical movement over the years.”

For proof of this, just take a look at every popular music scene over the last 50 years: There was the DIY punk scene in the seventies, the indie guitar sounds from New Order in the eighties and the massive dance music boom in the nineties.

Today, we are seeing the independent label make a comeback. Domino Records have given us two recent chart toppers; Scottish band, Franz Ferdinand and northerners, Arctic Monkeys. The internet has provided a new platform with which to promote this music. Sites such as Myspace, Youtube and Facebook all promote bands young and old, signed and unsigned for general consumption. These social networking sites have allowed users to access new music much easier than ever before with some 40% of users embedding music within their pages.

Russell Hart, chief executive of Entertainment Media Research added “Social networks are fundamentally changing the way we discover music… the dynamics of democratisation, word of mouth recommendation and instant purchase challenge the established order and offer huge opportunities to forward thinking business.”

Local label, Signature Tune is making the most of these sites and one of their bands, Lakes is reaping the benefits of using an independent label. Scott Byatt, the band’s drummer said “As a band on an independent label, advances in communication and technology mean we can communicate with bands and promoters the world over helping us network and get shows with ease… Our CDs can be bought in many high street stores and our tracks can be downloaded from iTunes, once again without the help of a major.”

Radiohead were perhaps the first big band to see the change in direction and act upon it. After the end of their contract with music giants EMI, the band went solo with the release of their latest album, In Rainbows. The album was released as a digital download in October 2007, allowing customers to pay as much, or as little as they liked for it. The group took ownership of their own songs and released ten tracks online more than one month before the tangible album was released in the shops.

Front man for the band, Thom Yorke noted the growing number of pirate copies of their music being appearing online and in an interview with Wired he said, “every record for the last four – including my solo record – has been leaked. So the idea was like, we’ll leak it then.” Yorke’s attempt to beat the pirates seem to have worked. On average, the electronic download sold for 4 GBP. Not bad considering you could download it for free if you were feeling too tight to pay.

The return to indie worked wonders for Radiohead. Although the downloads from the website, inrabows were not counted in the album charts, the band did manage to create enough hype and speculation around the release of their album that when the CD actually hit the shops, it reached number one in the UK album chart, the United World Chart and the US Billboard 200.

Other groups may do well to take note of this action when considering future releases. Of the music industry, and in particular their ex record label, Yorke added “What we would like is the old EMI back again, the nice genteel arms manufacturers who treated music [as] a nice side project who weren’t too bothered about the shareholders. Ah well, not much chance of that.”

Au contraire, EMI boss, Guy Hands is keen to seize upon the opportunities presented by smaller, independent labels. These labels have always maintained a stronger working relationship with their artists and are much more keen to try their hands at new promotional techniques. With the renaissance of DIY music and bands creating music for music’s sake, independent labels cannot be ignored. EMI declared that they are planning on working like a larger version of the indie label, with many smaller labels working under their umbrella.

So they may be more willing to try new techniques, but the problem of shareholders still remains. Wenham continues, “If you have shareholders to please, inevitably it becomes about making music from the music.” Indie music is very much about the music and as long as the shareholders give the smaller labels a wide berth, we should continue to see more impressive acts pushing the scene forward.

Musicians develop their own labels for many different reasons. My reason is partly because of a challenge I took on at a young age, to take what I was told was an unmarketable instrument, the violin, and create music that expressed emotions, touched hearts, and ultimately, sold. Whatever the reason for creating their own labels, musicians sometimes forget the advantages they hold and focus instead on the multitude of challenges.

As a gentle reminder to artists as well as their potential customers, I’m sharing my personal favorite reasons why I enjoy having my own label, and why music lovers should consciously choose to buy music from independent labels.

1. Independent musicians can freely express their passion and unique talent. They can express their own personal stories, follow their own instincts, and not have to follow orders from major label executives as to what they must create. From the customer’s perspective, by exploring radio stations and other sources of independent music, they too are now free to make their own decisions as to what is hot and what is not.

2. Many of the common music distributors only offer music from major labels, and rarely do they give anything for free, no matter how many albums you download or cds you buy. An independent artist is free to be unique and generous in his sales methods. For the consumer, this can mean getting bulk discounts, coupon offers and appreciation for their repeat purchases.

3. The independent musician can communicate directly with the customer, so online sales doesn’t have to feel like an isolating experience for the artist. Many times the thrill of receiving an email directly from the musician can turn an independent label music purchaser into a devout fan.

4. Niche marketing is all the buzz these days, and nowhere is it more successful than in independent music. As an independent musician, you are free to create your own unique niche and, in the process, reach more ideal fans. As someone who buys music from an independent label, you can find it easier to discover the music that defines and expresses YOU as well.

5. By buying from independent labels, customers and musicians can share the love. Think of it this way, here’s one scenario. A music lover makes a purchase. The independent musician has total control over what is communicated in the thank-you message. The customer can write back. The musician can quote the customer in his blog, the customer basks in the glory of the personal mention and shares it with all his friends on his Facebook page. Backlinks abound. Try that when you purchase from a major label.

6. Everyone feels more authentic. A MySpace page is more authentic than a billboard. A blog is more authentic than a press release. As an independent musician you can replace corporate communications with the real you, and your fans can comment on your webpage and get a direct response from you with their name on it.

7. At a time when many music retailers are closing their doors, customers can find their favorite independent musician’s music by buying it directly from the artist. Musicians with a well defined niche and loyal, avid fans can remain untouched by the ups and downs of the retail music industry.

8. An independent musician can develop his own website presence based on his own unique personality and style. Fans can hang out in a place where they can listen to new music clips, socialize, watch video performances, buy music, and share and build upon each other’s excitement. Everything is in one place, and they can discover a new musician or song, leave their comments, bookmark the site, make a purchase, and make new friends, all at the same time.

9. Musicians get a bigger cut from the sale of their music. This may seem obvious, but if customers could see the portions their favorite musicians receive from major labels, they would make more effort to support independent musicians, and buy from independent labels.

10.Indie musicians can band together to support each other and further their own causes, in organizations such as Association of Independent Musicians, or Rock the Net, only two examples. Major record labels often limit what their artists can do or not do. Consumers can not only support the music they love, they can affiliate themselves with causes they believe in.

There are of course other reasons to buy music from independent artists, but this is a great list to get you started thinking in that direction.

Setting up a page on Facebook, MySpace or any number of other social networking sites can allow your album to be heard and seen by millions. Learn more in this free video series. Expert: Frederick Burchell Bio: Frederick “Ricky B.” Burchell is a rapper/producer. He has had a number one for seven weeks on the Christian Rap Charts and toured the world. Filmmaker: ricky burchell

Learn how to market your album on the internet in this free video series that will show you how to be a successful independent music writer. Expert: Frederick Burchell Bio: Frederick “Ricky B.” Burchell is a rapper/producer. He has had a number one for seven weeks on the Christian Rap Charts and toured the world. Filmmaker: ricky burchell

Independent artists and other players in the music industry must have somewhere to go to, not just to gain information about the world that they belong but also to be heard. Belonging to an organization that would cater to their interests will help them keep track on the field where they belong.

Fortunately, there is Music Biz, a community site that concerns itself with the music industry in general. It is distinct from other music sites because it is not necessarily all news, gossips, reviews and promotions although it also has that composition. Rather it is mainly a community site where independent artists can learn from0 insider’s opinions and analysis about certain issues and situation going on in the music business. Independent artists learn from them through their written articles presented in the editorials which are the main component of Music Biz. In the same way, independent artists can also contribute articles with the same theme. Article contribution should follow certain standards set by Music Biz so that all articles are reliable and impose certain credibility.

Aside from editorials, Music Biz does have news and feature articles. The news is basically taken as a link to the original site where the news came from. Independent artists can get the news by clicking the title and new window will open from where the news originated. The news in Music Biz is up to date and comes from different sources. Feature articles, on the other hand, are articles contributed to the members of the Music Biz. Feature articles are another interesting piece that independent artists can get from Music Biz.

Articles in Music Biz readily are seen and can be read immediately. But what’s more interesting is that independent artists and other music enthusiasts can interact within the site. The interaction can be in a form of forum or reviews. Once a member, they can participate in a forum that are categorized into five topics namely Welcome Mat or forums for beginners; The Block, forums for general discussions; Producer Central, area where producers do their interaction and exchange of ideas; Musician’s Corner, where all independent artists and other musicians had their forums; and Legal Briefs, where topics on contracts, business and law are discussed in particular. Visitors can manage which forums will capture their interest best because of the categories for the subjects. Aside from forums, independent artists, or visitors for that matter, can read reviews on certain subjects like albums, artists, movies and other related topics.

Music Biz is also an affiliate of Amazon.com by selling CDs and DVDs. Music Biz offers these items with the specified price so that visitors can readily shop on these items while in Music Biz.

Independent artists, music enthusiast and mere internet surfers can get information about the music industry in Music Biz. Music Biz is not a mere social community site but is rather informative, creative, and innovative for the independent artists and musicians who want to make it right and well in the music industry.