It wasn’t too long ago that what interest people was the familiarity with what listened to- what they already knew of, among the same genre, without exploring much of what bands outside of their country are. Nowadays, it’s different. Today, one of the biggest bands in the world sings and raps in Korean, you can see the influence from the latino sounds entering the industry, songs by artists from around the world, speaking in various languages get famous. This is the perfect time to feature artists from different countries, including native speakers in other languages- and why?
In addition to the challenge of writing a song in another language and coordinating it with other artists, the final product will be completely different from the ones you have so far! Expressing what you feel considering a different culture makes the result mean something else. You find different words and expressions, which enrich your work in another way. You step out of your comfort zone.

Not only do you expand your cultural horizons, but you can win fans in another country. You can only gain from this. Some people may already know you, but it’ll only make them listen to more of you. Do everything to make them want to know more about your music and you will have new fans.

This opens doors for the future. As you know, music isn’t limited to the headphones. By collaborating with artists from other countries, you introduce yourself to their fans, and if they liked what you created, you get an opening in this foreign market. Thus, you can even go on international tours or festivals with global promoters since you have been working on your credibility as an artist!

Nowadays many people wonder if it’s even worth it investing in a music video, if there are so many people who prefer to listen to music as background noise during the day. Despite that, we must admit that we are extremely visual creatures (just knowing how much screen time we have, confirms this). Therefore, investment in video clips is worth it.
But how do you ensure that the audience sees your music video? In this article, we give you 3 tips to guarantee your distribution.

1. Direct upload to social networks
The Facebook algorithm is not very fond of publications with links that take people to external sites, so our suggestion is to upload your music video directly on the site, without a link to YouTube. On Instagram, don't be afraid to publish an IGtv with the video.

2. Behind the scenes
Again, involving fans in your art is the best way to ensure that there is a return. One way to create excitement and arouse curiosity about the video is to shoot a behind the scenes of the recordings. Maybe even do a live stream and so, when the video comes out, your fans will recognize the scenario and feel involved in the story, which can generate those views and shares that you want so much.

3. Partnerships with companies
For the video itself, you can contact other companies for partnerships, in order to incorporate their products into the music video (clothing, art, food, etc ...). Certainly, they will say yes, because you’ll be giving them new eyes to their products, just as they are to you. This type of partnership can even work as long-term, so it is important that the companies you choose stand up and are aligned with the message you want to convey and defend.

Have you ever thought why so many musicians give up on their careers? The road to success is a long and hard one and many artists don’t know how to overcome certain obstacles that appear on their way. We may think that we’re alone, but the truth is that our problems are common to most artists.
In this article, we’re going to tell you about three problems artists can find on their path and how they can overcome them.


     1 - Lack of investment;

First of all, we have to understand that “not having the money” is different than “not wanting to pay for something”. We can always manage to save up for something we really want, so it’s time to think about investing in our music career. Regardless if it’s for recording in a studio, having our songs available online or hiring a team, there will be a time when it’s going to be necessary invest money into our career. 
Besides Money, is also really important to invest time. Time to learn, time to develop skills and time to act. Of course having talent is key, but without putting the work to it, talent itself doesn’t help us much. Investing the time to learn how to play an instrument or learn how to use your voice, makes us better artists. The time we invest in developing skills and in looking for opportunities to show our project is key and represents a big part in our path to success – if we’re not known yet, we have to put ourselves out there.


     2 - Poor time management;

Even investing all the time we have in our career, there will be a time where we won’t be able to do everything by ourselves. It’s important to know the difference between tasks we can do well and tasks that we would be better if we had someone helping us.
And that’s the importance of having and choosing a team. Our time is limited and therefore precious; having a team allows you to concentrate on what matters most. This is the trick for better time management: the division of tasks.
If you feel like you’re in need of a few more hours in your day, maybe it’s a good time to start thinking about finding a team to help you!


     3 - Lack of audience/listeners/fans.

Putting our music out there for no one to listen to it can be frustrating and thinking that maybe we aren’t made for this career after all is something normal. But are we using the best strategy? Do we even have a strategy?
Nowadays, it’s really important to be present on social media because that’s where we can interact with our followers and people that like our music. Have we been posting often? Do we reply to comments? Do we have a website where our information can be found? Is our music available online? In this digital world we live in, putting music out there is never been so easy and attainable, but it’s essential to have an outlined strategy. 
Want to know more about music marketing strategies and how you can make the most of your online presence?  There will be an article with the best tips soon on our website!

When you start your music career, you may lack a few things that will be essential during all the process and confidence is definitely one of them. In the beginning of your path you may suffer from lack of self-confidence but we are to tell you how to avoid it.
Whether it is in song writing, recording or even performing live, you need to have confidence in yourself and in your skills in order to be successful. But how to do it, exactly?

    - Be kind to yourself
Most of the times, we can be our own enemies and haters. It’s easy to treat your loved ones and other people you know with kindness or wanting kindness from them, but most people are far less kind when it comes to themselves.
When it comes to our own person, most of us are not likely to be excited, forgiving, or appreciative as easily as we do with other. So, that being said, one of the key points to have self-confidence is to be kind and comprehensive with yourself because you are good and you will get even better with time.

    ​- Pratice as much as you can
Related to that first point, one thing you can do in order to improve your skills and consequently your self-confidence is practice, practice, practice. This one’s pretty obvious but it actually works. See it in this point of view: if you practice something you feel self-conscious about, you will improve. If you improve, you will become less self-conscious about it. This is especially true in regards to music. You’ve probably noticed that you feel more comfortable performing a song you’ve practiced a million times or that writing a song is a less difficult if you’ve done it before. Practice makes perfect. It may take some time and be along process, but you’ll get there eventually! 
   
- Surround yourself with supportive people
This is one of those tips that you may not even think about it but that it’s extremely helpful. At least in one point in your life you have been surrounded with people – whether it was one or more – who have put you down and believe less in yourself and in your skills. We have all been through it and that is why is so important to surround yourself with supportive people. In order for you to grow as an artist, your family and friends need to believe in you. Having a community of people who lift you up and vocalize the best parts of you is really amazing and necessary. It makes you want to make music and share it with your them, knowing that you will be comfortable and they won’t drag you down.
Remember that you don’t have to be amazing and the most perfect musician
ever: we all have flaws but if you have confidence in yourself, that will show in your music and projects! We have crazy expectations of ourselves and when they aren’t met we get upset. Let’s start to celebrate our little victories, be proud of our accomplishments and surround ourselves with people that support and believe in us. All that mixed together is the perfect recipe to have self- confidence and succeed as a musician!

As everyone in the music industry is aware of, making a living as a songwriter is not easy at all. While the industry's transition toward streaming has opened a lot of doors for music makers, it's also very difficult to earn enough income to sustain a career. Thinking of that, the Copyright Royalty Board has done something to give songwriters a solid win with their recent royalty rate increases. It seems like good news, however not all is great!
The same streaming giants who have built the new music model – Spotify, Google and Amazon – are still fighting the CRB's royalty rate increases, attempting to force their massive corporate power in order to avoid paying songwriters what the CRB has determined is fair.
On March 10, Spotify, Pandora, Google and Amazon’s appeal of the CRB’s 2018 decision (to increase songwriter royalty rates by 44%) was heard before the DC Circuit Court. This appeal has reignited the fight over royalty rates with songwriters seeking only to uphold the CRB's decision and these streaming services hoping to avoid the pay increase.
Many songwriters are watching this story closely, as four of the main digital platforms are essentially suing to not have to pay songwriters the rates determined. Despite all the pressure, the platforms have not backed down from their appeal so from here it will be up to the DC Circuit Court to determine an outcome.
Since the appeal was filed in 2019, songwriters have united and raised their voices in other impactful ways. Some examples was, in last April, a group that included GRAMMY winners Nile Rodgers, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Greg Kurstin wrote an open letter about the issue directed specifically at Spotify. They call out the top streaming platform for its dishonest relations with songwriters and asking for them to "do the right thing and drop your appeal of the Copyright Royalty Board rate determination."
Everyone can get involved to send this same message to Spotify and the other platforms, just by contacting the companies’ Board of Directors to let them know you stand with the songwriters who write the music they sell.
Professionals should be paid the fair rate determined by the CRB, not continue to line streaming platforms pockets with more cash.

One of the most used ways to make livestreams during social isolation has been Instagram. From concerts, interviews and even shows or festivals, we have all seen several people that we follow making various livestreams, every day.
And, as it is easy to share and you already have an audience that follows you and receives your notifications, it is often the chosen and ideal platform for holding online concerts and promoting your music and your latest projects.
You can invite other people to participate in your lives - thereby increasing the audience that sees it, receiving instant comments and seeing who is watching the concert. The only drawback of the Instagram lives is that they are only available for 24 hours, disappearing at the end of that time.
In addition to Instagram, Facebook also allows you to make livestreams, however the feedback and promotion are usually lower.

Known for being a video sharing platform, in addition to uploading content, YouTube also allows you to make livestreams. Intuitive and very easy, you can even schedule livestreams for a certain time or day and share the links with your audience or even with specific people, if you’d like it to be more private and restricted (you can do it using the unlisted video option).
This is the ideal solution if, for example, you want to sell tickets and send the concert’s link to those who buy their tickets. Youtube also has the option of having a live chat that allows interaction between viewers and artists and the option to save the livestreams as a regular video in your channel, so that those who have not seen, have the opportunity to watch later.

Many radio stations, newspapers and even companies are holding festivals with artists, in order to replace the usual shows or events they had planned to host before the quarantine. Joining these initiatives can be a good option, especially if you want to promote your music because, in this way, you would be performing not only to your audience, but also to the audience of the entity in question. This way you would broaden your fan base and the followers of your work!
Every day, there are more and more options to make our daily lives more based on digital and social networks, which are always a great platform for promotion. People are more opened to listening to new music, meeting new artists and betting on entertainment so be sure to bet on your career as well, even if you are at home in isolation