Hey all, I'm a little quiet on NG as of recent but I'm getting back into the swing of things, hoping that 2024 will be a big push for music but, that leaves me with an issue, I can't seem to grow, at all as a musician.

Quick recap, most my work is on NG for you to listen too and im a solo artist.

The work I have uploaded the NGs does score quite well, I get numbers coming in which I think is pretty okay with the faves, the downloads and the comments etc so I am told - somewhat, by the stats that yeah my work is okay. People don't complain on the components which I personally have a bug-bear-perfectionist mentality towards so it seems in general as an overall summary that here my work is good/okay and people like it. Brill

Outside of NG, where you go to the other socials like IG, FB yada yada yada I see little returns, I try and keep family and close friends away from posts and pages I use to promote/share things just so I at least see less bias stats coming in (though its quite hard to do when friends have it on social timelines etc) Not to be TOO downtrodden by those stats though, I am grounded enough to acknowledge that those socials particularly are just massively over saturated so its much much harder to get that level of interaction without looking into the paid add schemes and stuff like that.

So I am comfortable in saying I have some potential, of such, via the feedback I get.

Beyond that though, I have zero idea what I'm actually doing - full transparency, No B.S, just the truth.

From what I gather, you upload, share, promote and then things happen as a result which gives way to opportunities which, in turn you can share, promote out of them and then because of them... MORE opportunities make way. With me though?. I don't see anything, I simply can't get anywhere.

So quick rewind, when i say 'get anywhere' what do i mean?, I want my music to breach the confines of the bubble its stuck in, get more plays, reach more people and potentially be able to perform live more. I don't like the idea of just going for money, but there's a fine line between investing and receiving - so I need to stay grounded with that balance. I think Ricky Gervais said it best from his perspective, he failed to pursue a music career because he wanted to be a pop star instead of a pop artist. I want to be a solo artist, plane and simple. get my music out there.

Thing is I fully recognise that the live music scene is frankly going to pot around me (manchester UK) area as more and more venues drop off the planet and the demand and saturation is just going through the roof on the remaining. I don't have a press pack (per-say) but I have some template texts/photos etc ready to send and I do have stints of ringing/messaging/texting/emailing around to get a gig. The last time I tried I had an Excel document with over 120 venues listed on it from all sorts of areas, some cases hours drive away in desperation and I can recall only 4/5 ever even getting back to me. Yes, if i keep trying I could maybe see a few more venues reply but its been a while already and so I understand, realistically it probably won't change so I need a new tactic.

Another acknowledgment I need to state is, as a solo artist there is simply no competition with me and a live band, no way. The band will win everytime even if (sorry to say but it's just as an example) even if they are shit. So what can I do to stand out?.

As a performer (at least) I quite like my tech, compared to those i know and i've bumped into, primarily I perform with my acoustic guitar and sing so I can play songs that way like most people, but I prefer to use my peddle boards that I run through which opens me up to FX, compression, modulation, loopers etc. On top of that I have my board set up with an A/B in and an A/B out so I can then switch from acoustic as per, to electric and send that out an Amp. So now I can do a mixture of normal Acoustic songs, Acoustic with FX, Acoustic with backtracks and now Electric with backing tracks. And when i do perform I try to go 50/50 between songs of mine and cover songs, making a set list which is consistent in sound and whatnot. So I feel I have some artistic competence.

As a side note my music is a genre that just doesn't do very well anymore, this classic/prog rock vibe is just no longer on any radar in the indi scene, its just dominated by heavy/punk/rock. So even by using this overly complex setup, I still cant do everything I want, performance wise because of the layers and lack of other musicians. Worse case, just simple Acoustic in the traditional way, I am super limited because I simply cant play my songs, in turn, I have to sorta re-write them.

Outside of actual gigs, I have gone to open mics, but really? how many awful sounding, cluelessly ran open mics can you go to with a super limiting set of songs (because i cant take peddles or backing tracks) can you go too before you just tire of it all completely. That's a whole other level of discussion, but the truth is i've been there, done that, earnt/learnt very little, if anything.

So you could say, lets focus on the stats/online side then?.

So I have used sites like Submit hub and droptrack, the former sees me spending away money, £10 here and £10 there for credit and its clear to me people just cash in the token to provide feedback they don't want to provide often saying "it's not for us" "the acoustic was out of tune" - on a track with no acoustic, its pretty soul crushing predatory behaviour to just exploit those on the premise of 'you might get signed or played'. Of the latter, Droptrack, I did get played on a radio where they discussed my track "Beware The Radio" and it was lovely, but then again that's only 1 of many submitted on a enormous pay to play society where im back down at the bottom of the que waiting for my name to be called out in line again which takes X amount of time. So a lot of faf for nothing and on these cases, I'm actually losing money for nothing.

I have tried paying for Spotify playlists but gosh they get expensive really gosh darn quickly and, to be truthful, I so virtually no jump in stats from the time beforehand, during or after and that was for a month. BBC introducing is another angle, I've got multiple tracks uploaded there, of which practically all of them have been marked as 'listened' by an engineer and often more than 2/3 times each but none have advanced to an radio play, so that's another dead end.

I did do some research and reach out to music promotors', some big firms and some little Indi places, many email exchanges and actually multiple phone calls. One such place had a team meeting just about me, they said they loved my work and came up with a really cool plan and wanted to work with me (though saying that, it might of just been said to lure me in) they wanted £2k which was a big no no, I'm not deluded to think it would be free but there's a margin of, how much would it cost? and YOLO, lets just ask and see? I thought it was a good way of testing out reactions and help me at least gauge what potential I have. Many places got in contact and many places said the same but at that very high cost.

I do struggle with self promotion but I have tried, I try and make reels every week or too, they somewhat get interactions individually but dont direct anything towards the music work itself, I know from friends who are solo artists, say country singers for example, they get offered gigs and opportunities quite regularly, to the point I am left baffled, what are they doing that I am not?, though, my imposta syndrome just goes wild and thinks that I am just the worst of the worst.

you can see how and why I am totally stuck, I can't get a gig, I can't really boost my online situation and I can't really get a break, I do appreciate the stance that "It should be because you love doing it not the numbers" but to me, I am soul crushed on making something that no one enjoys it makes things 20 times worse. someone saying "that was great" makes me more motivated than a song i love that no one hears, that in mind, what are your thoughts?

if you made it to the end, Many Thanks <3

Daneforth

If you want to get your music more popular and heard then you have to go all out with what you want to make

I'm not saying you should for example quit a job to focus on your music.

I'm saying that when you have an idea for a song you truly believe in, don't half ass it, try make it the best you can make it.

I cannot stress how much making what you want matters because if you only make what others want you to make then you'll only be copying what has already been done and it's super depressing to do what you don't want to.

Here are some other things that are generally good todo when growth is in your mind: post your songs on more internet platforms, making music that appeals to niche or small communities, and most importantly you should strive to find ways to improve you craft.

It may take a long time but if your determined to bring your ideas to the highest levels you can bring them eventually people will notice, even if small.

TLDR:

Make what you want, at the best quality you can make it, along with making more opportunity's for people to discover your music.

on final note I should say this: if you don't find it fun to make it, why bother? If you don't like what you're making, why bother? If you don't like what you made, then who else will?

I don't think you're doing anything wrong, I just think we unfortunately exist in a place and culture where what we create isn't popular or understood by your average punter. It's unfortunate, its soul crushing. I don't have an solution for you because there needs to be some kind of cultural shift that values independent art and music to rectify the situation. Unfortunately the music industry is just set up to exploit aspiring artists, pay for advertising, pay for plays, it's all rotten. This isn't a solution for us but I've taken all my shit off all streaming now, I'm just refusing to feed the broken model I don't agree with. Just write for yourself man, stop fighting to commodify the thing you love, art stops being art and fast becomes content of you're not doing it for the love of doing it. I'm so sorry you're feeling beaten down by it, you're welcome around for a brew anytime if you want a catch-up and a vent.

I keep finding on YT (I use so many blockers that their algo-thing does not suggest me popular things anymore) artists with 100 -1000 views on their music that is multiple times better than the crap we hear on mainstream outlets. Life is what it is.

You shouldn't let it discourage you because language of music is universal and it can change lives. To both one making and the one hearing it. I wish i'd have any advice to you, but as one constantly finding and seeking for unknown artists, keep doing what you are.

Ahoy!, interesting take, I fully understand that I need to invest more time, I feel like the making music part is the component in a broad sense that actually takes up the least amount of time. With the latter taken up by promotion and socials etc. With what I am doing currently which is 8 hours a day work and the remaining hours filtered between music and relaxing its always difficult to find the time and I do appreciate what time I have got at the moment is far shy of what i need to go full 24/7 100% but at the same time its just impossible for me at the moment. i feel that writing, socials, posting is better than nothing and that's a start without being silent and allowing my presence on the socials at least to start unwinding.

My music is entirely composed for me, I don't really write with trying to please others in mind or try to write a 'Hit' per-say, sure I have a filter to a degree that I try to adhere too, like for example, I don't swear ever sentence, be mindful over structural layouts and appreciate how that may or may not be appealing IF im looking to have it played on the radio etc etc. Other than that, I purly write for me and me alone and I certainly don't rush things. I love layering and building up complex compositions and I suppose on the other hand this is a good point too, I actually cant get material out quick enough.

I've seen many people that thrive on the social statistics by just pressing record, putting the phone down and playing a song, picking the phone up, stopping the recording and just simply posting to the socials AS IS. The other case to expand on that simplicity is, I also know others that record very simple compositions with little parts and can actively write an album a month, I just cant do that. My last single 'Life Within' took between 6-8 months to complete because I wanted it perfect, the same can be said for my album 'Moonlight' having took 4 years to make because i felt I made massive improvements in processes while producing it and kept going back and improving what I had. So, weather what I release is good or not (as a piece of music by the untrained ear of general audiences) I feel 100% confident that I never ever rush anything out or hash a 'that will do' - though, i do worry my turn around isn't good enough and sure it could be made more efficient.

In relation to other platforms, think of me as really stupid for a minute, what others are there, what are your thoughts on them and a general rule of thumb to follow ?

Lastly, on the whole "not enjoying thing", no, that's not what i mean. I actually love writing, recording, mixing, producing my music. I envy those who get the recording days and i love just shutting myself in, recording for hours getting the layers, the love of hearing all those layers starting to build and the dream production to start finding its footing into the first drafts.

So that's not what I mean at all, my issue is, for me at least - i love building and making things (in general) and when that thing is finished and it just sits on a shelf, I fall out of love. Some people might find that more motivating to get more listeners or more ideas and what not, sadly that's not the case for this brain of mine. I just hate it, i feel like I'm guilty of wasting my life and then i get all whimsy and annoyed with myself. So my point is, I like releasing things to some kind of reception. I suppose releasing here is a great start for me because i feel somewhat accepted here with what I publish but the caveat to that is, I also feel a huge divide between NG and everywhere else. For example, a song I have on spotify to share with the world isn't really going to gain any traction here unless I upload the song here and link the spotify in with it. so as much as I have got front paged a few times here and built up thousands of listens it has fundamentally not accumulated to the broader picture, nor does everywhere else accumulate in with my NG stats.

To me a song of mine getting some feedback and very little listens is more motivating that no interaction at all but thats just how im wired. In short though, no matter how well i do here on NG that seems to me that there is still no growth in the grand scheme.

If you want a person that can give you some pointers, try reaching out to @Troisnyx. She is also based in the UK, and she is a music director composing OST-s for games. She has a ton of experience on how to rise up and make a name for yourself.

Pretty much all artists, in all kinds of showbiz, whether they are solo or in a group, besides being good at what they do, owe their bigger success to 3 major factors:

-Networking

-Networking

And most importantly

-Networking

That doesn't only mean promoting yourself and being out there on multiple platforms and/or venues. But also working together with other artists. Like you said, the audience of your genre is limited, and not exactly the biggest demographic, so if you wanna grow, you gotta get audiences from other genres interrested.

Most people have more interests in music than just their one favorite thing. So work together with some EDM artists (just to name one of many examples) like some techno, D&B or dubstep artists or whatever. Even if it's not your cup of tea, in between their audiences, there are bound to be some people, besides listening to those electronic dancy sounds, also like to hear some guitar play from time to time.

That doesn't mean you stop being a solo artist, just means you can go fishing in other ponds, or canals, or rivers, maybe one day the sea or the grand ocean! (Or a swamp or the sewers if you wanna get down, dirty, and underground, lol).

To name the most obvious example in pop-music that comes to mind for me, when it comes to being insanely successfull just by networking: 'Pharell Williams'.

In my opinion, his singing isn't really that distinct or really anything special at all (not that I think he is bad or anything, don't get me wrong). But that dude has stuck his nose in the bussiness of so many giant names in the music industry, it's quite insane.

And he pretty much is a solo artist too. Not being part of some kind of band or ensemble as his main thing.

But it's not just other musicians or singers, you can get some pieces of that sweet pie of success with. Think of help from artists from other kinds of disciplines and media as well. You could think of illustrators to get some dope album-covers for example. That artist can post about that, maybe their followers will check you out.

Maybe there are some animators who like your music, and you like their animations. Go and make a dope-@ss music video.

Like Jonny Atma for example, known for his Gametal (doing metal covers of video game tunes), he got a fantasticly amazing animator to make an incredible music video for him. If it wasn't for that, he would probably play his music for about 6 people on the internet (maybe about 7 or 8 if lucky, who knows).

Maybe even work with a game developer, get your music in some cool game OSTs. There be plenty of different kinds of artists you can whore yourself out with. You can get their fans to listen to your stuff, and share your own fanbase with them. Win win situation fo shizzle my nizzle.

P.S:

When the time comes, and you're doing your big award ceremony speech, dontchu dare forget givin' me plenty of shoutouts, besides just the classic friends and family 'n stuff.

K, thx.

Stop telling yourself

"My music is fine, why aren't people listening to it?"

You'll become an algorithm panderer and your creativity will suffer for it.

Instead ask yourself

"How can I make my music better?"

and

"How can I make my music more appealing to its audience?"

Because those are the things that you can actually impact through action and creative effort. Focus on honing your talent and artistic growth.

Of course that also requires you figuring out who your target audience is, and what they like or don't like.

If you were to ask me for my honest personal opinion on your work. I'd say there just isn't anything that really stands out about it. Maybe your sound just needs something new and fresh to it that people can get excited about. But maybe someone who is more into the style of music you are after would feel different from I do.

"Why big enterprises spend lots of money on marketing every year? Because they know how important is to maintain visibility".

Acquiring success not only relies on being good, but also showing to people you're good. Naturally, people are not gonna walk out their comfort zone to hear about someone else, so you gotta stand in front of them for that.

Since you can't go full entrepreneur in NG (because duh), you have to interact with community instead. Doesn't mean you can't be a solo artist, but if you want attention, earn it. It's not like internet's early days were a slightly good sounding song could drag lots of people to you, now there's way more people showing lots of quality, so you have to outstand.

If you want success out of NG, the things above still work, but you have to give 'em a different focus.