In the past, musicians could not break through the glass ceiling of the underground. Their audience was composed of those close enough to see a concert and pick up a free demo. Touring was next to impossible, and ended up costing money instead of making it. But people did it because they wanted to get their music out there. And without the help of a record label, that was a very difficult thing.
But it isn't the 60s anymore, nor the 70s, nor the 80s, not even the 90s. Today, we have options that no one did in the past. And those options are created by the vast web of connectivity that we call the Internet. In the early days of the Internet, only those with very specific training were able to put together web sites and campaign material. But that was then, and this is now. And now, anyone - and I mean anyone - can utilize various social media platforms, and get their name out there entirely free of charge.
Spread the word, expand your audience.
Facebook, Twitter
One of the first and most important things that you can do for yourself as a musician on the Internet is to expand your audience-base. By making yourself Facebook and Twitter profiles, you can interact directly with your peers, your audience, as well as the musicians to whom you aspire. Networking with all of these groups ensures that you will have more eyes and ears on your sound.
And thanks to new software such as "TweetDeck," we have the capabilities to view all of our social networks on a single news feed, and update all outlets simultaneously.
Give them a place to stream.
SoundCloud, YouTube
If you are an underground musician, you need to forget about money right now. There is no chance of getting heard if you require too much from a potential listener who has never listened to you before and has no idea what to expect. So, in order to fix that problem, you need to set up several profiles with social media outlets that allow you to stream your music free of charge. Historically, MySpace had done a great job combining personal profiles with top-notch music profiles. But MySpace's replacement, Facebook - though the largest in the world - is not a cure-all for musicians.
Rather, new sites like SoundCloud are leading the game of social media for Producers, DJ's, and musicians alike. SoundCloud provides a simple, easy to use medium for those who wish to stream their music for free. Also, YouTube has become a go-to source for hearing single songs from your favorite artists. Popular songs reach into the tens of millions of song plays. So it is important to create video counterparts to all the songs that you want in the public square. This doesn't mean that you need to make a music video; it could simply be a 3 minute long clip of your album artwork, with 0 editing. The point is if someone wants to hear your music, the first place they will go to find you may very likely be YouTube.
Give them a place to download.
MediaFire, Bandcamp
The music industry is not what it once was. Along with the Internet's increased ease of use, comes a flood of musicians who compete themselves into oblivion. So now, whether you like it or not, your songs have been devalued. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Because even though your songs are not as valuable (monetarily) as they may have once been, your potential audience has increased exponentially. For ever 1 person who buys your album, there will be 1,000 people who download it for free.
So my recommendations go to MediaFire and Bandcamp. With MediaFire, you can upload your entire album to the web, and access the file from anywhere with an Internet connection. All you need is the download URL. Bandcamp is similar, except it also gives you the "pay what you want" option.
You can't go at it blind. You can set up the campaign by yourself, for free, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be a cakewalk. It is a simple job, but it's also time-consuming. You will be working as your own representative, actively (and sometimes relentlessly) monitoring and updating your various social media and online profiles. And the most important part: synergy. The way that you generate traffic and optimize search engine results is to connect all of your social media together. If someone is looking at your Twitter, give them a link to your Facebook and your YouTube channel. And before you know it, you'll be connected to hundreds, even thousands of new fans who would otherwise never have heard your name.
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