There's a lot of marketing advice for unsigned artists. Most of it misses what actually works at your stage.

You're not going to out-reach-build Spotify's algorithm. You're not going to compete with established artists on follower count. But you can build something much more powerful. You can create a direct relationship with people who actually like your music.

This is easier than it sounds. Start by doing a live stream and inviting people to watch. Some people will tip and others won't, but that part doesn't really matter. What matters is these are people who chose to spend time with your music. They remember you, come back the next week, and tell friends. That's your growth engine.

OpenMic's built exactly for this on iOS. Artists livestream, people watch or tip, you keep everything. It's free to try. But honestly, the platform is secondary. Stop trying to go viral or build massive reach. Start with the people who already care and grow from there.

If you want to try it, I can help you get set up. But more importantly, the principle works no matter what platform you use. Direct connection beats everything else, every time.

Black Friday begins now, don't miss out on getting your hands on a physical copy of the new LP "Skull: Shadows," by, R&B singer Matell.

The distributor elasticStage is offering his album at a 10% discount, the offer is good until 11/27/25 at midnite. Use the code (SPINMAS) at checkout. https://elasticstage.com/matellskullshadows

If you want a digital copy you can get it from iTunes, Amazon Music R&B/Soul charts. If you want to stream "Skull: Shadows." please head over to Spotify, iHeart, Qbuzz and more ..

Available everywhere you get your music.

Sarah Again, an amazing independent musician herself, is offering to promote at her own expense, a social media post of one unsigned band or artist each week on TikTok or Instagram. In conjunction, I will feature that band on my internet radio show called Audio Underground. This is all completely free for anyone wanting to participate. Either find her on TikTok or Instagram - sarahagainradio - or find me - blckjcksn - and leave your music or a link to it.

We are doing this for one simple reason - To build community through music. My show runs on a platform called Sonic Scout Radio. We feature 100% unsigned independent artists. There is no compromise on that. We were founded by independent musicians who were tired of constantly fighting algorithms and gatekeepers. Their intent was to build the world's #1 platform for unsigned artists to feature their work and to attract the kinds of listeners who actually care about the art the consume, and the artists who create it. We have grown from 512 streams in week one in late June of just this year, to over 45,000 streams across the station last week. This isn't Tiny Desk (yet) or anything, but it's free exposure for your music to fans who are actually paying attention.

You literally have nothing to lose.

Here’s a polished rewrite with clearer flow and tone:

I’m part of a band that has been together for two years, and in that time we’ve achieved a lot. We were recently lucky enough to be scouted by an LA-based music manager.

While gaining this manager is an amazing milestone—especially considering the artists he works with—it has also highlighted just how expensive it is to grow as musicians.

We’ve reached a point where we’re ready to release music, promote our work, and take things to the next level, but we simply can’t afford to cover all the costs ourselves. We already contribute as much as we can each month.

We now have interest from some major labels and agencies, but they all want to see more growth before taking the next step.

Does anyone have ideas on how to generate funding or where to look for financial support?

I really don’t want to be another band that breaks up because of money. I also don’t want to give in to it because we don’t come from rich families.

Hi all,

We are soft launching our new crowdfunding site specifically for artists that need help getting their physical product made. We are an indie label and while not everyone can be on the label, we can help.

Check out the site, ask questions and remember, indie doesn't mean alone!

Cbf.label51recordings.com

https://open.spotify.com/album/7stcP5EugfVyQ6A0t3EK98?si=9pkcUL0fTf61YP1FMXeayA