So you made some music. Who cares? Just kidding. I care! So much, and you should too. That shit’s hard! But our vast digital world makes it feel like no one cares. May this essay serve as a reminder that making an album is an accomplishment to be proud of, and how to make the most of that.
Since this is my inaugural substack, I’ll briefly introduce myself. I spend the majority of my time running the independent record label Double Double Whammy with my great friend Mike. I’m a child of two music-obsessive record collectors and the apple didn't fall far from the tree if it ever fell at all. I play in various bands around NYC and write a lot of music for fun to maintain my sanity and preserve my “unindustrialized” love for music. In fact, I’m finally getting around to finishing this essay because of my embarrassing (or punk?) decision to learn “Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam on guitar to absolute perfection, giving my left index finger nerve damage for weeks. Big oops.
Though the topic of self-promotion I’m exploring can be applied to different art forms and creative output in general, I’ll be staying in my lane — releasing music on an independent record label, or on your own.
While watching the rock doc “Hype!” (having a grunge phase clearly) I had the recurring thought that music is a full-time job and then some, and I wish artists could just cash a check from the label, have FUN on tour, come home and make a record, and the artist’s team will handle the rest. That used to be a reality! But plain and simple, we are all at the mercy of technology more and more every day. The music industry is a challenge to keep up with, the systems are confusing and glaringly unfair, and it changes constantly. No one had to ask Eddie Vedder to make a TikTok, ya know? They just asked him to make music and field the same interview questions over and over. Normal shit.
There are no rules about consuming or making art, that’s the best part about it. Surely it seems best when a painting is displayed in clean museum light, an atmosphere so ignorable that we let the contrast do the work and remember to focus on the artist’s creation. Or listening to music in a dim, quiet room with high fidelity sound at just the right volume for you. We all have a preference. But in the year of 2022, we consume music passively. There is constant pollution in the process, there are other distracting lights, noises, apps, thoughts. Musicians and their teams are in the business of adding more noise to the noise. It’s not an easy sell.
If you’ve created an album, or any artistic output, in a society that does not value it, you should be proud of yourself. Because we’re all definitely rooting for you — at the heart of it, music is universal and if we feel compelled to share it, we should. If people are annoyed because you’ve taken a few months of your life to promote yourself and be proud of that, fuck ‘em.
I know self-promotion is a complicated beast, further exacerbated by social media, an inconceivably complicated beast. We all tend to downplay our accomplishments, especially on social media, but album campaigns are not the time to do that. You didn’t “do a thing” — you made a fucking record! On the other side of that is potential success, comfort, life-changing tours or collaborations. I’m not saying any of those concepts need to be the GOAL of making music, but artists deserve that if they want it, and the teams behind artists work hard because they believe you can achieve that.
The unfortunate truth is that unless you’re already an established artist, you have to use social media. There’s no way around that anymore — so instead we need to address our natural human fears of self-promotion, validate them, and push forward. Perceiving ourselves is weird, perceiving ourselves through music is even weirder, but it’s now essential to remind yourself regularly that you are not your art. And if you’ve decided to turn your art into a product, treat your album campaign like a temporary job. Work your ass off for a few months and if you wanna crawl back into a social-media free cave afterward, do that! I’d even recommend it, separate yourself and go back to making music for the pure joy of it. If you’re working at an independent level, you still have control of your art and your life, maintain that.
If you want to avoid social media altogether (totally valid), you can still have a successful album campaign. Because you define your standard of success! But I’ll bet every dollar I own that you will be more successful if you set some goals and have an online presence. Hell, I’ll bet every dollar Eddie Vedder owns. It sucks, but it’s real. It’s not always fun, but it’s free. Touring is not.
Artists and labels are routinely put in compromising positions, we’re asked to promote playlists by Spotify, Amazon, and other corporations that are actively tipping the scale away from supporting artists. And the more you publicly support those corporations, the more they support you. Thousands of artists are fighting for 100 spots on an indie playlist (many of which are taken up by millionaire artists like Lorde and Taylor Swift). The only people who can step up to Spotify are household names like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell because they’re set for life and they made music in a time when society valued art more than it does now.
All this to say — it’s a fucking free-for-all out there. What are we afraid of? What even is selling out? If Apple wants to put your song in a commercial, you’ll probably say yes, and no one will crucify you because sync licensing is one of the only remaining ways for independent artists to make real money and gain exposure. If Fugazi was in an Apple commercial however, we might tilt our heads in confusion. Because there was once a clear divide between punk/DIY/indie and selling out. That line is VERY blurry now. You take what you can get, and no one cares, because even the general public understands that 99% of artists cannot make a living off of streaming. Unless you’re taking cushy selfies at Daniel Ek’s mansion, you’re probably fine. You can even be an outward Spotify hater and still get playlist support, Spotify can’t keep track of its haters, there are too many, it’s weird out there man.
Much like there’s no ideal way to consume art, there’s no right way to market yourself, precisely because we’re all so different. It’s cheesy as hell, but just be yourself. Set a reminder on your phone to pop in once a week and say something about your music. Show us your favorite guitar lick, shout out the people who helped you, the visual inspirations, the funny moments recording. It doesn't have to be complicated, people just need reminders amongst the noise. Music is an expression of pure, palpable emotion, trying to figure out how to make it digitally digestible is enough to make you go cross-eyed. Don’t take it too seriously, people love passion, show us your passion. People just want to feel connected to your music and a little supplementary information goes a long way.
We have never existed in a reality like the current one, bleak current events and global turmoil fall on us like an avalanche every day. Music was never meant to compete with that, but life-changing and fulfilling music is still being made. There are inappropriate times to post on social media, there are days when you must reflect on your purpose and take up less space. Read the room, the vast digital and sociopolitical room, and if the coast is clear, be loud. Remind everyone, yourself included, that art is essential to living.
Essay Fuel ⟡
Allegra Krieger - “The Push and the Pull”
Clothesline from Hell - “Open Up!”
Alice in Chains - “No Excuses”
Editrix - “The Hunt”
Dijon - “Talk Down”
I loved this! Im not a musician (Im a writer) but still have to tangle with the behemoth that is IG. Social media literally felt like pulling my teeth out until I tried to shift my perspective on what it was. I decided to look at it not as a place to promote myself but just another place to write (or play!) Then it became kind of fun, like a new format to experiment with.