Music Distribution in the 21^st Century

If you’ve ever talked to a musician who tried to catch his or her big break before the internet revolution, you probably got an earful on how easy you have it these days. The internet beckons a nearly infinite audience directly to you, stripping much of the legwork from music distribution and empowering your listeners to groove to your sound as fast as their broadband connection allows. Unlike in the old days, you don’t have to hit the streets; if you have a laptop, you only have to hit the couch.

This era of technology provides a plethora of opportunities to promote your music online. One of the most important and popular techniques for musicians is podcasting, in which your audience can download your video or audio files online.

What You Need to Know

Podcasting is a practical and speedy means of reaching an almost infinite audience around the world. A podcast, an episodic digital media file, can be downloaded through web syndication or streamed online by listeners.

Podcasts can be a single or combination of audio, video, and document files. Content creators can produce podcasts with applications like GarageBand, Final Cut, iMovie, Windows Media Player, etc. Then, you can upload the podcast (and an XML protocol document called RSS, which allows your audience to download the file directly to an iPod or other device) to a server. From there, your listeners can access the file and get addicted to your melodious noise.

Sound too complicated? It’s worth it.

According to the BBC, over 20% of adults in the UK and America download podcasts, almost half of whom listen to podcasts at least once every week. For reference, that’s more people using podcasts than on Twitter.

Keep up with the times and spread your songs further – you want your music to be heard. Try podcasting to promote your music to a wider audience!