Here at Songcast, we firmly believe that we are in the middle of an indie music renaissance that is reshaping the industry.  However, that’s not to say that the life of an indie musician is all sunshine and roses. For all the innovations in the industry, actually selling music still remains a challenge.

However, the challenges facing indie musicians today tend to be a bit different.

Three Big Struggles For Indie Musicians In The 21st Century

1 – Monetization

The truth is, selling music is only one route to musical success, and not necessarily the fastest.

In this day and age, many artists are increasing their cashflow by turning to new fundraising solutions, like various crowdsourcing efforts. There was even an amusing stunt recently where an indie band attempted to “hack” Spotify to raise touring funds.

Vulfpeck may not have pulled it off, but they get serious points for extreme cleverness.

2 – Developing An “Artist Persona”

It’s something a lot of artists don’t like hearing, especially in the indies:  Just being yourself usually isn’t enough.  Actual Freddie Mercuries or Joan Jetts are few and far between.

To stand out on the indie scene, you need to have a personality that backs up your work.  Whether it’s by being bold and dynamic, or by being dark and mysterious, exaggerating certain elements to create a larger-than-life rock star persona will help listeners find you more interesting and compelling.

Social media creates great opportunities for persona-building, so take this as a chance to interact with your listeners and give them something to remember.

3 – Winning Against Smartphones

Ol’ Roger Waters saw “The Wall” between himself and his audience just because they were more stoned than him. Imagine what he’d think about playing to a crowd that’s staring at cellphones the whole time!

Clever indie musicians can embrace this by creating multimedia elements that integrate the show. Or, like Trent Reznor, they might encourage the crowd to use their devices in service of the show, rather than just being distracted by them.

The short version here is, indie success means more than just selling music. You should be looking to leverage new technologies to build your image, and get your audience more involved in your shows!