From releasing an EP, to finding out what makes a song go viral, here are SongCast’s top posts from 2015 that you may have missed.

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WHAT MAKES A SONG GO VIRAL?

Thanks to the Internet, there is a new way for artists to gain instant popularity – making a song or video that goes viral. How can artists do this, and turn a moment of buzz into a successful career?

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HOW TO GROW YOUR YOUTUBE AUDIENCE

Online video content is quickly becoming THE #1 form of mass media outreach.  According to their own stats, YouTube sees more than 300 hours of video uploaded per minute, and Facebook has literally billions of video shares each day.  Growing your YouTube audience is a highly effective  way of spreading word of your band, but it’s about more than just making a great music video.

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DO’S AND DON’T’S OF SIGNING A RECORD DEAL

You get a band together, book gigs, learn how to sell your music on iTunes, get discovered, and receive an offer for a record deal. This might seem like a dream come true – but are you sure you should accept the deal? Being locked into a bad contract can be worse than not having one at all, and it can make or break your career. Here is what to look for and what to avoid when signing a record deal.

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PROS & CONS OF HIRING A MANAGER

Do you need a manager to get ahead in the music business?  Not necessarily… but it can certainly help!  It’s a question a lot of bands struggle with.  A manager can do a lot behind the scenes to help a band flourish, but they’re expensive, and you also give up a lot of creative control.  Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?  Let’s take a look.

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TOURING AS A SINGLE ACT

There’s a certain romance still attached to the idea of the wandering troubadours, who need nothing but their voice and an instrument at their back.  Solo acts are still popular, and plenty of people make their daily bread this way.

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TIPS TO GLOBALIZE YOUR MUSIC

These days, a smart musician is looking towards a global audience as much as a local one.  With something like 3 billion users online, that’s a lot of potential ears to reach… but only if you promote your music in a way that makes it appealing to a wider audience.

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HOW TO GET YOUR MUSIC HEARD IN 2015

What are the best ways to promote your music in 2015 and, you know, actually make money on it?  We suspect 2015 is going to be volatile year, with a lot of acts trying out different gimmicks and ventures to get noticed.  It’s not going to be a year for middle-of-the-road promotion, if you’re looking to build your band’s brand.

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RECORDING YOUR ALBUM FOR A REASONABLE PRICE

One of the biggest challenges facing an indie band trying to record a music album is creating a product that sounds good enough to compete with major bands.  So if you don’t have thousands to to shell out for a high-grade recording studio, what are your alternatives?  Here are a few thoughts.

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HOW TO PROMOTE THE RELEASE OF YOUR NEW ALBUM

So, you’ve got a new album…  how do you get the word out?  There are more options than ever for artists to promote themselves, but on the other hand, there are more ways for everyone to promote themselves and it’s creating a public that’s under a constant messaging deluge.

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CHOOSING A RELEASE DATE FOR YOUR NEW CD OR EP

Release dates are no minor detail in the music business!  Very smart people with very big computers are paid a lot of money to try to calculate optimal release dates for albums.  Even if you don’t have access to that sort of hardware, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give some thought to release dates.

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3 SECRETS OF A SUCCESSFUL LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE

As a performer, you may find that thinking about a live music performance can be downright terrifying. There’s a lot riding on live shows: first impressions, download, disc, or merch sales, and your reputation. Don’t let your performances fall flat (or make you faint). Amp up any live music performance by using these three secrets of success.

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HOW TO DRAW ATTENTION TO YOUR MUSIC

Music promotion is all about drawing attention to yourself. Becoming well-known, by itself, is often one of the quickest routes to success in music or any other form of entertainment.  One way or the other, you need plenty of exposure to make it in the music business. The good news is, we have more resources for self-exposure today than ever before.

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HOW TO BREAK INTO THE HIP-HOP INDIE SCENE

Indie musicians trying to make it in hip-hop face an uphill battle.  It’s a huge genre, and arguably over-saturated, so standing out is difficult.  But, we have a few tips for those who feel the call of the beat.

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BEST CITIES TO NETWORK FOR INDIE MUSICIANS

Music Distribution and putting your music online has become extremely important for indie musicians, but networking and making personal connections in the industry is still vital. The city you live in will be the basis of this network, so we created a list of seven indie-friendly cities that are supportive of aspiring musicians.

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BENEFITS OF RELEASING AN EP

In today’s music market, you have more possibilities in how to sell music than ever before, with plenty of options in formats and organization.  While many focus either on individual tracks/singles or on full-length albums, the humble EP is often overlooked, even though it creates a nice middle ground.

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HOW SONGCAST CAN ADVANCE YOUR MUSIC CAREER

If you’re looking for a great way to take your music career to the next level, SongCast has it.  We provide a simple and affordable platform for launching your music on every major digital music system, as well as centralizing your payments.

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THREE REASONS TO PERFORM AT A MUSIC FESTIVAL

With the indie music industry exploding, finding ways to sell your music is a constant challenge.  Standing out from the competition is absolutely vital, especially if your career is going to graduate beyond the “local bar gigs” phase.  Our advice is for your act to start looking to perform at any music festival you can, at least that seem halfway reputable.  Even if you have to take a cut rate, music festivals are going to be one of the best possible ways to sell your music in the year(s) to come.

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TOOLS TO PERFECT ACOUSTICS AT HOME AND IN STUDIO

Whether you and the band are recording from an at-home studio or from a professional one, there are a few methods to achieve great acoustics for your music.

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INDIE LABELS – FACT OR FICTION?

While the first step for many Indie musicians may simply be to figure out how to sell your music on iTunes or even just book your first gig, the end goal for most artists is to sign a record deal. For Indie artists, this would probably mean signing with an independent label – but what does it actually mean to be an Indie label? SongCast explains.

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DIGITAL MUSIC TRENDS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

Analysts are looking at shifts in the music industry with increased concern. The current digital music trends point in exactly one direction: more streaming, and less buying. Both physical album sales AND direct digital downloads are on the decline, while streaming services like Spotify and Beats Music are growing by leaps and bounds.

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