Independent Musician and Artist Resources

Independent Musician and Artist Resources

Resources for singers, musicians, and bands that are unsigned or aren’t signed with a major labels. Independent artists have to wear many different hats, so here are some helpful resources to help lessen the load and advance your career. Also check out our musician health resources, musician employment resources, music promotion, music publishers worldwide, music organizations, and songwriting resources.

  • Airbit
    Platform for entrepreneurial producers to market and sell beats. The free profile limits you to 10 beat uploads, but you will keep 100% of the revenue you generate from any beat you sell. Alllows you to collaborate with your favorite producers and record the revenue split, create and distribute kits, and connect to mailing list providers like MailChimp and GetResponse, social media like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and analytics like Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel.
  • Alaska Independent Musicians Initiative (AKIMI)
    An independent project of the Northern Culture Exchange, a 501c3 nonprofit. Alaskan musicians lifting up Alaskan musicians.
  • Amazon Music for Artists
    "With the Amazon Music for Artists app, instantly know how your fans are listening to your music. Available on web and mobile."
  • The American Association of Independent Music
    A 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization that serves as a central voice for a diverse community of over 600 independently owned record labels operating within the United States. As an organization, A2IM is committed to protecting the value of independent musical contributions and influence on a policy level.
  • American Federation of Musicians
    The largest organization in the world representing the interests of professional musicians. Whether negotiating fair agreements, protecting ownership of recorded music, securing benefits such as health care and pension, or lobbying our legislators, the AFM is committed to raising industry standards and placing the professional musician in the foreground of the cultural landscape.
  • The Americana Music Association®
    A professional trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American Roots Music around the world, working closely with those in the industry, whether artists, labels, radio stations, retailers, print media, festivals, agents, publishers, etc. to help organize and build the infrastructure necessary for the genre to achieve success both creatively and financially.
  • Apple Music for Artists
    "Get your songs out of your head and into the world. Now anyone can record studio-quality sound, release new tracks, and connect with fans."
  • Bandsintown
    Bandsintown's platform for artists, bands, and managers allows publishing, scheduling and promotion of live events with ticket links.
  • Bandlab
    Allows you to record, mix, collaborate with other musicians, release, and sell your own music, all for free. A great starting point for the artist who wants to get a start but doesn’t yet have much experience and wants to build their skills.
  • CD Baby
    Provides music distribution on 150+ streaming and download services around the world, including Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Amazon, Pandora, YouTube, and Deezer, all for a one-time setup fee. Aslo provides CD and vinyl sales, YouTube monetization, sync licensing, publishing royalty collection, direct-to-fan sales, music marketing, and more.
  • DCR L.L.C.
    Provides artist marketing, artist management, social media management for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat, audio engineering, video editing, and web design and development.
  • Deezer for Creators
    An app that allows artists, labels, providers, and managers access to Deezer's artist profiles and rich analytic information. Lets artists, labels and creators to better understand thei fans and listeners and to get you to the next level. Available both on mobile and desktop.
  • DistroKid
    DistroKid lets you upload unlimited music to stores for one low price and keep 100% of your earnings. They charge a one-time annual fee to upload as much music as you want during that 12-month period, although you pay extra, per-release, for various royalty collection options.
  • DistroVid
    DistroVid allows musicians to get music videos into Apple Music, Vevo, and Tidal and keep 100% of earnings. Includes 4K videos and custom thumbnails, and an official Vevo channel providing you with the official Vevo watermark on YouTube and allow people to watch your music videos on different platforms including Roku, Samsung and LG Smart TVs, Comcast, and more.
  • Ditto
    Allows you to release your music to more global platforms than anywhere else, and you keep 100% of the royalties you earn and all of the rights to your music. You can also track your music’s performance across platforms and countries around the world.
  • feature.fm
    Designed to help artists build careers, they provide any artist, no matter how early in their career, professional music marketing tools along with guidance and education to help more artists be able to make a living doing what they love.
  • Folk Alliance International
    An international arts nonprofit and NEA-designated National Arts Service Organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Founded in 1989, they’re a community of passionate and driven artists, managers, agents, DJs, festivals, record labels, fans, and more. We exist to keep the tradition of folk music thriving through preservation, presentation, and promotion.
  • Independent Music Promotions
    "We provide full-service music PR campaigns for independent musicians of all genres. All our services are strictly based on gaining high amounts of press for chosen bands and solo artists. Press is vital when it comes to grabbing the attention of festivals, labels, licensing companies and new listeners. Artists with high amounts of press and publicity are perceived differently by industry and new listener alike. That is why press is our focus. We fill a much needed void for independent artists. We work closely with everyone from the Huffington Post, PASTE Magazine and AXS.com to All About Jazz, URB Magazine and Sputnik Music."
  • Independent Musicians Alliance
    "The IMA is a solidarity organization formed to promote the free interchange of ideas and information among the professional jazz musicians of the Bay Area, to aid in their ability to collectively advocate for new standards of compensation, benefits, and working conditions in regional settings from clubs to concert halls, hotels to hovels, school rooms to Zoom screens, wedding halls to convention centers, and bars to assisted living centers."
  • Independent Society of Musicians (ISM)
    Begun in 1882, the ISM is largest professional representative non-union body for musicians in the UK. Financially independent and with no political affiliation.
  • The INDIE BIBLE
    Publishes a variety of resources for independent musicians, including the INDIE BIBLE, INDIE BIBLE ONLINE DATABASE, INDIE SPOTIFY BIBLE, APPLE MUSIC BIBLE, INDIE YOUTUBE BIBLE, INDIE VENUE BIBLE and the INTERNATIONAL BOOKING AGENTS DIRECTORY.
  • Omari Music Promotions
    Helps artists promote their music through custom advertising campaigns. Providing top results for artists since 2014. NOTE: promotes clean music only.
  • Qrates
    "We're record and cassette lovers, music fans. We believe they serve an important connection between musicians and fans. So we built Qrates to help artists bring the magic of music on physical things to more people."
  • RockMerch Independent Artist Program
    When you join RockMerch’s Independent Artist Program, they create a band page for you on their website and feature your band in their RockMerch newsletter and socials where we reach hundreds of thousands of music lovers each month! Requires a one-time set up fee and a monthly fee to keep your page maintained.
  • SoCal Indie Musicians
    Female-run music service focusing on Artist Management/Development and helping musicians/music lovers, promoters/venues, recording/rehearsal studios thrive and understand how to work for themselves, together.
  • Songtradr
    Have your music distributed to Spotify and Apple Music and other leading streaming services for no up front cost (they take a percentage of your royalties) or sign up for the Pro version which allows you to keep all your royalties and gives you even more access to sync licensing placement opportunities.
  • Solid Merch
    One-stop solution for quality, custom band merch including printed tee shirts, hats and totes and media products like vinyl records, cassettes and CDs.
  • Spotify for Artists
    Allows you to add a profile image, submit music to Spotify playlists, edit your Spotify artist bio, view streaming analytics and access Spotify's "Artist’s Pick".
  • Sync Summit
    Comprehensive resource to synchronize music and your career with the people and the projects that need music in film, TV, games, apps, ads, streaming services and everywhere else that music makes visual and interactive media come to life by providing you with the tools, opportunities for access to the people, the projects, the information and promotional opportunities that you need for success in sync.
  • TuneCore
    The world's leading digital music aggregator. Choose an unlimited distribution plan, upload your music, and they do the rest. Get your music on Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, YouTube, Tidal, Tencent and more, and keep 100% ownership of your music. Also provides feedback, licensing, mastering, CD duplication, and more.
  • Women in Music
    Established in 1985, Women in Music is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to advancing equality, visibility and opportunities for women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment and recognition. A diverse global community, WIM encompasses chapters around the world - from LA to Japan.
  • YouTube for Artists
    Information on how to promote your music, find your fans, and learn how to turn your passion into a career on YouTube.


    • Last updated: 1/5/2024