you are still young , check out Raja Ram (1200mics) or Goa Gil still playing live @ parties all over the world 70 y old, you could still be playing live for thousands of people like Deadmau or Armin having fun , meeting people ,experiencing stuff if you wanted to
I'm in the same boat, only I'm within "spitin' distance" to 61. About 40 years ago I made my living as a musician on the road. Now... it's just home studio fun. That said, all of us musicians have egos to feed and the desire to have other people like our work will always be there. There are over 180 million tracks on Soundcloud alone and every one of those music creators wants to be "loved". It's all good.
i make music for myself but still people like it, all the artists around me tell me that my music is something else, the only thing i struggle with is creating an audience
sometimes making music like one or with one person in rehearsal and the process of just playing and feeling the vibrations yourself it's like enjoying the trip. You don't have to be a superstar. If music makes you a better person, happier, just because you've learned one more trick today, then it's already affecting the rest of the world.
I believe that spending time and energy recording a song, or multiple songs for digital release or even a tangible copy in 2022 is a complete waste of time. It was extremely hard to be discovered in the 80's and 90's and that was before the launch of MP3's, digital downloads (Napster, Frostwire) and now ever worse with TH-cam and Social Media. Too many amateurs flooding the market with mediocre crap, too many processed loops and beats and we have gotten away from traditional song writing that had any significant meaning and required real talent to not only play, but to actually compose and arrange the songs. Hate to state this, but no one really cares anymore about new bands or new music because it's all rehashed BS. Music died in the early 90's after it peaked in the 80's.
I'd rather great artists learn a small bit of marketing and business savvy enough to support themselves to continue making great stuff more often than remain "pure" and disregard all self preservation and put out significantly less because they have to work full time.
Well, he doesn't say "don't create art" he actually advised to release singles every month. He just tries to say that reaching people is as important as making music. And as an amateur musician i can agree with him. Also we shouldn't forget we're not living in the 70's anymore, just like he also said. I don't even know him btw. I just found him today. Just think he's right.
This year a significant amount of music, and more importantly a new sound came to me, and I was able to compose an instrumental guitar album that was released earlier this month. I have been using it to raise funds for a friend with heart condition and they are selling, I do not have any regrets!
That’s wonderful to hear! And I’m so glad you are able to help your friend. In a way, you are demonstrating two of the main points raised here. One of them is that of you are going to release an album, it helps to have a preexisting audience you can tap into, and it helps to have a story or a mission or a cause-something else to offer in addition to the music-that audiences can connect with as well. It seems like you found both of those things on a very genuine way, and were ultimately able to help both your friend and your listeners because of it, and add some additional meaning to their lives. That’s the goal! And it’s wonderful to hear about. I hope you can take your successes there, learn from them and keep on finding ways to make your music have a positive impact on the world around you, whatever that may mean.
@@JustinColletti Thanks, Justin - I have to say I have enjoyed your channel for quite awhile: I appreciate your mission, and in my own simple/novice way I used a LOT of the mix and mastering concepts you have taught in your videos while making the album - in a very real aspect (even though I'm sure you would have done much better job of it) to whatever degree it is an improved recording, your thumbprint was on this project as well. There are many audio engineering channels on TH-cam, but VERY few with truly authoritive instruction. Thank you Justin, for helping me make better music.
I've got a couple of records and have produced many others for other artists. One of the big benefits of holding off is that the songs themselves will evolve and grow as you perform them live over a period of time. You also see what works and what doesn't via audience feedback and response. All of this will lead to a stronger record full of the best version of the best songs you have to offer at the time.
@@RodneyD Same can be said for the process of making the record once you start. Know when it's done and walk away! But that's another topic. Peace me' Brother.
I'm recording an album, simply because it's a lifetime goal. I created a challenge for myself to write, record and produce 12 songs in 12 weeks. I'm currently in the middle of week 3 :)
Nice. That is a fine reason and goal. Here’s hoping you get everything you want out of the process! If building an audience is the goal, I’d consider releasing them one at a time to start. If it isn’t, just do what is most fulfilling to you personally.
@@JustinColletti thanks, yes, I've been releasing them every Sunday evening. Think I might get more serious about it And start a TH-cam channel and vlog about the process. I wonder if anyone would be interested in that 🤔
How can it be realistic to first create an audience and then release music for them? How can they discover music they can’t listen to? My own experience is that the only thing I can do as an unknown artist, is to make the very best music I can, release it and spread the word. I have discovered many new artists by hearing their album or singel.
I liked this a lot. Several of my favorite currently active bands were around for years and even touring before they released an album, there was something mystifying about that and only being able to hear them through youtube vids and bootleg recording before finally seeing them live after several years. They are more theatrical, but that just goes into their aesthetic and story.
@@bssitsmmsunrr Lets take an extreme example. Suppose Bach was reincarnated and producing music. Whether or not people aware of it, he should produce as much as he can, leaving great music for mankind. Music from the Centrifugal Satz Clock, the 47 hour largest musical piece in the world have fantastic music in it! Its not stultified copycat music but inspired gems!
Yep..you have to fill social media with a trail of clips going every week to develop a following..and some live streams and concerts in between...until you get a big enough following...than release a product to sell...have a plan in advance a focus on who your audience is
I love how calming this dude talks. Like if hes a friend who really know what hes talking about and telling you “dont worry, its all fine” and comes up with solutions. It openend mi mind a lot
Thanks for the kind words Sierra. So glad to be useful! Hope you will catch more of the podcast in the future. New episodes every week, so don’t be shy about hitting like, subscribe and the notifications bell to catch more :) -Justin
As a small studio operator, I agree with your points wholeheartedly. Too many new artists are making, recording and producing music that simply disappears into the digital ether. In the physical realm, these "albums" are those boxes of unsold CDs in your storage room or bedroom closet. Probably still in the original boxes from the CD plant.
What about if I have an audience already but its not that big (around 1000 people, I want like 1 million one day)? My album sold only 70 copies, but I've gigged to 4000 people before at one gig and they all liked my music. I think the trail of breadcrumbs idea works but it's just so hard to get it to the next level. I got all my music mastered professionally but I'm just finidn git so hard to get paid gigs. People don't want to buy music they can get for free. any advice is much appreciated. I think I may need to define my image more and get bigger on other social media.
Word! It speaks to another fundamental thing: have a plan! It's amazing how much time I spent mucking about doing "stuff" before doing things for a purpose.
Excellent vid. I can vouch for the advice, especially regarding pre-production and audience building. In this day and age, if you want a chance at being a successful recording artist... these things are an absolute must. One thing I didn't really hear, is that pre-production can save you MANY expensive studio hours. It's a beginners mistake; one you can easily avoid by following his advice.
Thought this was great thanks Justin. Interestingly, you reinforced a strategy that I plan to follow. Can you pls produce some content on social media marketing ideas, maybe with examples that other artists have tried and gained traction with? Thanks!
Sage advice, Justin. Thanks for this. I definitely recommend TH-cam as a great way to build an audience/fan base. Start making vids and like Justin said, document the journey! Cheers
"we're back to the 1940s" - yeah, you just echoed exactly my feelings about this endeavor. Trying to think of new strategies after releasing a long stream of unheard albums, and just after making a new album, and then deciding to not release it, I've already decided to start doing monthly covers (tried to do that during 2019 but failed, reverting back to jams and other similar undeveloped material for TH-cam). So this is helping me to crystallize that strategy: not releasing any album in 2020 and start getting to work, keep doing TH-cam but with more elaborate material in the shape of covers.
The point is: Tell a story. Everyone loves stories since they were kids. A song, an album or the process of making it, fashion, aesthetics, background, mindset can all be good stories.
🎩🎩🎩☕️👍Hey Justin...I’m a little late to the party, but I totally connected with this discussion. It’s important to know who you are, what you’re in it for, and how you’re going to deliver your work to the world. Otherwise, prepare to be disappointed. This is very thoughtful and sober minded stuff. Thanks 🙏 ...and you do mastering, yes???
I really appreciate this presentation. Apparently I am at the perfect point right now. I have two recordings so far, that I consider worthy of being released. But I had no idea how to move forward, now I have a basis for my strategy. Thank you!
Making songs and playing them live to build an audience comes far before making an album. But you do need to have songs in order to play. This is what local music scenes are for.
Yeah this seems so weird to me. Just make a bunch of music and learn how to play it and go out and find local event spaces to play gigs, paid or not. Get better and better and keep writing and developing your sound while connecting with your community. You’ll get known by your peers and the social momentum will help others get to know you. The album would be pretty far down the line as you develop your songs till it is good and you’ve tested the stuff against an audience so you already know what sucks and what works.
2410 73691 definitely depending. Where I am it is not hard at all. I mean it is as hard as work is, but there are no special barriers to booking shows. If I were to really consider it as an artist who wants music to be their life, they might seriously consider moving to a city where this isn’t totally saturated or controlled by industry. Somewhere where a social name can be made to build up to move to somewhere where bigger opportunities are. In my case it’s Phoenix. 6th or 5th biggest metropolitan area but very open for the most part. Gentrification is well on its way here, but not really in the music scene. You won’t make it here, but you’ll be able to hone and get known for sure. Really though it’s about how dedicated one is to doing this. Some magic marketing formula isn’t how to build an audience, but moving to a place where it’s possible to connect more effectively and grow until you can go somewhere harder to break into is a viable method. If you don’t get known somewhere easy, you probably aren’t good enough to hit it big anyway.
Good point, I know if I recorded a good album, then it gets completely ignored or overlooked, it really is a depressing thing? Makes you wonder if you’re any good? Maybe I should just quit! That’s one of the biggest reasons I don’t waste my time on original music? I should, but I don’t take rejection good!
it does make sense though. when you analyze some successful artists at this time, and I mean the billboard ones, they entered the music scene with single after single building an audience.
I don't know if this will make sense to you but I'm not looking to make a career out of music but i love singing and i started working on a project that is more of a therapeutic album for me more than anything else and i decided that i want to make it in an alt just to have something to look back to as years pass and be able to say " i managed to do this " it's basically just cover songs and i want to make a few copies just to give to friends and family
You get an audience, by developing your craft. It takes hard, work and dedication. Stay away from alcohol and drugs. Stay focused on the music and work on offering something unique. Play out and constantly find opportunities to get out there.
You seemed to have misunderstood his point. Go ahead and write songs and perform them live. Allow your music to grow organically and record songs when they're ready. After 10 or so songs, you will have enough for your "album". But don't get stuck trying to make an album at a premature phase.
The most popular places are: iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sonicscoop-podcast/id1448330690 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0gEpIPfGsScZPowycksAY5?si=ffnIYXooQ9G-1Eut3rhh0Q Google Play: play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/I4jq7fbpfdojejo34kzuolxkfci TH-cam: th-cam.com/users/sonicscoopvideo
I have a question. Im a producer and i make both hip hop and Dance Music. How do i promote both since my audience is completely different depending on the music I make?
Yes. I do it for myself and my nieces/nephews when they’re older. But I also make albums for therapy as a creative way to work through stress and boredom. Sure I like seeing people listen to my stuff and check it. I release singles on Windows Movie Maker and get 10-15 views. But I won’t stop if no one listens. It’s about future legacy rather than present audience. But I also see myself as great for my present audience because I make 1-2 original songs a WEEK!
My songs are written and tight as a ticks ass on my end. Because of Covid I have been real gated to hire a local band that I don’t know but the producer does. I havnt been able to build an audience here in the Carolina’s cuz I moved here right when Covid hit. If I were still in California, I would have an audience in spades. This will be my 15th album. It will be my last. Maybe a future single or ep. I’m gonna eat, sleep and drink this advice. What do you have to say about the CV19 factor and how it applies to this situation? Thanks! Njosings
This is incredible... I remember getting into Green Day/Offspring....it was a Music Video, or a hosting by them of a show, a short interview and a couple song clips and THEN BOOOMMM---listening to them. Even being BAD at this, it is part of the game. Anything worth doing, one will be terrible at at first because mistakes get made and it leaves room for improvement.
I've been seriously writing songs since the early 80s and have over 300 songs I want to get recorded before I leave this place. I'm 55 and do wish to create a living from my music. I suck at building an audience. I plan on recording 10 song albums until they're all recorded. ADHD sucks.
Thanks for the video. I'm having trouble understanding how is anyone expected to get an audience without their best effort in music. If not an album maybe a few tracks or an EP. First you create a product and then sell it -if your personality accommodates salesman features.
A lot of salty comments. He’s clearly not saying to quit being an artist. He’s saying to be a working artist you have to think about your audience. Even Da Vinci needed to get paid.
Hmm. The basic point seems absolutely true - build an audience before you sell them an album - yet also circular. How do you build an audience if you have no recordings to show them? In my experience (whic is fairly limited), setting up and promoting shows is a lot easier if you at least have some sort of rough recording to show to people. In particular, why would bloggers and playlist makers care about you a year before you release an album if you have nothing to give to them? Anyways, thanks for sharing, it's thought-provoking stuff - but if I'm honest, also seems to be taking a "controvesial," either/or kind of position for the sake of clicks.
Great video. In this day and age I think remixes/re-arrangements have not been utilized enough. They have been used by dance artists since the 70's but so many genres outside this have never realized that with a few tweaks they can release an entirely different arrangement of the recording they are working on - it doesn't have to be a dance mix, it could be an alternate arrangement of a metal song for instance, where the sections are moved around and instruments are brought in and out, effected differently and re-amped etc - not very difficult at all with today's tech. I's funny to read the comments and see who has interpreted the vid as anti album which I don't think it is at all - I think the gist is more about making quality content and having strategy rather than making 10-12 songs for release just because you think you need to, hence his comment about back in the day when singles were the thing. I also think that releasing 1 song a week is too quickly for people to digest. I would be giving them a month at least.
There are many possible answers to this. Two of the most appropriate that come to mind are: 1) 99% of music history that you love wasn't made in the 21st century. 2) The period where leading with a debut album was actually successful approach was the anomaly. It was practically a flash in the pan existing from perhaps from about 1967 or so to 2000 or so. It isn't what really worked in 1960 or 1950 or 1940 or 1930 or 1920, not to mention 1820 or 1620 or 420, and so on :) So 99% of music history (at least) was not about albums at all. Even most of modern music history wasn't. -Justin
Probably, but it might not have as much of an impact on people who get to the end. We're looking to help people change their behavior, not just hear a good idea once and then keep on moving along.
I say this to almost every artist i've produced (urban music), they end up with the same amount of traffic as if they've released an OK single with cool video.
I plan to donate money to large live streamers with the right demographic to promote my music . Twitch and TH-cam will sometimes have 15 to 20k people watching live and a $100 donation gets their attention
I agree with this a certain extent, but.. I'm not really sure if this is what you're getting at, but music consumption is moving away from albums and towards individual songs. I think it's perfectly fine to record *individual songs* and make a video for them and drop a series of those without a pre-existing audience, using social media to build one - hell, that's how pretty much every pop/hip-hop/EDM act operates, and every rock act with any sense should be doing that too these days. These days I'm always surprised to see massive megastars who've never released an album and just have a bunch of Soundcloud uploads/videos and features to their name. If you just drop an album without singles and videos to lead people towards it, yeah, nobody's going to listen to that.
@@Alyric-now in some genres, and it's always been the case for straight pop, but I'm talking about in genres where it hasn't traditionally been the case.
Totally different time and circumstances. Do you have a giant label and marketing apparatus supporting you? Do yo have limited competition? Are you selling into a mature album-focused market? These things change over time. In the early 60s and prior, singles were the part to initial success. From the later 60s through the 90s, albums were dominant. This has changed back to singles again. No what era you’re in, what works, and if you’re really curious, why. Hope that helps! -Justin
And that, ladies and gentleman, is what disgusts me so much about the current music culture. You see, this advice might be commercially sound, but you know what I missed? Artistic considerations. And music is supposed to be fucking art. You mentioned three reasons why release an album, so I expected one of them to be what an album is able to offer that isolated singles cannot, but that was nowhere to be found! You see, the album is like a symphony. People sometimes forget that some of the most famous classical songs are actually single movements in four-part symphonies, which give more meaning to these movements. Despite albums being born merely as forms of distributing songs in limited storage, there is so much potential to make albums tell an overreaching story, to make songs that come together in such a way that the full body of work is more than the sum of its parts, basically make it a concept album or even just structure songs in a way that they are better together than isolated. I released my fifth album yesterday. By the third release, when I realized everything I said in this paragraph, every album of mine had some sort of trick, reasoning or even gimmick to make something more than a box of songs. And if you've ever listened to a well-crafted concept album, you know how valuable that is. If your albums are just packages of unrelated songs, sure, you should legit take SonicScoop's advice and just stop making albums, they won't do you any good in the streaming era. But be aware that you're missing an opportunity to give more meaning to your music. And before you ask, I don't have an audience at all, maybe in part proving the point made in the video. I know some marketing tricks from videos like this one, and let me tell you, I just can't dedicate myself to it; cultivating presence in social media is something I couldn't do to save my life. But moreover, if being successful means I have to sacrifice the art in my music for the sake of business, then what's the point? I'd rather have subscribers in the second digits if that's the price of pushing the envelope as far as I can.
I think the idea of releasing a single every so often is a good idea. But I would also suggest that you don't want to release all the songs you might have for an album each week or so. Release just enough that people can become acquainted and familiar with your music and style. Then when it's time to consider an album as a collection of your songs, include the ones the listeners recognize, but also include a number of tunes they haven't heard before. It's kind of like giving your listeners an additional or exclusive bonus to hear something new from you. If you release an album that is a collection of songs that you've already released, it might sound fine, but it might be kind of boring. Adding new things to the collection, could grab their attention because you're giving them a collection of tunes they're already familiar with, but also giving them some tunes that are new to them. I don't think a person has to start out doing live shows to build an audience, although doing live shows is fine too. A classic example is the Beatles rise in the US. Before they ever set foot in the US, they released a few singles. The first one I remember was Please, Please Me and the flip side Love Me Do. Neither, did all that well on the charts. They released She Loves You as the A-side and I'll Get You as the B-side. She Loves You grabbed attention, but still floundered a bit. Finally, Dec. 1963, they released I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand, both of which were A-side quality and both went right to the top of the charts in the US. An album followed and was also a monster hit, kicking off what became "Beatlemania". Before the album was released, they already had a hefty collection of songs in reserve they could choose from. Before then, no one in the US had ever seen the Beatles do a live show. It wasn't until after those recordings became smash hits, that the Beatles kicked off a live tour in the US in Feb. 1964. That it worked like that for them, doesn't mean it'll work the same for everyone. It's also worth noting that some music can't easily be done live for any number of reasons. The point is that the Beatles hadn't done any live shows until after their recordings had became successful hits. The point is that it's not a good idea to release all your songs over time as singles, then release a collection album containing just those songs. Put in a number of songs your audience hasn't heard before as an added surprise for them. Before deciding to release an album, it's a good idea to have a lot of songs in reserve to choose from and others set aside for a future album.
Daniel McBrearty wow, insightful aren’t you? the man is obviously not just doing this as a charity project, he’s trying to supplement his income. next time feel free to skip 60 seconds forward. it takes about as many brain cells as it took to write your comment
...The artist's story....yahhh, an example is Darryl Singletary and how he met his 2nd wife, how they made him break his jaw during contract talks to give a more "Country" look, and how he chose traditional C/W music to do at concerts to keep up the "Old Style" rather than drifting over to "Pop"...
Ok so I know nobody gives a shit. But When I first started in music. All I want is to record an full album I didn’t care about releasing random singles to see what people think/try to build a fan base Hell I didn’t even care about releasing a “Meet Dylan Shupe” EP I always wanted to do an full album Then I learned about B-Sides so now I’ll write 30 songs then put 10-15 songs on the final album Pick 4-6 songs to put on an B-Sides EP pick 7-9 songs to put on an B-Side album exclusively on audiomack And pick one song to release as a non-album single. The shit that I write/record will always be release in some way shape or form. Anyways I’m done ranting. My album “Blood on the walls” is available now. Go check it out (whenever you feel like it)
Nearly 100% of music released should never be heard. Most single songs these days by most suck, therefore albums by such writers are no better than the radio filler.
Truer words were never spoken! Good to hear somebody name the emperor's new clothes! I HATE today's insane junk. Do you favor any earlier decade? I think the 60s were the high point, the 70s-80s produced many treasures but it was a fall off the cliff thereafter.
@@scronx I'd say the 60s through the 80s were the prime of modern music, with only exceptions afterward, with more of the exceptions being in the first half of the 90s. There needs to be another phoenix like phenomenon as when the Beatles broke onto the scene, but in a bigger way this time.
@@caseyspaos448 Aware? You can't get away from it. The kicker is the Rolling Stone lists of the greatest 100 albums of all time etc -- they're heavily weighted to when popular music was real. Every time I try one of these "amazing new artists" in TH-cam the stuff's just atrocious. Here is what I wrote Brent Walsh after the ad for his anti-smoking campaign was shoved at me by YT: "Sounds like a great project, but as a rock musician you're sure to be professionally contributing to a deadly if mostly overlooked mass addiction: extreme volume levels. I googled for some of your lyrics -- they're miserable, obscure and rhymeless. Searched 'I the Mighty' in TH-cam, and the first song video I tried was so repulsive in every possible way I couldn't even take a minute of it, and I'm a lifelong rock fan. "Best of luck with your crusade. But you, Sir, are doing with ROT MUSIC what Big Tobacco is doing with smoke -- feeding millions of people's addiction to DECADENT ANTI-CULTURE."
This wasn't a "long story short". It was a short story long. Why 2 much reparation (you made each point at least three time, but I got it the first time). In short (irony) you had way two many choruses, and NO middle 8. That said, the podcast was very interesting, and it certainly brought various themes together. So thank you. I will return, but I'll look forward to a little more self editing next time (maybe write it out first).
Album is passe...nobody buys music anymore...just release a music video on Social Media and TH-cam..all you need is a Laptop and a USB interface....seriously, it costs just a little money to release a decent music video, you can get cheap good used DSLR for video on ebay... even if you dont have a drummer, a realistic software like EZ Drummer can do it for you.....bottom line, release a couple of your best songs...don't get high expectations off it but of course remain positive...then wait for the audience feedback...if it clicks then go to the next level
i dont make music for other people i do it for my self,its a dream,,im 55 year old,,its about time,,i dont care if any people like it,,,I like it👍
you are still young , check out Raja Ram (1200mics) or Goa Gil still playing live @ parties all over the world 70 y old, you could still be playing live for thousands of people like Deadmau or Armin having fun , meeting people ,experiencing stuff if you wanted to
I'm in the same boat, only I'm within "spitin' distance" to 61. About 40 years ago I made my living as a musician on the road. Now... it's just home studio fun. That said, all of us musicians have egos to feed and the desire to have other people like our work will always be there. There are over 180 million tracks on Soundcloud alone and every one of those music creators wants to be "loved". It's all good.
i make music for myself but still people like it, all the artists around me tell me that my music is something else, the only thing i struggle with is creating an audience
@@johndoumba6965 i love you for this comment.
sometimes making music like one or with one person in rehearsal and the process of just playing and feeling the vibrations yourself it's like enjoying the trip. You don't have to be a superstar. If music makes you a better person, happier, just because you've learned one more trick today, then it's already affecting the rest of the world.
The ultimate strategy: never release any music, period lol
no release songs to create audience do other stuff like shows and then work on a full album
I am the best artist in that case
Nothing wrong with making an album just make sure you make it your best.we need to keep albums alive !
I believe that spending time and energy recording a song, or multiple songs for digital release or even a tangible copy in 2022 is a complete waste of time. It was extremely hard to be discovered in the 80's and 90's and that was before the launch of MP3's, digital downloads (Napster, Frostwire) and now ever worse with TH-cam and Social Media. Too many amateurs flooding the market with mediocre crap, too many processed loops and beats and we have gotten away from traditional song writing that had any significant meaning and required real talent to not only play, but to actually compose and arrange the songs. Hate to state this, but no one really cares anymore about new bands or new music because it's all rehashed BS. Music died in the early 90's after it peaked in the 80's.
"Don't create art unless you can make money, that is all that is important, likes and ads.." Says the business person, not the musician.
thank you...
I'd rather great artists learn a small bit of marketing and business savvy enough to support themselves to continue making great stuff more often than remain "pure" and disregard all self preservation and put out significantly less because they have to work full time.
Man... its hard to get what you really mean here. But i feel the message.
Well, he doesn't say "don't create art" he actually advised to release singles every month. He just tries to say that reaching people is as important as making music. And as an amateur musician i can agree with him. Also we shouldn't forget we're not living in the 70's anymore, just like he also said.
I don't even know him btw. I just found him today. Just think he's right.
This year a significant amount of music, and more importantly a new sound came to me, and I was able to compose an instrumental guitar album that was released earlier this month. I have been using it to raise funds for a friend with heart condition and they are selling, I do not have any regrets!
That’s wonderful to hear! And I’m so glad you are able to help your friend.
In a way, you are demonstrating two of the main points raised here. One of them is that of you are going to release an album, it helps to have a preexisting audience you can tap into, and it helps to have a story or a mission or a cause-something else to offer in addition to the music-that audiences can connect with as well.
It seems like you found both of those things on a very genuine way, and were ultimately able to help both your friend and your listeners because of it, and add some additional meaning to their lives. That’s the goal! And it’s wonderful to hear about.
I hope you can take your successes there, learn from them and keep on finding ways to make your music have a positive impact on the world around you, whatever that may mean.
@@JustinColletti Thanks, Justin - I have to say I have enjoyed your channel for quite awhile: I appreciate your mission, and in my own simple/novice way I used a LOT of the mix and mastering concepts you have taught in your videos while making the album - in a very real aspect (even though I'm sure you would have done much better job of it) to whatever degree it is an improved recording, your thumbprint was on this project as well. There are many audio engineering channels on TH-cam, but VERY few with truly authoritive instruction. Thank you Justin, for helping me make better music.
I've got a couple of records and have produced many others for other artists. One of the big benefits of holding off is that the songs themselves will evolve and grow as you perform them live over a period of time. You also see what works and what doesn't via audience feedback and response. All of this will lead to a stronger record full of the best version of the best songs you have to offer at the time.
Promot Ed
Just don’t over think it. I’ve seen others do this and take too long to release any music.
@@RodneyD Same can be said for the process of making the record once you start. Know when it's done and walk away! But that's another topic. Peace me' Brother.
@Your Momma Nor Caruso or Fred Astaire... The point being we are living in a very different world.
I'm recording an album, simply because it's a lifetime goal. I created a challenge for myself to write, record and produce 12 songs in 12 weeks. I'm currently in the middle of week 3 :)
Nice. That is a fine reason and goal. Here’s hoping you get everything you want out of the process!
If building an audience is the goal, I’d consider releasing them one at a time to start. If it isn’t, just do what is most fulfilling to you personally.
@@JustinColletti thanks, yes, I've been releasing them every Sunday evening. Think I might get more serious about it And start a TH-cam channel and vlog about the process. I wonder if anyone would be interested in that 🤔
Sweet! Share it here if you do and let us know how it goes.
Justin Colletti wow, thanks. I will :)
@@officialWWM
Having a record of the making of an album would be motivational.
Very good advice for doing grassroots marketing and planning a strategy in advance. Can be applied to any small business.
How can it be realistic to first create an audience and then release music for them? How can they discover music they can’t listen to? My own experience is that the only thing I can do as an unknown artist, is to make the very best music I can, release it and spread the word. I have discovered many new artists by hearing their album or singel.
I liked this a lot. Several of my favorite currently active bands were around for years and even touring before they released an album, there was something mystifying about that and only being able to hear them through youtube vids and bootleg recording before finally seeing them live after several years. They are more theatrical, but that just goes into their aesthetic and story.
Here's another reason to make albums; No one else is writing compositions as good as you are!
Steve Kusaba, What do you mean?
@@bssitsmmsunrr Lets take an extreme example. Suppose Bach was reincarnated and producing music. Whether or not people aware of it, he should produce as much as he can, leaving great music for mankind.
Music from the Centrifugal Satz Clock, the 47 hour largest musical piece in the world have fantastic music in it! Its not stultified copycat music but inspired gems!
Yep..you have to fill social media with a trail of clips going every week to develop a following..and some live streams and concerts in between...until you get a big enough following...than release a product to sell...have a plan in advance a focus on who your audience is
I really enjoyed listening to you Justin. Your advice was timely and resonated with me. Thank you.
Hi Justin. I’ve just finished an album and the things you say make so much sense. 👌
I love how calming this dude talks. Like if hes a friend who really know what hes talking about and telling you “dont worry, its all fine” and comes up with solutions. It openend mi mind a lot
THis is very helpful. I also just like hearing you talk :)
Thanks for the kind words Sierra. So glad to be useful! Hope you will catch more of the podcast in the future. New episodes every week, so don’t be shy about hitting like, subscribe and the notifications bell to catch more :)
-Justin
As a small studio operator, I agree with your points wholeheartedly. Too many new artists are making, recording and producing music that simply disappears into the digital ether. In the physical realm, these "albums" are those boxes of unsold CDs in your storage room or bedroom closet. Probably still in the original boxes from the CD plant.
What about if I have an audience already but its not that big (around 1000 people, I want like 1 million one day)? My album sold only 70 copies, but I've gigged to 4000 people before at one gig and they all liked my music. I think the trail of breadcrumbs idea works but it's just so hard to get it to the next level. I got all my music mastered professionally but I'm just finidn git so hard to get paid gigs. People don't want to buy music they can get for free. any advice is much appreciated. I think I may need to define my image more and get bigger on other social media.
Word! It speaks to another fundamental thing: have a plan! It's amazing how much time I spent mucking about doing "stuff" before doing things for a purpose.
I just discovered your channel. Your my new favorite. Thanks for your work! ❤️
Solid advice about fan engagement. I just subscribed!
Excellent vid. I can vouch for the advice, especially regarding pre-production and audience building. In this day and age, if you want a chance at being a successful recording artist... these things are an absolute must. One thing I didn't really hear, is that pre-production can save you MANY expensive studio hours. It's a beginners mistake; one you can easily avoid by following his advice.
Thought this was great thanks Justin. Interestingly, you reinforced a strategy that I plan to follow. Can you pls produce some content on social media marketing ideas, maybe with examples that other artists have tried and gained traction with? Thanks!
But what are the boards on the wall behind you?
Justin's panels are made by GIK Acoustics.
i needed to hear this. I am making work but building my audience at the same time. a song once a month is a good strategy.
i missed your video for 12 years. learned it the hard way :)
You are a good man. Thank you-it was nice to see your video! I was obvious to see,that you want the help the people:
Sage advice, Justin. Thanks for this. I definitely recommend TH-cam as a great way to build an audience/fan base. Start making vids and like Justin said, document the journey! Cheers
My albums up on Spotify, check it out
When you got the time
The calm voice of reasoning.
"we're back to the 1940s" - yeah, you just echoed exactly my feelings about this endeavor. Trying to think of new strategies after releasing a long stream of unheard albums, and just after making a new album, and then deciding to not release it, I've already decided to start doing monthly covers (tried to do that during 2019 but failed, reverting back to jams and other similar undeveloped material for TH-cam). So this is helping me to crystallize that strategy: not releasing any album in 2020 and start getting to work, keep doing TH-cam but with more elaborate material in the shape of covers.
Thank you for these well put together thoughts. Lots of good advice! :)
The point is: Tell a story. Everyone loves stories since they were kids. A song, an album or the process of making it, fashion, aesthetics, background, mindset can all be good stories.
Agreed!
Passionnate music listeners like story indeed, but other pepole just want a fucking idiot chorus after 30 seconds ....
🎩🎩🎩☕️👍Hey Justin...I’m a little late to the party, but I totally connected with this discussion. It’s important to know who you are, what you’re in it for, and how you’re going to deliver your work to the world. Otherwise, prepare to be disappointed. This is very thoughtful and sober minded stuff. Thanks 🙏 ...and you do mastering, yes???
Great to hear John! And yes I do. Please reach out anytime of I can be of help.
Very best,
Justin
I really appreciate this presentation.
Apparently I am at the perfect point right now.
I have two recordings so far, that I consider worthy of being released.
But I had no idea how to move forward, now I have a basis for my strategy.
Thank you!
great advice! too late for me ja! i ve already released my ep, but from now on i know what i have to do
Making songs and playing them live to build an audience comes far before making an album. But you do need to have songs in order to play. This is what local music scenes are for.
Yeah this seems so weird to me. Just make a bunch of music and learn how to play it and go out and find local event spaces to play gigs, paid or not. Get better and better and keep writing and developing your sound while connecting with your community. You’ll get known by your peers and the social momentum will help others get to know you. The album would be pretty far down the line as you develop your songs till it is good and you’ve tested the stuff against an audience so you already know what sucks and what works.
It helps to have a local music scene. Very hard to break into sometimes depending on where you are
2410 73691 definitely depending. Where I am it is not hard at all. I mean it is as hard as work is, but there are no special barriers to booking shows.
If I were to really consider it as an artist who wants music to be their life, they might seriously consider moving to a city where this isn’t totally saturated or controlled by industry. Somewhere where a social name can be made to build up to move to somewhere where bigger opportunities are.
In my case it’s Phoenix. 6th or 5th biggest metropolitan area but very open for the most part. Gentrification is well on its way here, but not really in the music scene. You won’t make it here, but you’ll be able to hone and get known for sure.
Really though it’s about how dedicated one is to doing this. Some magic marketing formula isn’t how to build an audience, but moving to a place where it’s possible to connect more effectively and grow until you can go somewhere harder to break into is a viable method.
If you don’t get known somewhere easy, you probably aren’t good enough to hit it big anyway.
A wealth of information! Thank you so much!
It's really tough without extensive touring and funds for marketing.
Good point, I know if I recorded a good album, then it gets completely ignored or overlooked, it really is a depressing thing? Makes you wonder if you’re any good? Maybe I should just quit! That’s one of the biggest reasons I don’t waste my time on original music? I should, but I don’t take rejection good!
What's your opinion on advertising merch on social media? Slowly and every once in a while once you've already got a fan base?
I can't imagine someone recording and not caring if other people hear it or not. That's weird to me. Thank you for your content. It's great!
love this channel man
it does make sense though. when you analyze some successful artists at this time, and I mean the billboard ones, they entered the music scene with single after single building an audience.
Great perspectives , many thanks for this..😍
cool... nice vibe. keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
I don't know if this will make sense to you but I'm not looking to make a career out of music but i love singing and i started working on a project that is more of a therapeutic album for me more than anything else and i decided that i want to make it in an alt just to have something to look back to as years pass and be able to say " i managed to do this " it's basically just cover songs and i want to make a few copies just to give to friends and family
You get an audience, by developing your craft. It takes hard, work and dedication. Stay away from alcohol and drugs. Stay focused on the music and work on offering something unique. Play out and constantly find opportunities to get out there.
Sorry, but this is dumb. For an artist, creating art comes first. Everything else is secondary.
You seemed to have misunderstood his point. Go ahead and write songs and perform them live. Allow your music to grow organically and record songs when they're ready. After 10 or so songs, you will have enough for your "album". But don't get stuck trying to make an album at a premature phase.
This isn't advice for artists, it's advice for career musicians and song writers. There's a big difference. Artists gonna art, nothing can stop us.
Where can I listen to the podcast?
The most popular places are:
iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sonicscoop-podcast/id1448330690
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0gEpIPfGsScZPowycksAY5?si=ffnIYXooQ9G-1Eut3rhh0Q
Google Play: play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/I4jq7fbpfdojejo34kzuolxkfci
TH-cam: th-cam.com/users/sonicscoopvideo
OMG never heard something that were so much into my head! Just subscribed!
great info. Appreciate the knowledge.
Great stuff - thank you Justin!
I have a question. Im a producer and i make both hip hop and Dance Music. How do i promote both since my audience is completely different depending on the music I make?
Great video, needed this advice. Subbed.
Yes. I do it for myself and my nieces/nephews when they’re older. But I also make albums for therapy as a creative way to work through stress and boredom. Sure I like seeing people listen to my stuff and check it. I release singles on Windows Movie Maker and get 10-15 views. But I won’t stop if no one listens. It’s about future legacy rather than present audience. But I also see myself as great for my present audience because I make 1-2 original songs a WEEK!
My songs are written and tight as a ticks ass on my end. Because of Covid I have been real gated to hire a local band that I don’t know but the producer does. I havnt been able to build an audience here in the Carolina’s cuz I moved here right when Covid hit. If I were still in California, I would have an audience in spades. This will be my 15th album. It will be my last. Maybe a future single or ep. I’m gonna eat, sleep and drink this advice. What do you have to say about the CV19 factor and how it applies to this situation? Thanks! Njosings
Great video....which I wish I would have watched years ago. Thank you!
In a nutshell, know what you want and get after it.
Will you be at NAMM? You are so bright it’s fucking crazy
This is incredible...
I remember getting into Green Day/Offspring....it was a Music Video, or a hosting by them of a show, a short interview and a couple song clips and THEN BOOOMMM---listening to them.
Even being BAD at this, it is part of the game. Anything worth doing, one will be terrible at at first because mistakes get made and it leaves room for improvement.
Green day was Good by the 1st 2 albums.
Offspring even sucked at their debut
I've been seriously writing songs since the early 80s and have over 300 songs I want to get recorded before I leave this place. I'm 55 and do wish to create a living from my music. I suck at building an audience. I plan on recording 10 song albums until they're all recorded. ADHD sucks.
best of luck!
Can i collaborate? Lets done your songs and record it..
I'm a sessionist. ( guitar)
My goal is to release 26 singles in 2020. 1 single every two weeks.
Bobby Johnson
Heck yeah fam. And it’s totally doable. I got my own studio with top notch gear. I got an artist and we’re already working.
Whoah! Admirable. Let us know how it goes.
That’s a good goal
Thanks for giving permission to make an album.
Thanks for the video. I'm having trouble understanding how is anyone expected to get an audience without their best effort in music. If not an album maybe a few tracks or an EP. First you create a product and then sell it -if your personality accommodates salesman features.
im gonna make an album now
I made some songs and realized there's no traffic on any of the sites. I have to make the traffic. Screw that LOL
A lot of salty comments. He’s clearly not saying to quit being an artist. He’s saying to be a working artist you have to think about your audience. Even Da Vinci needed to get paid.
Excellent, thank you.
Hmm. The basic point seems absolutely true - build an audience before you sell them an album - yet also circular. How do you build an audience if you have no recordings to show them? In my experience (whic is fairly limited), setting up and promoting shows is a lot easier if you at least have some sort of rough recording to show to people. In particular, why would bloggers and playlist makers care about you a year before you release an album if you have nothing to give to them? Anyways, thanks for sharing, it's thought-provoking stuff - but if I'm honest, also seems to be taking a "controvesial," either/or kind of position for the sake of clicks.
Great video. In this day and age I think remixes/re-arrangements have not been utilized enough. They have been used by dance artists since the 70's but so many genres outside this have never realized that with a few tweaks they can release an entirely different arrangement of the recording they are working on - it doesn't have to be a dance mix, it could be an alternate arrangement of a metal song for instance, where the sections are moved around and instruments are brought in and out, effected differently and re-amped etc - not very difficult at all with today's tech.
I's funny to read the comments and see who has interpreted the vid as anti album which I don't think it is at all - I think the gist is more about making quality content and having strategy rather than making 10-12 songs for release just because you think you need to, hence his comment about back in the day when singles were the thing. I also think that releasing 1 song a week is too quickly for people to digest. I would be giving them a month at least.
99% of music history that we love never did this.
There are many possible answers to this. Two of the most appropriate that come to mind are:
1) 99% of music history that you love wasn't made in the 21st century.
2) The period where leading with a debut album was actually successful approach was the anomaly. It was practically a flash in the pan existing from perhaps from about 1967 or so to 2000 or so.
It isn't what really worked in 1960 or 1950 or 1940 or 1930 or 1920, not to mention 1820 or 1620 or 420, and so on :)
So 99% of music history (at least) was not about albums at all. Even most of modern music history wasn't.
-Justin
Yeah and then the Internet and streaming came along. Get with the times or get left behind. No point in arguing with reality cuz "muh nostalgia".
Great advices!
Indeed
great podcast , thanx man !
Can you explain this in 3 minutes instead of 27?
Probably, but it might not have as much of an impact on people who get to the end. We're looking to help people change their behavior, not just hear a good idea once and then keep on moving along.
I say this to almost every artist i've produced (urban music), they end up with the same amount of traffic as if they've released an OK single with cool video.
I plan to donate money to large live streamers with the right demographic to promote my music . Twitch and TH-cam will sometimes have 15 to 20k people watching live and a $100 donation gets their attention
Very inyteresting. What are those wall plates behind you?
I agree with this a certain extent, but.. I'm not really sure if this is what you're getting at, but music consumption is moving away from albums and towards individual songs. I think it's perfectly fine to record *individual songs* and make a video for them and drop a series of those without a pre-existing audience, using social media to build one - hell, that's how pretty much every pop/hip-hop/EDM act operates, and every rock act with any sense should be doing that too these days. These days I'm always surprised to see massive megastars who've never released an album and just have a bunch of Soundcloud uploads/videos and features to their name. If you just drop an album without singles and videos to lead people towards it, yeah, nobody's going to listen to that.
"music consumption is moving away from albums and towards individual songs" That happened about 10 years ago.
@@Alyric-now in some genres, and it's always been the case for straight pop, but I'm talking about in genres where it hasn't traditionally been the case.
i make tracks as i want. when i have 7-10+ tracks, i find out how they can fit together on an album. this way i create 2-3 albums pr year
How many artists from the '60s released an album before anyone had ever heard of them?
Totally different time and circumstances. Do you have a giant label and marketing apparatus supporting you? Do yo have limited competition? Are you selling into a mature album-focused market?
These things change over time. In the early 60s and prior, singles were the part to initial success. From the later 60s through the 90s, albums were dominant. This has changed back to singles again.
No what era you’re in, what works, and if you’re really curious, why.
Hope that helps!
-Justin
And that, ladies and gentleman, is what disgusts me so much about the current music culture. You see, this advice might be commercially sound, but you know what I missed? Artistic considerations. And music is supposed to be fucking art.
You mentioned three reasons why release an album, so I expected one of them to be what an album is able to offer that isolated singles cannot, but that was nowhere to be found!
You see, the album is like a symphony. People sometimes forget that some of the most famous classical songs are actually single movements in four-part symphonies, which give more meaning to these movements. Despite albums being born merely as forms of distributing songs in limited storage, there is so much potential to make albums tell an overreaching story, to make songs that come together in such a way that the full body of work is more than the sum of its parts, basically make it a concept album or even just structure songs in a way that they are better together than isolated.
I released my fifth album yesterday. By the third release, when I realized everything I said in this paragraph, every album of mine had some sort of trick, reasoning or even gimmick to make something more than a box of songs.
And if you've ever listened to a well-crafted concept album, you know how valuable that is.
If your albums are just packages of unrelated songs, sure, you should legit take SonicScoop's advice and just stop making albums, they won't do you any good in the streaming era. But be aware that you're missing an opportunity to give more meaning to your music.
And before you ask, I don't have an audience at all, maybe in part proving the point made in the video. I know some marketing tricks from videos like this one, and let me tell you, I just can't dedicate myself to it; cultivating presence in social media is something I couldn't do to save my life. But moreover, if being successful means I have to sacrifice the art in my music for the sake of business, then what's the point? I'd rather have subscribers in the second digits if that's the price of pushing the envelope as far as I can.
One song a month?! What happened to the good old days, a 11 tracks album once in 5 years
Do this instead..........
DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO ! ! !
DON'T TELL US WHAT NOT TO DO!!!
:-D
@@SonicScoop HAHA.......
Touché!
@@SonicScoop IM GONNA DO IT
Well spoken
I think the idea of releasing a single every so often is a good idea. But I would also suggest that you don't want to release all the songs you might have for an album each week or so. Release just enough that people can become acquainted and familiar with your music and style. Then when it's time to consider an album as a collection of your songs, include the ones the listeners recognize, but also include a number of tunes they haven't heard before. It's kind of like giving your listeners an additional or exclusive bonus to hear something new from you. If you release an album that is a collection of songs that you've already released, it might sound fine, but it might be kind of boring. Adding new things to the collection, could grab their attention because you're giving them a collection of tunes they're already familiar with, but also giving them some tunes that are new to them.
I don't think a person has to start out doing live shows to build an audience, although doing live shows is fine too. A classic example is the Beatles rise in the US. Before they ever set foot in the US, they released a few singles. The first one I remember was Please, Please Me and the flip side Love Me Do. Neither, did all that well on the charts. They released She Loves You as the A-side and I'll Get You as the B-side. She Loves You grabbed attention, but still floundered a bit. Finally, Dec. 1963, they released I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand, both of which were A-side quality and both went right to the top of the charts in the US. An album followed and was also a monster hit, kicking off what became "Beatlemania". Before the album was released, they already had a hefty collection of songs in reserve they could choose from. Before then, no one in the US had ever seen the Beatles do a live show. It wasn't until after those recordings became smash hits, that the Beatles kicked off a live tour in the US in Feb. 1964. That it worked like that for them, doesn't mean it'll work the same for everyone. It's also worth noting that some music can't easily be done live for any number of reasons. The point is that the Beatles hadn't done any live shows until after their recordings had became successful hits.
The point is that it's not a good idea to release all your songs over time as singles, then release a collection album containing just those songs. Put in a number of songs your audience hasn't heard before as an added surprise for them. Before deciding to release an album, it's a good idea to have a lot of songs in reserve to choose from and others set aside for a future album.
You just basically said record an album and release a few "singles".
GREAT TIP:)
5 minutes of talking before we start hearing about what you *should* do, about 1 min of which is plugs for various other online stuff ... hmmm.
Daniel McBrearty wow, insightful aren’t you? the man is obviously not just doing this as a charity project, he’s trying to supplement his income. next time feel free to skip 60 seconds forward. it takes about as many brain cells as it took to write your comment
...The artist's story....yahhh, an example is Darryl Singletary and how he met his 2nd wife, how they made him break his jaw during contract talks to give a more "Country" look, and how he chose traditional C/W music to do at concerts to keep up the "Old Style" rather than drifting over to "Pop"...
Ok so I know nobody gives a shit. But When I first started in music. All I want is to record an full album
I didn’t care about releasing random singles to see what people think/try to build a fan base
Hell I didn’t even care about releasing a “Meet Dylan Shupe” EP I always wanted to do an full album
Then I learned about B-Sides so now I’ll write 30 songs then put 10-15 songs on the final album
Pick 4-6 songs to put on an B-Sides EP pick 7-9 songs to put on an B-Side album exclusively on audiomack And pick one song to release as a non-album single. The shit that I write/record will always be release in some way shape or form. Anyways I’m done ranting.
My album “Blood on the walls” is available now. Go check it out (whenever you feel like it)
What if you are making an album because you want to and enjoy the process??? Music doesn't have to be for money
TRUE. If you don't care about finding an audience or making music into a career or side hustle, you can ignore all of this advice.
-Justin
Nearly 100% of music released should never be heard. Most single songs these days by most suck, therefore albums by such writers are no better than the radio filler.
Truer words were never spoken! Good to hear somebody name the emperor's new clothes! I HATE today's insane junk. Do you favor any earlier decade? I think the 60s were the high point, the 70s-80s produced many treasures but it was a fall off the cliff thereafter.
@@scronx
I'd say the 60s through the 80s were the prime of modern music, with only exceptions afterward, with more of the exceptions being in the first half of the 90s. There needs to be another phoenix like phenomenon as when the Beatles broke onto the scene, but in a bigger way this time.
@@scronx I feel sorry for you and Peter, and everyone who is unaware of all the amazing new artists and the music they producing today.
@@caseyspaos448 Aware? You can't get away from it. The kicker is the Rolling Stone lists of the greatest 100 albums of all time etc -- they're heavily weighted to when popular music was real.
Every time I try one of these "amazing new artists" in TH-cam the stuff's just atrocious. Here is what I wrote Brent Walsh after the ad for his anti-smoking campaign was shoved at me by YT:
"Sounds like a great project, but as a rock musician you're sure to be professionally contributing to a deadly if mostly overlooked mass addiction: extreme volume levels. I googled for some of your lyrics -- they're miserable, obscure and rhymeless. Searched 'I the Mighty' in TH-cam, and the first song video I tried was so repulsive in every possible way I couldn't even take a minute of it, and I'm a lifelong rock fan.
"Best of luck with your crusade. But you, Sir, are doing with ROT MUSIC what Big Tobacco is doing with smoke -- feeding millions of people's addiction to DECADENT ANTI-CULTURE."
@@scronx Ah. Rolling Stone. You are talking about pop. Yes, good pop is indeed rare. As is good nuevo classic rock.
Dont release an album if it aint beatles!
Makes sense
This wasn't a "long story short". It was a short story long. Why 2 much reparation (you made each point at least three time, but I got it the first time). In short (irony) you had way two many choruses, and NO middle 8. That said, the podcast was very interesting, and it certainly brought various themes together.
So thank you. I will return, but I'll look forward to a little more self editing next time (maybe write it out first).
Many of these elements in grace vanderwaal’s model
Ang original album sinisingitan ng local singer binababoy why
Album is passe...nobody buys music anymore...just release a music video on Social Media and TH-cam..all you need is a Laptop and a USB interface....seriously, it costs just a little money to release a decent music video, you can get cheap good used DSLR for video on ebay... even if you dont have a drummer, a realistic software like EZ Drummer can do it for you.....bottom line, release a couple of your best songs...don't get high expectations off it but of course remain positive...then wait for the audience feedback...if it clicks then go to the next level
no money no album... I do no t care making money! but I will press 12" what ever the price, MY music I love it, the inspiration is free!
Don't worry about it