Bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ashley Lewis, who is also our Marketing Manager here at Bluegrass Today, has released an ebook resource for unsigned artists titled The Indie Release Roadmap.
Not only is Lewis an experienced independent artist herself, having released a pair of albums and numerous singles on her own, she has assisted dozens of other bluegrass acts similarly situated to do the same through her work with Bluegrass Today. She also has earned a Music Performance degree with Presidential College Honors, and has been recognized several times by the Illinois Arts Council for her playing ability and her dedication to community outreach.
Now she has put all that knowledge into an easily-accessible, digital print format, including workbook pages you can fill out in the ebook, or print to complete separately. The Indie Release Roadmap has helpful checklists for getting you song or project into the important online distributors, dealing with performing rights organizations, embedding the proper metadata into your digital track, and getting listed with SoundExchange.
As Ashley puts it…
“I want artists to feel empowered. To understand what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and how it serves their music.
This isn’t about chasing algorithms or burning yourself out trying to go viral. It’s about building a release you’re proud of, and putting it into the world with intention.
The book also deals with important concerns prior to recording, and after getting your track up on the various streaming services. She covers putting new music into the hands of radio programmers, and includes templates for social media use. There is also information about branding, post-release promotion, basically all the things a record company would do for you if you were signed with them.
The crucial point is that if you choose to work independently, without the resources that a label brings to the table, you’ll have to do all that work yourself. Many new artists don’t even know what all those various tasks and processes even are, much less how to do them.
The Indie Release Roadmap by Ashley Lewis is available now online for $29, where you can also see more detailed information about what’s included, and download the free Master Checklist from the book.
