5 Things Every Caribbean Music Artist Should Have

While the reason for this should be obvious, many artists do not use the power of the web effectively to reach their fans. While SoundCloud and Facebook are fantastic for reaching fans, those services could disappear tomorrow. Do you really get excited by the thought of having to start building your fanbase yet again (MySpace cough, cough, splutter) on a new social network. Best of all having your own website, allows you to reach your fans directly and most importantly build your very own mailing list that can be used when you have upcoming events or music releases! We highly recommend using the WP Engine service for hosting your own site as that's what we use for EDM Republic. Other highly recommended platforms include Hostgator and Go Daddy. Do some research to see what's best for your needs in terms of price, storage and bandwidth.

So you have produced the biggest banger since the rise of Hardwell but no one hears it. That's where great PR agencies such as our industry colleagues Theory X and Faux Entertainment come in. They have existing relationships with the biggest music blogs in the world and make sure your talent is heard where it needs to be.

Mailing List = $$$, sounds like hyperbole? Think again, having access to your fans email is much more valuable to your brand than having a Facebook or SoundCloud fan. How many times have you heard fans say, I never even saw your post on Facebook or new track on SoundCloud. Having your own mailing list allows you to inform fans of new releases, merch or gigs. We recommend using one of the following services today to help you build your loyal fanbase: 1) Mail Chimp, 2) Aweber and 3) MailPoet. Our website uses Mail Chimp and we can't praise it high enough for its ease of use and effectiveness in helping us to build our subscriber list significantly.

Apps or services such as Toneden, Click.dj and Fanbridge are lifesavers for artists seeking to increase their Social Media fanbase while having fans listen to their music. With Toneden and Fanbridge for example its possible to give away your dope new original production or remix as a Free download in exchange for fans to follow you on Facebook, SoundCloud or Instagram. This type of tool is simply a must have for all musicians out there.

The year is 2015, there is absolutely no need to wait for a Record Label to pick up your music especially in the early stages of your career with the number of options available for digital publishing. This is where services like Bandcamp, CD Baby and the excellent BitTorrent Bundles used by artists such as Diplo, Moby and Pretty Lights come in. The great thing about BitTorrent Bundles which we use for our Netlabel releases is that you can make the release available for free or paid and you also can collect emails iin exchange for the full release in order to build that all important mailing list of hardcore fans. Now imagine if you utilise one of these services along with proper marketing to your loyal fans. A Label A&R seeing the results and buzz you are generating on your own will be even more likely to pick you up to that dream Spinnin', Toolroom or OWSLA release. We will go into detail on how to start your own label and get it onto Beatport and other digital platforms in the near future.