There’s this sparkly dream, this myth about getting “discovered” in the music industry. You post a YouTube video of a song you’ve just written in your bedroom, with just you and a guitar. The recording isn’t particularly great, but it’s enough. Enough for some incredible producer to just happen upon it and bam! You get signed! Just like Billie Eilish! Right?
Let’s back it up for a minute. The story that’s been spun that Billie and many other chart-topping sensations became famous “accidentally” is a bit of a lie. There was a lot of work involved. Eilish didn’t just become a pop sensation because she uploaded one (very well-recorded, may I add!) song to Soundcloud on a whim. She worked hard to get there.
Billie was in choir for years. Both of her parents are in the entertainment industry and homeschooled her and her brother so they could focus on their art. Her and Finneas released two songs on Soundcloud before “Ocean Eyes” went viral. And initially, the siblings were super excited when it got 1,000 listens.
All this is to say that being an independent musician takes dedication, and just because your first song or video doesn’t go viral doesn’t mean your music career is over. Getting your music out there takes dedication, you’ve gotta be willing to stick with it; and as independent musician Conner Pearl says, you’ve gotta be in it for something deeper than the numbers. Before they took off, Billie and Finneas certainly were.
In such a saturated market, starting to put your music out there can feel ridiculously daunting. So I (virtually) sat down with Conner — who most recently released his sophomore single “Scared to Lose” on all streaming platforms — to put together an indie artist toolkit to help you get your music out there and enjoy the process. We’ll walk you through establishing a mindset going into your production process, the logistics of producing and distribution, and how to constructively consider results.
*Note: This Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity*
The Mindset
ZaZu: What advice would you give to someone who wants to release their music, but isn’t sure where to begin?
Conner: Just do it. The reason I didn’t for so long is I was afraid of what people would say or just if people wouldn’t like it. There’s so much judgment in the world and on social media. I remember thinking, like, I just don’t want it to fail. But [now] when I look at my [tracks on Spotify], and I see the numbers under my name? That can’t be what you focus on. You have to focus on the process. You have to focus on it making you feel better.
Be intentional about it. I was spinning my wheels for like a year and I knew I wanted to release music, but I just didn’t know how. And then I [took the time to do some research and] I finally figured it out. Just doing it is better than spinning your wheels and twiddling your thumbs waiting for it to happen. Is it gonna work? You just have to just do it.
ZaZu: Yeah. Because I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? It doesn’t get the numbers you want. And then you say, Okay, try again later, but at least some people heard it and thought it was cool. And it’s out there.
Conner: [It seems like our] whole generation is searching for achievement rather than fulfillment. And those are two things that are so different. And I think the people who are able to achieve the highest, they’re not chasing achievement, necessarily. They’re chasing fulfillment. I’m not doing this. So everyone in the world can hear it, or I become Billboard-topping, chart topping hit, you know, like, I’m doing it, because it feels good.
ZaZu: Lessons learned? Enjoy your process, stay true to yourself, and let go of expectations. If we don’t set up numerical goals in our mind, how can we fail? Putting your music out there is a success in and of itself, don’t lose sight of that.
The Logistics
ZaZu: So once you’ve written and re-written the song and you’re feeling confident in it, if you’re not a producer yourself, how do you go about getting it professionally produced?
Conner: You have to chase after the people who are most successful, who focus on their superpower. This latest song that I just released, I was connected to [the producer], from someone who lives in my house who also releases music and she had worked with him. And he’s really, really good. We’d sit there and I’d record something. And five minutes later, it sounded radio ready. He’s so good at sound design, and so good at producing. If I could get like, a few f**king days on end [with him], I can’t even imagine the type of stuff I can make.
ZaZu: So ask other musicians who they’ve worked with, see if you have a similar vibe, if you get each other. And I like what you said about playing to your superpowers. You know how to write the melodies and get the lyrics and sing it amazingly. And then you can give it to the producer who has superpowers that are different than yours, but you understand each other, and you can say “this is how I want it to sound.”
Conner: Yeah, exactly. And that’s the thing, too, it’s really good when you get into a collaborative mode. In my opinion, I think a lot of the best music that’s made is collaborative. Because like I said, Everyone has their superpower. I think finding the producer who is able to create that sound that you’re imagining in your head is so powerful. [The collaborative process is also about striking a balance,] accepting advice and accepting criticism, but also being really true to what you want, not being afraid of being assertive and persistent on the sound you’re looking for.
ZaZu: Definitely. Switching gears to the technical side of things, once the song is finished, mixed and mastered, ready for the world. What service do you use to release your music?
Conner: Distrokid. It does work well. I submitted an edit to them, and they did it quickly.
ZaZu: Yeah, Distrokid’s a good one. For people who aren’t familiar with it, it’s basically a platform where you pay $20/year and whenever you’re ready to release music, you just upload it there with some additional information and it puts it on all the major platforms under your preferred artist name. Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, you name it. I feel like that’s a really good resource for indie artists to use, because it’s easy. And if you need to make an edit to a title or something, they edit it really quickly, like you said. Anything else you use for distribution?
Conner: I also use SubmitHub. You can buy credits, basically. So say I want to send my song to 30 people, I buy $27 in credits, and it’s basically $1 or it’s between $1 and $3, to send it to blogs and playlists. They have to listen to it [and then they can decide to add it or not].
ZaZu: Interesting, so it’s kind of like a paid advertising pitch. I’d never heard of that one before.
Conner: Yeah, basically you’re pitching it to a bunch of people at the same time. And then they have to provide you feedback.
The Results
ZaZu: Speaking of feedback, how do you usually evaluate your results? Obviously, you’re doing it for you, and the first thing is finding fulfillment, not about the numbers. But since you’re hoping it can be a potential career path, what have you learned from that market feedback and how do you use it?
Conner: [One thing I’ve learned is that] I think I just need to get a body of work, something like cohesive like an EP. The feedback I got from my first one, “Subliminal Feeling,” was “Oh, this is too commercial and upbeat for us.” The blogs were like, “This isn’t deep enough.” And then I released “Scared to Lose,” and it’s like, “Oh, this is too slow for us.”
ZaZu: So having something more cohesive might help people see the songs as a package and take pieces from each in terms of tone and meaning. Makes sense. But you have to take it with a grain of salt, right?
Conner: [Yeah.] Because at one point, someone’s going to get it. If you’re staying true to what, like you believe in what you feel what you’re making someone is gonna eventually get it and be like, “Hold on, he made a point.” I’m waiting for that. But I just have to get a bunch of stuff out first.
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As Conner continues his journey as an independent musician and starts this process all over again for his next release, check out his currently-released songs “Subliminal Feeling” and “Scared to Lose” on Spotify, Apple Music, and more! You might find them on some of our playlists, too 😉
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