When I first decided I wanted to start performing as a singer-songwriter, I completely immersed myself in research. I would spend hours watching courses, listening to podcasts, and reading books and articles.
And I realized there is a LOT of information out there. It's no wonder so many people get overwhelmed!
I wanted to write this post to break down some of my favorite resources for you guys.
Pat Pattinson's Songwriting Course on Coursera
This course is a great into to lyric writing. Pat Pattison is a bit of a quirky personality (and there were times when I a little annoyed by his theatrics) but I can't lie, his course did get me thinking differently about songwriting. He has some cool ideas about defining different types of rhyme and shaping your melody using speech patterns.
D.I.Y. Musician Blog + Podcast
The D.I.Y. Musician Podcast was one of the first resources I got into - and it is SUCH a valuable resource. In different episodes, they cover everything from legally selling a cover song, how to get royalties from SoundExchange, tips for touring, you name it, they've got it. I'd honestly recommend going back to the beginning and listening through all the old episodes - the music industry news section may be a little out of date, but most of the content will still be relevant.
Arial Hyatt's Social Media House Course
Arial Hyatt's Social Media House was the most helpful resource I found on growing my social media presence. I'm not going to lie, I was (and still am) pretty terrified of posting on social media, but this course helped me understand the different platforms much better, learn how to grow my audience, and know what (and how often) to post. It helped give me that little push to get out there and start doing it.
Bob Baker
Bob Baker's book, Guerrilla Music Marketing was the first music marketing book I read, so it holds a special place in my heart. :) It has TONS of great ideas and but it's definitely worth the read! Bob Baker also has tons of courses and resources for artists and creative people - Check out his website here.
Distrokid
Once you've written and recorded your music, you'll probably be wanting to get it on iTunes and Spotify and all those other places. There are a few different platforms you can use (here's a breakdown), but I personally chose Distrokid, because it's the most inexpensive. Basically, all you need to know is Distrokid rocks. ;)
