One question a lot of independent musicians ask is "Im Finished Recording, Now What?"

Our topic in this article is what to do once you've finished recording, mixing and mastering a song or an album at a professional recording mixing and mastering studio. So we assume you've gone through the processes or Pre-Production, Recording, Mixing and Mastering and have a final product ready to get out there. The key questions here are how you think about marketing and distributing your music. These are often areas that are very uncomfortable for people nowadays but are important to consider none the less.

On the distribution end of things, technology has completely changed the way people consume their music. The press has focused on a lot of the downsides to things like file-sharing and the like that have interfered with the traditional manufacturing model where physical products (CDs, etc.) were sold. The most interesting areas of the future of music are in the digital realm. It's been tricky for people to figure out how to monetize that. First of all it's important to think about how you want to get your music into people's hands - for example, do you take the final digital recording you made and do a vinyl release? In that case you would need a lacquer cut of your master recording. For A CD release, although less profitable nowadays, are still important. In this case you would need a master CD for manufacturers. You are now able to do smaller runs (50, 100, 500 units) of CDs which is more advisable than doing a large run to start, especially if you are a new artist with little or no previous sales. In terms of a digital release it means getting MP3s you can spread across your website and other social media sites online.

On the other side of it is marketing and promotions. A lot of musicians struggle with this aspect of their careers but it's one of the most important areas an independent musician can focus on. The internet is a great tool for promoting your music. Making sure you have a main artist website and making the most of the major social media (MySpace, Facebook, etc.) sites is important. They all allow you to upload and share your music and grow your fanbase. It's often very inexpensive if not free to set up and use most of the sites and services available online. It is important to not neglect a main artist/band website (dot com address) or personal artist/band blog in favor of social media, even if it is a minimalistic one. Also do not neglect the traditional ways of promoting your music - playing live shows, getting radio play, press releases, etc.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of how to get your music out there and increase your fanbase so you can be a successful independent music artist.