Artist career

Common mistakes independent artists make

They are almost all the same, and almost all about timing rather than music. Releases are delivered too late, artists go quiet the morning after release day, plays get bought, and the artist name is spelled differently on every platform. None of these is audible in the track — all four are visible in the results.

The four costliest

• Delivering a few days out — past the editorial pitch window.
• Stopping work on release day, right as the algorithms start looking.
• Buying streams — it is not an audience, and platforms can see it.
• Spelling your name differently and splitting your own catalogue across profiles.

Quieter, still expensive

• Not agreeing splits before release.
• Sending people to five different links instead of one.
• Changing genre and visuals every time something did not work.
• Checking numbers daily and deciding on emotion.

What to do about it

• None of these can be fixed retroactively, but each one is a line item in preparing the next release. One cycle with proper lead time changes more than any ad spend.

In short

• My release already came out quietly. Is that it? No. A catalogue has no expiry date — a track can move later if you do not bury it.
• What should I fix first? Your name and your links. Cheapest to fix, and everything else depends on them.

Next

• When to release your first single
• What to do after a release
• How to know your music career is working
• The independent artist's career