There's an uncomfortable truth in the music business for indie artists. Many of the things we're told to do to advance our careers -- "get your music out there" or "use social media all the time and constantly self-promote" -- aren't helping the vast majority of indies.

95% of indie artists (over 10 million artist around the world) get so few streams on platforms like Spotify that they get paid $0. Their reach is effectively nil. The various social media platforms are so overrun by algorithms and bots that industry experts say only 1% - 2% of our posts organically reach our friends and fans. Yikes. The odds are truly stacked against us.

MusicAlly.com: The saturation of available music is growing but 95% of this music isn’t being listened to (link)

The Observer: Patreon CEO Jack Conte closed out SXSW 2024 with a keynote presentation about how social media companies are working against creators in favor of profitability (link)

 

A better path forward for indie artists

The vt was designed to organically find and elevate indie talent. Over the years we've cultivated a community of devoted indie music discovery lovers, several of whom are artists themselves. We recently learned how to connect to college radio DJs, and after placing a few tracks on college radio we've picked up a small following of college radio DJS who are eager to hear more features from us.

But the most exciting thing about the vt is how it helps every artist who participates in our cover contest improve their core music, ear training & performance skills. It's like a master class in musicianship.

Compare this with the deluge of toxic narcissism and bot- and troll-driven arguments that the rest of the technology world has to offer, and it's easy to see why the vt is so much more appealing for a growing number of indie artists.

 

Here's what artists and music industry insiders say about the vt's cover contest:

"Indeed it was an excellent learning lesson and I'm on a steep learning curve right now.
When you told me about the cover, I had barely gathered the skills to do it, including picking out the melody by ear - I had been practicing doing that for a few months! I look forward to learning and improving and participating. Nothing like getting the first one out of the box! Look forward to hearing more music!"
- Katherine Koyanagi, Koyanagi Law, a boutique indie music law firm

"I was skeptical at first. Making covers seemed like lots of work, and I'm very busy.
Now I totally get it. I don't waste time with social media and streaming for all the usual reasons. Making covers is much more fun and I can see why it's a better use of my time.
Any serious artist would wake up every morning and listen to the vt first thing. They would be working on covers for every new feature. It just feels right."
- Rich Schwegerl (Lou Rawls, Taj Mahal, Ensembles, Island Voyage), jazz prodigy, lounge lizard & early vt feature

"I've been covering the vt's artist features for years starting when the vt was just a blog. It has been a fun and joyful experience singing songs from talented indies. There are talented artists who are making music the world needs to hear, but they are mostly getting lost in the noise.
During our last jazz feature I recorded a cover with my son. He picked out the melody line on the piano and I backed him up on acoustic guitar playing jazz chords. It was super-fun, not only a great jazz lesson for my son and I but also a great music bonding experience for us."
- Nick Blake (Excited States of America, Bluegrass Block Party, Good Little Monkey), indie artist and early vt feature




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Want to get in touch? Email us -- catalog [AT] thevt [DOT] co