Being an independent musician has never been easy, especially after the steady demise of the record-label era of releasing music. Democratization of the industry was swift and widespread as the streaming giants in Spotify and iTunes took the world by storm, giving unsigned indie acts an easy way to find themselves and their music published on these global platforms. In today’s world, independent musicians and artists do not need to find themselves looking for a publisher for their music, as the generation is only collaborating and working with distributors to send their releases to the top streaming sites, cutting off the middlemen in the process.
With such a paradigm shift in the industry, it is also bound for the other resources surrounding the publishing of music to see a shift to more open and democratized forums. Speaking of which, the first such resource that comes to one’s mind, is, of course, YouTube! The video streaming website has grown in leaps and bounds over the last two decades in terms of popularity and is now also a brilliant resource for independent artists to learn more about their craft and the industry as a whole.
Not sure which channels to follow on YouTube? Read on!
<< 1 Andrew Huang
If you’re an artist looking either for industry guidance or for gear and you stumble across related videos on YouTube, it would be highly likely that you would be looking at an Andrew Huang video. The Toronto-based YouTuber and musician in his own right has an infectious energy about himself, and his clear explanations on informative videos make his channel a wealth of information. There is also some rather enjoyable content on his page in case you’re looking for some entertainment! The full package is rather enticing, and a subscription to this channel would be highly recommended, with all the fun videos included!
<< 2 Andrew Southworth
With 16 years of experience in independent music behind him, Andrew Southworth is a fantastic addition to any upcoming artists’ subscription list. Easy-to-follow explanations about intimidating topics including merch, social media ads, and other related subjects are the highlight of his channel, and his philosophy of being completely DIY means that all the instructive videos range from basic recording, mixing, and mastering to album artwork, music videos, and marketing. All-in-all, Southworth proves to be the ideal one-stop-shop for all of an indie artist’s production-related questions and answers.
<< 3 Drumeo
For every instrumentalist out there, it is important to keep honing your skills throughout your life, as music has no end to learning. To aid drummers specifically in their quest to get even better at their craft, Drumeo provides, in their own simple words: ‘The world’s largest collection of free drum lesson videos!’ That one-liner would be the perfect way to describe the channel which has swiftly become arguably the world’s #1 resource for quality drumming videos, featuring stars like Larnell Lewis from Snarky Puppy among others. If you’re a drummer, this channel is a must-subscribe and we promise you won’t regret it!
<< 4 Marty Music
For any young kid picking up a six-string today and having access to YouTube, the most reliable source of guitar learning would easily be Marty Music by Marty Schwartz. Clad in his signature hat and having an iconic introductory line, Shwartz is a bit of a YouTube legend for guitarists. The aim of the channel is rather simple, where Marty himself plays and teaches the most popular songs to his subscribers and viewers to allow them to learn all the great guitar songs, making it a rich source of learning and a must-subscribe on YouTube if you are a guitarist, especially. After all, there's never enough reason to not have more of Marty in your life!
<< 5 Rick Beato
Producer, composer, audio engineer, and music theorist – that is what Rick Beato likes to call himself, but most of YouTube knows him as the person with one of the vastest expanses of experience in the music industry behind him. Having worked with some of the biggest names in the industry in a studio setting, his understanding of the scene is impeccable and he can thus provide crystal clear insight about the newest happenings including various trends. It is also a delight to watch him listen to the top tracks on Spotify and assess them to give upcoming artists a better understanding of what works well in compositions. Overall, this is another must-have on your subscription list!