As an artist you know streams are very important, here are some obvious seeming methods to increase YOUR streams and grow your fanbase! As a producer, when artists I work with win, I win too so let's grow together!

1. Professional Artist Profile

• This is the first impression many new potential fans will have of you so make it look good and match the vibe of your music
• Make sure all links on your artist profile are updated so fans can follow you there as well!
• Have similar artwork as on your social media accounts so when fans try and find you, they know they are in the right place!

1. Engage Your Fans on Social Media

• Same as before, your social media is the first impression Many new fans may have of you so have fun but keep it related to your music journey.
• Reply to all comments and make your fans feel a connection to you and know you are glad they listen to your music!
• Post things people can interact with. ex. polls, or a contest for fans to make your next song's artwork!
• Be consistent, try and find a loose schedule to post stories and reels to keep a constant stream of new potential fans checking out your music!
• LINKS, you would be surprised how many artists I find on Instagram that have no links to their music! Have a link tree or something similar so that no matter how someone listens to music, they can easily find yours!

1. Collaborate!

• Find artists similar in size and style to you and collaborate on songs with, this is a very easy way to make connections and potentially double the amount of people that hear the song!
• Double the promotion! With another person working on the song, they will be just as invested in promoting it as you are.

1. Release Consistently

• Singles>Albums. In the Industry today albums are only really effective for huge artists like Travis Scott or Kanye, for upcoming artists having a steady stream of singles keeps fans engaged better over time than albums do.
• This also allows you to get fan’s feedback quicker so you can take it into account on the songs you are working on.
• You can also always re-release singles together as an album after they are out! You just need to connect the ISRC when releasing!

For anyone still spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars to record in a studio, do yourself a favor and read this quick guide I made! Recording your own vocals is a whole lot cheaper and easier than you think!

1. Setup your recording area

• Choose a room with a lot of stuff in it, preferably carpeted. The more stuff in the room, the more the unwanted sound waves will be absorbed and dispersed.
• Make sure there are no unwanted noises, turn off fans, TVs, etc.

1. Equipment

• Can all be found for about the price of one studio session! Save even more buying used.
• Mic - I recommend the standard Shure SM58 - $99 (New)
• Audio Interface - Focusrite Scarlett Solo $99 (New)
• Pop Filter - Don’t cheap out, spend at least $20 for some quality.
• Headphones - Closed back so no sound is picked up by the mic.
• Mic Stand - Pretty much up to preference.

1. Daw (FL Studio, Logic, Ableton, etc.)

• Use whatever you are most comfortable with. If you have never used a DAW, watch some videos and do some research on which you want to learn.
• Most DAWs also have some sort of free version you can try out before you buy.

1. Mic Placement

• Mic should be about 8 inches from your mouth when recording, try and stay the same distance away for the most consistent recordings.
• Set up the pop filter about 3 inches from the mic. This reduces harsh “p” sounds.

1. Recording Process

• Watch a tutorial or two on how to use your DAW to record vocals.
• Record things as many times as you want! Punch in as many times as you need!

1. Prepare the recordings for your engineer

• This will make your engineer LOVE YOU!
• Get all your takes timed how you want them
• Arrange the vocals so that any takes that will be mixed the same are together, make sure there is only one vocal take playing in one channel at a time though). For example, make one long audio file of all adlibs for the whole song, rather than 15 small audio files.
• You should end up with 3-5 ish “stems”. For example, “Chorus Main”, “Chorus Main 2”, “Backing”, “Doubles”, “Adlibs 1”, “Adlibs 2”.
• Export as stems, if you do not know how to on your DAW, watch a video on YouTube.
• Name each file and include Key and BPM
• Zip the files in a folder and send them!