Release music without a record label

If a record company doesn't take your music, there are a variety of ways to get your music out there anyway! However, it can be a bit tricky to know which is the best option so below we will list out some smart ways to release your music without a record label!

Go through an Aggregator

An aggregator is a service in the music industry that usually offers to release your music for a fee. You then get to keep most of the revenue for online sales and streaming. Aggregators are sometimes linked to record labels, which can be beneficial if you are at the beginning of your career. It's also a very smart way to generate an income at the beginning of your career, as you get to keep the vast majority of the revenue yourself. Examples of Aggregators are Spinnup & Record Union.

Release on Soundcloud

Soundcloud has become a fantastic way to reach out as an unknown artist/producer/writer. Many unestablished artists have found success on Soundcloud and have then gone on to record labels. Soundcloud is useful because it is widely used, and music spreads quickly and effectively if it is liked by a wide group of listeners. This in turn can lead to the music being picked up by bloggers and various reviewers.

Hypemachine

Hypemachine is a website that keeps track of what around 700 blogs are writing about different new artists. They then collect all the blogs as an aggregator and the music that is most listened to on all blogs climbs on their own list. Hypemachine's top list has become a yardstick for how independent artists are doing and is a great way to get promotion for your project if you are running without a record label!