In the digital age of music distribution, overabundance is a blessing and a curse.

Listeners have no shortage of fresh, interesting music to listen to, but hidden gems are often buried, lost in the shuffle of weekly releases. What about under-the-radar artists, going unheard by the masses?

Small, independent artists make some of today’s most exciting and forward-thinking music, but a lack of promotion can keep their music from reaching the ears of potential fans.

In the spirit of friendly recommendation, here are 10 talented artists carving out their own unique stations in the music industry.

These artists come from disparate genres– you can find sounds you know you’ll like, and expand your palate along the way.

Angel Bat Dawid

Instagram: @angeltheoracle

Listeners: 31,000

Genre: Avant Garde Jazz

Spotify: Top Tracks

Angel Bat Dawid sings, speaks, and screams if she needs to, expressing herself over a bold, cascading soundscape of horns and drums.

She is unafraid to lean into abrasive sounds to convey the pressing need for black liberation, stirring and surprising her audience.

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Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers

Instagram: @melbryantmusic

Listeners: 39,000

Genre: Alternative Rock / Folk

Spotify: Top Tracks

Mel Bryant and the Mercy Makers are a three-piece group from Nashville, Tennessee, cooking up a fresh blend of folk, rock, and pop.

Their confessional lyrics release the frustrations of adult life over raging, insistent guitar lines. Their songs are cathartic and honest.

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Honey Butter

Instagram: @honeybuttertheband

Listeners: 59,000

Genre: Indie Pop

Spotify: Top Tracks

An EP and a series of singles have established Honey Butter’s style: smooth, clean pop grooves, overlaid with bright vocals.

All in all, a glossy, promising beginning, smooth and clear as water. Catch them on the way up!

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Blood Incantation

Listeners: 32,000

Genre: Death Metal / Dark Ambient

Spotify: Top Tracks

Shifting from their prior sound, which was death metal woven with strands of psychedelic rock, Blood Incantation’s recent record “Timewave Zero” unfurls a dark, subdued ambient soundscape.

This bold shift in sound might foreshadow a future untethered to the genre, which is all the more reason to keep an eye on them.

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Sobs

Instagram: @sobshaha

Listeners: 39,000

Genre: Dream Pop

Spotify: Top Tracks

Singapore-based trio Sobs showcases shimmering layers of sound on their debut “Catflap”, a collection of silky dream-pop tunes fringed with intricate guitar plucking.

The hazy vocals and laidback melodies are easy to drift through, but there’s plenty of complexity for the attuned ear to enjoy.

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Maassai

Instagram: @Maassai

Listeners: 1,700

Genre: Rap / Hip Hop

Spotify: Top Tracks

Maassai delivers a thoughtful, raw perspective on life with her 2021 album, “With the Shifts”.

The beats are fuzzy and faded, infused with jazz and grit; her rap is peppered with clear-eyed observations on generational trauma, spiritual growth, and activism.

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Jane Inc.

Instagram: @janeincmusic

Listeners: 7,600

Genre: Disco / Electronic / Pop

Spotify: Top Tracks

Carlyn Bezic, known for her work with U.S. Girls and duo group Ice Cream, brings fans a new solo project with Jane Inc.

Her 2022 project, “Faster Than I Can Take”, offers meditations on post-industrial life through glitchy, glistening synths, with elements of disco and rock.

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Blanck Mass

Instagram: @blanckmass

Listeners: 44,000

Genre: Dance / Industrial Electronic

Spotify: Top Tracks

Get ready for grimy, pulse-racing beats that border on gruesome. Blanck Mass’s electronic sound is explosive and packed with character, using chopped vocal samples and ambient basslines.

The listener can never safely know what to expect: the music has moments both overpowering and quietly unnerving.

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Marquis Hill

Instagram: @mhillsounds

Listeners: 29,000

Genre: Jazz

Spotify: Top Tracks

Marquis Hill’s dizzying technical skill has brought him acclaim as one of the most talented jazz trumpeters alive today.

Most notably, his Modern Flows series catapults classic jazz structures and sounds into the contemporary landscape, bringing hip hop and R&B influences to post-bop beats.

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Royal Coda

Instagram: @royal.coda

Listeners: 81,000

Genre: Post Hardcore

Spotify: Top Tracks

Kurt Travis, the vocalist of Dance Gavin Dance fame, has lent his talent to Royal Coda’s expanding catalog of work.

These post-rock songs are driving, exciting, and packed to bursting with memorable riffs. The group shows great coordination and each layer of sound fits together seamlessly.

Today, there are more ways than ever before for musicians to take control of their work and make money from it without the need for studio bosses, record labels, and the like to act as middlemen.

From making the most of merchandising opportunities to live streaming to selling NFTs, the sky is the limit right now in terms of the potential of bands and solo artists to monetize their output and secure investment if they’re new on the scene.

Sell Royalty-Free Music

Musicians can make money by selling their work as royalty-free music, which can be used by people who want to find music for their promotional videos, for example, or an online advertisement.

This is usually done by signing up to a platform specializing in the selling of royalty-free music; when your track is bought, you’ll receive a percentage of the sale price from the platform. 

This can be an easy, passive way to make money from a track that you’ve written, especially for the royalty-free market, that has the potential to continue to generate revenue for years to come.

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Create and Sell NFT

The term music NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token and relates to a digitalized, unique item. In contrast to their Fungible cousins, NFTs can’t be exchanged for an item of the same value – each token is totally unique.

They are an effective way to establish or confirm ownership, too: NFTs are underpinned by blockchain technology, and as such, they provide rock-solid proof of this ownership.

An NFT could be the one-off digital version of an album, alternative album artwork, or an unreleased track; they can also relate to experiences, such as a backstage pass at a certain concert.

Many artists like NFTs because they represent a way to connect directly with their fans; this can lead to some important symbiotic relationships.

For example, a fan could invest in the new band they love by buying an NFT – as well as injecting funds into the band; this NFT could be a very lucrative investment if the act makes it big. All parties win!

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Use Dropshipping to Sell Merchandise

Selling merchandise isn’t just a great way for bands and solo artists to make money from the actual items up for sale but an important way to boost music sales. Dropshipping can be a good way for small or newly emerging musicians to cash in.

This method of selling means that the operation is undertaken by a third-party company that specializes in this model; the band or artist doesn’t need to keep the product or stock or even handle it directly, as this is all taken care of by the dropshipping company.

And if you need any more convincing? Today, up to 35% of a band’s generated revenue is via sales of merchandise.

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Get on a Streaming Platform

It’s a great idea for musicians to get their tracks on a popular streaming platform to make money from their work, as well as to help get them noticed.

Streaming is becoming one of the main ways that people discover new music, so making sure the music is there to be discovered in the first place is crucial!

While musicians will only receive a tiny amount of money per stream, this can quickly add up – especially if your track suddenly surges in popularity.

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Make the Most of Live Streaming 

Musicians can also use live streaming to sell their work – plus, it allows them to play to audiences worldwide. Bands and solo artists can use live stream shows to raise money through the sales of tickets and by using online tip jars.

To get an idea of just how lucrative live streaming can be, in the first six months of the pandemic, the platform Bandzoogle generated around $400,000 from these events.

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Licensing Opportunities

Getting a track or a selection of music featured in a film, TV show, or advertisement means that musicians will likely be entitled to receive a licensing fee.

These fees can vary a great deal, and you’ll need to ensure that, legally, you fully understand the details of any licensing agreement before signing a contract.

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Use Youtube

Making the most of Youtube to sell music can be a very lucrative idea indeed. As well as using the platform to grow an audience, if an artist’s music is used in any video that runs ads, Youtube pays some of the advertising revenue generated to the rights holder of the track.

Some bands use the services of a digital distributor to help them ensure they’re collecting all the money they’re entitled to, and to capitalize, where possible, on this market.

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Back to Basics

And it’s not just through innovative new means and methods that musicians can sell their work. There’s a big market for vinyl now, and pressing a small run of records can create a valuable artifact that fans will want to own while potentially bringing in some substantial funds.

Live performances, session work, and publishing royalties are all ‘traditional’ methods that remain an effective way for musicians to get their creations out into the world while making money.

Music NFTs are one of the fastest-growing branches within the NFT realm. If you’ve been closely following NFT news, you surely came across a wide range of original, bold, creative, and even downright crazy NFT drops.

From memes to bored apes, to artwork signed by Stan Lee—there’s no end to the ways in which NFTs can be applied, dropped, and promoted. Of course, NFTs aren’t limited to digital art. It’s fair game for any digital asset, including music.

The Kings of Leon was the first band to release an album as an NFT, featuring tokens that unlock special perks such as special albums, limited-edition vinyl, exclusive art, and front row seats to future concerts—for life.

When NFT’s become musical, and profitable

According to an article on CoinDesk, “Bajan rapper Haleek Maul made $226,800 in music NFT sales on Catalog, while his annualized Spotify earnings are just $178.” Maul went on to tell CoinDest that he “…made 81 ETH from five Catalog sales, which at the time was worth more than $250,000.”

The element of profitability doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to the creators themselves. The holders can also get a piece of the pie, as in the case of UK-based FRESHA Records.

FRESHA Records is the combined entity of legendary UK 90’s dance labels, Fresh and Freskanova Records, to celebrate 30 years of dance hits. On March 25, the combined entity will release a collection of royalty-share (LDA) NFTs, dubbed 90’s NOW, based on some of the labels’ all-time biggest chart and club hits.

FRESHA will tokenize 10 classic singles and 2 albums as NFTs for the collection on the OpenSea marketplace, including some of the labels’ all-time biggest hits. 

Holders of the NFTs will be entitled to a 10-year royalty share of the proceeds generated from the source song or album, earned at an annual rate of 15% net prorated all label income and label share, excluding publishing.

The future of music NFTs

This just might be the dawn of a new era in the NFT space, serving as a win-win for everyone in the music industry, from labels to artists, to holders.

It’s safe to say that music NFTs have come a long way since their early days, which mainly consisted of an underground following made up of producers, DJs, and other players in the music industry itself.

It has gone on to become a transformative force, which also creates dialogue as it unites each respective fanbase on Discord who shares the same passion. As stated in TIME magazine, “Before, your fanbase couldn’t be in the label meetings with you. But now we all are the label together.”

There is still plenty of room for disruption for music NFTs because even remixes can be incentivized as an upgradable NFT.

According to the digital agency Blue Manakin, “Upgradable NFTs open the possibility of more efficient distribution of music, that does not have to go through intermediaries and that facilitates the creation of exclusive material, collaborations, and remixes, without the legal implications that often arise.”  

Considering all the opportunities that have yet to be tapped, we have barely scratched the surface of the potential of music NFTs.

Numerous sports athletes rely on music to help them achieve the optimal mentality for training and competition. The issue is, how effective is music in enhancing an athlete’s performance? For many athletes, the answer is VERY.

Slow-tempo music might persuade individuals to remain longer in a game. This implies that when you play at FanDuel Casino, for example, you may put more bets and play for longer periods than while listening to music with a quicker tempo.

Music has been found in recent research to aid athletes in reducing tiredness, increasing their pain tolerance, and improving their mood and motivation.

Additionally, sports athletes who listen to the right music can filter out terror and concern and, in certain situations, refocus their attention on emotions of confidence and achievement.

Coaches have recently increased their use of music in their training programs as a technique to ease the experience of difficult and sometimes tedious physical exercise. 

One strategy for improving team performance is for the coach to utilize inspiring or uplifting music during high-intensity training and quieter music during rest intervals. Music must be changed constantly, and athletes should be polled to determine their musical preferences. 

Coaches may be more successful by having each athlete construct and listen to a playlist of their favorite music for certain sections of their training and visualizing the impact of each song at those periods.

Both music and athletics provide invaluable skills and advantages that not only enhance one’s lifestyle but also complement one another. 

Musical training has been shown to enhance physical coordination and motor skill abilities, and vice versa, that being an athlete may help musicians improve their skills and performances.

While there’s presently no research on the outcomes of those who study music and sport concurrently, some fascinating discoveries provide musicians and athletes insight into how to elevate their performances.

The following are some examples of how music might improve athletic performance for athletes during training and competition:

• Music that’s viewed as motivating has been shown to boost ratings of perceived effort (RPE), motivation, and arousal.
• Music has been shown to motivate athletes to strive harder during exercise and for longer durations until they fail.
• Because music’s rhythmical properties elicit a strong reaction, one might increase their skill and coordination of their kinetic chain.
• Stimulating music has been shown to impact positive self-talk and “in the zone” (flow state) states.
• Music may affect the heart rate in two ways: it can slightly increase it with stimulative music, or calm it down with sedative music.

Is music always the answer to enhanced performance and training? No. Music has been demonstrated to reduce an athlete’s attention span while they are learning new abilities. Additionally, the effects of music are contingent upon how athletes relate to their surroundings. 

Certain athletes want to be associated with everything in their surroundings, while others prefer, and even need, diversions or means to disassociate themselves from a large portion of their environment.

Music has been demonstrated to aid sports athletes who need to disconnect from their surroundings (and, in many instances, their views of their environment).

As an adult, combining music and athletics may open up several opportunities for developing one’s talent and satisfaction in one’s chosen line of employment.

For what seem to be two opposed areas of enjoyment, music and sport are more connected and create the ideal balance for improving and optimizing one’s life.

In general, all sports athletes are advised to include music in their evaluations of their training and competitive experiences.

What’s your favorite sports podcast?

Sport is best enjoyed visually, as our eyes and brains are able to process the intricate tactical decisions, glorious passing movements, and outstanding moments of individual brilliance incredibly quickly.

However, many fans are not able to make it to live events, or watch games on TV, for a number of reasons, so they, therefore, rely on the audio commentary, such as live radio, to follow along with the action.

There are some absolutely fabulous commentators out there, who do much more than just describe what is happening in front of them. They are also able to give us the context of these events and focus on the bigger picture than just what they’re seeing.

If you’ve got a long drive coming up in the next few weeks, and have to schedule it during your team playing live, find the radio station that is broadcasting it, and sit back and enjoy.

Of course, these days live radio isn’t the only audio medium that we can listen to hear all about sport. In the past 15 years, podcasts have become an essential part of our everyday lives.

They can be listened to in your own time, meaning people will often tune in to their favorite shows when they are traveling to work, whilst exercising, or whilst trying to go to sleep.

The range of sports podcasts varies widely. Some will recap recent games. Some will focus on specific teams. Some will talk about the best sportsbooks for finding odds on live games. Whatever you like to listen to, there will be a podcast out there for you.

We will attempt to cover some of the best podcasts out there, for each of the major sports. Many of you will have heard them already, but these can act as great entry points for people who are new to the world of sports podcasts.

What’s your go-to sports podcast for American football?

It’s a huge sport, so obviously it is tough to choose between the hundreds of NFL podcasts out there. There is of course an official NFL one, but we don’t want to choose that. Instead, why not give The Ringer NFL Show a listen. It comes out several times a week, with the first show breaking down all the weekend’s action, whilst the mid-week edition focuses more on the wider NFL stories.

It has some great hosts in Kevin Clark and Jason Goff and has former NFL players such as James Jones and Ryan Shazier give their insights too. It is a great listen, whether you have a passing interest or burning passion for the NFL.

Keeping up to date with soccer podcasts

Where to start? There are a number of great shows that recap the action several times a week, such as Football Weekly and The Totally Football Show. The Athletic has a number of shows, some more general ones, whilst others focus on specific teams. 

Then there are also some soccer podcasts that don’t take things too seriously, such as the Athletico Mince, hosted by Bob Mortimer, or Quickly Kevin, Will He Score?, hosted by Josh Widdicombe. Both are very funny shows and explore a very different side to the world of soccer.

Cricket stays popular as hell

Why are you including a sport that we’ve barely heard of, let alone watched? Yes, many people in North America or parts of Europe have never gotten into cricket, but there are 2 billion other people on the planet who absolutely adore it. It is the second most viewed sport in the world, so there are certainly a huge number of cricket podcast fans out there.

Given it is an English sport, it is fitting that two of the best podcasts come from the BBC. The Test Match Special podcasts perfectly blend the main highlights of the days’ action, with some of the best cricket commentators on the planet, as well as interviews with former players and celebrity fans.

TMS is the more traditional choice, whereas Tailenders is aimed at a younger crowd. Radio DJ Greg James is joined by musician Felix White and the world’s greatest fast bowler Jimmy Anderson to talk about the world of cricket, Jimmy’s experiences, and muck around making fun of each other. Once you ‘get it’, you’ll be a fan for life.

Baseball fans love a good sports podcast

With the World Series going down to the wire, baseball fans will be eager to find a podcast to listen to, so that they are kept up to date with all the recent goings-on.

Baseball Tonight, a spin-off of the ESPN TV show is one that you can’t afford to miss. Hosted by Buster Olney, he perfectly mixes the hot topics, his own views, and listener interaction, to make a very listenable podcast. It is an absolute must for anyone who is a fan of America’s pastime.

As we slowly come out of these unprecedented pandemic times, it was an honor to sit down with Saint Louis-born singer-songwriter Brandyn Burnette to talk about his upcoming EP “F.A.T.E” and the rollercoaster that is life.

The St. Louis artist spoke of how he continued to develop his sound stronger than ever when the pandemic hit. But much like everyone else, he was forced to do things differently.

“The music industry shut down.”

Brandyn Burnette

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Before the pandemic hit, Burnette was spending a lot of time in studios. And was starting to build a new sound, after recently signing with a new management team.

“I’m very social,” he explained.

“I love hanging out with friends, love being in the studio, giving and feeding off energy to my collaborators. Before people started getting into zoom, the music industry pretty much shut down. All my sessions got canceled, trips to other countries, songwriting camps… So it was pretty hard, early on, just navigating life indoors.”

Brandyn Burnette

But within those doors, Burnette had recently gotten into a new relationship which revealed itself to be truly inspiring. “I had so much to pull from…” he said.

From going outside mindlessly to suddenly being stuck inside, we were all confronted with this unpredictably insane amount of time to spend with the same people. Brandyn explained how grateful he was to thrive as a pair with his newfound love in that unprecedented setting.

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Making music in a digital space

Music is a feeling and energy-based art form and there was definitely something strange about engaging through a screen when it became the only way to create.

“It was a whole new world to navigate,” Burnette explained.

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Before that, working with other writers, producers, musicians, “you’d get excited, you could feel it in the room.” Indeed, the digital universe presents a whole new set of challenges.

But the singer-songwriter embraced it: he could work with new collaborators and find comfort in recording from home.

“It felt like a safe space to kind of like explore and to try out different sounds or write about different parts of my life. Some of it was very personal, about what I was experiencing, being somebody who loves being around people, and suddenly being alone with myself.”

Brandyn Burnette

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Sources of inspiration

No artist this year wanted to find themselves writing only a series of COVID-related songs about being in lockdown. And simultaneously, human as we are, there came a point where we just couldn’t get on another Zoom call.

So what are you left with to put into a song? Burnette shared those exact frustrations but sought inspiration from them.

“I started finding myself writing about what I wanted life to be like, which was interesting because I’m usually writing about what life is like. But, you know, I had those memories in the back of my head, so I started thinking about what it was going to be like when things opened up again. It was definitely challenging creatively.”

Brandyn Burnette

Grateful for his creative outlet though, whether on Zoom, FaceTime or simply at home, the artist found peace in just being able to make a song.

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“I was expressing myself and it really helped with my anxiety… Without knowing where the world was gonna be, with tons of people getting sick around me, people losing loved ones, it was [a] very dark time. But to be able to pump up some creativity and kind of still keep moving through that was amazing, it really got me through… Writing songs got me through COVID.”

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F.A.T.E (From Anxiety To Euphoria)

Not only did writing songs help Burnette deal with daily life during the pandemic, it led him to his new, upcoming project: a 7-track EP called “F.A.T.E.,” put together entirely during his time in lockdown working with different producers and musicians from home (including B-Sams).

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“I’m so glad to be an artist in this day and age because I feel like a lot of artists are taking more risks and collaborating more with others outside of their genre.”

Brandyn Burnette

The non-conformity in genre is something that is as present as ever in this upcoming project. Pulling from genres that accompanied him throughout his life, he’s kept with him a mentality he learned from his first ever collaborator, the multi-talented musician Jon Bellion.

Burnette constantly finds himself breaking boundaries and doesn’t limit himself to what his music can be; and he still creates his distinct sound palette.

The journey from “anxiety” to “euphoria” reflects the emotional shift he experienced between broken heart and new love, and all those months in between. He explained it ultimately as an “epiphany moment”, when falling in love pulls you out of the darkness.

“F.A.T.E” is about coming out of extreme sadness and anxiety, into a whirlwind of serotonin and euphoria with somebody new.”

Brandyn Burnette about his upcoming EP

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For Brandyn Burnette, it is all about being 100% present

As he continues to create, the ever-evolving Saint Louis musician is digging for even greater levels of honesty than he recently achieved.

Admitting to spending time under the influence, as it is often conceived and true of the music industry, Burnette recently said goodbye to having a foggy mind and somewhat distorted thoughts. After 5 years of smoking regularly with his former partner, he did feel connected to his music but “not super connected to myself,” he said. “So I decided to live a sober life.”

Writing with a clear head is allowing him to dive into deeper parts of himself and tell his story in a clearer way. “It lets me explore things I’ve gone through that I used to think weren’t cool to put in my music but that are actually really important to talk about. Things I never really explored before, because I wasn’t in the best headspace to do so.”

Rather than glamorizing drinking or smoking as he might have done, the singer-songwriter is looking to dig into more personal things such as overcoming anxiety and other mental health issues, peer pressure, and continue writing to help those around him through hard times.

“My emotions are at the surface of my body now.”

Brandyn Burnette

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It is a challenge, because of the environment that the entertainment industry provides. But as Brandyn explains, “I’m excited see what it’s like to write about life, without something distorting my headspace. Sometimes it’s painful, but it’s thrusting me towards more honest songwriting.”

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Stay tuned for more from Brandyn Burnette

If you haven’t heard them yet, Burnette recently released two of the singles from his upcoming EP “F.A.T.E (From Anxiety To Euphoria): “Addicted” and “Punching Bag”. But there’s more coming.

His new single “Swish” is out today. You can stream it now to get lost in his fresh groove.

And take a minute to follow him on social media and more, and stay tuned for his EP “F.A.T.E” coming to all platforms soon.