How to publish your own Christian music without connections to music industry or money

***Just a disclaimer, this post has affiliate links and I might receive monetary compensation for the products and services offered on this blog post.***

Hey guys! So today, I’m going to show you guys how to publish your own music.

But first, let’s have our moment of silence. 

At this time, I would like all of us to take a moment of silence and pray for all of the things in our lives. Pray to God to help us to become the best musicians that we are supposed to become. 

Now back to the show

Publishing your own music

There are actually a few ways on how to get a Christian song published. It all revolves around the fact of how many people are already making a buzz around your music. 

Or how influential you are in your area. 

But if you are reading this, I’ll assume that you have never published your own music and you just want to read up on how to get started. 

Let’s start talking about a few key concepts that you need to know before going off and trying to get a publisher to sign you a deal. 

What are Christian music record labels looking for?

So, if you’re talking about a major record label or even an indie record label, they will want to see something first. And when I say something, they want to see albums already sold! Or concerts that are packed, or maybe a large following on the internet, or it could be that you are making a living off of your merch, or the fact that you have written songs for people already in the industry, or maybe pictures and videos of you performing live. 

Which is why when people say, “How to get a Christian song published?” It’s kind of like a can of worms because there’s many aspects that go into getting a song published. It’s kind of an uneducated question by someone who doesn’t know much of the music industry. At one point you’re not going to ask yourself, “How to get your music published?” You’re going to ask yourself, “How much work can I put into it?”

but I digress.  

I know this sounds “counterintuitive”, but hear me out. 

Record labels are in high demand because they offer so much! 

Therefore, even small indie record labels receive hundreds if not thousands of people wanting to give them demos or their EPK each day. 

This is in a way good and bad. It’s bad for the beginning musician who wants to get his album already out there. But good because it makes sure that only good music and musicians are getting through. 

Therefore, before you get signed to a publisher or record label, you need to prove that your songs sell and that they have an audience. 

There are a few good reasons why Record labels and publishers want this audience. 

1. They are going to invest money in you, so they want to make sure that you are a songwriter that works. They can’t give all that money to someone who is lucky, they need to make sure that you work.
2. Since they will be investing money in you, they need to see that your music has a proof of selling out. I mean, would you invest in a pair of shoes that doesn’t sell like hotcakes? Likewise, they want to make sure they can make money off of you.
3. They are going to give you a big bonus when they sign you, more so for major record labels, and if they sign you and give you 500,000 USD, you’re going to have to pay back all of that money. And the record label actually loses money if you don’t do well. So they give you that money because they know that you’re a starving artist and that you need resources for the time being so that you can make more music and live! Haha! Also, in standard publishing contracts, it actually takes a long time before you get your royalty checks, I forget but I think it’s about a year or two before you get your royalty checks, so in technicality, you need to make that 500,000 last for 2 years before you get a reimbursement. And those first checks that you get aren’t going to be for you, they will be for the record company to pay back those 500k. So you have a little longer than your first royalty check to go before you get your first, “all to yourself check”. 
4. If all else fails and all of their investing and planning doesn’t go as planned and your album is a commercial failure, then your audience that you’ve already built will serve as a cushion for the fall of your album. It might even pay back the record company so you kept those 500k that the record company gave you. 

Now that we know what publishers want, how do we get published?

Let’s first talk about self-publishing

Self-publishing 101

So when you self-publish, you are your own record label. That means that you’re going to have to find a way to get on Itunes or Google play or Spotify. 

That means that you’re going to have to promote your own music yourself. 

That means that you take all the risks, invest your own money, find your own people, and build your career. 

I know that sounds like a ton of work, and it is, but it’s the first step in your music career. 

There are actually a few platforms that you can pay for in order for people to listen to your music on Spotify or google play or any other streaming platform.

Distrokid is actually one of them. 

CD baby is another one. 

And they are inexpensive.

It’s 20 dollars a month for having your music on almost all of the streaming platforms that are on the internet: Google play, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. etc. 

But there are a ton of those services out there. 

However be warned, they take out a cut of your sales. ALL OF YOUR SALES: streaming, albums, singles, anything that has to do with spotify or apple music, it will take a cut from. And i’m not saying just spotify and apple music, but all of the streaming platforms. KEEP IN MIND, THAT THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE GUIDE TO DISTROKID. Therefore, they can charge whatever they want and it would be okay. I say this because I don’t know all of the things that they charge, so don’t quote me on it. I again I say, THEY CAN CHARGE ANYTHING and it would be alright.  

In this digital age, it’s really all of the sales that you need in order to make a really impressive EPK off of those digital sales. 

There are also some music distributors that do it for free and instead how they get paid is that they take a cut from your music earnings. And it’s actually well worth it considering the fact that it’s out there for free. I currently use Routenote

If you want to up your Music game and get a serious set of mixing speakers then get these Yamahas HS7s

Promoting your music yourself

So it’s one thing to make and put these songs that you have on the internet. It’s another thing to get people to look and listen to your music. 

Here is an article that is really good as to how to build your own following on X

Here is how to increase your following on a blog

Here is a link to my own page as to how to promote and market your own music

This is where promotion kicks in. 

I’ve already talked about promotion on this blog but for the sake of this guide, I’ll mention it here. 

You need to use social media in order to promote your music. However, it’s not a walk in the park to get millions of people to listen to your music. You have to work hard to develop a following. 

A blog or a YouTube Channel is the musician’s best bet, in my opinion. Some people find success on Instagram, I personally think that the blog is the best. 

Why? It’s because you develop skills that you can use for different jobs that aren’t music related. 

If your music blog takes off, you could make a living writing in other blogs and it would be good. Also your writing skills will improve and people do want to see those kind of things. 

All you really have to do in order to write in a blog and to get it in front of millions of people is to just write in it. 

Literally.

Well maybe I shouldn’t say Literally. To be honest with you that’s a lot of the work that you need to do.

Around 80% I would say, of the work that you need to do in order to gain big traction in your blog is to make great content.

The other 20% relies on website maintenance, updating blog posts, putting your website on google search console and using the metrics on google search console to improve your website, and monitoring your stats for anything interesting that’s going on in your website.

But other than that, Literally most of the work that you have to do in order to make a successful blog is to write in it. 

Of course you have to write content that people would want and are good. 

But there’s the thing, blogging websites and YouTube need your content in order for it to survive. If they keep getting a fresh batch of content each and every day, then their websites will always be visited. 

So they trade up exposure for content. And if your blog has a lot of content, then they will give you more exposure on their website. It’s the same for YouTube, the more you make content, the more exposure you get. 

Google runs similarly to that. 

So I’ll say it again, the number one thing that you could do to make a following is to create content. Whether it be for a blog or a YouTube channel. WordPress.com says something similar. 

However,

There’s a catch to all of this. 

Even if you did write a lot, it would take a lot of time before your efforts paid off. 

The bloggers that you see on the first page of google have been writing for years! 

I even hear that it is extremely hard to get your blog to rank on the first pages of google within your first year. It’s possible, but it’s so hard! You have to write a lot of content for that. 

I hear that most people, if they put in the work, will make their blog successful within two or four years. It’s a tough time, but it’s well worth it. And that’s according to Ghost.org

with all of these video editing, music production, writing, and just overall heavy computer work that you’ll be doing, it’s important that you have a really good computer to go along with it. check out this Computer by Dell. I have been making music for 10 years now and I know exactly the specifications musicians need on their computers so yeah here you go hope you like it.

Just a reminder, I’m not guaranteeing that your blog will work and be successful within that time frame. I’m not guaranteeing that your blog will be successful at all, but everything in life is a risk and you could do it if you put in the work. Again, I’m not guaranteeing anything.

Just for more reference here is another page that I wrote that talks about how to market your music.

Now is the time we’ve all been waiting for: Major and Indie record labels

The work doesn’t stop here, it’s just that you’ll have more resources when you’re out and about doing things. 

I would suggest actually to keep writing in your blog to promote your music. Fans want to see that personal connection between artists and themselves. 

By this time, It’s really not a walk in the park to get signed to a record label, you first have to hire a lawyer in order to talk to people in the industry. 

And that lawyer will want to hear your music. 

Then after you hope and pray that the EPK(Electronic Press Kit) that you sent is the best possible EPK, 

Then they might contact you. 

Afterwards, remember your boy German who taught you all of this. I would appreciate it. 

There is one tip though that I have for those people who have signed to a record label. 

That bonus that you get, try not to spend all of it until after your royalty checks come in. As a matter of fact, Try not spend much of it at all. 

Why? Because it has been known that some artists who fail in their music career end up owing the record company all of the money back. And don’t get me wrong, the record company has already done research on this artist so they know that he can pay it back, but it is going to leave you in the hole for a few years before you can pay back all of that money. 

If you are going to spend it, spend it on music related things: Lessons, instruments, programs, equipment, organizations, books, etc. etc. If you are going to be in the hole, do your best to make it up with your music and sell more albums than the previous one. 

I mean this is the record company, so they are kind of messing with you by doing that, but hey no one said it’s easy to be a musician. 

Hey guys, if you want to ensure that you have the right music theory for your songs, then be sure to buy Guitar Theory Revolution. It’s a music theory book that has all the right info about music theory. Go check it out.

Honestly if it was me

Honestly if it was me, I would just self-publish. If a record company gets in contact with me and wants me to sell music with them, then maybe I’ll take it, but I’m not going to go out of my way in order to get signed by a recording company. 

There’s a joke amongst musicians and they say that when you get signed to a record company, you are “selling your soul away” Why? Because you become a slave to that record company. 

You work for something that almost could never be possible. In essence, you are working to pay off a debt that is really impossible to pay off and the only beneficiary is the recording company. 

Really the only musicians who get out of this debt are the biggest musicians that are out there: Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Rhianna, Jay-Z, Garth Brooks, Lil Wayne, etc. etc. 

Cheer up! 

Cheer up musician! I know it’s hard being a musician, but no one said it was easy! I mean I’ve heard of college students who didn’t finish paying off their student loans until they were 65! In a way they “sold their souls” right!

So even if you did get into that debt that I’m talking about, don’t stress, nothing is impossible with God and God is good to his people. 

Pray to God to help you in those times and he will. 

Remember everything revolves around God, so if God is leading you to music, follow that call. Don’t let anything scare you. God’s calling is the story of a lifetime.

Hey guys, here is a beginners guide on content marketing to promote your music.

Here is an article I wrote to give you guys some words of encouragement so you can keep going in your music career.

Here is an article about how God continuously saved my music career.

Broadcast

I sure hope that I have been an inspiration and a hope to you all. Please remember if you want to go to heaven, then believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven. 

Remember to pray, read your bible, go to church, and love God above all else. Like, comment, share, subscribe, and I will see you all next time. 

German Gonzalez, signing out!

Hey guys! Here is an article that talks about how to record your own album.

Ever wondered if you should play at bars or nightclubs to gain a local following as a Christian musician?

Here’s the ultimate guide on how to get signed as a Christian recording artist.

*Pro tip: Record labels have a rule of thumb and the rule of thumb is if you can sell out in a small area first, then you can sell out in a large area later. So to a record label, it’s much more impressive to sell 5,000 albums in a city, than it is to sell 5,000 albums nationally. So work hard at publishing your music at first and try and sell out in a small area first. It will help you.

Hey guys! If you liked this blog post, then check out my music on Spotify right here, this is my latest release and it’s called Peace in your heart. I included the cover art just to add a bit of flare. I wrote, produced, sang, mixed and mastered this entire song and I did the artwork. Hope you guys like it. Here are the QR Codes to some streaming services but it’s out right now all Major Platforms.

I’ve also included links to my songs in case you don’t want to mess around with the QR Codes.

Here is a link to my song Peace in your heart on Spotify

Here is a link to my song Peace in your heart on Apple Music

***Here are a few more links to another one of my songs. This song is called the Answer***

My song the answer on Spotify

My song the answer on Apple Music