The new music industry is rife with tools to help independent musicians deliver their content, facilitate communications with fans, and monetize the music they’ve worked so painstakingly hard to create. From digital distribution brokers (Tunecore, CD Baby) to band micro-financing sites (Sellaband) to artist analytics engines (Artist Data, Band Metrics), it seems like every day a new music technology start-up comes onto the scene, offering musicians a nuanced digital service.

Independent musicians now have a bevy of tools at their disposal which enable them to carve out, maintain, and optimize a web presence, as well as control of their marketing, PR, and distribution. This is democratizing, artist-empowering, and major-label emasculating. Choose any new music industry buzz-phrase you wish. But is this truly the golden age for independent musicians? [click to continue…]