With Twitter, you don’t have to be affiliated with a particular music organization or subscribe to a music company’s services in order to see what they’re up to and learn more about their area of expertise. Just click that “follow” button on their Twitter pages and you’ll get a glimpse into those worlds for free! Then you can make a more informed decision when it comes time to join a performing rights organization, choose a distributor, or seek out affordable health insurance for musicians.

To get you started, I picked out a handful of Twitter accounts with obvious benefits, but you can always expand beyond this!

10 organizations, artist services, and music companies you should follow on Twitter

1. MusiCares Foundation

@MusiCares – MusiCares provides help to music people who don’t have safety nets for emergencies. Be A Part Of The Heart!

Website · http://www.musicares.org

2. SoundExchange

@SoundExchange  – A nonprofit performance rights organization that collects royalties from digital streaming music, then pays recording artists and copyright owners. Get played, get paid!

Website · http://www.soundexchange.com

3. ASCAP

@ASCAP – The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers – the world’s leading performing rights organization and advocate for music creators.

Website · http://www.ascap.com

4. SESAC

@SESAC – A performing rights organization ( a business designed to represent songwriters and publishers and their right to be compensated for having their music performed in public) headquartered in Nashville, with offices in NYC, LA, Atlanta, Miami, and London. 

Website · http://www.sesac.com

5. BMI

@BMI –BMI collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers & publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed.

Website · http://bmi.com

6. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM)

@ MusiciansUnion – The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) of the U.S. and Canada represents over 90,000 professional musicians of all styles, helping them earn fair wages, find affordable solutions to health insurance, gear insurance, etc.

Website · http://www.afm.org/

7. GRAMMY U

@GRAMMYU – Official Twitter account for GRAMMY U, the unique and fast-growing community of college students who are pursuing a career in the music industry.

Website · http://www.grammy.com/grammyu

8Better Than The Van

@bettrthanthevan – It’s like Couchsurfing for musicians: find free places to stay for bands on tour.

Website · http://www.betterthanthevan.com

 9. Sonicbids

@Sonicbids – Sonicbids is a Social Music Marketing™ platform that connects bands, promoters, consumer brands and music fans.

Website · http://www.sonicbids.com

10. CD Baby (well, we had to include ourselves at SOME point!)

@CDBaby – CD Baby: indie music distributor & artist resource. Sell your music worldwide, including on iTunes & Amazon MP3 & get expert industry advice. Need help? Ask away!

Website · http://members.cdbaby.com

Also check out:

The Top 100 Must-Follow Music Resources on Twitter, Pt. 1: The Tech Wizards

The Top 100 Must-Follow Music Resources on Twitter, Pt. 2: Music Law

The Top 100 Must-Follow Music Resources on Twitter, Pt. 3: Music Blogs

————

Sell your music on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Facebook, and more!