It’s the start of a new year. As you’re setting goals, starting projects, and dreaming up your ideal 2026, we asked some of our top artists to share the advice that’s helped them grow their careers.
In this blog, you’ll find practical insights you can put to work right away — from fan engagement and content strategy to mental health and career longevity. Learn from independent artists just like you and level up your music in 2026.
LukHash: Own your fan relationships, stay dynamic, and find your niche
Have a direct connection with fans: “With social media platforms constantly changing and organic reach becoming less reliable, I’d definitely recommend building something you truly own, like a mailing list, so you can communicate directly with your audience when your new release drops.”
Be dynamic with your platforms: “Different types of content perform better in different places, and that can change from release to release. For years YouTube has been most effective for my longer-form visuals, which can now also be followed by Shorts, IG reels and TikToks after the release. I have also started using Spotify Clips, since all you need to do is trim videos you’ve already made for other platforms. It’s worth using all of these and posting wherever you have a presence, regardless of how big it is, as I have often found some videos perform better on platforms with fewer followers than expected.”
Find your niche: “I strongly believe that finding your niche, making things you genuinely love, and celebrating it across all your content is what truly brings success and makes creating feel most rewarding.”
The Frst: Stay focused, lean into your strengths, and network
Stay focused with exact goals: “I’m trying to get hyper focused on the exact goals that we want to reach and how to accomplish them. So instead of saying I want to be the biggest artist in the genre or I want to play at a massive venue – getting more specific with it. Be hyperfixated on your goals and you can accomplish them.”
Lean into what you do best: “Hone your weaknesses, but figure out what you can do that resonates with people and start there. For us, it was pivoting toward incorporating screaming and some of the heavier riffs — tuning the guitars down, too. People just like that better from us. So it made sense to do more of that.”
Network, network, network: “Network as much as possible. [When seeking out collaborators], you’re often not just dealing with an artist. You’re dealing with their management, their label, their teams. Then offer value to them before you ask for something. You think big artists don’t notice who their top fans are — they definitely do. Engage with people online. Show support. You’ll be surprised. Just being nice to people will often result in them being nice to you.”
Olivia King: Learn by trying, treat your music like a legacy, and avoid burnout
Fail fast and move on: “Don’t be afraid to fail and fail fast. If something’s not working, you don’t need to beat a dead horse. Just keep going and try new things. The beginning of my career was just throwing things at a wall and seeing what stuck. In fact, I had an entire wall in my house full of sticky notes for my first single and me and my now husband would just come up with crazy marketing ideas and anytime we had an idea, we’d throw it up on the wall with a sticky note and we tried every single sticky note on that wall for my first single and the first single got about 500,000 streams without paying any money for marketing and it was just getting really creative.”
Let your music and content reflect your life in real time: “I’ve just kind of taken my audience along for the ride with me. So whether I’m going through my early girly-pop years or coming into my own as an adult and starting a family on my own – and the struggles that come with that – I’ve just brought everyone along. Releasing music to me is almost like your legacy that you leave behind — a journal of your life.”
Avoid burnout by filming your content in batches: “Especially as a girl. Getting myself all dolled up and ready takes time. If you’re doing that every day and filming every day, it gets exhausting. Now Tuesdays are the day where I shoot all of my content — whether it’s for my music or brand collaborations, I have everything done. On Monday, I sit and I write out all my scripts and content ideas. I have a whole checklist so that going into Tuesday, I know exactly what I’m filming. I go through that whole list, get it all done. Then I edit everything on Wednesdays. That’s helped me build a backlog of content in Google Drive, so I always have something ready to post—brand or organic. When everything’s already filmed, there’s no reason to miss a day.”
Luisa Marion: Connect with fans, trust intuition, and find your sound
Create genuine, low-pressure ways to connect with fans: “When I released my first album, Just Memories, I themed the release around childhood: pet rocks, friendship bracelets, silly bands. The pet rocks stuck, so I started leaving them around town and selling them as $3 merch items. They’ve become a fun inside joke and an ice breaker for meeting people.”
Trust your intuition, even when it feels uncomfortable: “I’m super intuition based and often follow my gut. I make music that way too. I’ll say, if it feels wrong, don’t do it. But if your intuition is saying it’s right and your head is saying it’s wrong, follow that gut feeling. Whether it’s releasing music, playing gigs, or writing music — ignore that nervousness and discomfort in your head.”
Take ownership of your sound: “I’ve worked with super amazing producers, but no one is going to find my sound but myself. The sooner an artist can figure out how to make their own sound, the better. Figure out how to make your sound work for you and don’t rely on other people.”
Conclusion
At CD Baby, we’ve backed independent artists with affordable and global distribution for over 25 years. We hope you find inspiration in the tips and guidance from these artists – several among our community of two million worldwide.
Ready to get started on your next release? Create a CD Baby account and put these insights into action. We’ll be with you every step of the way from release to promotion and beyond.