Romaine Dixon | how to be successful as a DIY artist

Music Business alumna Romaine Dixon is one of the programme’s most exciting success stories. 

With a musical style blending soul, pop, r&b and more, Romaine’s latest track ‘Vibe’ has proved to be a breakthrough moment for this talented singer songwriter. 

Featured on numerous official Spotify playlist (R&B UK, This Is How We Do, Afro Bashment and Peppeh alongside Asia's New Music Friday UK) and clocking up thousands of streams, the song points to a bright future for our former student. 

We caught up with Romaine to find out more about how the track broke, her DIY approach and path to success as an indie artist… 

Could you talk a little bit about your new track 'Vibe'? What is the song about, where did the inspiration come from and how did you write it? 

It's a song which represents the chemistry between two people. It’s a fun, sexy afro-swing track. The inspiration came at a time I was speaking to a special someone acknowledging that we had a lot in common. It came about by just vibing in the studio. All of my songs are about real life experiences. 

It's enjoying some big success on Spotify - could you talk about how you approached the streaming giant? 

Spotify have the Spotify For Artists website which allows artists to submit their music to playlists before the release date and to look at analytics. I submitted 'Vibe' to a few playlists and hoped for the best -  they liked it and added it to a few playlists! Having support from Spotify has helped significantly with people discovering my music on the platform. 

In terms of the process of self-releasing, could you talk a little about the various parts of the process of getting the finished track to fans? What steps do emerging artists need to go through/take? 

It's important to think about the space where your music fits. For example, which radio DJ's play similar music and where people look to find this type of music." 

It's very important that this is well thought through as that's how you're going to reach your target audience - you have to strategize. 

Once you have thought about this, contact said media or music outlets and ask if they would like to support your music on their platform.  If you have the finances, you can also get a PR company or a radio plugger on board that can help you. 

Last but not least, your online presence is key so ensure you’re using it to your advantage. 

How do you approach being a DIY artist? And how do you keep yourself motivated as an indie artist? 

As a DIY artist it’s great, as you’re in control. You drive the momentum so you can be as creative as you want with your releases. I keep myself motivated by working on my craft everyday and by seeing other similar artists enjoying success means I believe I can do it too. It can be hard at times but it stretches you to learn about different aspects of the industry. 

What do indie artists need to do/demonstrate to help them break through? 

Produce quality music, be consistent and don't be afraid of failure. 

And what resources should they utilise to make sure their music finds as big an audience as possible? 

Social media is your biggest tool. Though it is saturated, you have to find your way of cutting through the noise and your network is key also." 

How was your time studying music business with ICMP? And what have you applied from the course into your own career to help you? 

It was great and really useful! I think above all learning about strategy, marketing and finance. As a DIY artist these are key factors to any sort of success. 

For anyone wanting to learn about music business, what do you think the key things you need to be aware of are? 

The work rate it will take to make it in the industry. Remember that contacts are key, stay on top of the latest news and trends and always consider this as a career. 

Have you any tips for aspiring indie artists? 

Treat your music career like a business rather than a hobby. 

What's next for you? 

Releasing more great music, working on an EP and more live performances when we can! 

Visit facebook.com/RomaineDixonOfficial to stay updated on Romaine's future projects. Listen to 'Vibe' below: