Madverse Music Group, in partnership with Future School of Performing Arts, presents [MAD106]: Building Your Brand as an Independent Artist - a 60-minute masterclass for artists who are releasing music now and trying to work out what actually builds a career rather than a scattering of streams.

Most advice for independent artists stops at "be authentic and post consistently." This session goes further, because it brings two views of the same problem.

Mali brings the view from inside one career - how a visual identity survives your taste changing every six months, how you get past the cringe of promoting your own work, and where the line sits between the person and the artist people meet online.

Rohan brings the view from the other side. Madverse sees thousands of releases go out, which means seeing the patterns: what the artists who break through actually do in the two weeks before release day, what the first thirty days after a release really look like, and where independent artist income in India genuinely comes from once you stop counting on streaming payouts.

Moderated by Nilesh from Future School of Performing Arts, and closing with a live Q&A.

What You'll Learn

• What separates an artist profile that looks professional from one that looks like a hobby - before a single stream comes in
• How to get past the cringe of self-promotion without becoming someone you're not
• Where to draw the line between your personal life and your public artist persona
• The five things to do in the seven days before and the seven days after a release
• Whether PR, paid ads and expensive music videos are worth it before you have an audience - and what the leanest alternative is
• Where independent artist income in India actually comes from: sync, YouTube, live, merch, publishing
• The paperwork artists skip at 19 that costs them money at 23 — split sheets, sample clearances, rights
• Why "guaranteed streams" and paid playlist DMs are the fastest way to lose a release
• Live Q&A with Mali and Rohan

Who Should Attend

• Independent artists releasing music now, or about to put out their first track
• Producers and songwriters building a name of their own
• Artist managers and small label teams
• Students and early-career creators working out where to start
• Anyone who has released music and watched it go nowhere

Guest Speakers