Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter Ali Angel has managed to get over 75,000 streams on Spotify as an independent artist. She’s been performing since she was a child, but in college, things started to get serious.
“Playing a couple shows with a band of guys at school around New Orleans reignited it all for me and pushed me to seriously pursue this as a profession, which I’ve been doing for the past 2 and a half-ish years now,” Angel says.
“My debut EP has a retro nod in terms of production too, since everything was recorded with live instruments, run through tape, and has so many rich elements from soulful horn pads to playful strings and glockenspiel,” she says.
Angel's EP was released on June 17. And she’s doing it all as an independent artist. That, to her, is what “DIY” means.
“Those of us writing/producing/recording our stuff without the financial or creative support of a label,” she says. “I also think of independent artists doing everything independently to promote, market and pitch their music! It’s a lot of go-getting, figuring things out as you go, and creating a structure and process that works for you.”
Angel has had a lot of success using social media. Consistency, she says, is key.
“TikTok is really king right now and it’s all about posting as much and as frequently as you can. I also love how authentic, messy, and random you can be on TikTok and I think it allows for the most opportunity for growth. The algorithms can really make or break stuff for you so the most important thing is teaching them that you’re a content creator, so they know to expand your audience and promote your music better. The algorithm rewards your activity and consistent pushing. I also do a ton of playlist pitching on submission-based websites as well as personal outreach to user-curated playlists and the people who make those playlists by finding their social medias and cold pitching them!”
With her EP out, Angel hopes to stay in people’s minds. After all, we all need an Angel in our lives.
For more information, visit aliangelmusic.com.
