It is getting easier by the day to release your music and build a music career without the backing of a label. That's an exciting thing for musicians, and for a lot of people, it's the best choice. On the other hand, there's a tendency for the DIY route to be romanticized. In reality, like any other kind release, the choice to self-release your music comes with pros and cons (just like a ​major label deal and an indie label deal). Before you decide to self-release your album, don't forget to weigh up these factors.

The Pros of Self-Releasing an Album

You Keep Your Rights: Forget worrying about confusing contracts, expensive lawyers, and accidentally signing over your music, your vision, and perhaps your first born child to some record label for life. You're not very well going to trap yourself in a bad deal now, are you? You decide how your music is used when it is used, and how much people have to pay to use it, end of story. You Keep the Cash: Ever marvel at the way that some extremely successful musicians are seemingly flat broke? Sure, sometimes they're in that position because they bought things like, say, gold plated gates, but often they're in the position because they're last on the list to be paid. Every person that comes in to help with your career gets a cut, but when you're doing it yourself, you get to eat the whole pie. You Make It (Or Don't) On Your Own Terms: Even the most laid back and artist-friendly independent label is bound to have a few limitations in mind when it comes to projects they're willing to work on with you, and major labels can be extremely demanding. Some labels may want to send you back to the studio when you decide to change musical directions, or they may demand you adopt a "look" for marketing purposes. There are lots of ways you can clash creatively with a label, and depending on what kind of deal you have, sometimes the label will win. When you're the one putting out the music, you release the music you want, and only the music you want, when you want to release it. The marketing, the touring, and all of the decision will be made by you, so there will be none of the typical conflicts.

The Cons of Self-Releasing an Album