A Guide To Releasing Your Music Independently

Melbourne’s LANKS, better known to his friends as Will Cuming, has been kicking goals all over the place lately. Having just released his most recent EP Viet Rose, he’s been getting quite a bit of attention both here and abroad, and with a co-headline tour with Sydney’s Hein Cooper coming up, his profile is set to continuously grow.

As a self-made, independent musician, LANKS is pretty notable in that, like a rising number of Aussie musicians, he’s managed to achieve his success without the help of a record label.

To provide some insight for any fledgling acts hoping to take their releases into their own hands, we decided to have a chat with Will about how this freedom has impacted his career, and what it means to be an independent musician in Australia.

As an independent artist, what has your career trajectory been like so far?

A slow and steady progression. Being independent has made it a longer journey, but we’ve learned so much from it and I’ve had to improve my skills a lot. It’s been a lot of fun so far.

Has LANKS as a project been more successful than previous outfits and, if so, why?

It has by a long way! I have definitely become better as a songwriter, but I also think the practical element has been integral. My last band was a seven-piece band, and every time we tried to get opportunities we had to say no, because we weren’t all available.

As LANKS, I was able to say yes to everything and just scrape by financially while shows have paid quite small fees (particularly in comparison to flights and travel costs).

Having forged your career as an independent artist, do you feel that freedom has allowed your career to grow?

I don’t know if that’s the key in terms of growth, being independent – I think in that facet it’s the opposite. But being independent has allowed me to make the artistic statement that I am most passionate about, and it’s also allowed us to release the way we want to release.

I feel very much like my connection with my fans is strong and, most importantly, very genuine, because of the fact I am being very honest about who I am with the art I’m making.

How important do you feel the word-of-mouth method of discovery has been for your career?

I think it’s the biggest thing for basically every career. Social media is just another extension of that. I think, for me, I feel particular love and respect from the musicians in the industry and a lot of them are the reason that I have been discovered more, and been given great opportunities.

What does your team currently look like, and why does it work so well for you?

My manager is my sister, Lou, and she is amazing. She studied a music degree with me at the VCA (Victorian College of the Arts) and it’s been amazing having someone who I can trust, has an incredibly deep understanding of music, and is a very smart learner driving the team. Then there’s my agent, Katie Rynne, at Select. Again, she just works so hard and has been amazing for helping me get opportunities.

And then I have my publicity team at Positive Feedback, who I know will be reading this so I will say they are my absolute favourite (but seriously, thank you Hannah!). The team works well because they are all great communicators and work very, very hard. I don’t think you can underestimate the combination of those qualities.

Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently in your career so far?

I’m going to say no, because I wouldn’t have learned everything I did, and have ended up being here. And I’m very excited about where things are heading now. There are plenty of things I should have or could have done differently, but they all lead me here and you have to learn from mistakes I think.

What advice do you have for other musicians looking to build a career in a similar way?

Keep your live show small and practical so touring doesn’t ruin you financially. Make music at home and write a lot. Learn about recording and minimise studio time, ’cause it will break you otherwise. If you want to make videos, make them yourself or find friends who can help you now, and later you can repay the favour somehow.

Work really hard, and be prepared to have a day job for a while. Also, feel free to hit me up and ask questions – musicians are an amazing resource of people who have experiences that can be very enlightening and help you learn (and me too!).

Who are some other artists you look towards in terms of the ways they handle their music career?

I love what King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard do, it’s an amazing model for making a career of music. I have no issue with labels; though I have never worked with one on my stuff, I have seen some amazing work done by labels, and shout out to the very passionate people working at them who do great work for their artists.

But to me, the thing that worries me about that is really just the idea of getting stuck and having your record shelved, or your champion A&R rep leaves and goes to another label and the new one doesn’t see eye-to-eye with you. Then you can’t release music and have to sit there and do nothing. Which sucks.

What are some of the most useful things you’ve learnt in the music industry so far, and who have been the best teachers?

The best teachers are the real talkers. You don’t need to be showered in compliments and sucked up to, what you are looking to find is people you trust, and whose opinions you trust.

Then you want a relationship/environment where they feel comfortable to be upfront and honest with you, even when you don’t think you want to hear it. Otherwise, you won’t grow, and you won’t move forward. Everyone has improvement in them as humans/artists/friends/colleagues etc.

What can we expect from the Hein Cooper shows, and what’s next for LANKS?