If I type your name in any given search engine, will I be able to find you on the first page of the results?
I cannot stress how important it is for artists, songwriters and other creative people to be easily find-able in today’s market. Half of the reason some don’t get paid is because they cannot be located.
One example: I was licensing an album a few years ago and ran into an issue with one of the songs. The song was registered on ASCAP, but the contact information for one of the writers was old: the phone number was disconnected and the email address no longer existed.
I was eventually able to hunt down the person, but it took several phone calls to friends in the industry, who contacted other friends, who contacted other friends. It shouldn’t have been that hard.
As a songwriter that works in licensing, I can relate to the struggle of the creative and I will make sure I do everything I can to find the writer.
Not everybody is that motivated to find you.
Social Media
An easy (and free) way to increase your visibility is to be active on social media, since those sites will usually be in the top 5 results.
Make sure some sort of current contact information (i.e. email, phone) is available on your profile, in case someone needs to contact you concerning your work.
Own Your Website
A more professional way is to have your own website with a custom domain name.
Even if it’s just a landing page with a photo, your name and contact information, this puts you steps above the person that just has a Facebook like page.
What’d We Learn?
Whatever route you ultimately decide to take, the most important lesson is to be visible. This is not to say that you should relinquish your privacy, but if you want to see a check, people have to know where to send it.
