I’ve recently found a great musical artist. His name is Matt Wertz. His music is fresh, passionate and remarkable. What’s more amazing is his commitment to independence–that is, remaining free from the machine of corporate marketing. Here’s a snippet from his bio:

——
When artists reach the level of success that Wertz has, they often use
that platform to garner a record deal with a major label. But as his
career has grown, so has his confidence in the independent machine that
fuels it. “I love being independent,” Wertz says. “If I succeed or
fail, it’s not based upon someone else’s decisions, but my own. I like
the freedom and ownership that comes from keeping things small and
in-house.”
——

Just goto iTunes and listen for yourself. Wertz is as good as anyone else in his genre–actually better than many. He could easily break into the "machine."

But of course the "machine" is dying

The machine is dying because there are more and more Matt Wert’s in the world who are able to reach their audience. They reach their audience first, becasue they are damn good at what they do, and second because of the web’s ability to provide little ole Matt (and me and you) with the tools needed to find, nurture and retain an audience.

I published three books in the machine.  At the end of the day I found that the machine is full of great people who are plugged into the matrix–trapped by rules and policies that don’t favor people like little ole me. So, I’ve decided my next book (and hopefully every one after that) will be outside the machine. I’m joining Matt in keeping it "in house." Maybe you should too.

So what does Matt do to stay "in house" and yet build a great brand and following. Just go to his myspace page and you can see it for yourself.

1) He is massively connected, both to other independent artists and his fans
2) He has fun
3) He lives life and works
4) He uses web 2.0 tools to create an image that is just as appealing as the one the machine would produce (actually his is more appealing because it is more authentic in nature)
5) He has ways to connect you to himself and connect himself to you
6) He has great music