The creative tripod has three legs:

1. Creation

2. Promotion

3. Distribution

Creating a work others want to read / hear / see is about the same as it ever has been. And it's very tough.

Thanks to social media, distribution is a breeze. Anyone can upload a song to Soundcloud or YouTube.

Promotion (self-promotion) is the greatest hurdle. If you build it, they won't necessarily come. There are so many artists on social media sites that promotion is more difficult than ever. And more important.

For example, here on Riff you have a platform to discuss your struggle as an emerging artist. You've written nicely about that challenge. Yet you have no link here to a song or performance.

Those ads promising you 1,000 followers in 30 days are not about promoting your work. They're about promoting their service. If you pay them a fee, they will have succeeded, whether you gain one follower or none from purchasing their service. If you post one of your songs here, I can almost guarantee you that some people will listen to it.

The simple truth: you have to market yourself with every opportunity you can find. You are your best testimonial.