For twenty years, from inside the belly of the music biz, I was one of the loudest advocates for independent artists. I believed in the mission — and for a long time, we really were helping musicians. It was the heyday of indie opportunity. 

But the industry changed. 

I watched with growing alarm as tech platforms and corporate overlords “democratized” music by turning artists and their work into data-points.

The new tastemakers favored metrics over meaning. Companies that once promised empowerment lost the plot and chased profit instead. 

Even music fans shifted from deep engagement with an artist's catalog, towards playlists where you don't even care who the artists are!

And if musicians expected to keep up, they'd better step onto that conveyor-belt of constant content creation. Or so they were lead to believe.

Yep, the entire world seemed to lose sight of the individual artist, and the human connection that sustains any lasting career.

Now that I'm no longer inside that system, I can work directly with the kind of artist I respect most. The ones with real lives, real responsibilities, and real good music that deserves to be heard — no matter how old the artist, or how niche the sound. 

Artists who can't sacrifice their families, their ethics, or their sanity in a desperate attempt to please some algorithm, or an industry obsessed with youth and viral trends. 

Because there is a better way.

My mission is simple: To help you cut through all the BS, take smarter action, and build a career that fits your life — without burning out or selling out.

Let's build it together.

-Chris Robley

My life in the music industry

I bring two decades of battle-tested experience in the music industry to every artist I work with. This includes a deep knowledge of music marketing, branding, distribution, music publishing, copyright, social monetization, and more — gained during my tenure at CD Baby and, more recently, BandLab Technologies. 

As the voice of CD Baby during a time of massive growth, and as a founder of the DIY Musician Podcast, Blog, and Conference, I spearheaded educational content efforts that became an audience-building powerhouse for the brand, helping CD Baby 10X its value between acquisitions ($20+million in 2008 to $220+million in 2019), all the while serving millions of career-minded artists who turned to us for dependable distribution, actionable advice, and empathetic support. 

The DIY Musician Podcast is one of the most popular music business podcasts of all time. We started it way back in 2007, when I barely even knew what a podcast was. I co-hosted over 350+ episodes, and that podcast was consistently recommended as a top industry resource by Apple Podcasts, Spotify for Artists, Ari's Take, Variety, Esquire, and more. 

At the helm of the DIY Musician Blog, I wrote over 2,000 articles, and edited thousands more, many of which still hold top rankings in Google search results for music-related keywords.  

My artist advice has appeared in:

• Work Hard, Playlist Hard by Mike Warner
• Band: Smart by Martin Atkins
• The Disc Makers' Blog

I've been interviewed by Berklee College of Music on topics such as music marketing and branding, and those videos were used as part of their official course materials. 

I've lead workshops and spoken on panels at:

• Berklee Onsite
• Music Biz
• A2IM Indie Week
• A3C
• Folk Alliance International
• The DIY Musician Conference
• Canadian Music Week
• Berklee: Valencia
• NERFA
• CMJ

If you've ever attended a music conference, you know that many panel discussions are just hungover talking-heads spouting jargon; and a lot of workshops are little more than live infomercials.

My strength is speaking directly to the real-life challenges of working musicians.

My life as an artist and musician

I’m not just a marketer and industry guy — I’m a working songwriter, gigging artist, producer, session player, and award-winning poet. 

I've toured the country with too many people crammed in a shitty van. I've funded albums on credit cards. I've performed for 4 hours beneath the biggest TV at a sports bar.  

But my original songs have also earned praise from NPR, the LA Times, The Associated Press, The Boston Globe, No Depression, KCRW, and many more. 

My song 'Filament' was a finalist in the 2024 International Songwriting Competition. My playing as a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, piano, synths, vocals, etc.) has appeared on dozens of albums and hundreds of songs by other artists. 

My poems have been published by POETRY Magazine, Poetry Northwest, The Poetry Review, and more. I'm the winner of Boulevard's Poetry Prize for Emerging Writers, the recipient of a Maine Literary Award in poetry, and I was chosen by former US poet-laureate Robert Pinsky as a finalist for the Dorset Prize. 

And perhaps most pertinent, I've done all this while working a day-job, trying to keep up with my wife and daughter, and caring for parents. 

I’ve felt the highs of critical recognition and packed venues, and the frustration of carving out recording time between doctor's appointments and school pickups.

And through my own creative ups and downs, and my 20+ years learning from successful independent artists, I’ve seen exactly what works to turn small weekly wins into sustainable career momentum.

In 2025, I started DEMO with my friend Erika Parr as a way to speak honestly with artists,  provide mentorship via podcasts and articles, and offer one-on-one coaching. 

At DEMO, I offer tactical advice each week. I design lean marketing processes for artists. And I teach courses (like “Still Got It”) that help busy musicians grow their audience, boost revenue, and stay true to their creative vision. 

Is it time for you to tune out all those gurus of grind-culture?

Time to step off the TikTok treadmill?

To find what's best for you?

If you're ready to build a music career on your own terms, let’s get to work!