At In The City, the DIY Music panel that Nick and I ran centred around young artists trying to break through, rather than the established artists that the press write about all the time. As a focus for the panel, we invited the talented young musician Rob McCulloch (apologies for the red eye look Rob, but it was that time of night!). 
The Bolton musician put his CD up on his site and asked his fans to pay what they want for it (pre-dating Radiohead by some way). An average of £11 per album was the result. He has constructed an interesting team around him and his manager, including a company who advises them on marketing and promotion. He is passionately independent, having turned down the advances of the majors in 2005 at SXSW. He controls everything but he is also aware that as things grow for him, the pressures on him will increase, so the topic of the panel interested him more than anyone. Going DIY is not for everyone. Some artists need the comfort of a label. Some believe a more traditional route is best for them. Some have no choice. Some have been rejected by the labels, or have agreed to part company with a label after some time. Ultimately, whilst one could say it is easier than ever to get music out there, it is more difficult to get heard and noticed. So any musician, be they established or new talent, who goes the DIY route is a brave one.
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