Modestep are the one of the latest dubstep talents to emerge in London. Anna Goodman-Jones speaks to Tony Modestep about how they made it happen
How did Modestep begin promoting their music, and what different online tools/pages did you use?
Our first song, ‘Exile’ was played on the facebook.com/dubstepmusic page, which has over half a million fans. We got a huge response of great feedback from this, and it was then uploaded to the dubstep YouTube channel ‘UKF’ which has over 250,000 subscribers. ‘Exile’ had more than 250,000 plays in its first week of being uploaded. Both the facebook page and the UKF channel were great platforms to promote our music, and to put our name on the dubstep community’s radar.
Your music video for ‘Feel Good’ had over a million views in three weeks. How was it funded, and how did you promote it?
Josh Modestep and I funded the entire video. We wrote, directed and edited it ourselves. It was again uploaded on to UKF’s dubstep channel and that’s how it was promoted.
Tell us about Modestep Radio. How did this help your fan-base to grow?
Modestep Radio has been a vital part of our fan-base growing. Every Sunday night at 9-10pm GMT we do a radio show on www.modestep.co.uk/live and we’ve been doing this ever since we started out. It’s a free radio channel that lets our fans interact with us directly as well as hearing some of the newest music in the dubstep scene at the moment. Modestep Radio started out with 40 listeners per week, and after building it up over time we are now reaching over 25,000 people for the hour-long show every week.
What is your opinion on new musicians getting signed to a big label? Do you think it’s better to get signed straight away or stay independent?
I think it’s very important to do as much as you can by yourself. We have managed to build up a fan base, get our name known and make great music without the help of a major label. I do think being signed to a major label can be very beneficial if you want help selling records internationally or getting a high position on the charts, but none of that can be done without writing great music or building a fan base for yourself. My advice would be to stay independent for as long as you can before signing a major deal.
Do you have any advice for new musicians trying to get their stuff out there?
My only advice is just keep writing. Josh and I have been trying to make it into the music industry for the past 10 years; writing records and DJ-ing. If you are vigilant enough it will happen for you, too. Keep writing and making music, and enjoy what you are doing. Youtube and Facebook are great platforms to get your music heard.
For more info on Modestep visit their website.