Here is an introduction to some of the key players in the current situation of independent music.

The Indie Bible
The Indie Bible is a huge resource book (more than 300 pages) specifically for independent musicians. It's basically a must have. Check this out as a very starting point. Heaps of radio stations, print and web publications, online retailers, publicists, resource sites, manufacturers and so forth. The only disadvantage of it is that everyone, from major players like CDBaby to fly by night net sites, gets the same size listing. It doesn't give you much idea of the emerging structure of the industry.

CDBaby
CDBaby is the best established of the online retailers, apart from Amazon.com, which is the largest internet seller of independent CDs. For more about online retailers, see Online Retailers.

How To Promote Your Music Sucessfully On The Internet
This is a book by David Nevue, and the title is pretty self explanatory. Another excellent place to start. It will more than pay for itself by saving you a lot of time. It is aimed at those with a CD to sell, but is also a good starting point for anyone wanting to know the major ins and outs of the Indie Game. It covers creating and publicising a web site, doing internet press releases and sending them by the dozens of services available, promoting and distributing on line, internet radio, and tactics to avoid. David Nevue also maintains a lot of high quality targeted sites, some of which are listed below.

Live 365
Live 365 is the world's largest internet radio company. They host thousands of stations, most of them run by those independent DJs I mentioned earlier. You can contact DJs to interest them in your music, or you can go for paid promotional options. The more specialized your music, the more essential working Live 365 is likely to be, because there will almost certainly be shows dedicated to broadcasting your particular style worldwide 24/7/365. Listening to Live 365 is an addictive experience, because listening to specialized shows with a huge playlist and very little advertising means you'll hear one track after another that you'll like and may never have heard before. It's a case of "just one more..."

Music Biz Academy
Another David Nevue site, this one is aimed at the indie musician. An excellent resource site, it also has a free mailing list that is well worth subscribing to.

Starpolish
This is an online resource site with some industry muscle. It also hosts forums that are excellent places for discussions and advice and to search for smelly, nasty reputations. See Advice for more on this topic.

Music Boot Camp
A good resource site with links to many subjects of practical use, eg. barcodes, website tools etc.

Music Distribution.com
This is another David Nevue site, it is not an actual distributor. Again, it is aimed at the indie musician. A good first stop for checking out distribution options.

GarageBand.com
This site has nothing to do with Apple's GarageBand software. It is a site intended to advance the careers of independent musicians by providing them with review, promotion and filtering possibilities. See HERE for an extended explanation of this vital resource. Check this one out as a priority.