Every tool in this list is free or has a free tier that's genuinely usable. Bookmark this.
The full list
These are the tools we reach for weekly — not the ones with the best affiliate payouts. Every one is free or has a free tier that's genuinely usable, not a 7-day trial.
Checklist
- Canva (free tier) — cover art, social posts, EPK pages
- Linktree or Carrd (free) — one link for your release
- Notion (free) — release tracker and content calendar
- CapCut (free) — short-form video editing
- Audacity (free, forever) — quick audio edits and voice memos
- Bandcamp (free to list) — direct sales and merch
- SubmitHub (free tier) — blog and playlist outreach
The ones that replaced paid tools
Notion replaced both our project manager and our release-planning spreadsheet. CapCut replaced a $20/mo video editor we barely used. Bandcamp's free tier replaced a paid storefront that charged us monthly whether we sold anything or not.
None of these are magic. They're just tools that don't charge you for not having money yet.
How to actually use a toolkit
Pick three. Not all twenty-seven. The artists who fail at "using tools" are the ones who install everything and use nothing. Choose one for art, one for distribution, one for content — and ignore the rest until something breaks.