Develop a marketable angle for your company in a particular area that does not require investment. Networking and market analysis in particular are two areas where your company could excel that could demand no investment. For example, networking would require frequenting some areas visited by record executives in your area. Completing a market analysis for a type of music (e.g., hard rock in Dayton, Ohio) would require creating and distributing music surveys to the citizens of an area. The surveys can be anonymous and even completed toll free over the phone, but should request information regarding sex, age, favorite bands/artists, and favorite genres (ranked in order of preference).
Find a talented artist in your area. Attend shows at local bars and clubs, and search online for talented area artists (e.g., visiting Purevolume or MySpace Music, two popular music sites for independent artists, and searching the websites based on locations of artists). Contact the artist directly or, in the case of searching online, by phone or email. Promote your services, offering to provide a wide distribution network in exchange for a contract where you make only a negotiated percentage of the total sales of the album. Demand upfront payment for distributing the album. The payment should encompass the estimated cost of obtaining the hardware needed to make copies of the original music CD (e.g., CD burner), the cost of buying blank CDs, and the cost of signing up with companies that assist with digital distribution (e.g. CDBaby.com).
Distribute physical copies of the album to local areas with a high preference for that type of music and to relevant record executives who have previously been contacted. Also, use CDBaby.com, TuneCore,com, and/or ReverbNation.com to provide copies of the album to all of the major digital distributors (e.g., iTunes, Amazon.com). Each website provides explicit, easy-to-follow directions detailing how to sign up and upload music onto the website.
Sign up with Broadcast Media Inc. (BMI) to legalize your distribution company. Using a portion of the sales from the initial record distribution, obtain a license from Broadcast Media Inc., "the largest performing rights organization in America." According to the BMI website, "BMI, which is recognized in U.S. copyright law as a licensor of music, currently represents more than 400,000 copyright owners and their more than 6.5 million musical works." To get a music license, go to the website, click "License" and follow the instructions.