How Musicians Build A Fanbase Of Millions In 2026 (FREE COURSE)

Speaker 1: Right now as a musician you'll probably fall into one of two categories. Speaker 1: The first is a musician that's constantly stalled on growing a fan base, Speaker 1: confused what to do, and when you drop your song you're unsatisfied with how well it did. Speaker 1: When you see other musicians who you know you're better than, Speaker 1: you get frustrated and stop making progress when you wonder why they're blowing up and you're not. Speaker 1: The second type of musician is the one that sees how all this works and is constantly

growing a Speaker 1: fan base, blowing up, fulfilling their dreams, and making money off their music instead of working Speaker 1: every single day to a job they hate. Speaker 1: So in this video, what I'm going to show you Speaker 1: is a roadmap of how you go from the musician Speaker 1: in the first category to the one that's blowing up Speaker 1: by showing you all the ways musicians fail Speaker 1: and how you understand the game so you're not one of them. Speaker 1: Since let's be real, when you're a musician

who's failing Speaker 1: and continuously stall out all the time Speaker 1: in your growth or motivation, Speaker 1: it's often from the frustration of guessing Speaker 1: at what you should be doing. Speaker 1: And frankly, when you're guessing, Speaker 1: you're probably guessing wrong a lot of the time. Speaker 1: We got to stop that right away. Speaker 1: But it's not your fault. Speaker 1: since the game is really complicated. Speaker 1: After all, I have 800 videos and over 100 newsletters about this game, Speaker 1: and I've made them all over

the last six years on YouTube Speaker 1: and two decades of helping musicians find their way through getting their music heard. Speaker 1: But you don't want to sit through all that. Speaker 1: So over the past year, what I've been doing is developing the video you're watching every week. Speaker 1: I've made a roadmap to accompany this video Speaker 1: so that when you hear me talk about something in this video that's interesting, Speaker 1: you can go deeper as you'd like, Speaker 1: Or you can follow that roadmap to build from zero to

millions of fans by seeing what you don't know and filling in the blanks and loopholes in your education. Speaker 1: Every one of you knows different amounts of information on a subject, and you can now learn everything you'd ever need to know easily by following along with this video and exploring a subject as deep as you want by going through the roadmap. Speaker 1: While this video is a few hours long, I have almost a thousand hours on this channel that you don't necessarily need to watch. Speaker 1: But when you're curious to go deeper,

you can easily find it in the roadmap and find what you're lacking that may be holding back your growth. Speaker 1: And you can get inspired by the artists who are doing the coolest things that are breaking right now as I break down exactly what they're doing to blow up. Speaker 1: And if I'm being real, this will get you to finally make sense of what's holding you back as an artist so you can become the artist you dreamed of that really impresses everyone when they see you. Speaker 1: And what I see over and

over again is a lot of the artists I've helped blow up just needed to fix one to three things to start really growing fans. Speaker 1: But those one to three things are often concepts or methods they didn't even know existed. Speaker 1: And once they fix them, their growth starts to explode. Speaker 1: And I should say, as I showed this video to many of my friends in the industry, they asked why I would release this information for free. Speaker 1: When I can clearly make hundreds of thousands of dollars putting this in a

course. Speaker 1: But I know this is the way. Speaker 1: All this costs is $5 if you want to watch some of the videos that go deeper on a subject, Speaker 1: or if you want to read them in newsletter form, the same thing. Speaker 1: The best part is you can do this without playing a single live show or paying for promotion services or ads. Speaker 1: Musicians do it every day. Speaker 1: My methods are all about how you do this organically, Speaker 1: by making what you do impressive enough to others

that they pay attention, Speaker 1: and you do this by doing the smartest, most cutting-edge marketing techniques Speaker 1: rather than those useless ones, all the scammers online, Speaker 1: making videos, and posting on Reddit claim work, but almost always fail. Speaker 2: This is your guide to grow your fan base to millions of followers. Speaker 2: And how I've done it with countless artists, Speaker 2: and there's even a bunch I'm sure you will see in the comments Speaker 2: who've just watched my videos and gained millions of listeners. Speaker 2: As you can

see on the screen now, Speaker 2: I've worked with an insane amount of artists in various capacities, Speaker 2: whether it's in the studio doing either production, mixing, engineering, or mastering, Speaker 2: on strategy calls, figuring out how to do their marketing and artist development even better, Speaker 2: or showing their team how they can do what the artists that are growing the fastest are doing Speaker 2: so that they can bring that into their own world. Speaker 2: And sometimes I'm just on set helping create the content you see in music videos Speaker 2:

or on TikTok and Reels to promote musicians' music. Speaker 1: I've been telling top artists and their teams what's really going on, Speaker 1: which is why I worked for a couple of years at Atlantic Records Speaker 1: and have freelanced at every major label, Speaker 1: and most of the big indies and distributors have all filled out an invoice to me, Speaker 1: along with working for years building out top media properties Speaker 1: for companies like The Daily Beast, Fast Politics, and Rolling Stone. Speaker 1: I've been getting paid for my thoughts on

marketing, artist development, products, and production, Speaker 1: as well as even sometimes cursed political candidates, Speaker 1: on how to get their message heard and break through the algorithm. Speaker 1: But I know some of you are skeptical that I can give a full course like this away for free on YouTube. Speaker 1: That is even more detailed than the ones those grifters sell for thousands of dollars. Speaker 1: But as you're going to see very fast, I make my money off of knowing things Speaker 1: and clients calling me when they need problems solved.

Speaker 1: So I don't have to do what so many of the grifters do Speaker 1: and charge thousands of dollars for knowledge Speaker 1: that they probably ripped off from my videos anyway. Speaker 1: Since, let's get real, Speaker 1: you all send their videos to me Speaker 1: and then I see what they stole. Speaker 1: And what they're often pulling from Speaker 1: is I wrote one of the best-selling books on Amazon Speaker 1: on building a fan base with over 10 editions published Speaker 1: as well as one of the best-selling

books Speaker 1: on how musicians develop their creativity as artists. Speaker 1: I've been giving away the game Speaker 1: without ripping musicians off Speaker 1: and constantly putting the information where my mouth is Speaker 1: and delivering for musicians. Speaker 1: And in the last six years, Speaker 1: I've given away this knowledge on my channel, my newsletter, Music Marketing Trends, which is read Speaker 1: by over 20,000 of music's top minds every month, as well as on consulting calls with over 4,000 Speaker 1: musicians and top teams and labels when they're stuck and

need to figure out where to go. And this Speaker 1: video contains every drop of sauce I can put out. And anytime you hear me talk about something you're Speaker 1: curious about going deeper on, I have videos that are linked on the roadmap I made. Oh yeah, I should Speaker 1: also say, I also own New York City's top podcast studio in the center of Times Square, where I get Speaker 1: to many of the people making the content you see each day going viral on the internet and it's where Speaker 1: companies like

tiktok and youtube invite creators to assemble as they give away cutting-edge knowledge Speaker 1: at meetups i also co-own brooklyn recording paradise where you see many of brooklyn's busiest artists Speaker 1: making records out of but enough about me since if you don't trust me yet you will when you see Speaker 1: the next level of information in this video so let's first talk about how you use this video Speaker 1: down in the description you're going to see a lot of links but the main way you navigate my channel Speaker 1: is the roadmap

I made you. Speaker 1: You can search for any video in that, Speaker 1: or if you go to my channel page and click the videos tab Speaker 1: and then the magnifying glass, Speaker 1: that's a really easy way to search any YouTube channel. Speaker 1: But most of my most important videos Speaker 1: are available as both a newsletter and a video. Speaker 1: And in the roadmap, Speaker 1: there's a link to where each one is available. Speaker 1: So if you prefer to read some of these Speaker 2: while you're at

your desk and pretending to work, go off. Speaker 2: I also update this roadmap Speaker 2: as I make new videos and newsletters each week. Speaker 2: But let's get into this and talk about you. Speaker 2: So the first thing we need to talk about is artist development, Speaker 2: which you may be wondering about since we're talking about marketing, Speaker 2: but the number one thing that determines if a product blows up as well, the product. Speaker 2: And the fact is your song is the biggest determinator of this Speaker 2: since terribly

marketed music blows up all the time when the song is great. Speaker 1: I believe that a lot of you are obsessing over your marketing and even worse meta ads Speaker 1: because you failed to develop as an artist because no one teaches you how to do it. Speaker 1: In fact, if you search YouTube for videos on artist development, Speaker 1: they're honestly, well, awful. Speaker 1: And I'm gonna start correcting that Speaker 1: in the early part of this year. Speaker 1: But let's get back to you. Speaker 1: You're pouring money into

ads. Speaker 1: You're making short form videos and no one cares. Speaker 1: You're chasing virality and it's not going well Speaker 1: because when people see you, Speaker 1: they see an undeveloped artist that doesn't excite them. Speaker 1: But something I've observed over my career Speaker 1: is I was often known as the person who produced the album Speaker 1: that got an artist to have their breakout. Speaker 1: And that was because I had a distinct philosophy Speaker 1: that was different than most producers, Speaker 1: where I would go deep with

the artists Speaker 1: and figure out what makes them unique Speaker 1: and then double down on those traits Speaker 1: till they were a unique voice, position, Speaker 1: and distinct from other artists blowing up in their genre Speaker 1: so that when people saw them, Speaker 1: they saw something fresh that felt new, Speaker 1: not like a cookie cutter version of other bands. Speaker 1: Now, all of you are on two paths right now. Speaker 1: Path number one is forgettable as fuck. Speaker 1: You're posting content just to check a box.

Speaker 1: You're not intentional and developed with what you post. Speaker 1: You're just imitating and doing bad invitations of other artists Speaker 1: rather than putting a lot of your own personal sauce on it. Speaker 1: And so the audience is really underwhelmed Speaker 1: because that's fucking boring. Speaker 1: In this first section, Speaker 1: let's do the first steps to change that. Speaker 1: What most music marketers won't tell you, Speaker 1: but I've lived a thousand times, Speaker 1: is a mid-song with amazing marketing Speaker 1: can get a lot bigger

than it would with porn marketing. Speaker 1: An amazing exceptional song needs a little marketing, Speaker 1: just the basic stuff to go gangbusters. Speaker 1: And a terrible song with the best marketing will get heard, Speaker 1: but no one will listen repeatedly Speaker 1: and the artist won't repeat the success even if it gets any at all, but it probably isn't Speaker 1: going to get any at all. Speaker 1: The reason we need to talk about artist development is the more you have the packaging, which is Speaker 1: you or your brand,

refined to something people are excited about, then the further it'll Speaker 1: go and the longer your career will last. Speaker 1: Straight up, the number one thing everyone doesn't get about what changed in music going Speaker 1: from 2024 into 2025 is that it changed how musicians blow up. Speaker 1: Now, most of you think that's TikTok or some sort of magic or luck, but it's really that the artists who start conversations are the ones who blow up. Speaker 1: And I'll show you scientifically why that is in just a moment. Speaker 1: So

obviously, many of you are already music artists who may have some fans or have been releasing already, but you're wondering why your growth is stalled or slower than other musicians you know. Speaker 1: This is often because even if you're a sick artist with great songs, if you're not doing Speaker 1: the stuff in this section, you may be missing out on what actually grows musicians the fastest Speaker 1: of all the things they do. Speaker 1: So many artists skip the steps they should have done before they even get started since Speaker 1: let's

be honest, you want to get to the fun part. Speaker 1: Releasing music, people loving you, and tell you that you changed their lives and all sorts Speaker 2: of fun stuff like that, including we all know what. Speaker 2: But what happens to a lot of you is you don't do these actions and you think that all's Speaker 2: going to be easy, and then you realize you goofed somewhere along the way as you start to understand Speaker 1: the game more, and sure enough, it's usually these things. So let's get started incubating and

growing Speaker 1: you into something people are going to see and be like, damn, that's sick. Okay, so remember when I Speaker 1: mentioned that everyone's missing how musicians grow these days? Well, here's what it is, and we Speaker 1: see this two ways. One, it's backed up in every study on how people discover new music, as well as Speaker 1: when we change it for musicians. Even when people don't like their songs, we see their follows and Speaker 1: engagement improves. So it's important that we get this right, since if people actually like your

Speaker 1: music and you're not doing this, you're not going to get the people who like you to spread the word Speaker 1: about you or stick around and think about you more. And once you fix this, you'll increase how many Speaker 1: listeners stream your music repeatedly and tell their friends about you. So nearly every study on Speaker 1: how listeners discover music, they say it's from a friend telling them about it either in person or Speaker 1: them sharing it online. In fact, in the survey I did this time last year, it was

both the number one Speaker 2: and two way people discover new music far ahead of all the other methods. So because of that, Speaker 2: we need to create ways people talk about you. Now, I'm sure your mind comes to that being Speaker 2: TikToks, reels, or stories you tell, or publicity stunts where you say outrageous things like, uh, Speaker 2: white rap is back because Taylor Swift's marrying a guy who talks like a white rapper. That's not it Speaker 2: though. Even if that's kind of true. Look, I gotta be real with you. Have

you looked around lately? Speaker 1: There's some real morons out there. I mean, some people are so dumb they find Lil Mabu to be a Speaker 1: compelling musician. And frankly, to build a fan base, you're going to have to get really stupid Speaker 1: people to understand who you are. So my ultimate test of the artists who grow faster and whether Speaker 1: they have fans who are interested enough to go see them at shows is this simple test. I want you to Speaker 1: picture the dumbest person you know. And they're talking to

the second dumbest person you know. Speaker 1: If they can't turn to one another and say why you were exciting, and not say what you'd say about Speaker 1: most artists, which is, oh, you're a less good version of Blink-22. Well, that's not exciting, Speaker 1: and you're not going to grow Speaker 1: and the two dumbasses Speaker 1: aren't going to think about you. Speaker 1: And while I've been joking Speaker 1: about these two morons, Speaker 1: even when your audience is smart, Speaker 1: and let's say you make music Speaker 1: for

really literate people, Speaker 1: your fans are big fans Speaker 1: of like Mitski Speaker 1: and Father John Misty. Speaker 1: When you make it easy Speaker 1: for people to see who you are Speaker 1: and what you're about, Speaker 1: this all happens faster. Speaker 1: As well, Speaker 1: for the really smart people out there, Speaker 1: when it's very obvious Speaker 1: to the idiots, Speaker 1: it means you're really developed. Speaker 1: And now we're going to get Speaker 1: to the second point Speaker 1: of why this is

important. Speaker 1: As my favorite Speaker 1: Maddie Healy tattoo says, Speaker 1: weak messages Speaker 1: create bad outcomes. Speaker 1: that means that strong messages create good outcomes. Speaker 1: So for the Lil Maboo fans who aren't quite getting this, let me explain. Speaker 1: When it's easy to spot, say, an artist like Somber, Speaker 1: it's really easy to spot what makes them different. Speaker 1: First off, this motherfucker is always showing off that neck, Speaker 1: and for some reason, it seems to really get the girls and guys I know Speaker

1: who find men attractive real horned up. Speaker 1: Secondly, Somber's whole thing is when you listen to his lyrics Speaker 1: or watch his short-form videos, the message is hammered home. Speaker 1: This dude be fucking. Speaker 1: Then shit happens, and it gets complicated. Speaker 2: then someone ghosts one another Speaker 2: and now some harsh feelings are being felt Speaker 2: and the situation is really bad. Speaker 2: This dude is reinforcing this all the time. Speaker 2: His Spotify bio even reinforces it. Speaker 2: So it's super easy for a fan

to turn to their friend and say, Speaker 2: he's that hot skinny guy with the neck Speaker 2: and sings about his messy relationships. Speaker 1: I think the two morons can understand that. Speaker 1: And I know, inevitably, some of y'all will come at me like, Speaker 3: Jesse, I'm in a band called Manface. Speaker 3: We're just four dudes hanging and bagging from Kalamazoo Speaker 3: playing pop punk. Speaker 3: We don't got all this going on. Speaker 1: Let's keep it chill. Speaker 1: I get it, bro. Speaker 1: Listen, there's plenty

of groups that keep it real simple, Speaker 1: and their music can be the positioning. Speaker 1: The key here is this. Speaker 1: Then your music really has got to be the key, Speaker 1: and it really does have to set itself apart in sound from other artists. Speaker 1: If people listen and all they hear is that shitty version of Blink-22, Speaker 1: when Becky, the local pop-punk influencer, Speaker 1: is asked who's the opener at this show that you're going to, Speaker 1: she's going to say, Speaker 1: well, they're like shitty

Blink-22. Speaker 1: and no one's gonna get excited to check you out before the show Speaker 1: and then sing along to your songs. Speaker 1: They're not gonna follow you on Instagram and look you up. Speaker 1: But when Becky's eyes widen and say, Speaker 4: Oh my God, I am obsessed with them. Speaker 4: They sound like if Neck Deep was as messed up in the head as Lola Young Speaker 4: and the singer is so deep about being a fuck up. Speaker 1: Well, that gets people curious Speaker 1: since your songs

have the depth to inspire all that excitement in Becky. Speaker 1: Now, if Mad Pits makes music videos like every other pop punk band, Speaker 1: you know, they play outside a suburban home or on a football field, Speaker 1: that's going to be fine and it's going to be pretty uneventful. Speaker 1: But if Man Pits makes videos where they explore the fact that they're humongous fans of Tim Speaker 1: and Eric Awesome Show, they grab a green screen for $10, pick up their iPhone, film in the Speaker 1: Blackmagic app, get a VCR

filter for $5 off the internet, and make some Tim and Eric influenced Speaker 1: videos instead of the same video every other pop punk band makes. Speaker 1: Becky would have been thinking about them all day since it would have blown her mind. Speaker 1: And she would have started the conversation with her friends the second they came over, Speaker 1: telling them all about man pits. Speaker 1: And that's the difference between why oftentimes Speaker 1: you're not getting your music heard, Speaker 1: is the influences and the things you can draw from Speaker

1: are sitting right there and you're not exploring them. Speaker 1: So many artists have a pretty good sound, Speaker 1: but when you also get the visuals down, Speaker 1: you really get fans excited. Speaker 1: And the more you get all of this developed Speaker 1: so it has depth that the people who see art more deeply Speaker 1: or even shallowly than Becky, they get it. Speaker 1: And when you have this nailed, Speaker 1: more people will run into every room screaming about you. Speaker 1: And in 2025, what we saw

was artists who started really going way harder than ever before on this type of stuff because it's both cheap and works better than anything else. Speaker 1: It just actually takes thought and consideration and methods. Speaker 1: Those are the artists who really blew the fuck up this year. Speaker 1: And I know some of you are wondering about the word cheap I was talking about there. Speaker 1: I get so many artists saying this has to be done with tons of money. Speaker 1: But the real fact is, we're now in an era where

it's about your creativity, not the money. Speaker 1: Just as I talked about Man Pits being able to outrun the pop punk bands after watching some Tim and Eric episodes and grabbing a green screen and filter, there's so many answers out there. Speaker 1: The fact is, most of the artists I talk to getting millions of views on their videos are doing it for zero dollars spent on their short form videos and if not a few hundred dollars on the whole song's marketing. Speaker 1: And that right there is why your artist message and development

matters. Speaker 1: When you have more depth and explore yourself and what you authentically like as an artist Speaker 1: and put out what makes you unique in the world, Speaker 1: you get inspired and you create a stronger artist message that makes fans think about you Speaker 1: and get excited to tell their friends about you all the damn time and they can't shut up about you. Speaker 1: That's why development matters. Speaker 1: But since you're smart enough to have gotten this far through this video, Speaker 1: you're wondering, how the hell do

you do this? Speaker 1: Let's get into it. Speaker 1: So the first thing we do is called a lames analysis. Speaker 1: Now, you're probably wondering why the fuck is it called that? Speaker 1: It's a technique I invented that is used by artists with millions of monthly listeners Speaker 1: or even the smallest artists I've worked with. Speaker 1: What I like to say is it keeps you from doing lame shit. Speaker 1: It teaches you how to make decisions about your content and every decision you make as Speaker 1: an artist and

make it reflect who you authentically are and keep you from doing tons of lame shit. Speaker 1: It has you look at who you are and who you want to be and helps guide you to what you Speaker 1: aspire to be. Speaker 1: So for example, let's say you have two ideas that you may do for your next video. Speaker 1: Referencing the lames analysis will tell you definitively which one will be best, Speaker 1: since you can see, does it get you closer to your aspirations? Speaker 1: Does it play into your strengths?

Speaker 1: And if you don't know what to do for a TikTok, Speaker 1: well, looking at the strengths, which is the S in lames, Speaker 1: will tell you you should probably lean into something in those strengths. Speaker 1: Anyway, this takes one hour, one night, Speaker 1: with everyone involved in your music brainstorming, Speaker 1: then revisit it once or twice for 15 more minutes a week or two later, Speaker 1: and if you're not adding anything to it, you're probably done. Speaker 1: Every three to six months, revisit it, Speaker 1: check

to see if you've evolved at all with it, Speaker 1: and see if you can get it to be more in line Speaker 1: with how you're feeling now. Speaker 1: But you've checked this box if you do that. Speaker 1: If you use this lame's analysis constantly, Speaker 1: in fact, every time you make a piece of content, Speaker 1: you should be looking at it. Speaker 1: It'll live inside your brain Speaker 1: and guide you to be who you want to be Speaker 1: and help you make cooler stuff. Speaker 1: Since

let's say you decide you want to make a music video Speaker 1: where you beat up someone who looks like Lil Mabu Speaker 1: for being one of the worst artists I've ever seen. Speaker 1: And I promise you, Speaker 1: If you're wondering why I'm picking on this kid Lil Mabu, you're going to see where this joke goes at the end of the video. Speaker 1: And it all makes sense that I'm not a cruel asshole. Speaker 1: When you're using your lames analysis, you'll see your strengths in that your drummer looks good with

their shirt off, so you'll have them shirtless. Speaker 1: You'll see it in your exploits that your Uncle Kevin owns a gas station, so you can shoot a scene there. Speaker 1: In your aspirations, you'll see you want people to see you as someone who stands up for the little guy. Speaker 1: So right as Lil Mabu is about to be crushed by your drummer, you see the singer will save him because the little guy needs defense. Speaker 1: A lab's analysis can guide you and help you consider your career more and do it off

what Speaker 1: you authentically like and dislike, all while being in line with your aspirations so you Speaker 1: make better decisions as an artist. Speaker 1: But some of you haven't been listening for a few minutes as you've been disassociating Speaker 1: of the thought of what Becky would describe you as, and that's unfortunate since she's Speaker 1: calling you untalented 2 Hollis. Speaker 1: In fact, she called me while you were disassociating and she called you.5 Hollis. Speaker 1: And I was like, damn, Becky, you didn't need to be mean like that. Speaker

1: So the way you start to think about how you aren't dissed by Becky, you need to think about your positioning. Speaker 1: Basically, think of it this way. Speaker 1: If you picture the girls who are at the top of pop, you are dead in the water if you're seen as the lame version of Taylor, Sabrina, or Gaga. Speaker 1: But if people can instantly tell you're different than the other girls in pop, you have a position to grow from. Speaker 1: So in my Positioning Masterclass, I make it super clear how you do

positioning so that people see you in the crowded field you're in as a different special artist that people will enjoy. Speaker 1: Now, some of you are probably like, Speaker 1: Dear God, Jesse, this sounds a little corporate for me. Speaker 1: What are you, some LinkedIn bro? Speaker 1: I feel you, Chief. Speaker 1: I don't like talking this way, Speaker 1: but sometimes there's no better words Speaker 1: and positioning is it. Speaker 1: As you'll notice in this video, Speaker 1: I pretty much entirely avoid saying the word brand Speaker 1: as

much as I can Speaker 1: because I find all this shit really stupid, Speaker 1: but sometimes there's no other word for a concept. Speaker 1: Which brings me to one of our next important things. Speaker 1: So I recently made this video Speaker 1: about the most viral artists who blow up in 2024 Speaker 1: and they all have something in common. Speaker 1: So let's again picture the dumbest motherfucker you know talking to the second dumbest motherfucker Speaker 1: you know about what they would say to describe you. Speaker 1: Well, that is

often what you need to either make real apparent in your Instagram or TikTok Speaker 1: bio or your Spotify bio. Speaker 1: It needs to be real obvious and dumb because straight up, just as we talked about, weak Speaker 1: messages create bad outcomes. Speaker 1: And well, the bad outcome is you're going to be wondering why no one talks about you Speaker 1: since people aren't so bright and don't know what to think of you unless you show them exactly Speaker 1: what it is. Speaker 1: So you either need a real sick tagline

about what makes unique or something that creates Speaker 1: curiosity and gets people excited to listen. Speaker 1: I, of course, have a video on how to develop that. Speaker 1: So this is really important since this also stimulates algorithms. Speaker 1: Since when a friend sends a link to your music, one of the things algorithms like the most Speaker 1: is getting shares. Speaker 1: And when you've enabled all this artist development and made yourself really remarkable by going Speaker 1: through these steps, well, you're going to get more shares and then the algorithm

is Speaker 1: going to explode because people are going to be sending it to each other. Speaker 1: And for those of you who don't really think this is important, I have to tell you, you're either not zoomed in enough or you're not paying attention. Speaker 1: It is now recognized by everyone tapped in in the business, in every single genre, that this is the X factor that enhances growth for artists. Speaker 1: And the ones who take it seriously and develop it grow faster, even when their songs are mid at best, the growth is

accelerated. Speaker 1: And I'm going to give you the most apparent example of how true this is. Speaker 1: So let's rewind just two years ago. Speaker 1: A young lady named Addison Rae was one of the biggest TikTok influencers in the game, Speaker 1: and she decided she wanted to become a pop star. Speaker 1: With 88 million TikTok followers, it should be easy. Speaker 1: I mean, that's more than Billie Eilish or Selena Gomez even have today. Speaker 1: Two years later, one would think this career launch would be a layup. Speaker 1:

Surprise, it was not. Speaker 1: Now, I'm going to say this as a person whose own wife banned me from listening to one of the songs on the CP Speaker 1: because I listen to it so much. Speaker 1: So please, what do we call Addison Rae's fans? Speaker 1: Racists or something? Speaker 1: Please don't come for me, okay? Speaker 1: So she put out an EP that was, well, largely greeted by the girls and the gays, Speaker 1: you know, the people who taste make pop music, as the EP being mid at best.

Speaker 1: There was a lot of talk about how she reheated Lady Gaga's nachos Speaker 1: as she used a song that Lady Gaga had previously recorded but never released. Speaker 1: And, well, I listen to it a lot. Speaker 1: Not many other people, though. Speaker 1: Anyway, though, when you looked at her position in her image, it was basically a generic pop star giving kind of broke-ass Kesha and just underdeveloped. Speaker 1: What we then saw, though, was she retreated from the spotlight. Speaker 1: Other artists talked about how she was so into

music and what a big music head she was and how she was studying all the time. Speaker 1: You'd see this in interviews with people who were talking to her. Speaker 1: She'd be photographed in the same Sophie sweater I wear in this video, which is a serious only real heads no move. Speaker 1: And then what we see is she hired a who's who of high taste people from the fashion world Speaker 1: and buckled down in the studio to find a sound at a position of her own. Speaker 1: And sure enough, emerged

with video after video where now everyone described her as iconic Speaker 1: and a style queen as she found her position of doing well, high fashion. Speaker 1: And it lay not so occupied in pop of a more artsy, but accessible high art vibe. Speaker 1: The point being, even with all the advantages in the world, Speaker 1: when Addison didn't have a position, she failed. Speaker 1: How on earth are you going to win when you don't have those advantages if you don't consider your position and define it for an audience? Speaker 1: So

I take this pretty seriously. Speaker 1: But let's go back to that positioning video since I do have to say this one has a lot of copyrighted material, Speaker 1: so it's behind a paywall for my membership, which you can pay $5 one time and you get access to literally the 120 or so videos I have on the lessons of how artists blow up and tons of next level knowledge. Speaker 1: And trust me, I can say there's no other place where you can get this much music education for $5. Speaker 1: Now, I will

say some of the best things you can do is also start to get a visual vibe for your music. Speaker 1: You can use apps to make a mood board. Speaker 1: I use Milanote, which is the same app I use to make that roadmap that accompanies this video. Speaker 1: And all you do is you put images in, you take notes on the visually stunning pictures, Speaker 1: videos you like, pictures you take, vases you see in articles. Speaker 1: Whatever it is, you can add it into Milanote and take notes and develop your

visual style Speaker 1: and references so that people can see what you're talking about Speaker 1: and understand what you're going for, Speaker 1: since oftentimes showing rather than telling Speaker 1: works much better for visual things. Speaker 1: No matter what the genre is, Speaker 1: since I work with artists across so many genres, Speaker 1: the ones who are happy with the directors, Speaker 1: the cover art, Speaker 1: and all the other images you have to make as a musician Speaker 1: are the ones who do this Speaker 1: because it helps

establish a language Speaker 1: other people can understand. Speaker 2: Which also brings me to another lame piece Speaker 2: of corporate speak. Speaker 2: Great. Speaker 2: One of the things so many musicians are dealt with Speaker 2: is being really unhappy with who they hire Speaker 2: them with visuals, whether it's promo shots or music videos. This is often because a creative Speaker 2: brief could have gotten everyone on the same page way more easily. These briefs lay out what the Speaker 2: artist wants and gets them up to speed with expectations in

any creative direction the Speaker 2: artist has for them. But most of all, they tend to make working with another creator easier since Speaker 2: it's clearly defined what you're looking for, what you want to do. And there's of course a video on Speaker 1: that as well, since it's really important. But now let's hang out over at my desk since we got Speaker 1: business to take care of. Since this is a step-by-step guide, we got to take care of some Speaker 1: real business development stuff while you're doing your artist development stuff. Since

while we need Speaker 1: you to be a sick artist that people are totally blown away by, if you don't do some of the nerdy Speaker 1: business stuff, you're either going to get sued or not paid. So let's make sure you get that money Speaker 1: and don't lose it. First, we want to make sure your artist name is one you can actually use and Speaker 1: have the rights to. Since I talk to literally around 500 artists every single year on consulting Speaker 1: calls and like 5% of them get on the call

and they don't have the rights to their name. And this means Speaker 1: if they start to blow up and someone else is using it, odds are they're going to have to rename Speaker 1: themselves and lose a ton of momentum and may never get that momentum back. It's always better Speaker 1: to change your artist's name if you have to sooner than later. And if you definitely don't have the Speaker 1: rights to it and you know you probably don't, the video on the screen right now will teach you how Speaker 1: to check

that yourself instead of having to call me. And you can do this all for free. Next, I have Speaker 1: this video on how to start a music project from scratch. Now, even if you've been cooking for a Speaker 1: minute, this is a list of all the places you should register to get paid. Since another 5% of artists Speaker 1: I talked to on consulting calls call me up because they feel like they aren't making the money they Speaker 1: should after talking to another musician about how much they make. And well, it turns

out they're Speaker 1: often right since they aren't signed up at the places that they should be and they're not getting Speaker 1: all the money that's even due to them collected. So you should really watch that video even if you're Speaker 1: already out there working on your music because you may have missed some things. We go through all Speaker 1: the performance rights organizations and even how to start selling merch without any money down Speaker 1: so that you can start making money to fund your project from day one. So how do you

know when this Speaker 1: work is done? Well the real answer is it's never really done that's why it's called artist development Speaker 1: and we're always developing it. But I have a few questions you can answer to know if you're in a Speaker 1: place where if people like your songs, if it's going to be a strong artist message that you show Speaker 1: to people and that you've developed and you've really positioned yourself apart from people. Speaker 1: So the first is kind of like a mad lip. How would someone describe your music

without saying it's a Speaker 1: bad version of blank? What can you say about your music that would make somebody really run to grab Speaker 1: the earbud out of someone's ear who's listening to it to want to hear it? How would someone describe Speaker 1: your look without saying you look like a mid version of blank? Or how would someone recognize Speaker 1: you if they were dressed up as you for Halloween. What does your video visual language look like Speaker 1: that's different than the other artists similar to you? If someone had seen

two videos of yours Speaker 1: before, how would they recognize that this is your video within 20 seconds of seeing it as Speaker 1: compared to theirs? Now, I'm going to also give you some quick examples of artists who've blown Speaker 1: up in recent years and how we would do this with them. Let's take the artist who made my favorite Speaker 1: album of the year who had a huge breakout literally within the last six months, Nina Jirachi. Speaker 1: What does it sound like? Speaker 1: If Charlie XCX took Brad to the next

EDM level and brought in a little Porter Robinson. Speaker 1: What does she look like? Speaker 1: She has a distinct face and bangs and style and as always, Speaker 1: wearing like big boot legging type things. Speaker 1: I don't know, I'm a guy. Speaker 1: Come on, give me a break. Speaker 1: And she often has a hoodie on. Speaker 1: What do her videos look like? Speaker 1: Oh, extremely, extremely online compared to most other artists. Speaker 1: Okay, now I'll do McGee, Speaker 1: who's arguably the biggest breakout rock musician over

the last two years. Speaker 1: What does it sound like? Speaker 1: Like if the police heard Frank Ocean and yelled into like a distant mic. Speaker 5: What does he look like? Speaker 1: My man has like long feathered hair, but he's always wearing like clothes that are very draped on him. Speaker 1: And like there's lots of shadows around his look at all times. Speaker 3: What does his videos look like? Speaker 1: My man loves a darkly lit video in a very contained scenario where things are happening like around him, kind of.

Speaker 1: When you inspire people to have really strong answers for these questions, you're off to a great start. Speaker 1: And if you want to continue down this path, you should really subscribe and get notifications on for this channel. Speaker 1: Because honestly, this is what I'm making videos about in the next coming months. Speaker 1: And as well, I'm making this whole workbook where you can develop yourself from the questions I ask you. Speaker 1: And all of my members get access to it while I'm writing it and while I'm working on it.

Speaker 1: So they can work on it before everybody else. Speaker 1: And if the workbook is available and those videos are available, they'll be linked in the description. Speaker 1: But now you're ready to hit the next section, which is some of the most important work you'll do. Speaker 1: Now that we're done figuring out who you are, well, at least for now, the next crucial step Speaker 1: that you'd seriously be a fool to skip over is some of the most important work you can do so we Speaker 1: can start doing the

work that will really get your music heard. Now, remember what I told you that Speaker 1: you have to do the work to get your artist message as strong as possible and how once you do it, Speaker 1: you'll actually start to grow faster. Well, the next work that we're going to do in this step Speaker 1: does the same thing is it teaches you how to make your marketing more effective as well as the places Speaker 2: the people most likely to like your music exist both online and in the real world. Speaker 2:

Also, it'll teach you who the producers, managers, directors, lawyers, booking agents, Speaker 1: and all the other people in the business you should be following and keeping tabs on to Speaker 1: grow your career, since it'll show you all the people who work with artists just like Speaker 1: you. Speaker 1: Sounds pretty important, right? Speaker 1: Uh, it is. Speaker 1: Let me tell you two of the most common things I see for musicians who aren't growing. Speaker 1: The first thing I see all the time is an artist has been posting their heart

out, doing pretty Speaker 1: good work even. Speaker 1: and they are still in algorithmic jail. Speaker 1: You know, where you usually can't get past 300 views, Speaker 1: but even a thousand seems impossible. Speaker 1: What I see all the time Speaker 1: is this person is making perfectly fine videos, Speaker 1: but the algorithm has no idea Speaker 1: where to send them whatsoever Speaker 1: because they're using the world's worst hashtags Speaker 1: and not using keywords Speaker 1: that are likely to get to the right audience. Speaker 1: Like for

example, they're using hashtag IndieRock. Speaker 1: No one likes all IndieRock, Speaker 1: so this doesn't get you Speaker 1: to the people most likely to like you. Speaker 1: What the work we do in finding your community Speaker 1: is find the best answers Speaker 1: microgenres your music belongs in, meaning the more niche ones, meaning like folk indie or bliss Speaker 2: indie, things like that, those can help you target the artist whose fans are most likely to like you Speaker 2: and help the algorithm figure out who to send you to to

get to those people. Because so many of you Speaker 2: who get on calls with me are bummed out that no one likes your videos and they've never even been Speaker 1: seen by anyone who would like them. So all these experiments you're getting bummed out about when Speaker 2: you post TikToks, Reels, or YouTube shorts, well they're all experiments where you were bound to Speaker 2: fail anyway. And the good news is once you figure this out, you can repost those videos and probably Speaker 1: get a good result. But there's another scenario. Take

a walk with me. The internet can be a dark Speaker 1: and scary place at times, but I have to say the other side of it is a beautiful place where you Speaker 1: can find some of your best friends throughout my life. And even throughout the time I've been doing Speaker 1: this channel, I've made great friends who make my life a lot better. When you do your community work, Speaker 1: you can find the people most likely that you'll probably get along with and people you can play Speaker 1: shows with, who definitely

like the same music as you and share other interests just like Speaker 1: you. I see it all the time, and I'm going to shock you here, but the people I made friends Speaker 1: with in music also like the weird arthouse movies I watch, read the same books about Speaker 1: broken-brained internet stuff as me, like Memoirs and Rejection, and probably are cursed enough Speaker 1: to pay attention to politics. And now we have all the things I have any interest in outside Speaker 1: of music, and I make those friends and I get

to have great chats with them. This work is Speaker 1: going to help you find those other artists who you engage with and have great times with, or even ones Speaker 1: who will never even know that you're targeting them. But the real fun is when you get to collaborate Speaker 1: with them, play on each other's songs, meet producers who make great music, master your music Speaker 1: for you, play shows, get you to sound better, and make great friendships with. But if we're being Speaker 1: selfish, these are also people who will partner

with you and grow you by helping each other and Speaker 1: introducing you to other people in the community, since most of musicians' growth comes from doing Speaker 1: shows, tours, collaboration songs, and even collab posts where you show yourselves in a sick fit pic Speaker 1: outside. Hold on, let me check my notes. Oh yeah, a dinosaur statue in the middle of nowhere. Why Speaker 1: does everybody post a picture there? When we know the artists whose fans are most likely to like you, Speaker 1: we can target them so many different ways and

reach out to them to grow. So now that we get that, Speaker 1: uh, how do you do it? Well, first we have to figure out the single hardest or easiest question for a Speaker 1: musician. What do you sound like? If you're on the side of the question that it is hard, well, Speaker 1: luckily for you, I made a video on how to figure it out. And luckily these days, there's tools to Speaker 1: figure it out that are super simple and you can do this pretty fast. Now, once you have that figured

Speaker 1: out, I have a video on how to find community that right on the thumbnail says it's my most important Speaker 1: video. It says that because in many ways, this is my most important video. Since when musicians Speaker 1: don't do this work, what I see all the time is even if they get 10,000 monthly listeners, Speaker 1: They often have no idea how to grow, or they pour tons of time or money, or even worse, Speaker 1: effort into videos and marketing that isn't reaching the potential fans as effectively as it could.

Speaker 1: And even worse is sometimes they run a bunch of ads that are going to all the wrong people Speaker 1: and converting terribly, or they're hitting boost on posts, which is even worse. Speaker 1: Finding your community teaches you how to do the right and wrong things, Speaker 1: as well as the right people that are most likely to like your music. Speaker 1: Since really, we don't want to waste all your time or money, Speaker 1: And I'll have a lot more to say about that later. Speaker 1: So with this community

video, I have a free spreadsheet for you to grab. Speaker 1: Literally, it's free. Speaker 1: And you're going to fill it out as you find each music artist whose fans would potentially Speaker 1: like you. Speaker 1: And that's the frame to see this from. Speaker 1: Not do you like them, not do you want to hang out with them, not do you want them to join Speaker 1: your family, your cult or whatever. Speaker 1: Would their fans be very likely to like your music? Speaker 1: They do not need to be a

reflection of you. Speaker 1: And we really focus here on the artists who are up and coming and gaining traction rather Speaker 1: huge artists out there, since the type of fans who listen to musicians who are early in their Speaker 1: career are not the same ones who just listen to the artists who get popular. We try to find the Speaker 1: early adopters who are hungry for new artists and target those people. After this, we make Speaker 1: observations on Reddits and social media. So much of this community work is that you then

know where Speaker 1: the conversations about your genre are happening. You learn that there's an online stream where you Speaker 1: can submit jams, but the songs have to be themed. The theme is announced like 24 hours before. Speaker 1: There's so much weird stuff on the internet where musicians find each other and managers find artists and so many artists get heard for the first time. Speaker 1: You'll learn about an interview series with like queer rappers and it turns out, well, that's you. Speaker 1: And you follow similar artists on Twitter or threads and

you see them mentioned using a certain plugin and it makes that sound that you've always been looking for. Speaker 1: You see a person you admire, say they need a recommendation for a quiet coffee shop to work in your town. Speaker 1: You suggest it to them and then you become friends. Speaker 1: It can be so many things, but this work brings all that to you. Speaker 1: Now, I have a ton of videos on how you take what you learn in this community work and Speaker 1: apply it to promoting your music. Speaker

1: Some of it is doing the dark arts of astroturfing and sock puppets, and some is authentic where Speaker 1: you make real friends. Speaker 1: Choose your own adventure by your own ethics there, but head to the roadmap and really Speaker 1: dig into this section, since it's one of the most important things, and I can say a Speaker 1: whole lot more here, but it's said way better in there, and this is really about following Speaker 1: along and doing the work in a precise way, and that's not what we're doing right here.

Speaker 2: But it is really important work since it makes you go from not being able to find your first Speaker 2: fans to finding them and growing faster. Speaker 2: And I have great news for you. Speaker 2: If this sounds like a lot of work, well, I made an AI prompt that chops the work down Speaker 2: to only a few hours and makes it really effective, and it's right in that roadmap, and the video Speaker 2: is on the screen right now. Speaker 2: If you type in just your microgenre, three artists

to include and three artists to exclude, Speaker 2: you get pretty sick answers that are extremely helpful, Speaker 2: including email addresses of influential people Speaker 2: who will help you get your music heard. Speaker 2: And if you play around switching those three artists out Speaker 2: in the include and exclude section, Speaker 2: you get all sorts of different answers. Speaker 2: And working with an LLM, Speaker 2: this is the type of work I like using those for Speaker 1: because they save you time so you can keep being creative. Speaker 1:

So at the end of this work though, Speaker 1: I want you to have solid answers on the following things. Speaker 1: And if you don't, I promise you, Speaker 1: You're going to keep being mad at those other artists who are growing faster than you. Speaker 1: Because you're not going to know who to send your music to, to accelerate your growth, Speaker 1: which artists to team up with and do things with and really get your growth accelerated. Speaker 1: So how do you know when this work is done? Speaker 1: If you

have 20 to 50 artists with under 100,000 monthly listeners on your list, Speaker 1: whose fans are extremely likely to like you, Speaker 1: tons of the names of the directors, producers, managers, and lawyers who work within your genre, Speaker 1: on the list which places cover those artists, where they're getting publicity, Speaker 1: where they're making moves, the playlists that they're on, Speaker 1: well, you've done a lot of the work. Speaker 1: And then if you have a bunch of others, Speaker 1: let's call it two dozen or so, Speaker 1: of bigger

artists than 100,000 monthly listeners, Speaker 1: well, you've probably done all the work. Speaker 1: So we should head to the next section. Speaker 1: In our next step, Speaker 1: we can now finally start releasing music. Speaker 1: So in a world where people are flooding Speaker 1: the streaming sites with AI music Speaker 1: or just shitting out tracks Speaker 1: that they don't care about Speaker 2: that they've made in an hour, Speaker 2: a lot of people get really depressed Speaker 2: about these type of things. Speaker 2: But I actually

don't. Speaker 2: I don't think it really matters. Speaker 1: We've literally had this for well over 17 years Speaker 1: and it's never mattered. Speaker 1: Artists still break through. Speaker 1: I wrote articles about this in literally 2009 Speaker 1: because the fact of the matter is Speaker 1: even before we were in the streaming era, Speaker 1: when it was just iTunes, Speaker 1: there was like 85% of songs that never got a single play. Speaker 1: So what does it matter Speaker 1: if all these people are flooding the zone with

shit? Speaker 1: For as long as we've been in this era of online music, Speaker 1: we've had an oversupply of music. Speaker 1: So what makes music stand out? Speaker 1: Well, any idiot who you talk to on the internet is going to say, Speaker 1: A great song, Jesse. Speaker 1: But we have to get into the reality of what makes people excited to listen to music aside from a great song. Speaker 1: There's plenty of times we've tuned into a great song, Speaker 1: but not stuck around with an artist and wanted

to go deeper with them. Speaker 1: And so in this section, that's really what we're going to explore. Speaker 1: And we're going to build off of what we built on in step one. Speaker 1: So let's say you're now ready to release music, or at least think about how you release music. Speaker 1: In this step, we're going to get you up to speed on how often and how long you sustain Speaker 1: music and how that helps you grow. So many people wonder about stalled growth. And that most often Speaker 1: happens when

you're not releasing music in a frequency that works best for human attention Speaker 1: spans. Since you can do all this stuff, tour, play shows, all these things, and that's lovely for Speaker 1: keeping a few people engaged. But what people are really here for is your music. In fact, what we Speaker 1: see over and over again is the people who base it off being a TikTok influencer. Yeah, they may have Speaker 1: like one hit when they really make a great song, but really their music career goes nowhere when Speaker 1: they're not

making songs that people rinse and repeat over and over again. So around six years Speaker 1: ago, I made the first video on YouTube, as well as the first article on the internet to explain Speaker 1: how artists were releasing singles every six to eight weeks, but sometimes four. And those artists Speaker 1: who were doing that were blowing up way faster than those who were just randomly dropping songs Speaker 1: whenever they felt like it. And I covered what were tiny artists then, which were just starting Speaker 1: Their names were really obscure artists

you've probably never heard of, like Billie Eilish or Speaker 1: Kim Petras. But this was before nearly anyone knew who they were, and I started to see that Speaker 1: they were building up this way along with tons of other artists. And what I said in that video Speaker 2: has only aged into being industry standard. And a lot of people told me I was an idiot when I Speaker 2: started talking about this, that no one could do this. And the fact is now there's almost no one Speaker 2: who would argue this point.

This has in fact been what I would describe as the frame of the house Speaker 2: when building it up. Speaker 2: The stuff we covered in the two steps before this Speaker 2: are really like the soil and the plants Speaker 2: and the basement that will stand up a house, Speaker 2: but this is really what will make up Speaker 2: how the house is built Speaker 2: and how well it's gonna adjust to being built upon. Speaker 2: So let's crack into the details. Speaker 2: So why is releasing every 48 weeks

so important? Speaker 2: Sounds a little silly, right? Speaker 1: The majority of musicians who blow up Speaker 1: are releasing music at a certain pace, Speaker 1: and that pace stimulates human psychology, Speaker 1: particularly what excites humans Speaker 1: and gets them to pay attention. Speaker 1: And those who don't follow this pace are making one of two mistakes. Speaker 1: They're releasing so much music, they never promote the songs enough for people to hear them. Speaker 1: As well, they're often releasing music that's really low quality Speaker 1: since they're releasing songs

before they're fully cooked. Speaker 1: And then on the other side of the spectrum, Speaker 1: we have the artists who wait way too long between releases, Speaker 1: putting out a song every three to six months or even longer than that. Speaker 1: And no one finds those people exciting Speaker 1: because they don't give music listeners what they actually want. Speaker 1: But before we get into some deeper psychology of why people get obsessed with artists, Speaker 1: let's start at its most base level. Speaker 1: And this is super important. Speaker 1:

So come on, try to listen. Speaker 1: At its core, no matter what genre of music Speaker 1: we're talking about it, Speaker 1: music is a mood-altering drug Speaker 1: that makes you feel a way you'd rather feel. Speaker 1: So the problem with the people Speaker 1: who put out music every two weeks Speaker 1: is the drug is usually not that strong an emotion. Speaker 1: It doesn't feel as good as the other artists Speaker 1: who take the time to craft a song Speaker 1: into a powerful emotion. Speaker 1: These

people usually just shit it out after a few hours. Speaker 1: But those people would take way too long Speaker 1: to make something really good. Speaker 1: but the audience can't depend on them to give them a hit of their favorite drug often enough, Speaker 1: well, they grow bored and look for someone else who will deliver it more consistently to them. Speaker 1: I mean, have you ever been around drug addicts? Speaker 1: This is a pretty nice way of describing them at best. Speaker 1: And this is why we see so often

that fans lash out at artists Speaker 1: when they're not putting out a song after they loved the last one, Speaker 1: because they really want that hit that made them feel the way they'd rather feel. Speaker 1: And when the artist doesn't deliver that, Speaker 1: well, they're kind of pissed in the same way a drug addict is. Speaker 1: Now of course, I hear an argument constantly, I already know what you're gonna say. Speaker 1: Is that when your favorite artists take a year or two between albums, well, they're not losing all their

fans. Speaker 1: In fact, here's Dochi making that argument really eloquently. Speaker 5: And it's amazing how the word of mouth can still really affect that. Speaker 5: We try to find our audience through all these digital ways and lots of billions of little kind of lanes, Speaker 5: but really sometimes you just have to take the big road and just put your best self in front of as many people as possible and let that word of mouth thing happen. Speaker 3: People remember how you made them feel. Speaker 5: I search for fundamental truths

in these conversations because we've all heard everyone say everything over and over again. Speaker 5: We're in a conversation loop at some point in our life. Speaker 5: When you say something like that, I realize like, oh my God, that is a fundamental playbook truth. Speaker 5: They want, they remember the feeling. Speaker 3: Yes, that's it. Speaker 1: And this is correct. Speaker 1: After you've delivered a serious mood-altering drug that sticks with people, Speaker 1: they remember how they felt and forgive you as you take a while to cook a new mood-altering drug

in the lab. Speaker 1: But when you're still getting better at making music, Speaker 1: and you're often delivering mid or slightly above mid tracks, Speaker 1: I mean, let's be honest, that's a lot of you, Speaker 1: you can attract fans and some loyalty Speaker 1: by giving the fans of those bigger artists Speaker 1: a decent enough hit of their favorite mood-altering drug Speaker 1: that they've learned from the best artists in the game, Speaker 1: and you'll deliver a good enough hit, Speaker 1: and in time, with some development, Speaker 1: you

may turn into one of those artists Speaker 1: that gives them the ultimate mood-altering drug. Speaker 1: And here's a path that has worked Speaker 1: for so many of probably your favorite artists, Speaker 1: is that you're doing a good enough version Speaker 1: of that mood-altering drug, Speaker 1: and then you're starting to really level up fast. Speaker 1: But what you're giving people right now Speaker 1: is consistency when their favorite artist isn't around. Speaker 1: And that's why your value at first Speaker 1: is being more consistent than them. Speaker 1:

I talked about this a ton in my video Speaker 1: on the artist Artemis. Speaker 1: You may remember them from their mega viral hit, Speaker 1: I Like the Way You Kiss Me, Speaker 1: which hijacked The Weeknd's fan base. Speaker 1: In fact, the way they hijacked this fan base Speaker 1: was pretty brilliant. Speaker 1: I mean, The Weeknd was the biggest artist Speaker 1: in the world at the time, Speaker 1: and this was super smart Speaker 1: since they weren't putting out music at the time. Speaker 1: This is all

to say, being consistent by releasing every 48 weeks keeps you creating, getting better, and keeps fans locked in with you since you can deliver that mood-altering drug when their faves are away on tour or in the lab. Speaker 1: So if you want to harness this psychology's power, it means you have to do what I call consistent, sustained promotion, which is basically the backbone of this channel. Speaker 1: I often call it CSP as well. Speaker 1: If you haven't heard me explain this before, many musicians suffer from those absent periods Speaker 1: we talked

about before where they drop off the radar of their fans all the time and go Speaker 1: dark for no good reason. Speaker 1: This inconsistency depletes your momentum and your potential fans and the fans that you've Speaker 1: already made feeling that they need to stay in touch with you and know who you are. Speaker 1: Consistent sustained promotion means releasing music regularly for a sustained amount of Speaker 1: time where you consistently call action to it so that people feel the need to pay attention Speaker 1: to you. Speaker 1: But of course,

it's a lot more complicated than that. Speaker 1: so keep following me here for a second. Speaker 1: And I know a lot of you know this Speaker 1: since I've been yapping about it for six years. Speaker 1: So if you get it, Speaker 1: well, the next section is probably a lot of things Speaker 1: you don't understand. Speaker 1: So if you've heard me do this video before, Speaker 1: well, feel free to skip ahead, Speaker 1: but I have a lot of new points Speaker 1: if you want to go over

it again. Speaker 1: So let's first get this straight. Speaker 1: Spotify and YouTube are the majority of what we focus on, Speaker 1: since other platforms will be a very small part Speaker 1: of your streams no matter what type of music you do. Speaker 1: So many people read Apple press releases Speaker 1: of them having so many users, Speaker 1: but the real fact is, Speaker 1: depending on the artist whose analytics you look at, Speaker 1: 80 to 90% of your music listening Speaker 1: and where your fans listen only Speaker

1: will come from Spotify and YouTube. Speaker 1: And while your uncle may yap all day about Tidal Speaker 1: and his sick sound system, Speaker 1: when you look at most artists' royalties, Speaker 1: Tidal won't even have 1% of those royalties. Speaker 1: Luckily, Spotify and YouTube also happen to have Speaker 1: the best tools for promoting your music Speaker 1: of all the platforms. Speaker 1: And if you understand how to use them, well, you can really cook and do some damage on building a fan base. Speaker 1: But all that is

later in this video, I promise, since we need to talk about how you release music. Speaker 1: YouTube has by far the most users. Speaker 1: It's the way so many fans investigate music artists at first, Speaker 1: especially if your listeners are coming from TikTok Reels and YouTube Shorts. Speaker 1: This is where you will often get your initial listens, where people first discover you. Speaker 1: While most people think Spotify is where most listeners go after listening on TikTok and Reels, Speaker 1: Most studies show it's actually YouTube with Spotify right behind it.

Speaker 1: And if they catch you on YouTube shorts, they most definitely are going to listen to you Speaker 1: on YouTube to watch your full video if they're interested. Speaker 1: But most importantly, both are where people do repeated listens and go deeper with the Speaker 1: artists they love. Speaker 1: And with Spotify about to launch music videos in America, this is going to change a little, Speaker 1: but fundamentally, these both are going to be the main place you focus and you should Speaker 1: focus on them near equally. Speaker 1: Now,

while Spotify and YouTube are both the top ways people discover music, Speaker 1: the place where relationships are really built Speaker 1: and that narrative where we talk about your fans actually being invested in you Speaker 1: is often YouTube with a little bit of Instagram that we'll get into later. Speaker 1: The time spent watching interviews, playthroughs, vlogs, behind-the-scenes videos, Speaker 1: live streams is the ultimate way musicians give an audience the war that gets fans talking. Speaker 1: It's also the consumption time that keeps you on top of fans' minds Speaker 1: so

they're reminded to turn you on when it's music listening time. Speaker 1: But now we should get into some of the core ways that all this works Speaker 1: so you can understand the psychology about how to promote your music. Speaker 1: So let's get you up to speed with the four critical parts of how we release music properly. Speaker 1: The first is to appeal to algorithms. Speaker 1: Then we have to constantly call attention. Speaker 1: And the third, we have to give fans a reason to talk. Speaker 1: And the fourth is

we have to increase our relationships with them. Speaker 1: And we want to always be looking at how we're going to promote our music Speaker 1: to maximize each of these four pillars. Speaker 1: So let's first discuss how you appeal to algorithms. Speaker 1: One of the things so few people seem to get is that algorithms are not evil computer programs Speaker 1: that are out to get you. Speaker 1: They're based on studies of what makes humans pay attention, and appealing to them is appealing Speaker 1: to human nature. Speaker 1: This gets

humans to pay attention to you. Speaker 1: So let's talk about that human nature, since that's what the algorithms are built off Speaker 1: of. Speaker 1: Now, there's this concept I like to call attention propensity. Speaker 1: Now, if you're not so into big words, I mean, come on, I know this audience. Speaker 1: Propensity means an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way. Speaker 1: Like, you know when you can't help but open social media apps whenever you go to open your Speaker 1: phone, even if you were going to

order lunch from like Uber Eats or something? Speaker 1: That's the propensity. Speaker 1: And so with music fans, the propensity is to pay attention to artists they're reminded Speaker 1: of regularly. Speaker 1: To go deeper, your potential fan's attention is naturally drawn to artists who do cool Speaker 1: things regularly and call attention to themselves by doing things that are exciting, different, Speaker 1: or what I like to call eventful. Speaker 1: Eventful means cool content, different things people haven't seen before, striking images, Speaker 1: compelling stories, doing things people are a little

familiar with but is kind of new, Speaker 1: and of course, great songs. Speaker 1: Audiences' propensity is to be drawn to things that they see that they deem important, Speaker 1: they're going to need to know about to have conversations with people they admire. Speaker 2: And by admire, I mean want to be friends with, impress, or let's get real here, chief, sleep with. Speaker 2: Now, much of this comes down to that many of the people who seek out new artists Speaker 2: is that they think this will impress others Speaker 2: and

that they will want to be friends with them Speaker 1: or, well, fuck them. Speaker 1: And I know, we all know how often people get laid Speaker 1: by knowing the coolest underground noise artist Speaker 1: and mansplaining it. Speaker 1: I didn't say humans made sense here. Speaker 1: This is just what the psychology does Speaker 1: and why people behave in strange ways at times. Speaker 1: Anyway, so when you create the feeling Speaker 1: that you are important, Speaker 1: people should pay attention to you Speaker 1: by doing things regularly

that are interesting Speaker 1: and you are one of those musicians Speaker 1: who plays into the psychology Speaker 1: so they feel they need to know about you, Speaker 1: they will be more invested in knowing about you, Speaker 1: give you more chances when you put out mid-tracks, Speaker 1: and check back in with you, Speaker 1: even if you haven't been delivering Speaker 1: what they really love lately. Speaker 1: I mean, think about it this way. Speaker 1: I have a tattoo of the band, the 1975, right here. Speaker 1: And

when I first started hearing about them, Speaker 1: I was like, this is awful. Speaker 1: But I was kind of invested in knowing who they were. Speaker 1: Everyone I knew was talking about them, Speaker 1: so I wanted to know a little Speaker 1: about what was going on with them. Speaker 1: And I kept checking in, and sure enough, Speaker 1: that relationship grew into them being my favorite band, Speaker 1: and me spending money on them every time they come around. Speaker 1: But if you regularly disappear Speaker 1: and don't

seem like someone they need to know about, Speaker 1: well, you're gonna get ignored. Speaker 1: And to make this even more complex, Speaker 1: some humans care about this trait more than others. Speaker 1: So when we're doing music marketing, Speaker 1: we're really trying to find the people Speaker 1: who are the ones who look for new artists Speaker 1: before everyone else. Speaker 1: Because there's so many people Speaker 1: who just wanna be told what to listen to Speaker 1: and don't wanna scour through and find the cool new artist. Speaker

1: But those people who find value Speaker 1: in knowing about music before other people, Speaker 1: They try to find these artists before everyone does because they get something out of that. Speaker 1: And showing them that you are one to pay attention to by doing things in the way that excites them, Speaker 1: well, that often makes this job a lot easier and you'll grow faster than the rest. Speaker 1: But that brings us to our next pillar, which is of course, give fans a reason to talk. Speaker 1: Let's start with an

example in recent times that I think most people will understand. Speaker 1: Charlie XCX's rollout for her album Brat was a masterclass in constantly inserting herself into the culture her fans live in Speaker 1: keeping the conversation going. Speaker 1: And if you're really interested in this, Speaker 1: I have a whole video and newsletter Speaker 1: about how this was the greatest album rollout Speaker 1: in recent years and how it changed Speaker 1: what everyone's doing in releasing music now. Speaker 1: But some of the reason this album rollout Speaker 1: was so

masterful is if you were a fan of hers, Speaker 1: you never knew what was gonna happen next Speaker 1: for the entirety of Brat Summer. Speaker 1: One minute, she's throwing a pop-up concert Speaker 1: outside my gym for some reason, Speaker 1: where she bought a billboard dubbed The Brat Wall, Speaker 1: and she was constantly putting up announcements Speaker 1: of what was coming the next day. Speaker 1: Another minute, she's going out to clubs Speaker 1: and she just seems to be everywhere. Speaker 1: And it's creating all these conversations Speaker

1: that people want to be a part of and understand. Speaker 1: Even if you don't have one millionth of the fans Charlie does, Speaker 1: the feeling of you need to stay tuned Speaker 1: because something new is going to happen Speaker 1: is what gets your followers talking. Speaker 1: Then everybody around them feels like they need to know Speaker 1: who this person is going to be to be able to talk about them. Speaker 1: When you feed fans things that hold their attention, Speaker 1: not just announcements of big things coming,

Speaker 1: you hold their attention when there's a conversation worth having. Speaker 1: So this is why when you see a lot of celebrities Speaker 1: say a lot of ridiculous things for attention, they know that as long as they stay on top Speaker 1: of their fans' minds, they're winning anyway. Speaker 1: If they contradict their brand, it doesn't matter. Speaker 1: What matters is, is people constantly discussing them. Speaker 1: But I promise, if you give me one more minute, I'll connect this back to small artists that Speaker 1: no one knows and

how this works for them. Speaker 1: In 2024, a study was released by YouTube on how fans behave. Speaker 1: It showed that 8% of Gen Z now consider themselves professional fans, meaning they earn money Speaker 1: from talking about things online. Speaker 1: It's 65% of Gen Z consider themselves creators. Speaker 1: What this means is there's a whole culture of people talking and discussing things online. Speaker 1: Unless your music feels like something people need to know in order to bond with the group Speaker 1: of people that they want to bond with,

which could be a niche group of people or the very Speaker 1: niche things, well, you're not going to get discussed. Speaker 1: These creators in this study make memes, explainers, influencer videos, video essays and stories. Speaker 1: They play your songs in them. Speaker 1: They make reaction videos, dances, and all sorts of things that get you to begin to be a part of the conversation. Speaker 1: The artists who are doing cool things and call attention to themselves on a regular basis Speaker 1: become a part of the conversation these creators discuss. Speaker

1: And now, for those of you who are getting really bummed out by this, Speaker 1: a lot of what fans discuss is hidden meaning in lyrics, things you say in interviews, Speaker 1: or tiny hints that you make in music videos, reels, or TikToks. Speaker 1: And it's not just Gen Z. There's so many older creators. Speaker 1: I mean, you're looking at one right now? Speaker 1: Anyway, when you're doing really cool things, Speaker 1: they want to make sure they don't miss anything. Speaker 1: And when you occasionally pop in and say

hi Speaker 1: and do something every month or two, Speaker 1: you feel boring like the thousands of other musicians Speaker 1: not worth watching. Speaker 1: You're not going to stay on top of people's minds Speaker 1: and they don't think they have to pay attention Speaker 1: and hit that follow button so they see what you do next. Speaker 1: They just go, well, maybe I'll see another one Speaker 1: of their mid songs when it comes up in my Discover Weekly. Speaker 1: And then they don't really lock in and know who

you are. Speaker 1: When you use attention propensity, Speaker 1: they feel like it will be necessary to know about you Speaker 1: to bond with other people they wanna be closer with. Speaker 1: Our next pillar is constantly calling attention. Speaker 1: And this one is gonna be a pillar Speaker 1: that I kinda punt to later in this video for the most part. Speaker 1: Since it's really how we do a lot of growth Speaker 1: and there's a whole section on growing your project. Speaker 1: But I want you to understand it.

Speaker 1: So let's talk about it a little. Speaker 1: Many people call what we're in right now Speaker 1: the attention economy. Speaker 1: And the real fact is artists who are doing things Speaker 1: that remind people to listen to their music, Speaker 1: particularly by making music videos, songs, Speaker 1: and doing other cool things Speaker 1: that friends are likely to send to another friend Speaker 1: and say, you gotta see this. Speaker 1: Well, those are the artists who grow the fastest. Speaker 1: Now, I know that was a lot

in one sentence, Speaker 1: so let's break it down slow for the people watching Speaker 1: who are still feeling last night's party a bit. Speaker 1: The artists who are gonna grow the fastest, Speaker 1: constantly, meaning every week or two, Speaker 1: at least do something that is eventful, Speaker 1: meaning one friend would send it to another, Speaker 1: as opposed to the typical musician behavior, Speaker 1: which is pretty mid and not eventful, Speaker 1: where they do a bunch of things no one would remark on, Speaker 1: share with the

Fred and they go dark all the time and you don't understand why. Speaker 1: And they just write stream our music, bro. Speaker 1: Big things coming in a caption with a picture you posted for weeks on end. Speaker 1: They see you as an annoying clown. Speaker 1: Who's not putting the effort in. Speaker 1: Why would they be paying attention to you when there's all these other artists Speaker 1: who are putting out content regularly, Speaker 1: making cool songs and feeding them with things they're excited about that they Speaker 1: can talk

to people that they'll get some benefit out of knowing about. Speaker 1: Now, if you're doing the consistent sustained promotion method, Speaker 1: your name will be coming up all the time. Speaker 1: It's getting recommended in the algorithm. Speaker 1: Remember, all those platforms like TikTok and Instagram want you to be posting at least 10 times a month minimum. Speaker 1: If you're telling stories around your music, popping up on social media, making things that people would actually generate a conversation about, Speaker 1: then potential fans are going to finally click in and learn

more about you. Speaker 1: The key is, though, you have to come up with these eventful things. Speaker 1: We're going to talk about how we come up with those later in the video, of course. Speaker 1: But for all of you who wonder why no one's paying attention, doing eventful things gets fans talking and eventually gets press talking, doors opening. Speaker 1: And when the music business sees that people were able to create those things regularly, that's when I often get called to come check out an artist. Speaker 1: And then sure enough, I

see after the show, they're talking about signing a contract with those artists because that's the real skill aside from making great music. Speaker 1: So when I plan release strategies with artists, I always tell them they need to ask themselves, is this the most eventful music video we can make? Speaker 1: What are the most compelling stories we can tell around the music? Speaker 1: To be deemed eventful, you need to be doing things that get people talking continuously. Speaker 1: But this is the simplest way I can put this, and we'll get into it

in, well, let's be Speaker 1: honest, like an hour or so. Speaker 1: But I bet a bunch of you are still skeptical of all this and want to understand how we actually Speaker 1: discover music. Speaker 2: Since, frankly, I've probably spent months of my life in the comments and replies discussing Speaker 2: with you all this. Speaker 2: Since some of you, for some reason, think because you've barely studied a subject, that you're Speaker 2: somehow an expert on it. Speaker 2: I wonder where we learned to do that. Speaker 2: Now let's

think about how all of us discover music. Speaker 2: Sure, lots of it's on playlists for most people or scrolling through TikTok and Reels, Speaker 2: but much of it is being reminded constantly by seeing it pop up on trusted people's social Speaker 2: media, seeing a name come up over and over again, or other people talking about that Speaker 2: artist you know. Speaker 1: How many times have you loved a song, forgotten about it, and then seen that artist and remember Speaker 1: you should go deeper with them, and then sometime later you

discover they even have a new song Speaker 1: to stream and that's the one that finally converts you into being a fan that's locked in. And we're Speaker 1: going to get into the whole idea of aura versus slop and how some artists get ahead by doing real Speaker 1: slop and just doing a lot of it and some create aura by doing only really huge spectacle things. Speaker 1: But if you just make boring posts all day and don't care about quality and only care about Speaker 1: quantity, you'll be deemed uneventful and die

in the algorithm. You'll get muted or you won't get Speaker 1: spread. And yes, muted is a thing and a lot of the time when people ask me why no one sees their Speaker 1: post despite having tons of followers. When you've been wasting people's time for sometimes years with Speaker 1: uneventful crap or annoyed your audience with the big things coming posts, you often get muted to Speaker 1: be polite and not unfollow you. Take note of that, reply guys. But when you're doing eventful, Speaker 2: exciting things, fans keep turning to you to

ingest things when they need to be entertained. Speaker 2: They then deepen their relationship with you. I can remember when Chapel Roan was first blowing up, Speaker 2: sitting in back of a girl on a train who just scrolled through her feed from top to bottom Speaker 2: on Instagram, the whole train ride. When you're actually creating compelling images and setting Speaker 2: yourself apart from people by positioning yourself well and telling compelling stories, Speaker 1: that's the behavior you inspire in fans. But you have to develop that. Speaker 1: Now let's get to our

fourth pillar, which is to increase relationships. Speaker 1: One of the things I hear from musicians all the time is they're getting followers, Speaker 1: but those followers aren't really engaging with them. And a lot of where this gets done Speaker 1: is telling stories at a subject we call meta-narrative, which we're going to get into Speaker 1: in our very last step. Now, the way we bring people in so that they engage with you more is they have Speaker 1: to understand something about you in some sort of narrative. But this can even be

simple. Sometimes Speaker 1: that narrative doesn't need to be that your parent died or you got your heart broken. It can be Speaker 1: playthroughs of your song, vlogs, shorts, behind the scenes, or narratives inside your music video. Speaker 1: But when you create headcanon narratives and feed fans, well, it does do the work a lot faster. Speaker 1: Let me break it down how some artists actually do this. Speaker 1: It can be as simple as Charlie XCX being a party girl, Speaker 1: dealing with the pressures of modern pop stardom Speaker 1: and

whether to have a family or keep partying. Speaker 1: Morgan Wallen, well, let's get real. Speaker 1: He's trying to be less of a bad person since, well... Speaker 1: We all know what the record shows here. Speaker 1: Dylan Francis is always doing something silly, Speaker 1: often with other artists, while boosting young artists. Speaker 1: Where Sleep Token sings about weird things like rituals Speaker 1: and also about the complexities of their weird life. Speaker 1: Artists can be complex and contain multitudes, and they're allowed to be complex characters that have nuance and

even have contradictions. Speaker 1: But you have to think about this stuff and what you show to people, or else they're not going to really have much to follow along with. Speaker 1: If it's just you lip syncing to your song and looking hot each day, that doesn't give people enough to discuss. Speaker 1: And a lot of people wonder how fans are going to see this. Speaker 1: But one of the things they don't get is that the YouTube algorithm is so good at finding the exact fans who should be watching this stuff, Speaker

1: that you can convert them over to your music and build deeper relationships with them. Speaker 1: The algorithm can literally see when a fan starts watching a bunch of your different music videos Speaker 1: that they're probably going to be susceptible to watching a vlog, Speaker 2: a playthrough, some behind-the-scenes thing, or even a Q&A with you, or an interview. Speaker 1: Once it sees you being engaged with a lot, it helps fans go deeper with you. Speaker 1: But one of the biggest mistakes most artists make is they don't give the material to

do so Speaker 1: and increase the relationship so they're thinking about you more. Speaker 1: Watching you actually do things in long form really creates deeper relationships and makes Speaker 1: people think about you more. Speaker 1: But if that intrigues you, I have a whole playlist on how you win on YouTube. Speaker 1: And if you want to go deeper, that's inside that roadmap I made. Speaker 1: But I want you to get that Instagram stories and grid posts are mostly for people to stay Speaker 1: in touch with you and for them to

deepen a relationship with you. Speaker 1: You can show them things about you. Speaker 1: Do you like to stop in the forest on tour? Speaker 1: That's a great grid post. Speaker 1: Are you really obsessed with trying every bad fast food place in America while on tour? Speaker 1: Maybe that's another one. Speaker 1: Is your side hobby making candles? Speaker 1: That's a great thing to show in stories too. Speaker 1: The relationships you deepen on TikTok and Instagram Reels are often what makes people Speaker 1: think about going to listen to

your music more and feeling more of a bond with you when Speaker 1: they see a thing that you've talked about before and then somewhere in their brain it's triggered Speaker 1: that you were into that thing and they should listen to your music again. Speaker 1: And this is one of the main things I teach in my member feed every single week, which by the way, for $5 a month, you get over six hours of videos every month where I explain the latest social media trends, answer your questions, listen to your music, and give

critiques, and dissect how the biggest artists in the world are blowing up from zero fans to now making their dreams come true. Speaker 1: I go over the latest social media promotion methods at the top of every one and answer all of your questions. Speaker 1: And there's over a hundred videos in our back catalog that you can learn from where there's so much of this stuff. Speaker 1: You should really tap in there and there's a link in the description. Speaker 1: But when you tell stories about your music and come out with new

content, Speaker 1: like a lyric video after two weeks or a music video two weeks later, Speaker 1: it allows the algorithm to remind people as well as having your eventful stories to tell around your song. Speaker 1: You can post these stories to Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, threads, or wherever else. Speaker 1: It makes it so you actually get noticed and you seem eventful when you have all this stuff going on and you demand attention propensity. Speaker 1: But now that we understand the way attention and music discovery work, let's get into the whole pacing

of releasing music since it's more complex than just releasing songs. Speaker 1: So let's really get into why releasing around every 48 weeks is prime and optimal for musicians. Speaker 1: On the weekly and bi-weekly side, you're putting out so much content, no one takes you seriously. Speaker 1: Why bother listening since it seems like you're just putting out any crap you can pump out and hoping you get lucky? Speaker 1: That's not exciting to follow along with. Speaker 1: And I know a lot of you think, Speaker 1: I got 25 songs and they're

all amazing. Speaker 1: But I can't get this through your skull enough. Speaker 1: The only artists that works for are the ones that have proven to the world that they have great material Speaker 1: and then they meet the demand from the fans. Speaker 1: And I know there's some absolute clowns on some of these apps who will tell you otherwise, Speaker 1: but I'm telling you, we're in a flood of music. Speaker 1: People want exceptional music, not just anything you have. Speaker 1: and I need to stress this to you, music is

not like a lottery ticket. Songs at the heart of them Speaker 1: are an emotion, that mood-altering drug we talked about before. And oftentimes, you've not figured Speaker 1: out how to make that song as powerful and emotional as possible, which is why you think all of them Speaker 1: are so good. I implore you to pick your best material, and that doesn't mean throw away those Speaker 1: songs, but pick them up from time to time and think of the emotion you're communicating and Speaker 1: trying to think of how you can make them

more powerful. The biggest problem with this is if Speaker 1: you're like most musicians today, you're trying to boost your momentum on TikTok reels or shorts. Speaker 1: And it's often at the 30 day mark where posting your song starts to gain momentum. And if you're Speaker 1: releasing a song every 14 days, it never has the chance to really take off. And before you've really Speaker 1: reminded people and pushed it so they can catch on, you're onto the next one and it's no longer Speaker 1: getting traction because you stopped promoting it. And

even when you have great songs and 24 that are Speaker 1: better than most tracks of your genre, the problem often becomes no one ever hears them because you Speaker 1: didn't take the time to give them the love they deserve. As well, since Spotify will only allow Speaker 1: you to submit one song at a time for editorial playlist consideration, they ask you to do it 28 Speaker 1: days in advance. And releasing a song any more than that becomes a fool's game. Spotify editorial Speaker 1: playlists allow you a huge opportunity for an

explosion of your fan base. And if you don't know Speaker 1: what I'm talking about, be sure to watch my video on how to write a Spotify editorial pitch that Speaker 1: actually gets you on playlists. Now, I know a lot of you have argued that we're out of the playlist Speaker 1: era, but just because the numbers aren't as big on editorial playlists doesn't mean they don't Speaker 1: feed those algorithmic playlists where your big numbers come from. When you're on those editorial Speaker 1: playlists, that's how they figure out which Spotify radio you

should be on, what daily mix Speaker 1: playlists you should be on, and all the other connections that you get in the algorithm. Speaker 1: So discounting editorial playlists, I know some small-minded fools have done it on these apps, Speaker 1: but honestly, they're not seeing the bigger picture because they're not reading data right. Speaker 1: But let's discuss the people on the other end of the spectrum, who put out a song every Speaker 1: three to six months, if even that. Speaker 1: These are often the people who tell me that they can't make

a song faster because they're Speaker 1: masterpieces, and for some genres, that really is the case that it's very rare that you Speaker 1: could create very fast. Speaker 1: If that's the case, sadly, you're not going to gain a lot of momentum no matter how good Speaker 1: the songs are, unless you stack up a bunch of them and release them all in a row for Speaker 1: a sustained period, which is a much better way of doing it, rather than just whenever Speaker 1: you finish one. Speaker 1: You can bank up a

bunch of songs and try to sustain that for 12 to 18 months, which is Speaker 1: really only eight or nine songs of doing consistent sustained promotion. Speaker 1: But more often than not, that's not what this is about. Speaker 1: These people just lose motivation or are not up for the commitment of making content fast Speaker 1: or sticking to this. Speaker 1: But the fact is, as we've talked about extensively, no one finds this exciting. Speaker 1: Your word of mouth dies even when your songs are good. Speaker 1: Your monthly listeners go

down even when people like that song because they need a new hit Speaker 1: of their favorite mood-altering drug. Speaker 1: Now, if you're in the optimal zone, which is every four to eight weeks, that's where the magic really happens. Speaker 1: A lot of the work you have to do, like making a minimum viable video, a lyric video and music video, and chopping up short form content is a lot of work for a lot of people. Speaker 1: And in this zone, it's manageable for a lot more people. Speaker 1: The weekly and biweekly

people often just skip promoting and drop songs and make stupid social media posts one time. Speaker 1: But really, where this tends to work is when you're dropping every four to eight weeks and you're really pushing it. Speaker 2: Now, for those of you who aren't watching this while you're practicing scales or playing solitary and are actually locked in, you've probably figured out that just releasing a song in short form videos isn't the only thing we do to get attention for a song. Speaker 2: So let's go through my release strategy that's a boilerplate strategy

that you can improvise off of, but this tends to work really well for a lot of artists to get fast growth. Speaker 2: On week one, we're going to release a minimum viable video, aka a video that you make pretty fast, four to six hours that just has some motion to it. Speaker 1: Some people even call these visualizers. Speaker 1: But we need that video that has motion since the people coming over with short attention Speaker 1: spans from TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube shorts need to stay engaged. Speaker 1: And if you want to

learn more about this, go to this part of the roadmap. Speaker 1: And once your song video comes out for the next two weeks, you tell stories around that. Speaker 1: And we're going to get very into depth of that in the re-release of my 90-day plan video, Speaker 1: which is going to be out really soon. Speaker 1: So make sure you're subscribed and have notifications turned on. Speaker 1: On week three, put up your lyric video or a different visualizer. Speaker 1: And for those two weeks, continue to tell stories around it. Speaker

1: On week five, put up your music video. Speaker 1: Your song's now been out for a month. Speaker 1: And depending on how well your song's reaction is, Speaker 1: you'll promote it for two more weeks and tell stories around it. Speaker 1: Or on week seven, which is optional, if the song is doing really well, Speaker 1: you can release an alternate version, which can be acoustic, Speaker 1: a slowed down or sped up version, even a version with strings. Speaker 1: Or you can add another artist as a feature on it Speaker

1: and bring their audience in with you, Speaker 1: you can do a remix. Speaker 1: Hell, you're the artist, be imaginative, Speaker 1: but keep giving the audience eventful ways Speaker 1: to think about your music Speaker 1: and keep the attention propensity towards you engaged. Speaker 1: And you really see this all the time Speaker 1: with smart DIY and major label acts Speaker 1: is even if it's not two weeks later, Speaker 1: that they keep the conversation going around Speaker 1: a song that's doing really well Speaker 1: by making these

alternate versions. Speaker 1: Now, the worst thing some people do Speaker 1: is they do this like 18 months later with a remix album, Speaker 1: but keeping the conversation around the song, Speaker 1: even seven to 12 or 16 weeks later, Speaker 1: can keep the conversation around the song changing and evolving Speaker 1: as people see more ways that you've flipped it. Speaker 1: And really, when you see that you have a song that's performing well, Speaker 1: this is often a cue that if you'd presented it a different way, Speaker 1: you

could probably get a lot of growth out of it. Speaker 1: Use your imagination on what would accentuate the song's emotion Speaker 1: or bring another context to it that the audience would like. Speaker 1: Get that out there as fast as you can so you can keep this going. Speaker 1: And I really could name a dozen songs where both the alternate version and the main version Speaker 1: do great and complement each other these days. Speaker 1: Hell, even those slowed down versions often get tens of millions of streams on some songs. Speaker

1: But once you're done promoting that song, it's time to do this with another single Speaker 1: and do it all over again, since you're sustaining this promotion. Speaker 1: And this is what works to build you up. Speaker 2: And eventually you assemble all the songs you have, Speaker 2: plus whatever other ones you'd like to package on an album. Speaker 2: And well, you start again after that and keep building momentum up as much as you can. Speaker 2: Since songs are literally our greatest promotion method and our greatest growth tool. Speaker 2:

They're even Back Catalog's greatest growth tool. Speaker 2: And many people forget that the best promotion for an old song that they really loved that Speaker 2: didn't catch on is a new song that calls attention to you and then gets people interested in Speaker 1: your Back Catalog. Speaker 1: And I should say the most common question I get whenever I discuss this stuff is, should Speaker 1: you still release an album? Speaker 1: And the answer is, of course. Speaker 1: When we release albums, it allows a conversation to start. Speaker 1: It's

a big inflection point and can get a lot more attention for you. Speaker 1: You can get a lot more people to ingest your body of work. Speaker 1: And a lot of the places that really reflect on whether artists are worth paying attention to Speaker 1: only do it when you've released an album. Speaker 1: So it's a really good method to get a different type of publicity Speaker 1: and a different type of conversation going around you. Speaker 1: But we'll get into a lot of album marketing a lot later in this video.

Speaker 1: I know some of you will ask me about the waterfall technique since we discussed albums. Speaker 1: The waterfall technique is great. Speaker 1: It's where you bundle songs that you put out in a sequential order, Speaker 1: and this helps drive up streams for you as an artist. Speaker 1: And this has all gotten a little complex, Speaker 1: since Spotify countdowns and pre-saves are one of the main things that you need to utilize these days. Speaker 1: But this is not the type of thing I should be getting into in this

video. Speaker 1: And I know some of you have heard some terrible little things about waterfall techniques Speaker 1: from people who don't know how to read data yet again. Speaker 1: And if you want to dig into this, you should really get into the video I recently put out about this. Speaker 1: But one of the things I really have to impress upon you all, since we brought up pre-saves Speaker 1: and those Spotify countdowns, is that pre-saves are a big game for big artists. Speaker 1: But what you don't get is it's not

doing what you think it is. Speaker 1: What pre-saves are good for is getting your fans emails. Speaker 1: And as you have more of them, that becomes very important because it's how you make money. Speaker 1: We're going to get into all that later, but if you want to get your head screwed on straight Speaker 1: first, watch that video I have on the waterfall technique and pre-saves. Speaker 1: And I know one of the things we also breezed over in this section that you're probably Speaker 1: curious about that we're going to really

get into later is music videos. Since they're one of the Speaker 1: biggest growth levers we have, and I truly believe you should have a minimum viable video for every Speaker 1: song, as well as a lyric video and a music video for any song you really care about pushing hard Speaker 1: or any that starts to do really well. Videos are not only important since they are an eventful Speaker 1: excuse to call attention to your music and say, hey, look, I'm doing something and remind people Speaker 1: to re-up their relationship with your

music. But they're often where we can do a lot of the Speaker 1: narrative work and make people think about you more. They're also really crucial as everyone's Speaker 1: brain gets more and more broken by the short form video apps and they have no idea how to engage Speaker 1: with anything that doesn't keep motion going. But okay, I know some of you might be zoning out. Speaker 1: Here's the important part. The consistent sustained promotion constantly reminds fans you are doing Speaker 1: interesting enough things that they should pay attention to you so

they'll be able to have Speaker 1: conversations about you with friends. And if they like your music, it reminds them that you have a Speaker 1: new dose of the mood-altering drug that they like. And if they keep liking your songs that you put out Speaker 1: and they see you're doing eventful things with an interesting narrative, they will feel closer to you, Speaker 1: talk about you to their friends, and spread the word about you. And that is often the missing Speaker 1: ingredient that so many of you don't have who have some people

who really like your songs, Speaker 1: but you're not figuring out how to do all this work to create the narrative and make you Speaker 1: differentiated from all the other artists that fans could be talking about. And of course, Speaker 1: if you release too fast, your songs won't catch on from pushing them, and this will all seem like Speaker 1: it's just a project where you're trying to get famous, and no one really cares about that these Speaker 1: days. And I know some of you are asking, how long does this take? The

answer is usually mostly about Speaker 1: what you consider a success and how good your song is. What I really see is most of the artists who Speaker 1: are really happy with their growth, they've been sustaining it for around 9 months to 18 months, Speaker 1: and are really doing all this work. I've gotten calls from really viral artists who've even hit Speaker 1: six to nine months of starting to do my technique. Speaker 1: But I can't say that's the most common case. Speaker 1: This does take time. Speaker 1: You know, there's

millions of people Speaker 1: trying to do what you're trying to do. Speaker 1: And so therefore, the people who sustain this Speaker 1: and keep doing this with music people wanna hear Speaker 1: are the ones who get rewarded. Speaker 1: And let's remember, Speaker 1: it only takes six songs a year to fill up a calendar. Speaker 1: If you release that minimum viable video Speaker 1: and stream your song on all the platforms the first week, Speaker 1: then two weeks later, that lyric video or visualizer, Speaker 1: then two weeks later,

a music video, Speaker 1: And then repeat and put a new song up each month. Speaker 1: You'll cover all the weeks of the year, Speaker 1: and it'll take 12 songs to cover the next two years, Speaker 1: which really adds up to a full length album's worth of music. Speaker 1: But let's be clear about all this. Speaker 1: This does not work if you're not consistent, Speaker 1: meaning you have to hit your deadlines Speaker 1: by putting out content regularly, Speaker 1: which usually means that you should be banking Speaker 1:

two to three songs ahead of time Speaker 1: so that you're always working Speaker 1: on something that's coming out months later. Speaker 1: So true review, Speaker 1: This is one of the most crucial decisions you'll make, is are you going to release music in Speaker 1: a consistent, sustained way? Speaker 1: And are you going to release it at the right interval? Speaker 1: You're not going to get greedy and want to just get your music out and just upload songs. Speaker 1: The planning and making sure that you have everything lined up

right really helps when Speaker 1: things start to blow up because trust me, I see this more than almost anybody. Speaker 1: I am often the emergency call that many artists book when they book a consulting call with Speaker 3: me and they say, Jesse, this is all starting to really work well, but here's the problem. Speaker 3: My life is hell right now because now all these opportunities are being given to me when everyone's Speaker 3: ignored my music for years and I don't know what to do. I'm totally overwhelmed. But when you've Speaker

1: banked content and you have a bunch of stuff waiting, you have songs done, you have music Speaker 1: videos done, you have ideas for short form videos, this gets to be a lot easier. You still may be Speaker 1: overwhelmed, but it's a lot easier. But now that we understand all that, we can start talking about Speaker 2: music heard. In our next step, your music is now online. So now we need to get it heard. You're Speaker 2: releasing it in a way that will constantly give fans a reason to care about you

since you deliver Speaker 2: that drug often enough that it feels exciting. And well, now is really the hard part. We have to get Speaker 2: attention to it. Since if people don't know it exists, well, they can't get addicted to it. Now, Speaker 2: many musicians fantasize that the algorithm or some influential tastemaker will discover them Speaker 2: and do this for them. Speaker 2: But this is like one in a million, if even a million. Speaker 2: I mean, it's kind of funny Speaker 2: since I had this happen this year to me.

Speaker 2: When a record I mixed in 2007 Speaker 2: by a group called Lady Radiator Speaker 2: suddenly got put on a TikTok influencers video Speaker 2: and a lot of people liked what they heard. Speaker 2: And then a few thousand people made videos to it Speaker 2: and that turned into tens of thousands Speaker 2: of people making videos to it. Speaker 2: And now they're signed to Interscope Speaker 2: and they have millions of streams on the song. Speaker 1: Kind of weird for me, Speaker 1: who was just getting a

little too stoned Speaker 1: while mixing the record and playing around with effects the whole time. Speaker 1: Anyway, this is not what you want to be banking on. Speaker 1: This is unlikely to happen to you, Speaker 1: and do you really want to wait 18 years to get discovered as a hidden gem? Speaker 1: Or do you want to take things into your own hands Speaker 1: and try to make your own future happen Speaker 1: so you can honor the best idea of a life that you could have? Speaker 1: Well, if

you want to take matters into your own hands, Speaker 1: this section is for you. Speaker 1: And the first thing that we need to acknowledge Speaker 1: is something that a lot of you don't realize, Speaker 1: is what era of music discovery we're in. Speaker 1: Right now, we're in the earworm era of music discovery, which I will admit is a term I coined, Speaker 1: but like everyone's using it, who cares? And what I mean by this is the majority of music discovery Speaker 1: happens because fans hear a clip of a

song on a short form video app, be it TikTok, Speaker 1: Reels, or YouTube Shorts, they like it and then listen. Now, a lot of people like to pretend that Speaker 1: this is the only mechanism any song gets discovered by, which is not true. But a lot of the time, Speaker 1: this is the intentional thing an artist can do to actually make this happen. And that is the thing, Speaker 1: There's a lot of weird things where people just discover songs somehow and they like what they hear. Speaker 1: But if you want

to be intentional and work to make sure that is more likely to happen, Speaker 1: that's a lot of what we're going to discuss in this section. Speaker 1: But really when people hear the song on TikTok, Reels, or YouTube Shorts, Speaker 1: that's really the beginning of the story. Speaker 1: What really gets numbers and helps star couriers is when the listeners make more of these videos. Speaker 1: Then Spotify, Apple, and YouTube see who listens to it and makes algorithmic models of this behavior Speaker 1: and suggest it to similar listeners who have

similar listening profiles to the ones who are already enjoying it. Speaker 1: And then, of course, when you make something people really enjoy and find exceptional, they send it to their friends. Speaker 1: So now would be a good time to stop what we're doing because I just talked about one of the most important things Speaker 1: we're going to have to make a decision about in getting your music heard. Speaker 1: And for that matter, as an artist in music today, Speaker 1: is you're going to constantly have a choice between two opposing directions

in what you show to the world. Speaker 1: One side is what the kids love calling aura. Speaker 1: Now, I just divided the audience into two sides. Speaker 1: One who has no idea what I'm talking about, but maybe heard the most annoying 18-year-old Speaker 1: with that stupid wee busted haircut they know saying this word a lot. Speaker 1: And another group of you who is looking at me wondering why someone who looks like me is talking like this. Speaker 1: But I've come around to this word aura, and I actually think this

is quite smart and important, Speaker 1: and I think we really need to discuss it. Speaker 1: So what is aura? Speaker 1: Well, the answer I will start off by giving is a lot like how our government describes pornography. Speaker 1: There's no real way to describe it, but you know it when you see it. Speaker 1: Aura really is when you see something exceptional. Speaker 1: An artist is doing something way better than everyone else is doing. Speaker 1: It looks more advanced or more spectacle than everyone else. Speaker 1: You're just mind

blown by what they're doing. Speaker 1: Most people can't see quite how to describe it since they can't fully tell what the artist is doing. Speaker 1: And that is exactly what we are often intrigued by, by the artist we are really into. Speaker 1: We see where they're operating above our comprehension and our brain continues to think about them as we try to decode what exactly they're doing and we keep thinking about them and tinkering in our head. Speaker 1: And that's aura. Speaker 1: But let me make this more clear for the intellectuals

out there. Speaker 1: It's spectacle, just like you've ever heard spectacle described. Speaker 1: That's what people are really saying when they're seeing aura. Speaker 1: Now, for those of you who find the rapper Ian's lyrics to be fire, let me put this in terms your undeveloped brains can handle. Speaker 1: When you see aura, it makes you send a fire emoji to your friend or you yell, Speaker 1: let's fucking go at your boys. Speaker 1: Whereas slop is something we all know when we see it, but is evolving and changing. Speaker 1: It's

a level of low effort content that every lazy creator is making. Speaker 2: We're all more than familiar with the cheap AI images everyone is making you see the same ones Speaker 2: over and over again all day long as you scroll. Speaker 2: And it's uneventful because everybody can do it and it doesn't make you think, Speaker 2: wow, that artist is so good. You'd never send this stuff to a friend or think about it again, Speaker 2: because it's not very remarkable. They just put that template up and everybody's doing the same Speaker

2: thing. So why would we talk about it? Slop is literally the opposite of Aura. Because Aura, Speaker 1: you're shocked by, and you send it to friends, and you go, why is this so sick? And you try to decode Speaker 1: it together. And of course, then in the middle is our friend, Mid. I don't think Mid is actually Speaker 1: poison. Even the greatest artists have dabbled in some mid, and inherently, in any era of music in Speaker 1: the past half a century, you've needed to put out enough content. No one has

had a perfect record Speaker 1: of nothing but aura-level content or songs that they put out, because inherently, we judge artists Speaker 1: by not only everyone else's work, but by their own. So even if an artist has one of the best five Speaker 1: record runs of all time, like my favorite band, The 1975, we will still sit on Reddit and discuss Speaker 1: what was the most mid song? Speaker 1: And that's fine. Speaker 1: But here's the thing about mid. Speaker 1: It's not entirely useless. Speaker 1: Mid can often entertain your

diehard fans Speaker 1: or get those addicts of a genre Speaker 1: who are addicted to so many of the Speaker 1: just fine artists in a genre Speaker 1: on board when you're not fully developed yet. Speaker 1: You know, everybody makes a few mid songs at first, Speaker 1: but a lot of people who are really addicted to a genre Speaker 1: will get that mood altering drug Speaker 1: that makes them feel a way they'd rather feel Speaker 1: from your mid and you start to gain fans. Speaker 1: and that's who

you stand on top of Speaker 1: so your really great material gets heard later. Speaker 1: It's why we don't tell artists to just wait Speaker 1: till they've created something amazing to release music. Speaker 1: And let me get this straight. Speaker 1: You can grow into aura, Speaker 1: because creating mid teaches you lessons Speaker 1: that get you better till you create aura. Speaker 1: Now, if we're looking at this graph here, Speaker 1: I've labeled aura on one side and slop on the other, Speaker 1: and well, the middle, or I'm

standing, Speaker 1: is labeled mid, Speaker 1: because what else would it be labeled? Speaker 1: Now, we will get into when slop is acceptable to make, but in this era of music promotion, Speaker 1: I promise you, the further you go towards slop on the things that you put on your main account Speaker 2: and you endorse, the less it's going to be effective. Speaker 2: And that's why usually what people do with slop is put out a lot of it, Speaker 2: hoping that the quantity will make up for the lack of quality.

Speaker 2: But the more you go towards the aura side, the easier this all becomes. Speaker 2: Now, of course, people have a problem here because aura often takes time, money, skills, Speaker 2: imagination, thought, and let's be honest, Speaker 2: musicians don't always have that stuff. Speaker 2: And many of you are too beaten down from your day job or other obligations, Speaker 2: or from being real, listening to lyrics as terrible as Ian's, Speaker 2: and wondering why anyone would ever reward this with a listen. Speaker 2: So you then feel Aura is

hard because you're just not in the place to create it. Speaker 2: But I actually think there's a lot of answers on how you get there, Speaker 2: and those come from our artist development section. Speaker 2: But a lot of you are beaten down, Speaker 2: imagine you could make something that at worst is a bit towards the aura side, but not totally mid Speaker 2: and work your way up to aura if you start to get successful. And to be honest, that's how so many Speaker 2: of your favorite artists have evolved over

the years. Hell, many of my favorite artists have Speaker 2: undergone this transformation too. You know, the video on the screen right now is one where I show Speaker 2: how tons of artists like Kendrick, Justin Bieber, MGMT all started off way below mid and then went Speaker 2: on to make art many of you love and gained a ton of aura you are not condemned to a life of slop Speaker 2: unless you settle for it but i will drop that one of the things i'm convinced of from working with Speaker 2: so many

artists is a great route to aura and at least that above mid work that gets attention is Speaker 2: why we pay attention to your lames analysis and the positioning master class at the top of this Speaker 2: video and why that work is so important is it gets you out of slop land and if you start to create Speaker 1: things and use your name's analysis to think each time of how you take an idea and add your strengths Speaker 1: and exploits to it while moving closer to your aspirations and making sure your

position keeps Speaker 1: you from looking like a bad version of another artist, well, you're well on your way to aura. Speaker 1: And most likely, you're going to make things that aren't mid. But we were talking about getting your Speaker 1: music heard. And the most common ways musicians start the spark is by making short form videos for Speaker 1: TikTok reels and YouTube shorts. And to make this more quick, we're going to start calling those Speaker 1: videos, SFVs, and the apps that they're on, SFV apps for short. Now, this is one of

those subjects Speaker 1: where I could go on for hours about every bit of wisdom I have, which is why it's not easy to talk Speaker 1: about how to be successful on these apps, is it's very complicated. As you will see on the roadmap, Speaker 1: this is one of the longest sections I have, because there's so many little details to how Speaker 1: to make this work. But this is a great time that if you want to go deeper to hit that roadmap I made Speaker 1: and head to the section on TikTok

or Instagram Speaker 1: because they're kind of the same and dive in. Speaker 1: There's a lot of information Speaker 1: I've never put all in one place Speaker 1: that will get you 80% of what you need to know there, Speaker 1: but the 20% are lessons that will be about Speaker 1: what flaws and loopholes you have on an individual basis. Speaker 1: And if I'm being real here, Speaker 1: you probably decide to ignore or skip. Speaker 1: So let's lock in now. Speaker 1: Since I'm gonna show you all the things

my friends Speaker 1: and the artists I study and dissect on our members feed Speaker 1: and the people I work with Speaker 1: that have millions of views on short form maps, Speaker 1: This is what they all know that you probably don't. Speaker 1: If you're scrolling through OnlyFans right now, Speaker 1: it's probably the time to stop Speaker 1: because the real talk per minute Speaker 1: is about to go off the charts. Speaker 1: First off, I don't care how smart, experienced, Speaker 1: or how much of a genius you are.

Speaker 1: I work with some of the smartest people in music every day, Speaker 1: and no one has been able to accurately predict Speaker 1: one thing consistently, Speaker 1: yet everybody likes to talk about it Speaker 1: and pretend they know exactly Speaker 1: what they're talking about on this subject. Speaker 1: And that's that they think an artist Speaker 1: is either gonna be bigger on Instagram, TikTok, Speaker 1: are YouTube Shorts. Speaker 1: Now, if we were looking at 20 artists, Speaker 1: it's very unlikely that YouTube Shorts Speaker 1: is

gonna be the one where they excel at the most. Speaker 1: That's like one out of 20 artists at best. Speaker 1: But it does happen. Speaker 1: So what this means though, Speaker 1: is that so many of you get it in your head, Speaker 1: oh, I'm a TikTok artist. Speaker 1: Oh, I'm an Instagram Reels artist. Speaker 2: But really every week when we go onto my feed Speaker 2: and we dissect the artists, Speaker 2: it's kind of shocking how much the artists Speaker 2: you think would be good on Reels

or good on TikTok Speaker 2: are doing better on the other one. Speaker 2: So what this means is when you're first starting out, Speaker 2: you need to post the majority of the SFVs you make Speaker 2: on all three of the platforms, Speaker 2: especially at the beginning, Speaker 2: to figure out which algorithm you start to work well on. Speaker 2: Now, if after a while you feel Speaker 2: you aren't getting your time's worth Speaker 2: of posting to one or two of the apps Speaker 1: and want to pull back

and only post the highlights Speaker 1: and things that do well, Speaker 1: well, the first thing I would say is Speaker 1: maybe you should instead consider using an app Speaker 1: like Metricle or Later Speaker 1: so that you could post to all three at once Speaker 1: and make it less work. Speaker 1: but some people really don't like using those apps or paying for them. Speaker 1: But I really implore you that if you have dumb thoughts in your head, Speaker 1: like TikTok isn't for female metal artists Speaker 1: or

whose fans are in their late 20s or 30s, Speaker 1: I can point you to a bunch of artists who will prove you wrong every time. Speaker 1: Nearly every time I hear what works on TikTok versus Reels or YouTube Shorts, Speaker 1: I can show contradictions because I really, really study this stuff. Speaker 1: My golden rule is post most videos everywhere, Speaker 1: but if you get too busy, it's okay to retract, Speaker 1: to concentrate on one of the apps, Speaker 1: And especially as you start to excel on one of the

apps, you can definitely put your efforts Speaker 1: more to there to doing more replies or more engagement with the algorithm, whatever it Speaker 1: is. Speaker 1: That's okay. Speaker 1: But first we need to test it out because your assumptions on which one you're going to do Speaker 1: well on are usually wrong. Speaker 1: Next, we need to talk about a very serious problem that for some reason the mainstream Speaker 1: media ignores. Speaker 1: And this is how many imprisoned musicians there are suffering in a cell of obscurity, loneliness, Speaker 1:

and depression. Speaker 1: And I don't know why the media won't speak up about these abuses and prisoners. Speaker 1: Actually, I do. Speaker 1: It's largely from their own making because I'm talking about algorithmic jail. Speaker 1: You know, the prison where the videos can't get over 300 views. Speaker 1: Well, that's what we call algorithmic jail. Speaker 1: And many of you are stuck there. Speaker 1: My poor musician political prisoners. Speaker 1: But like I said, this is usually because of your own doing. Speaker 1: You're usually ignoring some very obvious things

that you've heard before, Speaker 1: but for some reason you choose to not fix. Speaker 1: And one of the things I learned on my consulting calls Speaker 1: is that a lot of musicians who are stuck there Speaker 1: is because they choose to do these very dumb things Speaker 1: and they disobey the rules, Speaker 1: which is kind of like real jail, huh? Speaker 1: But enough of my jokes about prison. Speaker 1: Let's get you out of algorithmic jail. Speaker 1: Here's how we do it. Speaker 1: Stop with stupid hashtags.

Speaker 1: I know you see videos that blow up Speaker 1: and artists who are really big Speaker 1: using these terrible, terrible hashtags, Speaker 1: but the algorithm already has them figured out. Speaker 1: They don't understand what to do with you, Speaker 1: which is why you're in algorithmic jail. Speaker 1: you do not play by the same rules as the big artists. Speaker 1: We have to remember, Speaker 1: these SFE apps have no idea who they should send you to. Speaker 1: Let's say you're a trap metal artist. Speaker 1: They

haven't figured out whether to send you to pop fans, Speaker 1: people who are into hockey, Speaker 1: nevermind trap or metal, Speaker 1: because maybe trap people like you better than metal people. Speaker 1: Many of you either do no hashtags Speaker 1: or do ones that are unhelpful, Speaker 1: like hashtag new music, hashtag FYP, Speaker 1: hashtag singer songwriter, Speaker 1: or even worse, your song titles or band name. Speaker 1: Yeah, that really helps an algorithm to figure out who to send you to. Speaker 1: Hashtags are meant to find the

most likely audience who would like what you are into, Speaker 1: which is usually your micro genre. Speaker 1: Which to go back to the first section of this video, Speaker 1: this is why we need to find your micro genre and why doing your community work is so important. Speaker 1: This is what actually goes on here, Speaker 1: since this is who they are going to get to test your content on. Speaker 1: And if they like it, they will send you out to similar people who like this style content. Speaker 1: And

that keeps happening until your content goes viral and you're out of algorithmic jail. Speaker 1: But when you do these ridiculous hashtags, or for that matter, you've never put keywords Speaker 1: in your videos and done what I call audience finding videos, which you can learn about on Speaker 1: the video on the screen right now. Speaker 1: The reason you're in algorithmic jail is the algorithm and can't figure out who to give Speaker 1: you to that would actually like your videos because it's not yet been given enough clues Speaker 1: as to who

would like it. Speaker 1: And you're performing badly with who they show it to since they're making really bad Speaker 1: guesses. Speaker 1: And that brings me to my next point. Speaker 1: What you write on the screen helps lead you to fans. Speaker 1: Now, many people complain when you write things on the screen like Speaker 1: searching for fans of Childish Gambino and Olivia Dean. Speaker 1: It's very low aura, and frankly, they're right. Speaker 1: You've decided to take a much more mid-road to finding fans, Speaker 1: and no one's going

to care if you have aura if no one sees it, Speaker 1: which is why in my video on how to find your first fans, Speaker 1: I suggest doing this, as we'll find good people to test you out on. Speaker 1: And if you start getting attention and are embarrassed by these videos, Speaker 1: Guess what? Once you've found an audience, you can delete these videos. Speaker 1: Big artists do it all the time once they get attention. Speaker 1: I don't necessarily recommend it, since fans like seeing you grow and appreciate a journey

when you went from kind of mid-content to doing really cool things with high aura. Speaker 1: So when you delete your history, you don't give fans a way to see where you came from, and then they start to call you an industry plant. Speaker 1: And we know that all those losers who say that stuff have the biggest mouths, even though being an industry plant means fucking nothing. Speaker 1: and is one of the stupidest concepts idiots discuss. Speaker 1: And yeah, I have a video on that too. Speaker 1: But seriously, if you think

about industry plants at all, Speaker 1: don't be one of those people. Speaker 1: Work on your dreams instead of making up lies Speaker 1: and researching other people's lives. Speaker 1: Anyway, the point of all this Speaker 1: is we need to show some signifiers, Speaker 1: aka hints to the algorithm by using keywords Speaker 1: of things the audience would like in your culture Speaker 1: or artists they would like in your culture Speaker 1: or your micro genre Speaker 1: so that they can get it to the right people Speaker 1: and

those people will resonate with your video Speaker 1: and actually like it and you could start to find an audience. Speaker 1: But one of the tricks people get away with doing Speaker 1: is they put in really small print on the screen Speaker 1: some of the artists they'd like to target Speaker 1: or they put it really down low on the screen Speaker 1: since all the SFV apps are scanning the writing on the screen Speaker 1: to see what's written there Speaker 1: and then figure out how to send it to an

audience. Speaker 1: Then you don't need to be embarrassed in front of your audience Speaker 1: when it's down in the very bottom of the corner of the screen Speaker 1: and the app picks it up. Speaker 1: But we also never know when the algorithm is going to switch this up. Speaker 1: So who knows? Speaker 1: So next, let's talk about some myths about posting. Speaker 1: Since I just discussed some voodoo I've tested Speaker 1: and seen work numerous times, Speaker 1: let's also discuss the things my friends and I have tested

Speaker 1: that are silly and only the most blowhard losers say. Speaker 1: And we're gonna make the real talk go even faster. Speaker 1: First off, really great videos can get posted Speaker 1: at any time of day, and they'll do well. Speaker 1: And really bad videos do bad no matter when you post them, Speaker 1: and they won't do well Speaker 1: if you get the perfect hour of the day. Speaker 1: The general rule is don't post at stupid times. Speaker 1: Since it's true, you can post nearly the exact same

video and post it at a different time and get a different result since the apps are testing you on different audiences at different times of day. Speaker 1: But those audiences aren't consistent. Speaker 1: The general rule is around dinner time on the East Coast, 6 to 9 p.m. EST works best, as does 12 to 3 p.m. EST. Speaker 1: And posting in the middle of the night on weekdays works worse. Speaker 1: But I promise you, the odds are this is what you need to fix for your content to pop off are really, really

low. Speaker 1: You can delete posts and not be penalized. Speaker 1: Conversation over every big account I know does it. Speaker 1: Please, please stop pretending they penalize you for this. Speaker 1: It is 100% true that all three SFE apps Speaker 1: do not want content you made on one platform posted to theirs. Speaker 1: That does not mean that you can't create a video, Speaker 1: you edit it in DaVinci Resolve, Speaker 1: and then put the title or the typing on the screen Speaker 1: in each of the separate apps. Speaker

1: That also does not mean that you can't put the titling Speaker 1: inside DaVinci Resolve edits or CapCut Speaker 1: and then individually post them onto the different video apps. Speaker 1: What it means is if you have a TikTok watermark Speaker 1: or your Instagram Reel is downloaded Speaker 1: and then uploaded to TikTok, Speaker 1: they can see metadata of it and they don't like it. Speaker 1: But the number one question I get all the time Speaker 1: is how often do you have to post Speaker 1: to get promoted in

the algorithm? Speaker 1: Now, if we ignore quality Speaker 1: and that some people make bad posts no one wants to see Speaker 1: and analyze the artists who are doing well enough Speaker 1: to get views, we get to some really simple answers. Speaker 1: I've analyzed on my member feed well over 100 of the most viral artists over the last two years Speaker 1: in videos where we dissect what they do and shown my work there and here's what we see. Speaker 1: Three times a week making a short form video is the

least they post while still growing. Speaker 1: And I should say, Instagram's Adam Masseri, Speaker 2: confirmed around 10 videos a month is the minimum they like to see posted. Speaker 2: Five to seven times a week is the average, Speaker 2: the vast majority of viral acts posts that are growing fast on the platforms. Speaker 2: And any more than 21 times a week seems to have very little ROI, meaning that the time you take to make 21 videos a week usually does not make you go more viral, which is why we then get

into the three account theory that we'll talk about later, where you spread that across three different accounts. Speaker 2: For those of you who really want to overachieve, this is the right way to do it, and that's in our final section of this video. Speaker 1: Okay, so now that we're out of the real talk, real fast section, I want to teach you one of the most important lessons. Speaker 1: since this is really where a lot of your growth Speaker 1: will be determined on how fast it happens, Speaker 1: since it's one of

the most major factors Speaker 1: that a lot of people don't think about, Speaker 1: and that is recognizability. Speaker 1: So if you're a particularly smart person, Speaker 1: when we talked about your lames analysis Speaker 1: and positioning back in step one, Speaker 1: some of you were probably wondering Speaker 1: why I didn't mention recognizability Speaker 1: and the Halloween costume theory. Speaker 1: And while I appreciate your smarts, Speaker 1: you can't eat all the sauce at the beginning of the meal, Speaker 1: and we're about to make a burger. Speaker

1: So we're gonna head to my backyard Speaker 1: burger. Okay, so not every one of you is probably as much of a food nerd as I am, but you will find Speaker 1: me on any given week eating at whatever city I'm in at the finest establishments. Since, let's be Speaker 1: honest, the perks of working in music are what so many of us are here for. And since the pay isn't Speaker 1: as good as other fields, well, you gotta make do with what you got. So where was I? Oh, burgers. Speaker 1:

Okay, so here's the thing, and I promise I'll relate this back to you and your music in a second. Speaker 1: So one of the things the world has realized in the last few years is when you're doing too much, Speaker 2: People think it's a little try hard. Speaker 2: They can't quite get it if you got too much going on. Speaker 2: And with burgers, this is really the case, as we're seeing in these trends. Speaker 2: There's tons of places they'll put onion rings, two sauces, two cheeses, bacon, some overly seasoned bun,

and like four burgers inside a burger. Speaker 2: This is the type of burger that someone will eat once or twice a year at most, but it's really just novelty so you can say you tried it. Speaker 2: It's not really what you're going to come back to and build a bond with. Speaker 2: And the restaurant you're going to go to all the time for it. Speaker 1: But real weirdos who like extreme things will call it epic. Speaker 1: But it's performative. Speaker 1: If it was in a burger taste test, which in

many ways is what a For You page is like, Speaker 1: is a real-time taste test for social media. Speaker 1: Well, these type of burgers will lose. Speaker 1: And they're especially going to lose the best burger contest to a place like 7th Street Burger, Speaker 1: or Five Guys, or what many people regard as the best burger in America, Red Hook Tavern. Speaker 1: Which are all keeping it real simple, but doing everything well. Speaker 1: In fact, I have my imitation of Red Hook Tavern's burger right here. Speaker 1: This is 7th

Street and this is Five Guys. Speaker 1: If you give me one second to cook this burger, you'll get it. Speaker 1: When people are scrolling, you often get about a third of a second, Speaker 1: aka one beat of a song before the decision is made whether to give you a thumb stop, Speaker 1: which is the term we use for when someone stops scrolling. Speaker 1: But if they recognize you for making other good videos before, Speaker 1: or as someone whose music they like, you'll get some grace. Speaker 1: And they'll stick

around and give you way more leniency and probably hear your song again, Speaker 1: and then convert to a fan eventually. Speaker 1: Watch it for yourself. Speaker 1: When you scroll, you'll let the creators you like cook, but some MF-er you don't recognize Speaker 1: is getting a continuous thumb motion like you're giving your phone a massage. Speaker 1: So to some of you, this is obvious, but what seems to not be obvious to you is how bad Speaker 1: people are at recognizing other people. Speaker 1: This is very obvious to me for

a reason. Speaker 1: Face blindness is a scale where people can recognize some people really easily, and I've Speaker 1: dated some girls who can spot a celebrity with a hat and glasses on for like 40 yards Speaker 1: way. Whereas I have literally sat across the bar from people that I've lived with for six months Speaker 1: and not recognize them because I can't actually recognize almost anybody because my face blindness Speaker 1: is so bad. So I'm very unlikely to recognize people on these apps. So I know this very well. Speaker 1: Now

to make matters worse, it is scientifically proven that people have increased trouble Speaker 1: recognizing each other when it's a different race that you're looking at. And I want to be clear, Speaker 1: this is all races. I'm not saying something about systematic racism. That's not what we're here for. Speaker 1: What I am saying is we have to accept people are bad at recognizing each other. Speaker 1: Now, you may be putting this together, but oftentimes the reason your videos are performing badly Speaker 1: is even when you've entertained someone once before and they

loved your video or song, Speaker 1: if you look like all those other stitch fix wearing, all birds rocking losers Speaker 1: I see walking down Bedford Ave in Williamsburg doing no personal expression as an artist with style, Speaker 1: well, they're not going to recognize you. Speaker 1: Now, I got news for you. Speaker 1: Throughout time, people are always drawn to artists who look a little bit more adventurous. Speaker 1: Even different, in that many people are excited by an artist that's free, Speaker 1: unpredictable, and expressing themselves in a very powerful way.

Speaker 1: It's an aspirational kind of thing. Speaker 1: When your expression is that you aren't expressing and you're just conforming, Speaker 1: well, it's not memorable, and yet again, not remarkable enough to share with a friend Speaker 1: and incite word of mouth, just like we've been talking about in this video. Speaker 1: Now, this does not mean you need to look like Sun Ra, SZA, when she was like dressed like an insect for a minute for some reason, Speaker 1: or get face tattoos like Post Malone. Speaker 1: Really, two to three tiny

things that make you recognizable, that you repeat repeatedly, will do the trick. Speaker 1: And we need to do some work to make you recognizable. Speaker 1: Since like, yes, you can have the occasional NPC like Alex Warren or Louis Capaldi type get away with not doing anything at all to really do anything to their look. Speaker 1: And I'll be real with you, a lot of the time those artists don't stick around as easy because they have a detriment to their stickiness, which is that they're not recognizable. Speaker 1: Recognizability doesn't equal hits, but

it does up aura and make promoting your music much easier when people can easily dress as you for Halloween or tell who you are on a billboard they can barely see and their mind thinks of you, then remembers to listen to your music again, even though they only just caught that billboard off the corner of their eye. Speaker 1: So let's go back to this burger metaphor and I'm going to start with the foundation of the burger. Speaker 1: The burger or the meat for this metaphor, that's going to be the meat on your bones,

Speaker 1: aka what you look like. Speaker 2: Now, some of you are quite recognizable naturally. Speaker 2: You may be real fucked up looking too, or real good to look at, or just shaped different. Speaker 2: All of those work. Speaker 2: Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. Speaker 2: Some people are born more recognizable than others. Speaker 2: Now, no matter what that is, we got to accept the hand we've been dealt and establish how Speaker 2: you look. Speaker 2: Now, there's nothing people, especially musicians, are more delusional about. Speaker 2: So

some of you are going to need to talk to some of your friends who are honest with you, Speaker 2: since I know some of you as mommies told you very special snowflakes, Speaker 2: but some snowflakes look like the others. Speaker 2: And you're going to need those friends to be honest with you to develop this, Speaker 2: because let's get real. Speaker 2: I've heard from some of you who think you look unique Speaker 2: when I couldn't tell your ass from MJ, Lenderman, McGee, or Joe. Speaker 2: Get the fuck out of

here. Speaker 2: Anyway, let's say you are real unique looking, like a 10 out of 10. Speaker 2: You're a lot like the Red Hook Tavern Burger. Speaker 2: The burger at Red Hook Tavern is very interesting. Speaker 1: It has a very standard sesame bun and some American cheese that's bland as fuck and a Speaker 1: white onion that's not even caramelized or anything because they don't want to do anything Speaker 1: that gets in the way of the flavor of how good the meat is inside this burger. Speaker 1: Since it's so distinct

because it's dry aged and a perfect blend of fat and lean. Speaker 1: If we distract from that burger, aka when you look really unique, we're distracting Speaker 1: from that you have one of the best sass sets we can have. Speaker 1: So if you get face tattoos and all that, it starts to be a lot. Speaker 1: And really not let us accentuate the really natural gift you got. Speaker 1: And if you put like feathers and all this other wild shit on, Speaker 1: it can be too much to process and distracting

from one of the more striking things a person can have. Speaker 1: So keeping it simple is really good. Speaker 1: But you can do really subtle things sometimes to make this burger work. Speaker 1: Most people don't realize there's actually butter on the bun here. Speaker 1: But it's very subtle and hidden. Speaker 1: and little distinct things like necklaces or specific earring you wear or a very small tint Speaker 1: of makeup can go very far on these type of people and work really well. But most of you are going to Speaker 1:

be more like 7th Street Burger where the meat is fine. As you can see here, it's kind of in between Speaker 1: the three. And as you can see here, they toast the bun in a certain way. They do this unique aioli. Speaker 1: They have a cheese and lightly cooked onions and they're dressing it up a bit more than the Red Speaker 1: Hook Tavern Burger. So what this means is we got to take the time and consider how to do this in a Speaker 1: classy way that doesn't get to be too much

and take away from the main part of the show. We're Speaker 1: just dressing it up a bit and accentuating it. And like, if you do like glow in the dark, full body Speaker 1: makeup, you become like that burger we talked about at the top with all the onion rings. You have too Speaker 2: many ingredients and most people are going to be like, this is too much. I don't want that. It's a Speaker 2: lot. So this means we need to go out and search for the cheese, the bun, the onions and sauce

that Speaker 2: makes you, you. So let me show you. So we keep this simple. You can take that motherfucker somber Speaker 2: who we keep talking about, Speaker 2: who's one of the biggest breakout artists of the year. Speaker 2: And I have a diagram right here Speaker 2: of what makes him recognizable. Speaker 2: Then we come to Goshfather, Speaker 2: a member of our community who's blown up really fast, Speaker 2: who talks about it in an interview I did with him Speaker 2: for my podcast, My 0.4 Cents. Speaker 2: And

this is what he said. Speaker 6: 99% of my videos barely even get as much views Speaker 6: as I have followers. Speaker 6: But my content is almost made to be skipped past Speaker 6: because you'll skip past me 50 times, Speaker 6: but on the 51st time, Speaker 6: you're gonna see the same fucking guy Speaker 6: that you saw 50 times in a row and said, Speaker 6: I don't give a fuck about this guy. Speaker 6: And you're going to be forced to give a shit. Speaker 6: You're going to be

forced to go, okay, what the, okay, what is this now? Speaker 6: What is, I've seen it 20 times. Speaker 6: I said, no, what the hell's going on? Speaker 6: Oh, okay. Speaker 6: I actually fuck with this guy or I don't. Speaker 6: Listen, if they don't fuck with me, I'm happy. Speaker 6: I got to the point where I was presented enough on the timeline for someone to at least know Speaker 6: that I exist enough to not fuck with me. Speaker 1: And you can even do recognizability in other ways. Speaker

1: I did this video on how Audrey Hobart did it through motion as she moves in a really Speaker 1: unique way. Speaker 1: I'd be showing in this video right now, but for some reason, her team has the most Speaker 1: strict YouTube policy that I've ever seen on an artist, so I can't put up a snippet of it. But Speaker 1: that video, if you want to go deeper, is on the screen now. And you can see in the graphic here Speaker 1: how I do it since I, of course, developed this myself,

so I would stop thumbs while people scroll Speaker 1: on my videos. When you're recognizable, you get more follows. More people think of you. You're Speaker 1: seen as having more aura as long as you do it well. So taking the time to develop this really, Speaker 1: really helps things. When I mentioned Five Guys before, I want to talk about when you kind of Speaker 1: don't do this all the way. It does everything in a midway, but it goes just further than most by Speaker 1: putting in the effort like 7th Street Burger.

Five Guys intentionally keeps it cheap and simple. It Speaker 1: tries to make the ingredients just okay enough to pass, but really doesn't want to offend those Speaker 1: without adventurous taste buds. Since let's be honest, the spicy aioli at 7th Street Burger is Speaker 1: for New Yorkers who are eating all different types of ethnic food all day. It knows what it is. Five Speaker 2: burger that is well thought out and accomplishes what it's set out to do nearly perfectly without Speaker 2: being slop. And we've all had all those terrible burgers from

other places where you're just Speaker 2: kind of eating the slop that you get every day because it's cheap and bad. But Five Guys is a Speaker 1: little bit more of a treat. And no, we're not having the in and out discussion right now because Speaker 1: I'm in Brooklyn and we don't have that here. Anyway, all three burgers are well thought out Speaker 1: and do exactly what they should do. And they've figured out a lane and they're working with what Speaker 1: they got. Five Guys doesn't have a lot of money to

work with, and it wasn't dealt the best hand of Speaker 1: meat as you can see here. You can see how much worse quality is just by looking at it, but they Speaker 1: dress it up in a way that, you know, kind of gets the job done. I mean, as I'm eating these, Speaker 1: there are all three of these are amazing burgers. So to take this somewhere actionable, the problem Speaker 1: we have is that you do too much or you just ram a bunch of shit into your look and you become the

Speaker 1: novelty burger no one wants every night. If you take the mood board you made and consider the Speaker 1: values of your positioning and your lames analysis, you can often get to good answers of what you can Speaker 1: do to increase recognizability faster and have it also be authentic to you and in line with what you Speaker 1: do like so you don't feel like an idiot while you're wearing these clothes and then be that Speaker 1: person that we've all looked at where we're like, uh, they kind of feel like they're

faking it. Speaker 1: I'll be real with you here. I don't wear these band shirts outside the house very often, Speaker 1: but everyone sees me in them online. I'm comfortable in them, but it's not how I present in my social Speaker 1: or professional life, and that's fine. I'm performing here. And just as you wouldn't wear Speaker 1: to bed what you wear in the house, this doesn't need to be a reflection of what you wear every Speaker 1: single day of your life. When you're thinking through your look, it can be anything. It

can be Speaker 1: necklaces, earrings, a sticker on a guitar, even your background. A group like South Arcade's Speaker 1: practice space looks recognizable enough you recognize the format when you see these videos. Speaker 1: Distinct makeup works really well. I saw a girl on the train the other day with like a little white Speaker 1: teardrop drawn next to both of her eyes on her dark skin, and she looked amazing. It was real Speaker 1: subtle, kind of like the weird trick of the onion in the Red Hook Tavern Burger. A more permanent Speaker

1: and pricey commitment can obviously be tattoos. I mean, it worked for Ed Sheeran. And I obviously Speaker 1: endorse this since I got very recognizable tattoos, mostly of song lyrics, all over my body. Color Speaker 1: patterns, hats, jackets can also be these. Honestly, I truly believe most musicians get fatigued Speaker 1: thinking about this instead of inspired, and you should really try to work out these things Speaker 1: and let it excite you. Speaker 1: Plus, if you know an aspiring fashion designer, Speaker 1: stylist, or creative director Speaker 1: who hasn't made

their mark, Speaker 1: they love building portfolio. Speaker 1: And if you can come up with some ideas of direction, Speaker 1: they can help get it to somewhere very cool Speaker 1: and get it further down the field. Speaker 1: I think you get the point, Speaker 1: but truly it's hard for me to tell you Speaker 1: how important this is till you see for yourself Speaker 1: how it accelerates your growth Speaker 1: when you find two to three things Speaker 1: that make you a little bit set off from everyone else.

Speaker 1: We don't need to throw the kitchen sink at it Speaker 1: and be that burger with the onion rings. Speaker 1: Just keep it simple with two to three things. Speaker 1: I'm full, but we're back again. Speaker 1: So now that we know all this, Speaker 1: what do you actually post? Speaker 1: So a lot of my peers will send you these lists of prompts. Speaker 1: And frankly, if you make these, Speaker 1: you will probably be making something Speaker 1: on the side of slop and mid. Speaker 1: The

ability to just do prompts Speaker 1: in various video formats kind of died this year, Speaker 1: really in the last few months, Speaker 1: which you'll see in my new 90 day plan of what to post Speaker 1: because really, we always have to update this thing. Speaker 1: But really, I also don't wanna say that prompts Speaker 1: and videos that are derived from some sort of template Speaker 1: don't work anymore. Speaker 1: They just don't work as often. Speaker 1: We can still rely on them Speaker 1: when we don't have

the best ideas Speaker 1: and we wanna get a video out and be proactive. Speaker 1: But they're not the highest form of content we can post Speaker 1: and that's a lot of what we're gonna strive for. Speaker 1: And you'll see this in my new 90-day plan Speaker 1: that's gonna drop right after this video. Speaker 1: So let's first talk about the most important, Speaker 1: unbreakable rule of SFV apps. Speaker 1: If you make a viral joke post about, let's say, a bad date or Donald Trump, if it does not relate

back to your music and it goes viral, you're going to get a ton of followers who want more of that and not your music. Speaker 1: Then the algorithm is going to test your posts on your music, on those followers you gained from that joke, and you're going to perform extremely bad in it. Speaker 1: And it's going to be hard to get your music to go viral. Speaker 1: So unless you can figure out how a post that you're going to make is going to relate back to your music or the culture around it,

it's going to bring you followers who are really going to appreciate your music, you might want to think about making a second account where you post that idea you have. Speaker 1: Now, I should say another reason why your videos really don't do well is you don't even know what you're trying to do to do well in the algorithm. Speaker 1: Let me tell you what you're actually trying to do. Speaker 1: The number one thing that does well in the algorithm is making posts that inspire people to share it with a friend. Speaker 1:

All of the SFV apps favor the type of content that inspires shares, and what inspires shares Speaker 1: is a few things. Speaker 1: The first is spectacle. Speaker 1: Things people are blown away by or shocked to see. Speaker 1: Things that look cool are exceptional. Speaker 1: Really attractive people that get them horned up, well, that also gets shares sometimes. Speaker 1: People are very funny, relatable, cringe, or something the person who watched the video Speaker 1: doesn't know that they want to discuss with someone else. Speaker 1: Using that methodology, try to

think of what you can make that will get friends to send Speaker 1: it to one another is a great mindset to be in. Speaker 1: Now, if you want more tangible examples of this, this is where I'm going to bow out and with good reason. Speaker 1: The short form video apps are a moving target. Speaker 1: Anything I tell you today will be different by the time this video is on your device. Speaker 1: You need to learn the language of these apps. Speaker 1: And what I mean by the language is the

way people do things, not just the way they talk and the devices they use. Speaker 1: So the next question is if you're smart, is how do you study that? Speaker 1: Whether it's on your own account where you post from or one you used to study, Speaker 1: Scroll and hit not interested every time you see a guy with a duck or someone talking about a bad Speaker 1: date. And depending on how enthused you are, when you see a musician, when they post either click Speaker 1: like comment or bookmark it. If you

really love it after an hour or two, you will mostly get Speaker 1: musician content exclusively. And as you see each post, I want you to not concern yourself. If they're Speaker 1: in your genre, if you like the musician or not, or if you find them cringe, just do a simple Speaker 1: question in your head. And yet again, right now is another time where you should start paying Speaker 1: attention and stop candy crushing it. The question you're going to ask yourself every time you see a Speaker 1: musician post is, how would

I make this if I made it for my music project? Now, if the answer is, Speaker 1: you would never make this, that's great. It's just as helpful to know what you don't like Speaker 1: as what you do like. But eventually, you get to good answers, even if they're coming from artists Speaker 1: that are much different than you. And you'll get to thoughts about who you are as an artist and what Speaker 1: you can do that is not going to be the slop in mid-content and instead something interesting Speaker 1: to people

that haven't seen this stuff a thousand times before. Speaker 1: And you know what that does? Speaker 1: It inspires shares. Speaker 1: And shares are what gets you going in the algorithm to the right people. Speaker 1: As you self-select into going into the people who appreciate your music's algorithm Speaker 1: because you're doing something that's fresh and new to them. Speaker 1: Because let's remember, they don't want to see a boring version of another artist. Speaker 1: They want to see something fresh and new in somebody being themselves. Speaker 1: This is how

you get to Aura and get follows by being unique Speaker 1: and coming up with these ideas, springing off what other people have done. Speaker 1: And I should say, it is smart to study Speaker 1: which posts you see get shares. Speaker 1: But I will tell you, Speaker 1: one of the most interesting things is Speaker 1: stuff that gets a lot of shares for one artist Speaker 1: is often a really great lead. Speaker 1: But what's really interesting is Speaker 1: sometimes when you're just like, Speaker 1: you know what, if

I did that video, Speaker 1: it would be way better. Speaker 1: That's the stuff that will get you the most shares too. Speaker 1: So don't be scared of it coming to you either way. Speaker 1: Just because something doesn't have a lot of shares Speaker 1: for the original artist Speaker 1: does not mean it won't bang for you. Speaker 1: Now I know there's a complicated part of this, Speaker 1: that scrolling isn't really good Speaker 1: for everyone's mental health, Speaker 1: or attention span for that matter. Speaker 1: I'm gonna

be really real with you here. Speaker 1: I've never met a musician who has done well Speaker 1: on promoting their music on the short form apps Speaker 1: who doesn't scroll for at least about 15, 30 minutes a day. Speaker 1: And the method I described Speaker 1: is actually like the healthiest way possible to scroll, Speaker 1: but even doing that for some people, Speaker 1: it's just not possible to stay mentally healthy Speaker 1: because you compare yourself too much Speaker 1: to the other musician's success Speaker 1: or their bodies, or

looks, or whatever it is. Speaker 1: And we're going to get into some mental health hacks I have in the next section Speaker 1: about how you don't do that. Speaker 1: But listen, if you think there's no hope for you to be able to do this well Speaker 1: and stay mentally healthy, your mental health is more important, Speaker 1: and we should focus on that instead. Speaker 1: And there's other ways to promote your music that is not this, Speaker 1: and you can still be successful. Speaker 1: But let's get real here.

Speaker 1: Executing good ideas on SFV apps is usually pretty easy, Speaker 1: and cheap for that matter. Speaker 1: It may take some time to learn, but the ideas right now are really what's important and what works. Speaker 1: Frankly, there's very few things where execution doesn't matter as well as what works on SFV apps right now. Speaker 1: If you put in the thought, you could do these in lo-fi ways that don't even look good a lot of the time, Speaker 1: that are right off of a camera and just some decent lighting.

Speaker 1: Really though, the development and the time you put into being a better artist is going to be what really matters here. Speaker 1: And to me, that's great news since so many of you complain about just wanting to be an Speaker 1: artist on these apps. Speaker 1: And if so, your time is now. Speaker 1: And if you put on time on this practice, you're going to get good at creating aura for yourself Speaker 1: as your brain will be regularly thinking about your artistry and how to make art that is Speaker

1: uniquely your own and farm that aura that is going to make people see you as an artist Speaker 1: worth caring about and bring you into the algorithm and get you followers. Speaker 1: And to follow up on that, I want to say art and content are not enemies. Speaker 1: I know in the figurative words of them, they actually are, but I want to explain what I Speaker 1: mean here. Speaker 1: One of the main things I see is a lot of people who haven't done the research on what actually Speaker 1:

happens on these apps is they like to say that they don't want to be an influencer and Speaker 1: they just want to create art. Speaker 1: I truly don't believe that art and the format of SFVs are incompatible. Speaker 1: When I see groups like Magdalena Bay creating SFVs that create a whole world around their Speaker 1: music and the second you see them, you know it's them. Speaker 1: I see Yale Oker with a rabid fan base and millions of streams driven by SFVs, Speaker 1: where they're in costume the whole time or

making cartoon-drawn worlds filled with lore. Speaker 1: I see the artists who create within formats borders. Speaker 1: They get rewarded. Speaker 1: And the format is what you can do in an SFV that works. Speaker 1: I truly believe the era of TikToks and Reels where you just read off a bunch of prompts Speaker 1: from a list some guy gave you is kind of dying. Speaker 1: And instead, we need to be thinking about the things you see on the app or in the art world Speaker 1: and how you can innovate on

the platform. Speaker 1: And yes, that will be rewarded in the algorithm Speaker 1: and get you views. Speaker 1: If you look at both those groups, Speaker 1: they're who's ahead of the curve Speaker 1: and really blowing up right now. Speaker 1: And they're creating amazing worlds for their fans Speaker 1: that they're latched into and locked into Speaker 1: and giving tons of engagement. Speaker 1: But I will say there's also like this theory Speaker 1: that's kind of the middle ground. Speaker 1: And it seems kind of reasonable, Speaker 1: but

it's also some of the most boomer shit Speaker 1: I hear coming out of young people's mouth, Speaker 1: which is, I don't want to dance on TikTok. Speaker 1: Chief, dance is art in itself. Speaker 1: And frankly, when you don't see the art in dancing, Speaker 1: you're telling on yourself Speaker 1: that you're a bit of a fucking layman. Speaker 1: Now, if you don't want to dance, that's fine. Speaker 1: I don't care. Speaker 1: If it doesn't fit into your artist persona, Speaker 1: there's plenty of artists who don't do

it, Speaker 1: and that's fine. Speaker 1: But let's get over this thing Speaker 1: that dance is not art and doesn't take talent. Speaker 1: Disrespecting dancing is ridiculous. Speaker 1: And honestly, one of the most interesting things is Speaker 1: even when you're moving with your guitar Speaker 1: and you're rocking out, that's actually dancing. Speaker 1: So saying all this shit really is ridiculous. Speaker 1: And I say this as someone who many people will watch this channel are quite surprised Speaker 1: when I could actually dance far better than they've expected,

Speaker 1: but I of course do it while rocking a mean white boy underbite. Speaker 1: But enough of me trying to reset your brain. Speaker 1: Let me get to the point of why I'm saying all this. Speaker 1: What we have to consider more than anything else is what is the emotion of your music Speaker 1: and how can you embody it? Speaker 1: Because that gets rewarded in the algorithm. Speaker 1: What works artistically is aligning the video you're making with a powerful image Speaker 1: symbolizes exactly what you're singing about. Gigi

Perez did this by singing in her bed about how Speaker 1: depressing it is her sister died. What is more emotionally in line with being depressed than Speaker 1: laying in bed? When people see images that line up with emotions they feel, that often makes the Speaker 1: song and the image together more powerful and makes people feel it more and then they send it Speaker 1: to a friend because they're blown away by it. That generates shares and as we know, shares stimulate Speaker 1: the algorithm. Art is often also capturing the culture of

a hometown and showing it to the world. Speaker 1: If you tell me what Anthony Bourdain did wasn't art, and him showing the culture of what he saw wasn't art, Speaker 1: well, those are fighting words in New York City where I come from. Speaker 1: I'll give you an example of a musician doing this. Speaker 1: The group Internet Girl showed how South Africa is built, different than the rest of the world. Speaker 1: Especially for an interracial group who is genre borderless, they got a ton of attention to their music by doing this.

Speaker 1: Dexter and the Mood Rocks used the humor of the culture in Texas and, uh, the women they admire Speaker 1: to show how they are built and find an audience. Speaker 1: Some artists like Lil Russell, Black Swan, J.O., Pluko, and Jersey have gotten attention to their music by simply using one of the oldest art forms and making beautiful videos that have art to them. Speaker 1: Sometimes a great color grade, a unique camera angle, or set can be enough to wow us and send it to friends or spread the music as we

think, Speaker 1: damn, that was beautiful, sick, or powerful, and it gets attention for their music and they've built fanbases off of doing exactly that. Speaker 1: Isaiah Rabel and Ramon Pang have used the art of others, aka explaining their music nerdom and what they appreciate about other artists, to build their own fan bases very successfully. Speaker 1: They explain music and what is special about it, and sure enough, fans get excited by it. Speaker 1: And I should say, everyone I've mentioned for the past, like, few minutes, all of them I've done profiles in

my members-only newsletters and videos, and they're all on the roadmap if you want to go deeper and really learn about this. Speaker 1: So now that we know how you develop great videos, how do we actually film them and make them happen? Speaker 1: Now, I'm going to assume in this section that you're going to want to make content where you do everything yourself. Speaker 1: This is another section where I've done longer videos, so if you're curious, hit the roadmap and search filming better videos. Speaker 1: And this is one of those sections where

I could go on forever. Speaker 1: So I'm going to drop here what so many of my consulting clients do, and what I see a lot of people miss when they get on calls with me. Speaker 1: and we're going to kind of speed run some real talk that I see a lot of people miss, Speaker 1: and especially because this world has really opened up with new technology just in recent months. Speaker 1: So if you think you know what's going on right now in this world, Speaker 1: I bet you you've missed some

of the crazy advents in technology that have been happening, Speaker 1: and I don't mean AI slop. Speaker 1: First off, the majority of artists I know who are blowing up on short form video apps Speaker 1: are doing it without spending a dollar after initial equipment buys. Speaker 1: The occasional props may be a purchase, and music video shoots where they really go way Speaker 1: more hi-fi, they may hire a director, but for the most part, when they're making SFES, Speaker 1: they're just doing it themselves in a well-lit room like what I'm

in now. Speaker 1: iPhones and a lot of Android phones now have incredible cameras that you can basically double Speaker 1: up the purchase and get for the price two for one, being an amazing camera to film content Speaker 1: and a phone you use every day. Speaker 1: Especially since many of the top creators choose to go a lo-fi honest route, Speaker 1: But even if you want to do insane color grades and make some of the best looking content, Speaker 1: you can shoot really, really great content on the latest phones. Speaker 1:

You just need to know a few small tricks that you can learn in under an hour. Speaker 1: So here's your cheat sheet. Speaker 1: If you have an iPhone 14 on up to the latest one, these can do incredible things. Speaker 1: First, download the free app Blackmagic Camera. Speaker 1: As of right now, this app isn't some pyramid scheme where they're going to charge you a Speaker 1: bunch of money later. Speaker 1: Instead, it's from Blackmagic, who's one of the best companies in film who always give away free apps to get you

acquainted with their brand and then upsell you to buy their better products. Speaker 1: But honestly, this app's probably going to be free forever. Speaker 1: It allows you to film an Apple Log at 4K. Speaker 1: And depending on which camera you have, there's a lot of videos showing the 17 Pro Max comparing it to Sony cameras. Speaker 1: And honestly, it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference. Speaker 1: And this video right here is filmed on a Sony A7S III and an iPhone. Speaker 1: And I'd question if you can tell

which one is which. Speaker 1: And feel free to bang the comments if you want to put a guess in, Speaker 1: and I'll answer every one of you if your guess is right. Speaker 1: Now, to achieve the amazing quality these cameras are capable of, Speaker 1: you do need to buy some other things. Speaker 1: I'm going to be real with you. Speaker 1: One, you need to buy an external drive to record to, Speaker 1: which depending on how much filming you want to do in a day, Speaker 1: that could be

a half a terabyte to four terabytes, Speaker 1: and that can be around $100 to $300. Speaker 1: It all depends on how often you want to empty this thing. Speaker 1: But what this then allows you to do is go into a free video editing software like DaVinci Resolve Speaker 1: and do color correction to get those really nice looks you see. Speaker 1: And yes, DaVinci Resolve is fully free on Mac and PC or even iPad. Speaker 1: Now for many of you, you're going to have to do some studying, Speaker 1: meaning

watching a 25-minute color grading tutorial. Speaker 1: I linked my favorite one in the roadmap. Speaker 1: Then download some cheap film looks, if that's your vibe, Speaker 1: or anamorphic flares, or CRT looks, Speaker 1: and then figure out how you want to put style and grain on your footage. Speaker 1: Now, some of you are thinking this sounds like it's getting expensive, but let's get real here. Speaker 1: A Sony FX3, which most of the best looking footage you see in medium budget music videos, Speaker 1: fleshed out with the lens, runs around

6 to 8K depending how crazy you want to go. Speaker 1: You can have a tool that when viewed in SFV apps, Speaker 1: looks pretty similar in quality for the price of a new phone, which is $1,700. Speaker 1: And as I said, the camera software and video editing software is free. Speaker 1: You only really need to pay the $325 for DaVinci if you want some of the shortcuts it provides Speaker 1: in the studio version, and some of the advanced features that really save time. Speaker 1: And that's a one-off fee. I've

only paid that for six years of making hundreds of videos in it Speaker 1: every single day. Considering the price difference, you can now get a pretty amazing quality for an Speaker 1: insanely low entry point. Never mind if you buy an iPhone 15 Pro Max used or refurbished, Speaker 1: and buy one of those hard drives off Craigslist or Mark Satan Incarnate's marketplace. Speaker 1: Now many of you are like, "What about lighting and sound, Jesse?" Speaker 1: So these Godox SL60W lights are pretty amazing. Speaker 1: And there's new lights from like Amaran

that are even smaller and more compact that you Speaker 1: can travel with that are really, really great for around $100 to $200. Speaker 1: And if you want a green screen to be able to film on any background, well, $25 can get Speaker 1: you one that you can mount anywhere you go. Speaker 1: And if you want to talk into the camera and not have it sound like trash, well, it's about Speaker 1: $100 for some of these mics that everybody uses, like the one on my hat right now. Speaker 1: and I'll

give you a quick buyer's guide for them. Speaker 1: The Holleland mic is absolutely amazing, Speaker 1: but the problem is, is they break really easily. Speaker 1: So they're about half the price of the Rode or DJI mics Speaker 1: that you see so many people use. Speaker 1: But what you're paying for with the Rode and DJI mics Speaker 1: is that they have superior sound by just a little bit. Speaker 1: The DJI is really good at silencing outdoor sounds, Speaker 1: but really at the end of the day, Speaker 1: you're

paying for that they have interchangeable parts Speaker 1: that don't break as easily. Speaker 1: Trust me when I say I've bought each of these about 10 times, Speaker 1: for the studios I own. Speaker 1: And I know this in and out Speaker 1: since I have to buy them all the time Speaker 1: and replace them all the time Speaker 1: because we use them literally for 10 hours a day. Speaker 1: And yeah, there's a lot more to this, Speaker 1: but honestly, a few hours of playing around it Speaker 1: and

watching tutorials and you're good Speaker 1: and you'll make way better videos fast Speaker 1: that could look like most of the videos you've admired. Speaker 1: Seriously, the world is your oyster right now Speaker 1: more than it ever has been. Speaker 1: And there's very rarely good news for musicians. Speaker 1: And this is some of it. Speaker 1: If you want to go deeper, Speaker 1: head to the video I made Speaker 1: where I followed around Speaker 1: one of the top cinematographers Speaker 1: in film these days on a day

of shooting, and I learned all the tricks on how to film on an iPhone Speaker 1: for really cheap and doing amazing work. But let's talk about some secrets to filming good content, Speaker 1: I know. Remember how I talked about in the beginning of the video how I own the top content Speaker 1: studio in New York City and Times Square Podstream Studios at the center-most building in the center Speaker 1: of the world? Well, because of that, not only do I get to film sick content with sick equipment there, Speaker 1: I see

what all the other pros and tons of top creators do there. Here's the production secrets Speaker 1: they know that you probably don't. Speaker 1: When it comes to getting really good takes Speaker 1: and you're probably producing yourself Speaker 1: and you don't have someone egging you on, Speaker 1: whether you're doing lip syncing content Speaker 1: or talking at the camera like I am now, Speaker 1: what you're probably gonna do at first is underperform. Speaker 1: What you wanna do after you get done filming Speaker 1: is look back at the footage

right then and there, Speaker 1: make sure it has good lighting, good sound Speaker 1: and trust your instincts. Speaker 1: If you think it's a little off, Speaker 1: it's definitely off and try to fix it. Speaker 1: But performance wise, Speaker 1: what you're gonna do after you think you nailed it Speaker 1: is you're gonna overperform by 20% and do another take. Speaker 1: And if you watch that and think it's way better, do it again, doing 20% harder. Speaker 1: Overdo it. Speaker 1: Oversell your song. Speaker 1: Now, if you

watch that and you cringe and your friend helping you sees cringe too that you Speaker 1: maybe send it to on a text, well, dial it back. Speaker 1: But in general, somewhere around 5% to 10% outside of your comfort zone is where you're Speaker 1: going to perform really well and people are going to really feel the song. Speaker 1: Because if you're not feeling the song, neither are they. Speaker 1: So you really need to make sure that your performance gets dialed up enough that people Speaker 1: really watch it and go, oh

damn, this artist is sick. I want to check out that song. Because Speaker 1: remember, when you're feeling the song, that makes people feel it more. And that can mean, Speaker 1: whether it's smiling, dancing, or being really sad, or being really serious, all of these things can Speaker 1: be an underperformance or an overperformance. Try different things and find your vibe, and eventually Speaker 1: you'll find it within a take or two really fast, and you keep getting better at it. Speaker 1: Next is film in batches. Speaker 1: The setup, getting dressed, nailing

the shot, getting in the zone, all that takes time. Speaker 1: Trust me, I've been filming this long ass video doing it all week and it's not fun. Speaker 1: If you're filming 16 videos in a setting, having to set up each time is almost the length Speaker 1: that it takes to film all those videos. Speaker 1: It should be fairly obvious that if you're already filming, you should try to get as Speaker 1: much filming done while the camera is set up and while you're dressed well, shaved, whatever. Speaker 1: Next is to

never underestimate the power of looping your sound on TikTok to a Bluetooth speaker and filming yourself on loop rather than stopping takes. Speaker 1: So many of the best things come from vibing out to a repeated loop till something fun happens. Speaker 1: And what I mean by this is you can keep the loop of your song going and stay and record on your camera and just keep performing until you overdo that performance, till something funny happens, you can improvise, whatever it is. Speaker 1: All that stuff works to get better performances. Speaker 1: It

sometimes takes a while of hearing it over and over again Speaker 1: until you're really in the vibe and really feeling it. Speaker 1: And the stopping and starting is not good. Speaker 1: You shouldn't just do takes. Speaker 1: Let it loop, let it rock. Speaker 1: You'll edit the right portion later. Speaker 1: My next tip is this small rig monitor is a godsend Speaker 1: for those of you who want to film with the front-facing camera Speaker 1: so it looks better, but see yourself as you perform. Speaker 1: And make sure

you look right and well. Speaker 1: It's pretty cheap and works super well. Speaker 1: And frankly, I have one right above this teleprompter Speaker 1: I'm reading off of right now. Speaker 1: so I could check the shot and I could actually see that I wish I framed this so I was a little Speaker 1: bit higher in the shot. But I also use this monitor to get better performances by showing Speaker 1: who I'm recording, what they look like in it. And a lot of the time, if they're self-conscious and Speaker 1: wondering

if their makeup is smeared or something like that, that's going to affect their performance. Speaker 1: But if they can see their makeup isn't smeared in that monitor, then they feel good. It really is a Speaker 1: cheap, cheap purchase for a lot of self-confidence. Now with that, it's time for us to sidebar the Speaker 1: number one thing that even the smartest of my consulting clients who are blowing up often fuck Speaker 1: up. And if I'm being real, I often earn a lot of my consulting fees pointing out, so I'm kind of Speaker

1: shooting myself in the foot since this is going to decrease how much money I make each month. Speaker 1: Most of the most viral artists who really get views and drive streams on their songs on short Speaker 1: form video apps do a really smart thing. When a video blows up, they don't think, oh well, I did it. Speaker 1: They do a simple thought process. They think of other ways they can make that video again and make Speaker 1: it better. I have this video where I talk about a snowman technique I use

to generate these ideas, Speaker 1: and it's of course in the roadmap. What we see over and over is the most viral groups get a video Speaker 1: that does well, then they improve on the idea, and it does even better, and then they do it, Speaker 1: and it goes the fuck off even more, and then they do it again, and well, it eventually starts to Speaker 1: flop because people get sick of this routine. But the point being, when a video overperforms, Speaker 1: this is a hint that you should think on how

to improve it. Most of the groups we study who are Speaker 1: going most viral often are doing videos four, six, eight, ten times, basically until it starts Speaker 1: flopping consistently and improving upon the video. But the mindset is, when a video does good, Speaker 1: try to beat it and come up with an even better idea and way to flip it. And if while you're Speaker 1: filming, you can think of four ways and variations to flip the idea, you're already ahead of the game. Speaker 1: And if you want a masterclass in

this, watch my video on Joey Valence and Bray, who, whether you Speaker 1: think they're corny or not are probably one of the most creative and interesting groups literally Speaker 1: performing burning on all cylinders right now and every format they work in they do better and Speaker 1: there's a ton to learn from them and this is one of the main tricks they've employed for massive Speaker 1: massive growth over the past few years now the last thing i would be remiss not to tell you in Speaker 1: this section is so many of

you ask me if you have to keep one look in your videos and the answer is Speaker 1: hell no. While recognizability and repeatability is important, when you see creators you like who Speaker 1: are popping off, click their profile pages and look through and study what they do. I will bet Speaker 1: you see they often have a mix of three levels of video content. Hi-fi, color-corrected, nice-looking Speaker 1: content, perhaps mostly extracted from music videos or content they paid a videographer to do. Speaker 1: Mid-fi, where they put some effort into filming it

themselves, and then they edited a bit, and then Speaker 1: lo-fi where they just pick up the camera and film and are often not even in their regular stage look. Speaker 1: If you employ all that, you're probably off to a great start making even better content. Speaker 1: So now that we've created some content, how do we sort it, post it, and make it so it's in an Speaker 1: order that will most likely get fans? Since one of the most powerful ways we have to grow songs and Speaker 1: get people a taste

of them and then stream them and start a fan journey is by making these short Speaker 1: form videos. So what do we want to do to post them in an order that is likely to be more effective? Speaker 1: Well, luckily for you, I have a 90-day plan that shows you what to post. Now, some of you are Speaker 1: probably thinking, wait, Jesse, you told us to release every 30 to 60 days, aka every four to Speaker 1: eight weeks. It's nice to see that some of you are paying attention. The 30 days

before the song, Speaker 1: I also tell you all the work you should be doing to prep it. That's why it's a 90-day plan. And I Speaker 1: should also say, if you're releasing songs every four weeks, the plan adjusts and contracts depending Speaker 1: on how often you're releasing, even if you want to do five or seven weeks, it's all in that plan Speaker 1: and how you adjust for that. And there's a video that accompanies it that's in the roadmap that's Speaker 1: on the screen right now. And I suggest you download the

spreadsheet I've made you for free and then Speaker 1: watch it with the video. I should also say there's a newsletter version of that video, but I'm Speaker 1: updating that video in a big way coming up very, very shortly. But one of the main keys is we work Speaker 1: stages where we do what I call fan-finding videos, where we try to align the algorithm Speaker 1: with either the micro-genre the song is in, since I know some of you teeter between genres, Speaker 1: as well as the themes of your lyrics are the

emotions the songs give to listeners. Speaker 1: I show you how to do that in this video I made on how you find your first fans. Speaker 1: And we do that a lot of the time as you change genres or haven't quite gotten out of algorithmic Speaker 1: jail yet. Speaker 1: This is the technique to get you out of there. Speaker 1: But it also pulls an initial group of people who are likely to like your song and give Speaker 1: results in the algorithm. But basically, our goal is to post a short

form video daily, Speaker 1: but if that isn't manageable, you can get away with doing three a week and still grow a lot. Speaker 1: And yeah, we also want to post one grid post at least every one to two weeks on Instagram. Speaker 1: And you know, that's most weeks when you're really active. And we want to maintain a goal Speaker 1: of posting a single story every single day on Insta and TikTok. And those stories sometimes Speaker 1: can be sharing the real you posted. But anything more than one story a day often

does diminish Speaker 1: how much Instagram pushes your content out. Speaker 1: So aiming for that gets us off the hook Speaker 1: and gives us a nice, easy, steady line to aim for. Speaker 1: But later in this video, Speaker 1: I'll go into some more advanced techniques Speaker 1: that will get you even more views Speaker 1: if you want to go harder than that. Speaker 1: But the biggest thing I changed Speaker 1: about my 90-day plan coming up for promoting a song Speaker 1: is that we have now incorporated Speaker 1:

promoting old songs into the process. Speaker 1: The fact is, until the earworm era, Speaker 1: we had no good answer about how to promote Speaker 1: old songs in the streaming era Speaker 1: if they never got traction. Speaker 1: But the craziest thing is when I look at the Viral 50 chart on Spotify, Speaker 1: you see songs older than nine months all over. Speaker 1: In some weeks, one third of the songs are from a different year Speaker 1: than the one we're currently in. Speaker 1: Right now, the number one song

on the Viral 50 on Spotify in America Speaker 1: is three years old. Speaker 1: Literally, today as I do this, I was just looking at it. Speaker 1: This stems from that the users of SFV apps often discover hidden gems, Speaker 1: songs that never got their due, Speaker 1: or more commonly, we saw in the last year with massive hits Speaker 1: like Julia Wolf's In My Room or Lola Young's Messy Speaker 1: or Sam Austin's Seasons, Speaker 1: all these songs hit after the artists were pushing them Speaker 1: for more than

nine months Speaker 1: and they seemed to be released in the wrong season. Speaker 1: But when the weather and vibe for the song got more right Speaker 1: and people had been hearing it for a long time, Speaker 1: well, they really hit. Speaker 1: And this is not to say they didn't promote new songs Speaker 1: in that time. Speaker 1: They didn't just promote one song the whole time. Speaker 1: They wove in the old songs into their promotions Speaker 1: as they released more songs Speaker 1: so they wouldn't bore their

pre-existing audience. Speaker 1: And well, the song's emotions finally lined up with where TikTok, Instagram, and the zeitgeist was, Speaker 1: and those songs blew up and took each artist to a whole new career stage. Speaker 1: This is why in my 90-day plan, I now have amended it to reflect that as you hit halfway through your song's release cycle, Speaker 1: if the song hasn't caught on fire, well, it's time to start promoting some of your older material you believe in. Speaker 1: Since this has been how so many hits have happened in recent

times, Speaker 1: And even for artists who've gone just mid-viral, it's reawakened fan bases, gotten songs ignited, and really helped them be set up for success and boosted their numbers, and which fans are active and making relationships with them. Speaker 1: So don't be shy when your latest song isn't performing well, or when you don't have something fresh to promote, or you don't want to imagine another new video style with your latest song that's not catching on. Speaker 1: Since so many of the big moments songs have been when a creator gets the short form

video platforms a bit better and sees a new way to push a song, or you found a new audience on these short form apps that would have probably liked a song that you've made in the past and they're not aware of it yet. Speaker 1: That happens all the time too. Speaker 1: But let's talk about algorithms. Speaker 1: So now that you've been making short form videos, you're hopefully getting views and people are clicking over to your song on YouTube and Spotify, and you're on your way into the algorithm on those two platforms. Speaker

1: Now, what that means is that as you rack up plays, the algorithms on Spotify and YouTube, where people form relationships with artists, will start to recommend your music to similar listeners to the ones you already have. Speaker 1: And if these listeners are listening repeatedly, it's going to send a sign to the algorithm to send it to more people, and it'll be stimulated and keep spreading you to other similar listens. Speaker 1: This happens on Discover Weekly, Daily Mix, Release Radar, Spotify Radio, other AI curated playlists, the browse page, and the sidebars on YouTube,

all of which help with music discovery and help to create a critical mass as you keep this up. Speaker 1: But contrary to popular belief, many studies and analytics show that most of the time, the interested listeners on Reels and TikTok or the potential fans who get told about your music from a friend actually head to YouTube first, which is just as powerful a music discovery channel, if not more, for Spotify. Speaker 1: This discovery stimulates YouTube's algorithm and recommends you more, and frankly, a lot of listeners teeter between YouTube and Spotify, which is what

brings us to the circle of algorithms. Speaker 1: One of the things people don't take into mind is all these algorithms compound on each other. Speaker 1: When you are on all the platforms your potential fans are on, meaning if listeners get recommended Speaker 1: you on Spotify, then follow you on Instagram, the similar listeners to them on Instagram Speaker 1: will get recommended your profile. Speaker 1: And after a while, you start to seem like you're everywhere because fans are seeing Speaker 1: you in that little suggested follow thing. Speaker 1: Then they see

you in Spotify radio and they start to remember your name and all this compounds. Speaker 1: As long as you're putting in the work to feed these platforms and sustaining that promotion Speaker 1: and showing up with things fans will like, they will form lookalike models for the algorithms Speaker 1: and they will recommend you to similar listeners and in time, YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, TikTok, Speaker 1: Apple, even sometimes Threads, Twitter, and Blue Sky are all going to be working together Speaker 1: to blow you up. Speaker 1: But we'll get into more of that

later. Speaker 1: Now, before we get into the next section, I have to be real with you. Speaker 1: I've done numerous episodes on my members feed videos where I show artists get tons of Speaker 1: tons of views and then they don't turn into streams the reality is if people don't fuck with what they Speaker 1: hear they aren't going to stream it now this is kind of embarrassing so i don't want to call these Speaker 1: artists out by name in a video that's going to get a bunch of views but if you

want to explore that Speaker 1: there's a section of my roadmap called cautionary tales where i basically talk a lot about how if Speaker 1: you are not aligning the videos you make with a culture your fans are a part of and just doing Speaker 1: broad viral things, working with trending sounds, doing things that appeal to a lot of people Speaker 1: instead of your people, the people most likely to like you. Speaker 1: Well, there's a lot of time they're not going to like your music and it's not going to translate Speaker 1:

into as many streams as it would if you focused on mid viral, meaning focusing on just going Speaker 1: viral with the people who would like you. Speaker 1: If I'm a Midwest email artist, I will take 85,000 views of people who are just into that Speaker 1: style of music over 8.5 million of a viral song where most of the people don't fuck with that type Speaker 1: of music. And frankly, I think this is a good thing. If the only game was attention to get song Speaker 1: streams, we'd have nothing but pretty

influencer fuckboy losers who are really good about gaming Speaker 1: views. They would be getting all the streams on Spotify. But one of the nice things of these Speaker 1: cautionary tales is you see that those people, they don't always win. But the fact is you can't Speaker 1: get people to repeatedly listen to songs they don't like. And a lot of these losers make terrible Speaker 1: music, but are great at hooks and looking cute and getting everyone on the short form apps horned up. Speaker 1: But contrary to what many people think, we

have data that shows that doesn't always turn into Speaker 1: streams and that's a good thing. So for the rest of this video, one of the things we're going to Speaker 1: talk about is how you really get your people excited and how you target those people so you Speaker 1: don't become one of them. So once you've been putting in the work to get your music heard, Speaker 1: we of course want to grow it as much as we can, as fast as we can, which is what we're going to Speaker 1: learned how

to do it this step. And for those of you who love to talk about my nose needing to be Speaker 1: blown in the comments, yeah, I got sick and I'm still taping this. Really? This is what we're doing Speaker 1: here? So now that we've learned how to get attention to your music, once you're getting Speaker 1: attention, how do you grow it? There's tons of methods we can do to pour fuel on the fire as Speaker 1: this all starts to work. So I want to go through even the most obvious ones that

you can start Speaker 1: doing from day one onto some of the most advanced ones you've probably never heard of. And a lot of Speaker 1: these your favorite artists seem to not know about since I tell them about them in meetings. Speaker 1: Before we get started, I should state that a lot of these techniques are not going to work with the Speaker 1: most boring caveat that if people aren't enthusiastic to your music as well as if you Speaker 1: aren't creating some meta-narrative that keeps fans thinking about you, well, they don't work

as well. Speaker 1: But first, we have business to stand up. So let me tell you two of the most common things I see Speaker 1: for musicians who aren't growing. Since so many of you either live in the past of how music Speaker 1: promotion used to work, and I want to get you living in today's music world. Speaker 1: So a lot of the time when I'm talking to musicians, it's a lot like bargaining with Speaker 2: like a drunk friend for their keys when they shouldn't drive. Speaker 2: I'm trying to tell

them that people much smarter than them and in a better place than Speaker 2: them with more money, who've done far more research, have tried to break some rules, Speaker 2: but no matter what they did, those laws wouldn't bend. Speaker 2: I mean, after all, Justin Timberlake still got arrested. Speaker 2: It'll only kind of hurt the tour. Speaker 2: So here's what I'm asking. Speaker 2: Give me the keys and let me drive. Speaker 2: If you want to fight, you can plead your case in the comments. Speaker 2: But I promise, if

you let me get through this section, you'll understand some of the arguments Speaker 2: I'm making much better. Speaker 2: And frankly, maybe you'll have sobered up a little by then. Speaker 2: And hopefully things go better for you than the Prince of Pop. Speaker 2: So first off, like I said at the top of this, in addition to music, I work with the other Speaker 2: field where insufferable narcissists feel they deserve attention for doing things most people Speaker 2: feel are pretty boring. Speaker 2: And that's known as politics. Speaker 2: Now, one

of the lessons that politicians get to see faster than musicians is everyone in Speaker 2: politics has now accepted as a general rule, money cannot buy attention as well as it once could, Speaker 1: but smart strategy and creativity can get attention. Now, in politics, we actually do a test over who Speaker 1: gets the most fans from this attention, and we have a provable outcome called an election. Music Speaker 1: is not that case, and it's messy since different amounts of streams are successful to different Speaker 1: people. But in politics, everyone seems to

now have gotten this memo that money is not the problem. Speaker 1: I really feel like patient zero for that was how far Lil Nas X got before a major label Speaker 1: got involved when promoting Old Town Road. Speaker 1: And ever since then, this has been a giant bat signal in the sky that some people are Speaker 1: just choosing to ignore because they want to pretend that it's the money that would just Speaker 1: solve all their problems. Speaker 1: It's not. Speaker 1: Now, you can argue very easily that one of

the problems with money is that you need time Speaker 1: to not work your day job to do all this work. Speaker 1: And that I totally get and I'm not arguing. Speaker 1: I'm arguing that the money you pour onto your promotions, that somebody can spend 10 times more, Speaker 1: and if you do cool things, you can go further than them. Speaker 1: I get all these consulting calls from investment bankers with sons who look like Chase Dreams from the other two, Speaker 1: saying that they want to buy their son a fan

base. Speaker 1: And I have to tell them, money doesn't buy this, since if the artist isn't developed, Speaker 1: and the songs and ideas are bad, contrary to what every idiot who yaps about industry plants says, Speaker 2: those artists flop. Speaker 2: We see it all the time. Speaker 2: You can look at any of the major labels webpage and see how many artists they pushed to mid at best results. Speaker 2: Nevermind when their parents have their names in blue on Wikipedia and it's still flopping. Speaker 2: The people who say this

haven't studied it enough. Speaker 2: It's not about the money. Speaker 2: It's about the creativity, the development, and smart strategies for growth, which we're getting into now. Speaker 1: So here's our first important law of growth. Speaker 1: A good idea with no money spent on it will be the mid or bad idea that has hundreds of thousands of dollars of boosted posts on it Speaker 1: and get more attention every single time. Speaker 1: And the only people I see who argue against this Speaker 1: are people who don't actually experiment with this,

Speaker 1: because when you talk to anyone Speaker 1: who actually works in the business with this, Speaker 1: they all know this. Speaker 1: So now that we've accepted this law, Speaker 1: allow me to take you on a quick side quest. Speaker 1: Since we need to first get it so you don't go mentally ill Speaker 1: and give up on your music, Speaker 1: since this overwhelms so many of you, Speaker 1: and if we get your head screwed on straight first, Speaker 1: you're more likely to succeed. Speaker 1: So let's

take a trip inside your brain. Speaker 1: Do not look at numbers unless you know what you're going to change. Speaker 1: You may have noticed that mental health for creative people as well, Speaker 1: not going so well. Speaker 1: Now, most of this has to do with corporations squeezing every dollar Speaker 1: from the creators themselves, Speaker 1: apps that give horrendous incentives for behavior, Speaker 1: and well, a ton of things that you're probably bored with reading about. Speaker 1: But there's one practice I see that constantly inflicts psychic damage Speaker 1:

on creatives that is totally avoidable for any of you, Speaker 1: and you probably don't know it. Speaker 1: So everyone thinks they know why musicians don't get attention. Speaker 1: In fact, they'll make tweets pointing to whatever frustrates them about artists, Speaker 1: usually with zero data to back it up, because internet. Speaker 1: But I talk to a minimum of 10 different musicians every week about their problems, Speaker 1: read their comments on the dozen videos I put up every week, 52 weeks a year, Speaker 1: and hear what they're actually saying is

their problem. Speaker 1: This puts me in a unique position to identify the real issue. Speaker 1: Sure, bad songs exist and are definitely the number one cause for getting no attraction. Speaker 1: That's obvious. Speaker 1: But here's what people miss. Speaker 1: Musicians expect unrealistic attention levels, Speaker 1: aka that little view counter on your videos, Speaker 1: and that little number stares you down on your grid Speaker 1: or on the videos on YouTube Speaker 1: or streams on your songs on Spotify, Speaker 1: and then the musician imagines a view count

Speaker 1: that doesn't match reality Speaker 1: for the amount of quality and work they put in, Speaker 1: and then get depressed when their video underperforms. Speaker 2: This then leads to them getting depressed, Speaker 2: unmotivated, and doing something else Speaker 2: rather than the work of staying consistent Speaker 2: More importantly, improving each and every day. Speaker 2: They stop posting, stop pushing through, and most critically, they don't analyze their Speaker 2: numbers to learn from them. Speaker 2: Now I'm going to try to be chill Jesse for once, which, let's be

honest, is a little Speaker 2: hard for me. Speaker 2: So there's this term called info hazard, information that's likely to harm you when you receive Speaker 2: it. Speaker 2: It's also the title of a song on my current favorite record, Nina Jirachi's I Love My Speaker 2: Computer. Speaker 2: This perfectly describes what I see when creatives use analytics to judge their self-worth. Speaker 2: The information they may see may create harm. Speaker 2: Which brings us to the golden rule of analytics. Speaker 2: Don't look at your numbers Speaker 2: unless you

know what you'll change. Speaker 1: What this means for those of you Speaker 1: who are little Mabu listeners, Speaker 1: only check your analytics Speaker 1: when you have a clear plan to act on the results. Speaker 1: Don't just look to see Speaker 1: if your video got the views you wanted. Speaker 1: That's pointless unless you know Speaker 1: exactly what you'll change Speaker 1: if the video underperformed. Speaker 1: And this is one of the most important rules Speaker 1: that almost no one I know does, Speaker 1: but I've practiced

for years. Speaker 1: I'll be real with you. Speaker 1: I can get bummed about my numbers. Speaker 1: For one, I only look at my analytics at Friday at 6 p.m. Speaker 1: In fact, it's Friday at 6 p.m. Speaker 1: and I have to do it right after this. Speaker 1: Because if I don't like how they look, Speaker 1: I will soon forget about this Speaker 1: as I'll be out with my friends doing something fun Speaker 1: and engaging with humans Speaker 1: and I won't be dwelling on it as I

tend to do. Speaker 1: Or if they're really bad, Speaker 1: I could eat my feelings at Mission Chinese. Speaker 1: But most of all, I look at my analytics Speaker 1: and I don't just look at the views. Speaker 1: I look at things like average view duration Speaker 1: and see if a hook should get cut down Speaker 1: we're playing too long of the hook of the song and it should be only one bar instead of two bars. Speaker 1: We have to think about, did this video not keep people interested? Well,

maybe it needs more Speaker 1: motion or to do something that sustains attention better. If the click-through rate is terrible, Speaker 1: well, we need to figure out how to make a better thumbnail. Don't check your analytics unless you Speaker 1: know what you'd adjust based on what you look at. If you're just going to look at 2,000 views and Speaker 1: feel depressed, you're not learning anything. We have to remember, depression often leads from Speaker 1: stagnation and not doing anything to improve things. This is all a recipe for depression. Speaker 1: And this

isn't just my advice, it's scientific. My wife is actually a licensed therapist whose Speaker 1: practices focus around her work working with creatives. And she works specifically with Speaker 1: their types of problems. Blockages, trauma that keeps them from creating, and depression that Speaker 1: keeps them from making the things they want to make. And since I'm going to shock you here, Speaker 1: but ChatGPT isn't exactly good at this type of therapy. It keeps making people go more mentally Speaker 1: ill. And what we see is creators are continually making their lives worse off

by heading to bad Speaker 1: answers like doing chat therapy and looking at their numbers too much. And this is one of the Speaker 1: main easiest ways we both turn people's lives around. Anyway, one of the main causes of depression Speaker 1: is that stagnation I talked about and the feeling that you're not making progress. If you're just Speaker 1: watching numbers and fail to hit their mark and not using them for their actual purpose, which is Speaker 1: the whole reason we're looking at numbers is to guide you on how you can improve

what you do well. Speaker 1: you're basically setting yourself up for failure with every post. Speaker 1: When you just look at the number and don't use it for the purposes they're meant for, Speaker 1: you're destined to lose motivation and go through the cycles of starting and stopping and be more depressed. Speaker 1: Since the rarest thing in the world is for you to just keep opening that app and see better numbers Speaker 1: that just keep accumulating without learning from your mistakes and learning how to improve from those numbers. Speaker 1: And that's

what analytics are actually there to teach you to see. Speaker 1: To make it even more important to take this seriously, Speaker 1: We're wired inherently as humans to feel losses more intensely than wins, which creates a rigged Speaker 1: system when we're looking at analytics. Think of it like a points game where meeting expectation Speaker 1: gets you zero points. Falling short costs you five points, but exceeding expectations, Speaker 1: meaning you got more views than you thought, even if it's double or triple, that really only gives Speaker 1: you two points. So you're

set up to fail all the time because it's hard to come back from those Speaker 1: losses. But I want you to think about this. Say you check Instagram and you see your latest video Speaker 1: has a terrible average view duration. Speaker 1: If you have a plan, you know what to try next. Speaker 1: Move more, shorten the song, add more cuts, Speaker 1: split the video in half, make a better, shorter hook, Speaker 1: or make something that's more likely to cause thumb stop Speaker 1: by interrupting what they normally see on

the timeline. Speaker 1: But if you just look at those numbers to beat yourself up, Speaker 1: you learn nothing and become less motivated to improve Speaker 1: and probably stop growing your music. Speaker 1: This is why checking analytics without an actionable plan Speaker 1: only causes psychological damage. Speaker 1: You're essentially volunteering to discourage yourself from pushing forward. Speaker 2: However, when you see poor AVD and think, I should add more movement and quicker cuts, Speaker 2: now you have a concrete step to improve your next video if you actually act on it.

Speaker 2: Now, I know a lot of you are thinking you have no idea how analytics work. Speaker 2: And as always, you're in luck because I made a video on how to read them and what to do when they're not telling you that you're doing well. Speaker 2: And it's linked on the screen now and is in the roadmap. Speaker 1: But here's the key principle I've emphasized in my videos and newsletters. Speaker 1: Most artists who go viral have been consistently making similar content while gradually improving it. Speaker 1: They use analytics as

a roadmap for those improvements, not a report card or a referendum on their self-worth. Speaker 1: They only look at the numbers when there's a clear direction of what they should try next. Speaker 1: My last thought before we leave this mental health sidebar, since let's be honest, it's pretty dark here inside your brain. Speaker 1: And I'll put this in terms many musicians will understand. Speaker 1: There's so many of you who don't understand why you can't win a video game when you haven't died and had to go back to the start of a

level. Speaker 1: One of the things all the musicians I know making content who've been at it for a while get is that you have misses and many of the misses turn into hits later. Speaker 1: That behind the scenes video making your single you edited for 10 hours may bomb the week it drops. Speaker 1: But six months later when the song has become heard by the right audience, it may become a huge thing fans mention to you constantly. Speaker 1: but when you were depressed for a week after it didn't do well, Speaker

1: well, you look back and feel pretty fucking stupid, don't you? Speaker 1: Many of you have never worked long enough at creating things, Speaker 1: so you get disappointed by everything and don't realize a lot of the time Speaker 1: you're making little investments and making your life way cooler Speaker 1: and your dreams come true. Speaker 1: So try to be kinder to yourself and don't do things that are going to obviously hurt you. Speaker 1: Okay, and now if you dozed off because you were hanging and banging a little too hard, Speaker

1: this is another one of those times I want you to wake up. Speaker 1: So as I've said, my wife and I talk to a lot of musicians about their mental health issues, Speaker 1: and despite the fact that I'm unlicensed unlike her, we both see a common rewiring of the brain Speaker 1: that really helps musicians. Too many musicians have it in their head that the goal is to be viral, Speaker 1: and we'll talk about mid-viral later and how it may be better than viral. But the biggest thought Speaker 1: to rewire

your brain, and how I personally keep saying, is I don't judge my worth by my views. Speaker 1: I judge it by how many hours I put in each week to making my life be potentially a much cooler Speaker 1: version of what it is now. And that's how I've gotten to a really cool life every week is I don't Speaker 1: get beaten down by this stuff because I see it as that I'm putting effort in to making it better. Speaker 1: If I'm being real, I can make a lot more money if I

wanted to console it with brands and even more Speaker 1: cursed politicians since I turn down that work all the time. I love music and find my life way more Speaker 1: fulfilling helping musicians. So I honor the dream of working on what I find interesting by putting in Speaker 1: constant hours towards this. For the last month, I left the house 75% less to get this video done Speaker 1: to honor that it will probably open the door to work with more artists I enjoy working with Speaker 1: and make some of the money

I could probably make. For you as a musician, when you're working on your Speaker 1: music, what you should wire your mind is that the views aren't the referendum of if you did a good Speaker 1: job. The hours you spent putting in to have a better life you'd like to have is what's actually Speaker 1: important. And all you can do is try to keep looking at the numbers and thinking deeper about Speaker 1: what you do to improve upon it. It's one thing if you want to distribute up your time in different Speaker

1: ways to get a different outcome, but really clocking those hours is a lot of what matters. Speaker 1: And if this is wrestling with you here, here's what to put in your notes. The number of views Speaker 1: you get is a referendum on if we should spend time doing something more or less, Speaker 1: not whether you should give up. Every musician has different things that flop. Hell, the 1975 Speaker 1: deleted a song off their latest record as I write this. We all fail. The question is, Speaker 1: do we get our

mind to see these failures as considering how we change direction or improve? Speaker 1: Or do we do the opposite of what everyone you respect who blew up did when they flopped Speaker 1: and give up and stop working? Speaker 1: Okay, but I'm going to be real. Speaker 1: I've been in your head way too long and there's a lot of dark, scary things in here and I Speaker 1: don't want to be in here anymore. Speaker 1: So let's get back to the real world. Speaker 1: All right. Speaker 1: Glad to be

out of there. Speaker 1: So one of the things I would be remiss not to tell you is something that we've all been Speaker 1: through a bunch of times. Speaker 1: is that we'll be doing a task in a really slow, hard way, Speaker 1: and then find out there's a modern tool Speaker 1: that makes it take 1% of the time Speaker 1: that you've been taking to do it. Speaker 1: And one of the main advantages labels Speaker 1: and big managements have Speaker 1: is they get tons of employees coming in,

Speaker 1: and these consultants come in Speaker 1: and show them all the best ways to do things Speaker 1: while you're toiling away alone. Speaker 1: But luckily for you, I have, well, me. Speaker 1: I've curated a list of 150 tools sorted by category. Speaker 1: I write down what they do, how much they cost, Speaker 1: and my honest opinion on each one. Speaker 1: And any time I find new tools, I put it up and update it like every month or so. Speaker 1: If you head in the description of this

video, it's listed under free tools towards the bottom. Speaker 1: I've made a ton of videos on how to use many of the most crucial tools. Speaker 1: But now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the actionable, practical way that Speaker 1: all the big artists know how to grow that you're probably ignoring, Speaker 1: but I see the biggest artists doing right now. Speaker 1: So one of the main things I see, even for artists whose fans are really enthusiastic towards them, Speaker 1: On to the smallest artists, is they sleep

on how you can get them to start to buy merch, Speaker 1: stream more, and buy tickets. Speaker 1: And when I say fans are enthusiastic, this is actually easiest when you do it from day Speaker 1: one with only a few enthusiastic fans and keep up this practice till it builds to a scale Speaker 1: that's really high. Speaker 1: And you'll see artists with tens of millions of monthly listeners still doing this, as well Speaker 1: as artists with 10 monthly listeners, because it's really smart. Speaker 1: And it's what works right now.

Speaker 1: As always, we have to start with a problem and how we get around it when we're smart. Speaker 1: On many platforms like Instagram stories or the short form text apps, once you put a link to another site, they're going to kill the reach of that post. Speaker 1: TikTok and YouTube aren't even going to let you do links in most of the posts. Speaker 1: And TikTok will kill your reach if you mention streaming on Spotify or YouTube or your link in bio. Speaker 1: Literally, you can put up the same post

and say stream on Spotify and YouTube and TikTok will fully kill it. Speaker 1: You say the words link in bio, it's gone. Speaker 1: So what's a musician to do when you want to send their fans to the various ways to promote themselves? Speaker 2: What? Speaker 1: Come on, you know I have a solution. Speaker 1: So we're gonna take each listener who show you enthusiasm and slowly make them a bigger Speaker 1: and more engaged fan, all while stimulating the algorithms of Spotify and YouTube and making Speaker 1: your short form videos

go viral. Speaker 1: Sounds pretty good, right? Speaker 1: That's what we're looking to do. Speaker 1: As you move your casual fans through this journey, they'll listen to your song, stimulate those Speaker 1: algorithms and grow your fan base in a circle that keeps feeding itself and growing you. Speaker 1: You'll establish a free low effort path for people who do these things as simple as comment Speaker 1: on your Instagram and turn them into fans who stimulate that algorithm, buy from you, Speaker 1: and come out to your shows. Speaker 1: So we

all know that Instagram is most often where fans go to follow along with the musicians Speaker 1: they're interested in. Speaker 1: It's where you basically start relationships, whether that's friendships or who you're Speaker 1: more interested in to learn about their music. Speaker 1: This can be from a friend telling them about you. Speaker 1: Having heard you on a reel or having liked some of your songs on Spotify or YouTube, Speaker 1: they may have seen you live. Speaker 1: Instagram is where they want to hear more from you, so keep them posted

on your next moves. Speaker 1: But it's also where they're engaging with artists that they want the attention of. Speaker 1: And using that attention they crave as a tactic to grow the relationship can be a powerful Speaker 1: psychology to build a fan base. Speaker 1: Since if you give them a little attention, they often will give you a whole lot back. Speaker 1: So let's say you post a carousel, since we know you should never post a single photo Speaker 1: and only carousels on grid. Speaker 1: Right? Speaker 1: Right? Speaker 1:

Great! Speaker 1: And then the fan comments a bunch of nice things on it. Speaker 1: Now, obviously you should interact with them in a way that stimulates the algorithm so Speaker 1: the post spreads, meaning thank them, ask them a question, do something to keep the conversation Speaker 1: going. But next, I want you to add them on close friends on Instagram. And I know some of you feel Speaker 1: like it's low order to follow all your fans back, but this really works. And later, I will tell you Speaker 1: the Finsta workaround

for this. Now, some of you may have a personality type like mine, where this Speaker 1: feels gross since this isn't your close friend. But instead, I want you to imagine what this really Speaker 1: means. It's a person who wants to hear from you more often. Let's remember that the titles we put Speaker 1: buttons or people's names really mean nothing. Just like when you call the barista "boss", hoping Speaker 1: they remember to fill your black coffee to the brim and not leave room for milk. They're not your boss, Speaker 1: but they

can sure ruin my day like one. Or when we call the CEO of Live Nation CEO instead of Speaker 1: scum of the earth. Titles are not always what they seem. Anyway, add this fan and everyone else who Speaker 1: interacts with you to the close friends list. Now some of you are wondering why we would do this. Speaker 1: And some of you who are wondering that, do one of the most time-wasting activities and look at your Speaker 1: your story views multiple times a day. Speaker 1: And for those of you who do,

you know what a small portion of your followers actually Speaker 1: see your stories each day. Speaker 1: But if you're really savvy, you'll know that when you post a picture that's a thirst Speaker 1: trap or really funny, you may get more than just your followers seeing it if it gets shared. Speaker 1: And if you put a link to your Spotify, YouTube, or email list, it will get even fewer views Speaker 1: than usual. Speaker 1: So how do we get around that? Speaker 1: Well, that's where the whole close friends thing comes

in. Speaker 1: And I should say, putting a fan on Close Friends doesn't mean you're guaranteed to get in front of their stories, but it's far more likely. Speaker 1: So let's talk about showing up in the feed of Close Friends. Speaker 1: When someone starts looking at stories, you often will come up with that green bubble at the top of their feed, or at least close to the top, if you don't abuse the privilege. Speaker 1: But that's not necessarily what happens. Speaker 1: What seems to matter is if you've interacted with them in

the comments, that's where it works. Speaker 1: This means that after someone comments and you reply to that grid feed post, you'll show up there for a little while. Speaker 1: So when we hear of Billie Eilish adding every single person that follows her to her close Speaker 1: friends, that's not going to be what really changes who sees this. Speaker 1: But if you've interacted with this fan in the comments, this will help it go to the top Speaker 1: of their stories. Speaker 1: Since as you know, when you sign on Instagram, you

often see those close friend stories right Speaker 1: at the top of them, especially if you recently interacted. Speaker 1: Next, I want you to go to your calendar and I want you to do what I did here. Speaker 1: On every Wednesday, you're going to remind yourself to take the funniest picture in your Speaker 1: phone. Speaker 1: It can be a crazy picture of you or your group, a meme, a picture from your video, whatever. Speaker 1: And you're going to make a close friends post. Speaker 1: And that's what the reminder should

say. Speaker 1: Now, I want you to set up another calendar reminder that on Fridays, Speaker 1: you'll post a thought or a picture you wouldn't normally share on the grid. Speaker 1: Something behind the scenes. Speaker 1: Even just your laptop screen with a song or a four-bar loop that you're working on. Speaker 1: Just share a unique thought you have about music, like what you're doing or whatever. Speaker 1: Do what you feel comfortable doing. Speaker 1: It can be that simple, but you're basically keeping this behind the close friends wall. Speaker 1:

The key is we're going to regularly give these fans on close friends a peek that others don't get, Speaker 1: so they feel special and tell their friends about the special treatment they get, Speaker 1: which people love to do. Speaker 1: This leads them to be more likely to tell their friends about you, Speaker 1: interact with you, and keep seeing close friends posts, Speaker 1: so we convert them into super fans. Speaker 1: And that's the key here. Speaker 1: Since Instagram is where fans go to build relationships, Speaker 1: we're trying to

make those who want to connect with you feel important. Speaker 1: Much like when you start dating someone, you want to show a little enthusiasm. Speaker 1: Yes, I know what you come to this channel for is the dating tips from me. Speaker 1: So when you first start interacting, you add them to your close friends list and then share Speaker 1: some special content like those behind the scenes shots, a more vulnerable thought, the Speaker 1: funniest thing you've heard, or let's be real, a picture of you that gets them horned Speaker 1: up.

Speaker 1: Because we all know that's what works best. Speaker 1: In dating, some people call this bread crumbing, where you kind of lean the person on to what Speaker 1: you really want. Speaker 1: Whatever. Speaker 1: It works. Speaker 1: And this makes the fan feel valued in the interaction. Speaker 1: That's when we give them an opportunity to really receive something special from you Speaker 1: if they just up the relationship a little bit in commitment. Speaker 1: Now, on another reoccurring day, let's do Tuesday or Thursdays where you can create a

Speaker 1: post. Speaker 1: We want to generate a post that can go to platforms like Tribly or Laylo. Speaker 1: Tribly lets you exchange tracks for emails or texts, meaning a fan will receive a free Speaker 1: track download from you in exchange for their email or text. Speaker 1: Laylo offers similar features as well, with a few more features and a higher price. Speaker 1: There's also a way to achieve this by using ManyChat, which I have a video on in my Members Speaker 1: Video YouTube channel. Speaker 1: But the smarter ones

among you are probably curious what's included in this track download Speaker 1: that makes it so special. Speaker 1: You're now going to post an alternate version of your song. Speaker 1: Maybe you sang it an octave lower, recorded it acoustically, added it in an alternate verse, Speaker 1: or something else that will make your most engaged fans feel special for having it. Speaker 1: Or let's say you cover a song that you've put a new interesting twist on, especially Speaker 1: one that you keep exclusive only to this email list. Speaker 1: of songs

that aren't in your genre but are familiar to people tend to do really well. It Speaker 1: can also be a remix if you're in a genre where that's exciting. Just keep in mind that if you're Speaker 1: in a punk band, doing a techno remix might not excite your core most engaged fans, and we want Speaker 1: something that will. And you can flip this another way. Doja Cat recently gave away downloads the day Speaker 1: before her song was released to her most passionate fans, capitalizing those fans who couldn't wait to Speaker 1:

hear it and those who take pride in telling others they got it first. Doing this before each song is Speaker 1: release for those of you with engaged fans can generate a lot of emails and texts. And ultimately, Speaker 1: it's a really good way to do this because they receive what they'd like most from you, a new song. Speaker 1: Then weekly or monthly, put this up on your Instagram close friend story. You can also keep Speaker 1: a link to it on your LinkedIn bio. And if you want to use my favorite LinkedIn

bio tool, Speaker 1: it's Beacons. And there's a link inside the description of this video to use that as well Speaker 1: as getting their best upgrade deal. Now, obviously it's going to get boring. So we need other things Speaker 1: to share. You can obviously link new songs and videos as they drop, but there's a side quest Speaker 1: technique we're going to need to do since getting emails and text message numbers is obviously Speaker 1: valuable. The first is that you can share your reels to your stories. And anytime you put up a

Speaker 1: decent reel, it should get shared to your story since that'll help run it up. But when it's a Speaker 1: real banger, you should do a second share that says a caption like the prayer hands to your close Speaker 1: friends and say, run it up. I'm crazy for this one. Something that induces curiosity. You don't want Speaker 1: to miss this one. And it'll make sure those close friends who feel more close to you are more likely Speaker 1: to see it. And they're also the ones most likely to comment, send to

friends. And this is what helps Speaker 1: stimulate your reels in the algorithm. And as you bring more people into this close friends list, Speaker 1: guess what? It gets easier to make things go viral. Now that's great for Instagram, Speaker 1: but what about TikTok? So one of the regular links you should share on this close friends Speaker 1: is to your Discord server. Discord is like infinitely more cheap than a mailing list for Speaker 1: most sized artists since it's only like $10 to boost the server per month. Speaker 1: Anyway, when you

post that banger TikTok, the next step after hitting post is to do that Speaker 1: same language to run it up or whatever you'd like to say on your Discord. Speaker 1: As you get more Discord users, this becomes more likely to help you do numbers and funnel Speaker 1: them to blowing up each post, especially since these algorithms love inbound links where Speaker 1: you click in from another platform and then they spread your videos to more people. Speaker 1: and this stimulates the algorithm because TikTok loves to see an inbound link from Discord

into Speaker 1: their site. And you should definitely have a Discord link on your LinkedIn bio for TikTok, Speaker 1: since this will bring people in that are likely to do this. But let's get back to what we do now Speaker 1: that we have emails and texts. When we put up your song right at midnight when it's available, Speaker 1: we're going to text and email your fans. This encourages the people most likely to stream it Speaker 1: to start streaming it faster than usual and signals to the algorithm that it should prioritize your

Speaker 1: song for more exposure. Think of it this way. We now have direct access to the most likely ways Speaker 1: that your most passionate fans now are going to see all of your announcements. They're the ones Speaker 1: who are most likely to listen to your songs repeatedly. They're now going to get an email Speaker 1: or text each time you put out a song or a music video. And we all know how often we miss those Speaker 1: announcements regularly from even some of our favorite artists. And this ensures that they Speaker

1: don't miss it. And we get the people who are most likely to run it up, to bring your numbers up. Speaker 1: So you have something to stand on and get spread more of the algorithm. Speaker 1: Whether you do this or not, you should be sending that email at midnight. Speaker 1: And then that text the next day, since it really ups the chance that the popularity score goes up fast. Speaker 1: And if people are repeatedly listening to your songs, it'll start to get in Discover Weekly, Speaker 1: Release Radar, and the

other algorithmic playlists. Speaker 1: And that's how you get new fans. Speaker 1: And if you follow my 60-day release plan, you have a song and video for it coming out every 30 to 60 days. Speaker 1: This is two emails or text blasts per song telling people to listen. Speaker 1: The YouTube algorithm will love you and put you on the browse page for fans who are similar Speaker 1: to you, and it'll keep growing you in the algorithm. Speaker 1: Then guess what happens? Speaker 1: If those fans who get converted by the

first ones who like you, they often come to Instagram Speaker 1: and follow you and interact with you, and you can put them in the same cycle. Speaker 1: And as that continues to grow, instead of 10 to 20 people growing you, it slowly becomes Speaker 1: 40, 60, then hundreds to thousands. Speaker 1: And yeah, adding more people to close friends gets real annoying at a certain point, which Speaker 1: is why people end up hiring people to do this, but it also is growth and it motivates you to do the Speaker 1: work.

I've seen this motivating a lot of musicians as they see progress, since it actually works to Speaker 1: grow artists. Over time, this becomes a sustainable growth funnel. And yes, I just said funnel, a word Speaker 2: I kind of hate because it's real LinkedIn bro, but let's be real. This does add to growth. Now, I know Speaker 2: I just mentioned email and SMS, so let's dig in there. Since this is how you grow streams, music Speaker 1: video views, ticket sales, merch sales, and frankly, even your relationship with fans if Speaker 1: you

use it the way artists like Metric and Lorde do and make it very personal. Speaker 1: Now, no matter who you are, gaining email and SMS is hugely important to growth. Speaker 1: So many people think my fans are Gen Alpha, they're never going to do this, and they're Speaker 1: wrong. Speaker 1: We've all seen the data. Speaker 1: Everyone who does this for a living knows it works. Speaker 1: Once we have those addresses, we can make it more likely our messages to fans can sell Speaker 1: tickets, merch, and push new releases,

along with anything else we're promoting. Speaker 1: And this works for potentially decades to come. Speaker 1: This is an investment in making more money and staying in touch with fans in the long term. Speaker 1: As I mentioned, since the group metric writes engaging emails, Speaker 1: I've read most of them for the last decade and a half. Speaker 1: And while I'm not the most engaged fan, me keeping them in my inbox this year Speaker 1: made it so when they were coming to New York City, I bought tickets. Speaker 1: Then when

they canceled, I learned they were playing Toronto, Speaker 1: a city that I had friends in I wanted to see. Speaker 1: And I got an email about it, so I bought them and popped over. Speaker 1: They made those sales to a fan who joined a decade and a half before. Speaker 1: Email is open by 25% to 45%-ish of fans, and texts often triple what emails get. Speaker 1: That makes them incredibly effective compared to social media, where 5% see a post on Facebook Speaker 1: if you're lucky. Speaker 1: But most of

all, you own these email addresses and can take them with you. Speaker 1: Whereas all these other platforms you're engaging with fans on, if they die, so does Speaker 1: your fan base in keeping in touch with them. Speaker 1: That's why we're always trying to get as many fans on these lists as possible, and Speaker 1: taking this seriously really helps sustainable growth. Now, funny enough, what a lot of you don't Speaker 1: realize is this is actually why artists promote pre-saves. Pre-saves are much less important than Speaker 1: people think, but with these

new tools like Pre-Save Forever from certain platforms, you can argue Speaker 1: they're more important than they've ever been. But what all of us in music marketing and management Speaker 1: really love pre-saves for is to get email addresses. And like I said a few minutes ago, when you see Speaker 1: someone like Doja Cat giving away a free song download before her song drops, that's because Speaker 1: using Laylo, she can get texts and emails from her most rabid fans and turn that into merchant Speaker 1: tickets sold for years to come. It is

an amazing investment. Truly, one of the biggest mistakes I Speaker 1: see my consulting clients do is artists with a lot of enthusiasm complain to me that trying to get Speaker 1: announcements seen on short form video apps, short form text apps, and places like YouTube and Speaker 1: Spotify is hell. Bands in town can help a little to alert somebody about concerts, but when these Speaker 1: artists have really worked on getting fans, emails, and texts, they can really alert them and move Speaker 1: numbers. And I should say, this is also how you

make money. Selling merch through email blasts Speaker 1: and text message blasts is what really works. Same with ticket sales. Those are what makes you money, Speaker 1: and that's why this is important. If your mind's on your money and your money's on your mind, Speaker 1: this is what you should be doing. But enough nerd stuff. Let's get to stuff that's more fun Speaker 1: and also really effective. But now we get to the growth hack I think a lot of DIY musicians miss Speaker 1: out on, but so many labels and managers use

to grow their artists because frankly, there's not Speaker 1: much better you can spend your money on that is a long-term investment in music today than this Speaker 1: technique and that is doing a collaboration with an artist that gets listed as a primary artist on Speaker 1: spotify as a collaborator on youtube using the collaboration tool that youtube just dropped in Speaker 1: 2025 and as i make this video right now most people don't even know you can go back and tag Speaker 1: past collaborators on youtube and get a ton of algorithmic juice

so if you watch this and already Speaker 1: have a collaboration with another artist do that after you're done with this video anyway whether Speaker 1: it's remixes, adding a featured artist to a song of yours to sing on a verse, or bridge Speaker 1: after the song blows up, doing an alternate version of a song where you collaborate like Speaker 1: Charlie XCX did on her Brat Accompanied album, which many mistake as a remix record when Speaker 1: it's really collaborations the artist did reimagining the songs with other artists in the studio. Speaker 1:

Not only does this often get your song to the algorithmic recommendations of the other Speaker 1: artist fan base, it lives on their artist page with your name occupying that real estate Speaker 1: forever. Speaker 1: So when a fan falls in love with that artist, they see your name there with a big cosign. Speaker 1: As well, you probably live on their fans also like section two, which helps convert fans. Speaker 1: Now, what many musicians don't get is this is also one of the best investments for musicians, Speaker 1: since as that musician

grows, often you do too. Speaker 1: Sometimes when you look at a small artist and wonder about their monthly listeners, Speaker 1: this can be exactly what's fueling it. Speaker 1: The benefit of the cosign growth and how much these relationships can fuel listener growth, Speaker 1: as well as the word of mouth as fans learn you're part of another artist's lore, Speaker 1: is absolutely uncalculable and huge for growth. Speaker 1: As well, countless thousands of artists, Speaker 1: not just dance artists, Speaker 1: use remixes to take their songs to new audiences that

wouldn't have heard them. Speaker 1: Many times when strategizing with dance artists, Speaker 1: we find the artists who have a bit of a fan base overlap with them, Speaker 1: and there's like a Venn diagram overlap, Speaker 1: and we do a remix with, say, five different artists Speaker 1: right outside that Venn diagram of what they do. Speaker 1: This will then make everyone around their potential fan base know who the artist is Speaker 1: and have them aware of them and lead to a lot of buzz and perceived importance that gets fans

talking. Speaker 1: But it can't be underestimated that as you get tagged next to a similar artist on Instagram stories for years to come, Speaker 1: when they're tagging your song, and if you potentially perform together live or tour together, Speaker 1: and how much in general being listed next to another artist who gains an audience can help your career immensely. Speaker 1: Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking. Speaker 1: You have 2,000 monthly listeners. Speaker 1: Who the fuck is going to want to collab with you? Speaker 1: But finding

that artist you really think is talented and has 2,000 monthly listeners, Speaker 1: you two grow to 10,000 oftentimes from the collab. Speaker 1: And if it's really good and you got up to 10,000 monthly listeners, Speaker 1: you can often convince somebody with 20,000 to collab with you. Speaker 1: And you keep going up the ladder like this, Speaker 1: and you suddenly are a massive artist with a bunch of artists you've invested in the talent of, Speaker 1: just as they did you, and now everyone in your crew is popping off. Speaker 1:

I can't tell you how many artists I've seen blow up from doing exactly that. Speaker 1: and building off collabs every other song or so Speaker 1: and getting them to more monthly listeners Speaker 1: than doing another collab that doubles, triples, or quadruples their following. Speaker 1: Many labels have shifted a huge amount of their budget Speaker 1: into investing in these collaborations Speaker 1: because they don't see any other way to spend the money that's better. Speaker 1: But let's now talk about music videos as growth hacks. Speaker 1: So many musicians get

disillusioned from music videos Speaker 1: because they do them very wrong and then they do nothing for them. Speaker 1: They perform in a warehouse Speaker 1: or walking down some railroad tracks Speaker 1: and the director plays with some new toys they bought Speaker 1: and, you know, rents a drone and they're like, Speaker 1: oh, this is so fun. Speaker 1: But at best, those type of videos Speaker 1: are on the slop side of mid-content. Speaker 1: But the reason you see artists on the big teams and labels Speaker 1: or around

teams that really analyze numbers Speaker 1: invest in music videos for the songs they know are hits Speaker 1: or the songs that start to pop off with listeners, Speaker 1: music videos help grow songs. Speaker 1: Not only do the videos allow you to clip for short form Speaker 1: and establish narrative, Speaker 1: They give fans more visuals to make headcanon, and we'll talk all about that later. Speaker 1: They also make the fans feel the song more. Speaker 1: And while it's easy to argue, if you want to talk about ROI, Speaker

1: aka return on investment for those of you who aren't reading LinkedIn all day, Speaker 1: that lyric videos, minimum viable videos, and visualizers require little effort Speaker 1: and can get a ton of streams, Speaker 1: if you can make a video that fans will see and be compelled to share that music video, Speaker 1: it's nearly unrivaled in the level of growth that they can inspire. Speaker 1: When artists really nail an idea or a narrative, fans send it to friends. Speaker 1: And especially if it shows new depths of the artist or

dispels misconceptions about their artistry, Speaker 1: it can do huge things for exploding to growth for years to come as new fans discover that artist Speaker 1: and dig through their discography and watch these videos. Speaker 1: They're huge investments that work great for making fans go deeper with them. Speaker 1: And if you want to go deeper, I have a video on the six types of music videos Speaker 1: that work to get musicians views and grow their fan base. Speaker 1: But next, we need to discuss that in general, you probably need to

make more videos for YouTube. Speaker 1: Now, this is one of the main things I say in musicians who think, Speaker 1: Jesus, Jesse, I have so much to do, don't tell me this. Speaker 1: But my bet is you probably need to make more videos, whether this is music videos, Speaker 1: minimum viable videos, lyric videos, behind the scenes, Speaker 1: unboxing your DAW session, doing playthroughs on your instrument, Speaker 1: tour vlogs, or whatever it is, you probably need to be making more videos to entertain your fans. Speaker 1: Multiple videos per release

is becoming a proven strategy that works to break songs. Speaker 1: What we often see is K-pop is way earlier to music marketing trends than everyone else, Speaker 1: which is why I study it so hard. Speaker 1: For example, Lissa Seraphim, which I still can't pronounce right, Speaker 1: their song Crazy leveraged 15 different video formats, Speaker 1: from trailers and dance practices to behind-the-scenes content and fan reaction features. Speaker 1: The data shows that audiences consistently engage with various video content from artists they follow. Speaker 1: This multi-format approach maximizes engagement by giving

fans multiple ways to connect with each release Speaker 1: and see the artist that they can flip things different ways and gain respect for the artist. Speaker 1: A great example of pushing a song till it works is Lady Gaga's Single Disease. Speaker 1: It was not staying on the pop charts the way she wanted, Speaker 1: but she pushed it by making different versions of it on YouTube, Speaker 1: whether it was acoustic, with a piano, and other electronics, Speaker 1: and then a music video till it popped off. Speaker 1: Now, one of

the main comments I get on my videos that I have a lot of empathy for is, Speaker 1: how does anyone have time to do all this? Speaker 1: And there's a lot of truth to that. Speaker 1: But one of the things these commenters Speaker 1: who've never run this race don't get Speaker 1: is you're dual purposing a lot of your time. Speaker 1: For example, if you looked at a marathon runner Speaker 1: and found out that you had to run a half a marathon, Speaker 1: in a certain climate, Speaker 1:

you'd have to drink 100 ounces of water in like four hours Speaker 1: or you'd collapse and die from dehydration. Speaker 1: But what the person who's never run a marathon doesn't know Speaker 1: is you're not stopping to drink that water. Speaker 1: Much of the time, a lot of this content you're making, Speaker 1: you're making it while you're doing something else. Speaker 1: When I talk about making a lot more videos, Speaker 1: this is often that you aren't thinking of the right way Speaker 1: that you do two things at once.

Speaker 1: For example, a photo shoot on your album cover Speaker 1: can turn into a slideshow on the short form video apps. Speaker 1: A minimum viable video where you print Polaroids of the photos Speaker 1: and then toss them on the concrete in a loop. Speaker 1: A dance rehearsal for a special live performance Speaker 1: then becomes a dance rehearsal video like Cesaraphim did. Speaker 1: And they did this to show that their dance moves are not all CGI. Speaker 1: Then there's the performance at the live show. Speaker 1: Plus, those

become short form videos. Speaker 1: Now you've not dual purpose, but you've quadruple purposed. Speaker 1: If you need to learn how to use a new synthesizer for something in your song you want to do, Speaker 1: well, that becomes a YouTube video called How I Conquered the Moog One Speaker 1: and made the orchestra for my new song, Cuck Sectional. Speaker 1: Then that solo you wrote for the song has content to promote it, Speaker 1: and you cut it down to short form videos. Speaker 1: We're trying to work smarter, not harder. Speaker

1: Now, right after this, we need to discuss a sensitive subject. Speaker 1: Since many of you who weren't paying attention during the section on releasing music, Speaker 1: take this to mean that you should drop crappy versions of songs that are half-baked all the time. Speaker 1: But the next growth lever we have is songs are one of the biggest growth mechanisms. Speaker 1: Now, right up there with music videos, Speaker 1: if you ask anyone who's done a lot of growth hacking for musicians what works best, Speaker 1: the next thing they will

tell you is that new catalog is the best promotion tool for old catalog. Speaker 1: Meaning when you drop a new song, it usually will raise the numbers on your old songs. Speaker 1: Now, I want you to notice some of the language I use there. Speaker 1: When some of you wonder why I make videos Speaker 1: reading off a teleprompter, Speaker 1: it's because some of you make wild assumptions Speaker 1: of what is said in these videos, Speaker 1: so I have to be very careful what I say here. Speaker 1: If

you're making a song people actually like Speaker 1: and wanna hear, Speaker 1: aka not when you shit out one in an hour Speaker 1: and start it with, Speaker 1: oh, it's your boy, you know what it is, Speaker 1: and spend five minutes mixing, Speaker 1: well, that may get you some new attention. Speaker 1: And let's be real, Speaker 1: when you remind people about your music Speaker 1: and you're making things that call attention to it, Speaker 1: it often is going to invite them to go listen to back catalog, Speaker

1: even when the song is kind of bad. Speaker 1: But it's not a great long-term growth strategy, Speaker 1: and if you actually put out a good song, it'll do far better. Speaker 1: And when new fans come into it because the song is good, Speaker 1: they check out your old songs, Speaker 1: they get you recommended on Spotify Radio or on YouTube, Speaker 1: and it often is what converts them into being a bigger fan. Speaker 1: As long as that song is the same mood-altering drug of a song Speaker 1: that

makes them feel the way they'd rather feel. Speaker 1: And let's be real here. Speaker 1: The better the song, the more likely they are to search your back catalog Speaker 1: and spend time looking through it. Speaker 1: And this is all to say, Speaker 1: if you're looking to hack growth Speaker 1: and have good songs sitting around, Speaker 1: particularly those songs that didn't fit in well Speaker 1: on your last album, Speaker 1: that you could put out right after the album's release, Speaker 1: songs where you can do features with

other artists Speaker 1: or release high quality material on a regular basis, Speaker 1: you're more likely to grow faster. Speaker 1: When I managed the group man overboard, Speaker 1: everybody couldn't believe how fast they grew. Speaker 1: But one of the tricks that people really didn't see Speaker 1: is they had written so many songs Speaker 1: before ever releasing material, Speaker 1: it was easy to put out 75 songs that fans loved in 18 months. Speaker 1: Two Hollis has put out around 50 songs in a similar amount of time Speaker 1:

that are incredibly high quality, Speaker 1: and it's resulted in absolutely insane growth. Speaker 1: This is all to say songs you have in the vault Speaker 1: can be used as strategic growth weapons. Speaker 1: And one of the most common release strategies these days Speaker 1: is a month or two after you release an LP Speaker 1: to start dumping the bonus tracks as singles Speaker 1: and reminding people of the album Speaker 1: and putting them on a deluxe version soon after. Speaker 1: or using Charlie XCX's Brat Collaboration Record method we

talked about before. Speaker 1: So if you remember earlier, when I took you on a mental health sidebar before, Speaker 1: where I talked about not looking at analytics, Speaker 1: well, we need to talk about a little bit more of the reality of that, Speaker 1: and what happens if you don't look at analytics at all. Speaker 1: While I think musicians should not be looking at their analytics Speaker 1: as much as I hear them tell me they often do, Speaker 1: the fact is we do need to look because there's a simple

mantra. Speaker 1: Now, you may have picked up my vibe Speaker 1: as someone who really doesn't suffer these grifter tech bros Speaker 1: and entrepreneurs talking online Speaker 1: since I largely think they sell Kool-Aid. Speaker 1: And there's some business laws, Speaker 1: both them and I believe in. Speaker 1: And one of them is the statement Speaker 1: that what isn't measured doesn't grow. Speaker 1: What this means in practical terms Speaker 1: is if we aren't looking at say Speaker 1: that you want more views on your short form videos Speaker

1: to lead to more streams. Speaker 1: Well, if we aren't marking that in May, Speaker 1: you have 100,000 views. Speaker 1: In June, you have 90K Speaker 1: and looking for how we messed up. Speaker 1: Well, the odds of things steadily growing Speaker 1: are not very good. Speaker 1: So what I really suggest Speaker 1: is making regular goals for growth. Speaker 1: And I can't tell you what those should be Speaker 1: since everyone has different things Speaker 1: that they are moving towards. Speaker 1: Some, it's more merch so

they can have more money. Speaker 1: Some, it's more streams. Speaker 1: Some, it's more live show attendees. Speaker 1: But whatever that is we want to be measuring, Speaker 1: we need to graph it and look in at it Speaker 1: about once a month at least. Speaker 1: And back when I was talking to you Speaker 1: about staying mentally healthy Speaker 1: by not looking at your analytics Speaker 1: unless you know what you're gonna change, Speaker 1: The key is, is we have to know what we're going to change and know

what we're going to look at and then make a plan from it. Speaker 1: If it's live show attendance, we may need to invest in making better live videos and putting them on YouTube Speaker 2: or talking to a consultant about what we can do to get better moments in the live set for cheap Speaker 2: or buying an LED wall and paying an artist for visuals. Speaker 2: But the main thing here is that we should be measuring something to grow it and try to be strategic Speaker 2: because I can tell you as

a consultant, one of the main things I see with the artist team is I ask them, Speaker 2: What are they doing to, say, increase live show turnout? Speaker 2: And I'm often met with this guy. Speaker 2: Now, another thing that I see that's extremely bad Speaker 2: is a detachment in the team in these goals. Speaker 2: Now, that content and videos are often where most artists' growth is coming from. Speaker 2: And one of the oddest things we see is someone makes a video Speaker 2: and never sees the analytics. Speaker 2:

So the person reading the video analytics just sees if it did good or bad. Speaker 2: And if it did bad, they just fire the video editor. Speaker 2: When the editor could have probably potentially seen the analytics, Speaker 2: and for example, this retention graph you see on the screen Speaker 2: could have seen that they should have cut something Speaker 2: that they wanted to cut in the first place, Speaker 2: improve their instincts, Speaker 2: and then got you a better average view duration. Speaker 2: The communication of seeing these analytics Speaker

2: so that we could improve things really, really helps. Speaker 1: They may have had more footage left over Speaker 1: that they could have cut to repeat a hit Speaker 1: or other ideas on how to put B-roll in Speaker 1: that they could have made to spice up the video editing. Speaker 1: So the person making the videos for you regularly has to be involved in the measuring or you're Speaker 1: destined for failure. Speaker 1: So now we get to a growth hack that often people are really resistant to, but I have

actual Speaker 1: data on this and it really helps. Speaker 1: So the fact is there's tons of artists who have a million monthly listeners who've never Speaker 1: played live. Speaker 1: And that is because playing live is a growth mechanism. Speaker 1: It is not necessary. Speaker 1: But when you don't play live, it's a lot like chopping off a limb and trying to run a marathon. Speaker 1: You can technically do it even in a wheelchair or with prosthetics, Speaker 1: but you're not as likely to go as fast as the people

who have four functioning limbs Speaker 1: that are performing pretty well. Speaker 1: Every year, a couple of artists will play Coachella as their first show. Speaker 1: And this will be not out of some Nepo Baby stuff, Speaker 1: but it'll be that they've gotten a few hundred thousand or even million monthly listeners Speaker 1: from doing many of the other things we discussed, which can help you grow. Speaker 1: But they will not have played a single show before doing it at the biggest festival in America Speaker 1: that celebrates most styles of

music. Speaker 1: Now, Ryan Broderick of the excellent newsletter Garbage Day has this theory that Gen Z and Gen Alpha have no idea what cool is, Speaker 1: so they look for crowds and acclaim to have a cool and pretend they know what cool is. Speaker 1: Whereas Gen X loves obscurity, and older millennials take pride in when very few people knew about something and they knew about it. Speaker 1: This all has nuance and gray areas, but inherently a live show is a crowd, Speaker 1: so some of the best tricks to convert younger

fans into being a fan is for them to see a crowd. Speaker 1: Now, the smarter of you is thinking, Speaker 3: Jesse, what the hell? Speaker 3: If I don't have fans yet, Speaker 3: how do I get a crowd to get these little young Speaker 3: clown-chasing goblins out to my show? Speaker 1: Well, there's a reason every April Fool's, Speaker 1: I think, about dropping an AI app called Crowdify Speaker 1: that takes an audience of hip, good-looking people Speaker 2: and puts them in your audience that you're playing to Speaker 2:

instead of your cousin and their crush Speaker 2: that they're too scared to ask out. Speaker 2: But really, there's a reason Speaker 2: that what performs best for DJs Speaker 2: is large crowd content at DJ festivals. Speaker 2: And once you can draw those, Speaker 2: it's pretty much all you need to post Speaker 2: is you and a crowd doing a drop Speaker 2: and maybe some sick pyro Speaker 2: or maybe your pants around your ankles. Speaker 1: But really, this works really well at EDM these days. Speaker 1: And this

is because a lot of what is consumed at EDM Speaker 1: is people searching for cool, Speaker 1: searching for what they should be into at a young age. Speaker 1: But the key being is showing a crowd enjoying you is a hack, Speaker 1: but the real hack of live music Speaker 1: has always been the same for more than half a century. Speaker 1: Hearing songs very fucking loud gets us excited. Speaker 1: Singing with others or dancing in a group feels like community and having fun. Speaker 1: It stimulates us. Speaker 1:

It's science. Speaker 1: And you know, if you're even a little tipsy or on something, Speaker 1: it can sometimes even feel a little better till the next morning. Speaker 1: Having a good time, doing something different than your normal routine Speaker 1: creates positive memories and hacks our brain to really enjoying what we heard Speaker 1: and seeking those things out repeatedly. Speaker 1: So we look for how we can do that again. Speaker 1: And never mind that sometimes, as we all know, Speaker 1: after a hit or three of that loud, Speaker

1: that loud music gets even better. Speaker 1: And even when it's kind of mid, Speaker 1: it sounds pretty damn good. Speaker 1: This all turns into that playing live Speaker 1: has a very good chance of converting Speaker 1: those who hear you and see you into fans. Speaker 1: Then cap it off with many people Speaker 1: want to commemorate, collect, or show off Speaker 1: that they did something cool and buy merch. Speaker 1: When you package this all together, Speaker 1: you get that live music helps convert people Speaker 1:

to your music easier Speaker 1: and make you money if you do it right Speaker 1: and sell walking advertisements of your music, Speaker 1: aka merchandise, when it's hats, totes, posters that they hang up in the room and take Instagram stories next to, Speaker 1: or the shirts they wear, or the vinyl they show up to friends on social media as well, Speaker 1: and that lines your pockets and keeps growing your fan base. Speaker 1: Now, there's a ton more to this, so hit the section of the roadmap if you really want to

learn more, Speaker 1: but before we dip out of this section, I'll talk about the number one way that it grows you that most people don't get. Speaker 1: When you're getting tagged in stories next to the other artists whose fans could potentially be into you as you play shows or tour with them, Speaker 1: when your name is on the tour posters getting tagged by local venues, Speaker 1: this is all boosting algorithmic bonds for Instagram to suggest you to the fans of those other artists you're getting tagged next to. Speaker 1: If you're

smart enough to mail posters to the venue that you have pre-printed with a blank space to fill in the info for the show for a month or so before the show, Speaker 1: You can have a free advertisement of your music wherever fans of that style of music congregate Speaker 2: and seeing your name and starting to feel like they should know who you are. Speaker 2: Your poster's right there in the venue that they go to. Speaker 2: Especially when they see the band they're excited to see is coming to town and you're playing

with them, Speaker 2: they feel like they should get prepared and listen to you to know you Speaker 2: so they can have even more fun at that show when they're singing along to you. Speaker 2: This is some of the many benefits of playing live that a lot of people don't see. Speaker 1: So one of the funniest things, though, is when you talk to music marketing nerds like me, Speaker 1: We tend to focus on shiny new things or the big growth things you can do. Speaker 1: But one of the oldest tricks

in the social media era is to just be a good community member. Speaker 1: Cheer on the artists that you sound most like. Speaker 1: Repost their stuff, comment, and like. Speaker 1: And not only do those artists often see it and endear you to them, Speaker 1: their fans see it and wonder who you are. Speaker 1: Especially if you put fun or funny comments in there. Speaker 1: But liking and following the other artists that are similar to you and dropping comments in their comments, Speaker 1: It can be pretty low on the

aura scale, Speaker 1: but it's definitely a way that is low time commitment Speaker 1: that you can do in the bathroom or on the bus Speaker 1: that helps grows you. Speaker 1: It is often not discussed because let's be honest, Speaker 1: it's kind of obvious Speaker 1: and everybody's been doing this forever. Speaker 1: And the last thing I'll say on this is Speaker 1: while I don't like to talk about how the algorithm works Speaker 1: and the more evergreen videos like this one I'm doing, Speaker 1: depending where we are,

Speaker 1: it's been proven that on TikTok, not Instagram, Speaker 1: that the algorithm looks at who you follow Speaker 1: and interact with to send your videos to those people. Speaker 1: And if you comment and like the videos of artists that are similar to you, they often test you on those people's fans if you post right afterwards. Speaker 1: Now, you can't do this to the drakes of the world. Speaker 1: You can do this to the smaller artists that are similar to you whose fans are most likely to adopt you, which is

why your community work is so important. Speaker 1: And the same way, if you post that video and go live, you'll also get introduced to the algorithm to those same people you've interacted with in the algorithm. Speaker 1: So posting live after you post one of your short form videos is one of people's favorite Speaker 1: hacks for growing more on TikTok. Speaker 1: So when we discuss growth, the first question I get by people who have more money than time Speaker 1: is, should they hire a publicist, a radio, or video promoter? Speaker 1:

I of course have full videos on this, but let me run through this and do some real talk Speaker 1: real fast. Speaker 1: Publicists call attention to things by asking people with audiences to cover them. Speaker 1: If you have made an extremely mid video with a mid song and mid pictures and have nothing Speaker 1: interesting to say, you're going to consider the money you paid for this publicity burnt, Speaker 1: since you're going to get nothing out of it. And yes, even the best publicists can't get any Speaker 1: placements in outlets

that move the needle when stuff is mid and they don't want to take it on Speaker 1: and do the effort to post it. Now, one of the other things to understand with publicity and Speaker 1: getting put in magazines, reviews, or on YouTubers' channels is a lot of this stuff doesn't move the Speaker 1: needle in the numbers, but it can move the needle in influential people hearing your music and be a Speaker 1: domino that starts more dominoes to fall. What I see a lot of the time is an artist will get Speaker

1: coverage on a TikToker who makes a video on them and they get a 750 monthly listener bump. And they Speaker 1: imagine more from that because the video got 15,000 views. But those 750 are often the most important Speaker 1: early listeners who are managers and other influencers and the people who adopt music early Speaker 1: and are really important for starting to get your algorithm to go. But when you get depressed and Speaker 1: stop working because you only got 750 streams from that, you don't see how the game is played in the

Speaker 1: long way. Now, with that said, I don't want to make it sound like I really endorse paying for Speaker 1: publicity all the time because I really don't most of the time. Now, if we imagine fame being a ladder, Speaker 1: like what's on the sidebar, publicity is rarely the catalyst for going more than one rung up the Speaker 1: ladder. And that is the best case scenario most of the time. So when considering that you might be Speaker 1: paying $10,000 and above for campaigns, consider the ROI isn't always so great unless

you really Speaker 1: made amazing videos to call attention to, since the publicist is going to be getting eyes on what you Speaker 1: do, and hopefully that then leads to shares. But if it's that mid-video with a mid-song, Speaker 1: it's not going to work out well for you, and you're going to feel like you wasted that money. Speaker 1: Now, let's get into radio promotion and video promotion. What happens here is a lot different Speaker 1: than publicity. Speaker 1: Because it really matters Speaker 1: from genre to genre Speaker 1: whether it

works or not. Speaker 1: Meaning, for example, Speaker 1: paying for radio promo Speaker 1: for a pop artist Speaker 1: with 30,000 monthly listeners, Speaker 1: if you set the money on fire, Speaker 1: at least it'd keep you warm Speaker 1: for a little while. Speaker 1: But for an indie or metal artist, Speaker 1: doing video or radio promotion Speaker 1: can help really level you up Speaker 1: since there's many more gates Speaker 1: to be opened Speaker 1: that can really, really help. Speaker 1: Because let's remember, Speaker 1: these

promotion companies Speaker 1: are just opening gates Speaker 1: through relationships Speaker 1: they have already. Speaker 1: Now, the best promotion companies Speaker 1: won't take your money Speaker 1: unless they know they can get results. Speaker 1: Listen to your stuff, see what you've made, Speaker 1: and believe in what you're doing. Speaker 1: But if they're banging your email inbox looking for jobs Speaker 1: or posting meta ads targeting you, Speaker 1: don't get tempted by the siren's call. Speaker 1: Since your scream when you waste all that money Speaker 1: might

make you down. Speaker 1: Okay, but now that we discuss publicity, Speaker 1: we should discuss albums as a growth tool. Speaker 1: Albums in every single genre are a moment to reflect Speaker 1: on what an artist has done and discuss it, Speaker 1: and often a good reason to hire a publicist if you're gonna. Speaker 1: There are many outlets that once you have an album will cover you, but would have skipped Speaker 1: covering your singles. Speaker 1: Collecting songs on albums not only is smart for sales, but calling attention to yourself

Speaker 1: when you release an album is the most effective way to get a bigger pool of attention upon Speaker 1: yourself and to get audiences to think deeper on you and form a deeper relationship with Speaker 1: you. Speaker 1: We all know when we're listening to an album, we consider an artist more and understand Speaker 1: them better. Speaker 1: Plus, let's be real, pre-orders for vinyl and t-shirt bundles and the ability to sell it all Speaker 1: at live shows or in stores can be helpful for funding what you do. Speaker 1:

But I thoroughly talk album marketing in the videos on the screen now, Speaker 2: and it's super complex, and we don't want this video to be 900 hours. Speaker 2: But now we're getting to the end of the growth section, Speaker 2: and I have a few more things to discuss with you, Speaker 2: and we'd be remiss not to talk about what to do, Speaker 2: especially since you all get so much bad advice from, well, let's be real, Speaker 2: AI bots that look like Peter Griffin talking on the short form video apps

that think they're Speaker 2: teaching you music marketing when they're really putting up information that's fully Speaker 2: incorrect. Speaker 2: Now, one of the biggest pieces of advice influencers get is using trending audio is a growth strategy Speaker 2: and that you should participate in trends and this is a bad idea for musicians. Speaker 2: It may work for influencers, but this is not for you. Speaker 2: Now, I know this defies what a lot of people have told you, so let me cook. Speaker 2: First off, 2025 was a year where we really

saw how much going mega viral, meaning huge numbers, doesn't really do much good in the long term a lot of the time. Speaker 2: Now, I don't want to name names in this public place, but on our roadmap we have a few videos from my members only videos and newsletters that I call Cautionary Tales, Speaker 2: where I talk about what it's like when you're going mega viral and that's your strategy and how little attention it actually gets for your music even though you get a lot of views. Speaker 2: And that can be great

if you're trying to impress your neighbor and get laid, but it's not going to do much for your music career. Speaker 2: But let's start here. Speaker 2: If you're just doing trends and dances and whatever thing everyone else is doing, you're going to reach a broad audience if it goes well. Speaker 2: But they're not likely the people who are going to like your new music and those people who adopt new artists in your genre early. Speaker 1: We profile one group where this was their whole strategy with hundreds of millions of views and

nearly no streams to show for it. Speaker 1: Other groups have tried making really broad humor or trends that get hundreds of millions of views, Speaker 1: but yet again, it goes to the wrong people. And to make it worse, a lot of the time when you go Speaker 1: mega viral, the negative attention isn't always so good. Instead, the thing to really be considering Speaker 1: is how you go mid-viral, which I've mentioned in this video before. The artists blowing up Speaker 1: effectively are often blowing up because they're constantly going viral to tens

or hundreds of Speaker 1: thousands of people who are really likely to like your music and seeing it repeatedly and getting Speaker 1: and convert into it, rather than a broad base of people who are not that into it. Speaker 1: The consistency of pulling in followers who are into your culture and potential fans helps Speaker 1: the algorithms for better models of who to recommend you to that will convert better. Speaker 1: Now, I'm not saying you should fear going megaviral, since it really won't hurt you. Speaker 1: But if your whole strategy is

always just going megaviral and you're throwing this wide Speaker 1: net, it's not going to be very effective. Speaker 1: We've seen it enough now to know it. Speaker 1: Now, I will say many artists have gone viral and it's been a bit cringe and they turned Speaker 1: that platform into bigger things as they do find people who fuck with them. Speaker 1: But let's talk about some general rules I have that help guide you to spend your time Speaker 1: as efficiently as possible. Speaker 1: If you hear some trending audio and you

think, Speaker 1: Oh my God, that's so damn me, babe. Speaker 1: I just have to do something to it. Speaker 1: Well, that's actually good because what trending audio is actually great for is showing off Speaker 1: your personality. Speaker 1: But a great test for trending audio is if you wouldn't use it if it wasn't trending. Speaker 1: If you just would hear the audio, you don't care that it has 14 plays on it, but you're Speaker 1: like, yo, this will be so good for my fans and my potential fans. Speaker 1:

They'll really enjoy me doing this. Speaker 1: That's a great sign. Speaker 1: Just doing it because it's trending is a bad, bad sign. Speaker 1: In general, going viral for very broad interests rather than unique cultural interests your Speaker 1: audience may like isn't the best. Speaker 1: Let's take a good example, though, of using culture to go viral. Speaker 1: Julia Wolfe going viral with Twilight content for her song in my room was a perfect Venn diagram of an audience who would like a song like that. Speaker 1: Or an artist like Artemis

hijacked the biggest artist in the world's audience, The Weeknd's fanbase, and got his music to fill the void in that while The Weeknd wasn't releasing music so people could feel that mood-altering drug the way they wanted to since The Weeknd wasn't putting out material. Speaker 1: But making internet puns that go viral with your song may get 100 million views, but convert worse than one that gets 1 one-hundredth of the views to the right people. Speaker 1: A video with 250,000 views of the best fifth-wave emo songs that you've never heard can trigger millions of

streams. Speaker 2: The audiences you go viral to matter, and sometimes mid-viral with a niche song, is better. Speaker 2: Ah, now's the moment you've really waited for, for me to go off on ads again. Speaker 1: So since we're in a section on growth hacks, and let's be very real here, we're pretty far into a video on music marketing. Speaker 1: And many of you are wondering how we got this far without talking about running meta ads. Speaker 1: Since after all, if you are on Reddit, or talking to ChatGPT, or listening to these

shitty course-selling grifters talk about it on Instagram, this is all you fucking hear about, and it sucks. Speaker 1: Because I will be real with you. Speaker 1: Nearly everyone I know who builds artists from scratch, who actually works doing this regularly, this is not how they're building. Speaker 1: But the real heads of this channel know this about me. Speaker 1: I don't actually fuck with ads to grow artists, at least when they're first starting out. Speaker 1: I always suggest them after a fan base is there and eager to buy from you, Speaker

1: and you're trying to grow a baseline that is excited already. Speaker 1: If you paid attention at the top of this video, you saw what my job is, Speaker 1: is I'm technically a music marketing strategist. Speaker 1: I make plans that particularly specialize in organic growth, Speaker 1: and there's a reason I've specialized in that throughout my career. Speaker 1: What every single moron can tell you about music marketing Speaker 1: is the song is the number one determination of growth. Speaker 1: But what even my ad-loving friends on my podcast, Speaker 1:

My Point Four Sense, say is when we discuss ads Speaker 1: is when you don't have a ton of money, Speaker 1: the song and production come first Speaker 1: and the artist having strong visuals Speaker 2: should be the money that's spent next. Speaker 2: The fact is ads go to people Speaker 2: who are willing to click an ad for music Speaker 2: rather than the most passionate music fans Speaker 2: who then talk to the internet, Speaker 2: their friends about what they listen to Speaker 2: and spread the word on Reddits

and Discords. Speaker 2: My strategy focuses on taking your resources Speaker 2: and developing artists Speaker 2: and trying to get to those people. Speaker 2: That's why I don't fuck with ads. Speaker 2: But I of course believe in ads for selling tickets to shows, Speaker 2: and if you already have a following, Speaker 2: driving up merch and pre-order sales with ads are no-brainers. Speaker 2: But I would rather have the ad budget to do cool things with that get fans talking. Speaker 2: So to talk about ads as a growth hack is

not my thing. Speaker 2: In a world where when you boost YouTube videos, Speaker 2: they often then seem to get tested on a lot of the wrong people you didn't organically reach, Speaker 2: it's not the best growth strategy. Speaker 2: On TikTok, if you hit that fucking boost button, Speaker 2: they will tag all your videos till you boost again. Speaker 2: Messing with pain boosting of content Speaker 2: where we can just take that money Speaker 2: and make content good enough Speaker 2: to automatically spread on its own, Speaker 2: I

think is a superior way to go. Speaker 2: With that said, Speaker 2: since I'm a kind and open-minded person, Speaker 1: if you are ad-pilled, Speaker 1: I have my friend Andrew Southworth's videos Speaker 1: up on the roadmap Speaker 1: and you can watch a TLDR of his techniques there. Speaker 1: As Andrew is the most knowledgeable person I know Speaker 1: about running ads in the business. Speaker 1: Now for the last part of this growth section of this video, I'm going to talk to those of you who already have some growth

and momentum. Speaker 1: Since after all I told you, this was going to be step-by-step video. Speaker 1: So obviously we now need to address what happens when you've had some growth and are starting to get fans. Speaker 1: And we have to talk about what you do at the point in your career that is both the best and worst of times from what so many musicians have told me. Speaker 1: I call this the pain point, which is when you're starting to experience a ton of growth, but the money isn't quite there. Speaker 1:

but you have way more opportunities to grow Speaker 1: than you can handle. Speaker 1: And some things are slipping through the cracks. Speaker 1: I call this the pain point where it's so awesome Speaker 1: you're finally starting to get the attention Speaker 1: and growth in your dreams, Speaker 1: but man, the money sucks. Speaker 1: And you're freaking out Speaker 1: because you're getting tons of things Speaker 1: and tons of offers that you can't follow up on Speaker 1: because you're too busy Speaker 1: and you don't know which ones to

take. Speaker 1: So here's a lot of the advice I give my consulting clients Speaker 1: that they're shocked by when I tell them Speaker 1: about this point in their career. Speaker 1: So when you hit this point, Speaker 1: everyone thinks you just need a manager Speaker 1: everything will be fine. Speaker 1: And unfortunately, that's not true. Speaker 1: Since a manager will take 10 to 15% Speaker 1: and set you back a percentage. Speaker 1: As well, many of the managers who offer you deals Speaker 1: at this point are con

artists Speaker 1: or they will hip pocket you, Speaker 1: which is a term for when they're working with you, Speaker 1: but they're not really doing much Speaker 1: and they think about you about as much Speaker 1: as they think of something in a hip pocket. Speaker 1: And since I regularly find things that are years old Speaker 1: in my hip pockets when I put on a pair of pants, Speaker 1: I don't wear often, I know what that's like. Speaker 1: But also a lot of the time, Speaker 1: you do

just want to wait for management Speaker 1: because it's not the right move yet Speaker 1: and it's not the right fit. Speaker 1: After all, you want to vibe with your manager and trust them Speaker 1: and you specifically don't want to get somebody Speaker 1: who's going to pretend they're doing the work Speaker 1: and then you're going to figure out Speaker 1: that your growth stalled because they weren't doing it. Speaker 1: So you often want to wait for a pro who's a good fit Speaker 1: and has some more growth and

leverage levers Speaker 1: that you can get that has a lot of connections Speaker 1: and has done this a few times before. Speaker 1: Or it may be the case that no managers are knocking. Speaker 1: So what do you do though to get out of this pain point? Speaker 1: The first thing I want you to do Speaker 1: is look at what you are doing Speaker 1: that you can make more efficient. Speaker 1: Since I've met a lot of musicians Speaker 1: and they often think they're being efficient Speaker 1: and

they're blind to their life as chaos. Speaker 1: And if I'm being real, it's so inefficient. Speaker 1: It's unbelievable, Speaker 1: even though they thought everything was fixed. Speaker 1: And I come in and I change their life very fast. Speaker 1: But if you want to learn all that Speaker 1: without paying me for a call, Speaker 1: I have a productivity masterclass Speaker 1: that is one of my most watched members only videos Speaker 1: that I regularly hear from people changes their lives. Speaker 1: In it, I show how most musicians

are wasting their time, Speaker 1: whether it's from bad email hygiene Speaker 1: that smells as bad as most of the cross-punk musicians I know, Speaker 1: onto endless phone notifications Speaker 1: or just doing stupid, stupid things with their time. Speaker 1: These musicians think they have no time Speaker 1: when really they're just wasting a lot of the time Speaker 1: that most people use to make music. Speaker 1: But if they are good with that stuff, Speaker 1: there's still answers. Speaker 1: Make a list of what is taking up the majority

of your time Speaker 1: that you don't think you should be doing Speaker 1: and how many hours a week it takes. Speaker 1: If you can find eight hours of work, Speaker 1: it may be time to instead of forking over Speaker 1: that 10 to 15% to a manager, Speaker 1: to fork it over to an EA, Speaker 1: aka an executive assistant, Speaker 1: which is basically someone you pay to do things Speaker 1: you don't want to do. Speaker 1: If scheduling posts, Speaker 1: dealing with lots of very stupid emails,

Speaker 1: entering publishing data and releases, Speaker 1: accounting or other medial tasks are annoying to you, Speaker 1: well, there's a lot of people who want to do this for work. Speaker 1: You can either use an EA service to hire people Speaker 1: or call up local music business universities Speaker 1: and try to hire someone looking for help. Speaker 1: The EA services pay people in countries Speaker 2: like the Philippines a wage Speaker 2: that some people find ethical Speaker 2: and some don't. Speaker 2: I don't really care to go

down that road. Speaker 2: That's between you and your ethics. Speaker 2: But I will say this, Speaker 2: giving a local kid looking for experience Speaker 2: or hiring a student at a music business school, Speaker 2: I tend to see does a lot better Speaker 2: for a lot of my friends who are going through this. Speaker 2: Now, a side note for a lot of people Speaker 2: is sometimes the problem is your household chores Speaker 2: are something that you should not be doing anymore Speaker 2: and getting your laundry done

by a service Speaker 2: or having a maid come Speaker 2: will be worth the time you spend on it each week Speaker 2: to get back some time. Speaker 2: And it may feel weird to you at first, Speaker 2: But I'll tell you straight up, the last time I did my own laundry was 22 years ago. Speaker 2: Because that's how many years it's been where my time has had more demand for it Speaker 2: and costs more than it costs to take my laundry in and get wash and fold. Speaker 2: And

if that's going to get you back an extra hour or two, well, that's often worth it. Speaker 1: For other people, they should be outsourcing, video editing, Speaker 1: clipping, and getting a relationship with a video editor that will change your life. Speaker 1: Regardless, everyone's needs are different. Speaker 1: Find what will both give you back time as well as the energy to create. Speaker 3: But I know some of you are like, Speaker 3: What the hell, Jesse? Speaker 3: I want a manager, a record label, and a booking agent, and a lawyer

for that matter. Speaker 3: That's where I'll get the great growth I've watched some of your videos show. Speaker 1: Fair. Speaker 1: There's no doubt that booking agents can submit you for tours, Speaker 1: a manager knows what they're doing, can give you good strategy, and get doors open, Speaker 1: that a record label has a Rolodex and connections that can help get you things Speaker 1: and into more record stores, and a good lawyer can make sure you don't get screwed. Speaker 1: So what do you do? Speaker 1: So the biggest myth

most musicians believe is some Cinderella story that you meet some manager Speaker 1: and they whip out a contract with your name already on it, hiding in their jacket, Speaker 1: because they were so sure it's a match and you live happily ever after in a castle. Speaker 1: The real reality is unfortunately kind of like an incels idea of love, unfortunately. Speaker 1: And let me cook. Speaker 1: Since this about tracks for most musicians' attitudes. Speaker 1: Most relationships in the music world happen something like this. Speaker 1: Let's say you're a musician

and you've done your community work I talked about in step two. Speaker 1: And you hear about this manager or label, and you're fawning after him like that cute person in high school you crushed on. Speaker 1: You then think about how to get closer to them, and then you notice someone you kind of talk to knows them, and you engineer some way to get closer to them. Speaker 1: Maybe you played a bunch of shows with this artist and you asked for an intro. Speaker 1: Eventually, you strike up a conversation with this record

label or manager, and you make a fine conversation and hopefully don't pee your pants or something embarrassing. Speaker 1: Then as time goes on and you see each other and they say, what's been going on? Speaker 1: and you talk about how you've been growing. Speaker 1: Hopefully, it's out of that whole incel vibe we talked about before. Speaker 1: Then they offer some suggestions to you Speaker 1: on what you can do to improve this whole desperate incel thing you have going on. Speaker 1: Now, what I really mean there is that they tell

you some things you can do to grow your music. Speaker 1: And if they see you again soon after, Speaker 1: and you show them how you listened and kept growing, Speaker 1: you're endeared to them. Speaker 1: And if they keep being impressed, Speaker 1: they will often suggest you enter a relationship. Speaker 1: They're so impressed. Speaker 1: AKA a record dealer or managerial contract Speaker 1: since you showed growth and to be a good listener and someone who respects them, Speaker 1: therefore making you a good partner and not a psychotic little

incel Speaker 1: who thinks they know everything despite never having done any of this before. Speaker 1: I know this can feel like annoying them, but trust me, Speaker 1: you know what record labels and managers are looking for? Speaker 1: People who have talent who are actually listening to them Speaker 1: and then growing and getting people to like them. Speaker 1: You're doing them a favor if this is actually working Speaker 1: and you're following their instructions since they need to find people like you. Speaker 1: Now, for those of you who are

a little slow on metaphor, Speaker 1: Let me put this in a more practical step-by-step terms. Speaker 1: What most often happens to start a relationship Speaker 1: with someone in the music business Speaker 1: is you either identify someone in the music world Speaker 1: that you'd like to work with Speaker 1: and you get someone you know to intro you, Speaker 1: which is the best case scenario. Speaker 1: Since we all know social proof helps. Speaker 1: If not, you find one to three of your best traits Speaker 1: or metrics or

pieces of content Speaker 1: and send them to it and send a pitch Speaker 1: and say you'd love to chat sometime Speaker 1: about being a part of what they do. Speaker 1: And that language is important since it's humble. Speaker 1: If you don't get a response, that's totally fine. Speaker 1: Don't sweat it for even one minute. Speaker 1: The third somewhat likely version Speaker 1: is one of these people write you themselves, Speaker 1: but they don't offer you a contract yet Speaker 1: since they want to see how things progress

Speaker 1: and if you're really working hard. Speaker 1: This is how I did it with every group I managed. Speaker 1: All of them asked me at least five times Speaker 1: since I was waiting to make sure they did what I said Speaker 1: as I gave them instructions on what to build next. Speaker 1: Now, every 60 to 90 days, Speaker 1: if something really amazing happens, Speaker 1: you can write them and brag and say, Speaker 1: man, we just had three videos get over 90,000 views Speaker 1: and a lot

of new opportunities. Speaker 1: And we're really looking for a team member Speaker 1: to help take us to the next level. Speaker 1: And we love what you've done with this artist. Speaker 1: So why don't you come on board? Speaker 1: Showing humility and that they'd be joining a pirate ship Speaker 1: that's conquering and doing cool things, Speaker 1: not some lost boat they're gonna have to try to save Speaker 1: is a lot of the key. Speaker 1: Now, if they offer you a contract, Speaker 1: you then have to do

the next step, Speaker 1: which is go look at the other artists on your community sheet Speaker 1: and look at who their lawyer is. Speaker 1: If you can't find it, DM them and ask them and start to get on their radar by asking for a referral. Speaker 1: When you see a pattern, a lot of artists in your world use this lawyer. Speaker 1: That's a green light that they know the scene and the standards of the contracts that they're going to negotiate for you. Speaker 1: And they'll get you a good deal.

Speaker 1: Then you do this till you have all your team members in place. Speaker 1: Most of all, when you get a new team member, you ask who they can intro you to. Speaker 1: And you keep growing your team that way. Speaker 1: This is how the music business works. Speaker 1: Okay, so to review this section, I want to make it clear. Speaker 1: Most of this section is things you do all at once as they make sense for you. Speaker 1: And when you're ready to do these growth levers, what I

like to say is, is when you start to fly Speaker 1: a plane, you don't just pull all the levers down at once. You slowly pull levers as the right time Speaker 1: comes and you figure out which of these make sense each time. Our last step is to innovate Speaker 1: your marketing. Listen, not everyone who blows up does innovative marketing. Some songs are just Speaker 1: great and do a lot of the work. But if you're here and you've watched me yap for this long, Speaker 1: you probably know that you're going to

need a little bit of extra help and have probably already Speaker 1: had trouble breaking through. So you want to figure out everything you can do and find what Speaker 1: flavors are right for you. And that's what this section is all about. So let's talk about the most Speaker 1: innovative marketing today. Now we've talked a lot about the innovative ideas along the way, Speaker 1: but I want to drop more cutting edge knowledge of what the smartest artists are doing today and what Speaker 1: we study every week on my members feed in

our streams. And I have to say, there's a lot of Speaker 1: periods of the music business where this stuff hasn't been growing very fast, but right now, Speaker 1: it's really cooking. And I guarantee most of you have no clue about what most of what we're going Speaker 1: to talk about here is, since it's the bleeding edge of what's breaking. Through the six years of Speaker 1: doing this channel and leading all the way back to 2009 on my blog muse formation, I've been giving Speaker 1: away the sauce on how most of

the innovative artists are getting fans before 99.9% of the Speaker 1: business catches on. And for those of you who regularly watch this channel, some of it often Speaker 1: feels old when artists finally get to it, since sometimes the things I talk about take five years Speaker 1: to catch on. So let me tell you one of the most common things I see that's really growing right Speaker 1: now, and that's testing songs. So while it's by no means new, I mean Bon Jovi was doing this in Speaker 1: pizza shops in the fucking

80s, it's getting more ripe than ever, since it's easier than ever. And Speaker 1: what I mean by testing songs is artists will put up a song or four and see what fans think. And then Speaker 1: if they like one best, they'll drop it. That motherfucker somber we're always talking about, Speaker 1: his producer tells it that he will put up a song, test it, and then they'll record it and drop it Speaker 1: within the next week. Now he's a huge star and could get away with this. But the first thing I Speaker

1: should say before we get into this, since it's all the rage, is if I had a dime for every call I've Speaker 1: gotten from an artist who uploaded their song to TikTok or Reels, and it got hundreds of thousands, Speaker 1: if not millions of views, but the song wasn't finished. And by the time the artist got it on Speaker 1: Spotify or YouTube, they were back to getting a thousand views and it never went viral. Well, Speaker 1: let's see. If I had dined for that, I'd probably have enough for like an

entree at most of the Speaker 1: places I eat. But still, that's way too many times where someone could have built a potential career Speaker 1: but dropped the ball from doing this the improper way. But if all these big artists are doing it, Speaker 1: there must be a reason and a smart way to do it. Kinda. When I ask how they're testing them Speaker 1: in calls, it seems to be the single stupidest way I've ever seen most of the time. But this is the Speaker 1: music business the reason we call smart

people rocket scientists and not project managers is Speaker 1: the music business isn't always bringing us their smartest data minds since i have to tell you there Speaker 1: are ways to test songs but y'all are doing this really really wrong the advice from many labels Speaker 1: these days is some version of this ridiculous thought that until a song reaches 50 000 likes Speaker 1: it shouldn't be released now i find this silly since musicians will simply hit promote on the Speaker 1: one they want to release anyway even if it's a nine minute

song about how sorry they are for Speaker 1: cheating on their partner that everyone agrees is fucking terrible. And anyone who knows musicians Speaker 1: know they will make 50 videos that get a thousand likes or find a celebrity to do something silly Speaker 1: on Cameo and post it until it gets those likes if they really want to release that song. This is way Speaker 1: too easily gamed and dumb. Now the other main method musicians are using is they put up a few Speaker 1: different songs with nearly the exact same video look

and sing along and pout their lips and try Speaker 1: to look sexy or whatever y'all freaks do and they see which one blows up. But what many people do to Speaker 1: test songs is choose the hook of, say, four songs. But sometimes I see it done with a dozen songs. Speaker 1: Their logic is that they can't tell which one gets popular, so why not let the public choose? Speaker 1: Doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, let's talk. They make four TikToks, one for each song. Song Speaker 2: one gets 800 views. Song

two gets a whopping 1,009 views. Song three gets 998 views and song four Speaker 2: gets 1,602 views. Speaker 2: So obviously, they should put up song four, right? Speaker 2: Not quite. Speaker 2: Unfortunately, I've seen this about 10 too many times. Speaker 2: And a little extra side boom being the only difference Speaker 2: in two cuts of a video Speaker 2: makes the one with a quarter second of side boom Speaker 2: suddenly perform much better. Speaker 2: And that's not because you all are a bunch of horned up weirdos. Speaker 2:

This is because small details often change Speaker 2: the performance of videos. Speaker 2: But two or even four times the result on TikTok Speaker 2: is not often enough to actually be statistically significant Speaker 2: since TikTok's performance swings wildly. Speaker 2: And many artists often have videos Speaker 2: that do 10 or even 30x what their normal videos do. Speaker 2: So 2x isn't that big of a difference. Speaker 2: Especially in those of you Speaker 2: who are still in algorithmic jail. Speaker 2: When you're only getting a below 300 views, Speaker

2: it's often because the algorithm Speaker 2: has no idea who to send you to. Speaker 2: So it's testing you on people Speaker 2: who probably won't like you anyway. Speaker 2: So this is totally stupid in the first place. Speaker 2: But let's go to Raven Linnae's TikTok page. Speaker 2: We can see in about six videos Speaker 2: that Raven Linnea can go from 1 to 12x, her lowest performing video. But I do believe if you get Speaker 1: around 3 to 6x, depending on the number, you can see statistical significance if

it performs Speaker 1: consistently. To wrap this up, as we're getting along, is unless you're testing your song three Speaker 1: to four times and you're out of algorithmic jail, and the tests you're running don't show at least Speaker 1: 3 to 6x results of the lowest numbers, well, you're not really getting statistical significance. Speaker 1: Also, another note on this, TikTok and Reels are not everything. Speaker 1: Let's remember, these days, most songs spread from friends telling each other about them, Speaker 1: or the algorithm on YouTube sees people really like them and recommends

them more. Speaker 1: These tests are nowhere near foolproof. Speaker 1: I personally have probably seen more of them than most people alive. Speaker 1: I find it really silly that that's the idea that keeps getting more and more popular. Speaker 1: The fact is, a lot of the time when people just hear a snippet of the song, Speaker 1: they don't like the whole thing. Speaker 1: So this isn't everything, and it's not necessarily what breaks every song. Speaker 1: But let's get to a technique that's at least 40 years old, but only the

top artists used to get it. Speaker 1: But now we're seeing more and more upcoming artists use it. Speaker 1: We can call two Hollis a Nepo Baby all night and day. Speaker 1: Even the final boss Nepo Baby. Speaker 1: But for a while, he was toiling away in total obscurity. Speaker 1: But along the way, he was building narrative and lore. Speaker 1: When you've been creating narrative and lore, even when 1,000 or 10,000 have been watching you and connecting the dots, Speaker 1: your fans will create conversations about what they've seen. Speaker

1: They have a backpack full of different stories they can talk about about you when someone brings you up. Speaker 1: And I have this whole playlist about how you tell stories. Speaker 1: If you're really curious about this, it's in the roadmap. Speaker 1: But one obsessive fan who knows your lore will have more times that they think of you Speaker 1: and bring you up in different conversations and talk about it in Reddit forums, Speaker 1: and this will start to seed the word of mouth about your art, Speaker 1: which is why

metanarrative and telling stories is so important. Speaker 1: Audrey Hobart actually made a whole website archive Speaker 1: that has tons of the lore she wants her fans to see to understand her record. Speaker 1: She's seeding it in real time since she had no time to build lore after having no back catalog when she put out her new record Speaker 1: Literally, she only has up about a dozen songs right now Speaker 1: So you can find the lore of songs all throughout her website. So fans have something to talk about Speaker 1: The

reason she's doing this is fans need things to talk about and conversations to be started Speaker 1: And the artists who aren't doing it aren't growing as fast as the ones who do people in marketing all abide by this rule Speaker 1: We called them the more niche you grow the more you grow Speaker 1: Because if you start niche and then you start slowly opening up the picture so you see more things in it. Speaker 1: Imagine you're zoomed in on the faces of the Beatles and the Sgt. Pepper album cover and you slowly

see all the things going on around them. Speaker 1: That is what you're slowly doing as you tell stories about your music and give people more lore to talk about with it. Speaker 1: So how do you do this? Speaker 1: As you figure out what songs you're going to release, think about your unique position that we talked about at the beginning of this video. Speaker 1: And then start thinking of the conversations and stories you can tell. Speaker 1: Most often, these will be tied to a certain line in a lyric of your song,

but sometimes not. Speaker 1: To establish a meta-narrative, first identify these lines or stories you would tell. Speaker 1: Then look at your artist's position. Speaker 1: How would that position tell these stories? Speaker 1: If you're a funny artist, talking about serious, vulnerable things obviously needs a humorous slant Speaker 1: and to make light of it in kind of a humorous way. Speaker 1: If you're a dead serious, mysterious artist, well, veil it in metaphor. Speaker 1: Create a lot of headcanon. Speaker 1: Once you've identified it, lay it out all on a calendar

Speaker 1: and questioned whether you could build upon these narratives to bigger overall narratives. Speaker 1: For example, Charlie XCX on Brat took the diverse emotions of whether to have a baby or do cocaine Speaker 1: to make a conversation about how complex a life it is to be a pop star these days. Speaker 1: The artist's damage regularly indicts capitalism, Speaker 1: while also tying it to their own situation as trying to be an artist in the modern day Speaker 1: and their sexual identity, and how all this figures into the bigger world of

capitalism today. Speaker 1: And with each song they release, the lyrical themes will get tied into this overall narrative, Speaker 1: sometimes telling their own stories around the song, and sometimes telling her meta-narrative around it. Speaker 1: This is all covered in the workbook, and if I've put that workbook out, the link is in the description. Speaker 1: But let's talk about a really smart way to promote your music that I see that the world has finally caught on to, Speaker 1: even though I've been talking about it for six fucking years. Speaker 1: So

since everyone knows I'm not a fan of building with meta-ads as the primary growth strategy, Speaker 1: especially for artist-building at first, Speaker 1: is I try to focus on methods that are going to find the best listeners Speaker 1: who are going to be great candidates for the algorithm to model after. Speaker 1: Since one of the many complaints of ads being your primary growth method Speaker 1: is that once you stop spending your money on them, your growth goes to hell. Speaker 1: But if you build up a Spotify artist playlist where you

curate Speaker 1: the best new artists in your micro genre, a mood, a type of party, Speaker 1: like say UK Garage for London loft parties. Speaker 1: Well, let's say that people save that playlist. Speaker 1: You can experience growth even if you ran ads on it and it starts to go dead Speaker 1: or as people save them and they keep listening and you keep updating them. Speaker 1: There's a ton of musicians in tons of different genres who use this method to get a lot of discovery. Speaker 1: But as always, I'm

getting ahead of myself. Speaker 1: You're wondering what these playlists look like with their effect. Speaker 1: Basically, let's say you're a bass punk artist and you make a playlist called This Is Bass Punk. Speaker 1: Or perhaps you're a pop girl who sings depressing acoustic songs Speaker 1: and you make a playlist called The Best Unknown Depressing Pop Girl Songs. Speaker 1: Or let's say you're an R&B singer from LA and you curate one called Speaker 1: LA Underground R&B up next. Speaker 1: You first find a bunch of artists Speaker 1: that are

actually good Speaker 1: that have, you know, Speaker 1: 10 to a couple hundred thousand monthly listeners. Speaker 1: Then you load up the playlist Speaker 1: with a few of their best songs. Speaker 1: If you are an artist Speaker 1: with less than a thousand monthly listeners, Speaker 1: I would try to fill this with artists Speaker 1: with nearly 10,000 monthly listeners. Speaker 1: And if you're an artist Speaker 1: with 20,000 monthly listeners, Speaker 1: going up to 300,000 monthlies is cool. Speaker 1: The key here is the reason we're making

this Speaker 1: is we're trying to make algorithmic bonds Speaker 1: with artists that you actually have a chance Speaker 1: of making bonds with. Speaker 1: And if you're putting the biggest artists in your genre on, you probably have no chance of getting your song algorithmically tied to them. Speaker 1: But what we're trying to do is get the algorithm to recognize that they should put you on AI playlists, daily mixes, Discover Weeklys, all that people have liked these other songs on. Speaker 1: But I know what you're thinking is this is going to

be hard to find. Speaker 1: And as always, I've got you since I do this all the time and I know a ton of tricks. Speaker 1: First, since you already watched my video, you know your micro genre. Speaker 1: Head over to rate your music, punch it in, and then we're going to sort reviews and rating my most recent music. Speaker 1: If you see an artist with a bunch of ratings and reviews, you want to listen to them and see if they are a good choice for your playlist. Speaker 1: And have a

song where people who like it are likely to like you as well, and then add it to the playlist. Speaker 1: Do this for a while, and you'll have a lot of the best candidates. Speaker 1: Since if you recall, most people aren't interested in new artists, but rate your music. Speaker 1: Well, this is exactly where the biggest nerds who love finding things first come to find them. Speaker 1: and they will be on all the upcoming artists Speaker 2: before Spotify's algorithm and playlists even get to them. Speaker 2: Once this playlist is

two hours long, Speaker 2: shift the order and update it every week or two. Speaker 2: Make sure to name it something people would search, Speaker 2: like I said before. Speaker 2: And for the description, paraphrase the title Speaker 2: and be sure to start with the description Speaker 2: with click plus to add to your library Speaker 2: to get the best blank updated weekly. Speaker 2: But of course, now you're wondering Speaker 2: how you get people here. Speaker 2: Well, if you watched my interview with Jed, Speaker 2: who got up

to 4.5 million Spotify monthly listeners Speaker 2: by doing this technique, Speaker 2: Well, he runs meta ads to them. Speaker 2: And I've run Reddit ads from the subreddits and microgenres, Speaker 2: which is as cheap as meta, Speaker 2: but it does get the right people to come to them. Speaker 2: And if you want to go slow and steady, Speaker 2: a post on your Instagram stories, Speaker 2: your short form text apps, Speaker 2: and tag the artists you add and see if they share it. Speaker 2: And if not, it's

fine. Speaker 2: You're still promoting this playlist and getting it to grow. Speaker 1: Doing that every week or two is slow growth that works. Speaker 1: Later on, I'll teach you how this ties Speaker 1: to another promotional method that works really well. Speaker 1: So part of the game of creating Aura Speaker 1: to create what we call headcanon. Speaker 1: Now, many of you are probably thinking I made this term up. Speaker 1: And of course, the more sick minds on you Speaker 1: are thinking of something really, really fucked up. Speaker

1: Yeah, I see you. Speaker 1: Anyway, it's not the same spelling as my last name. Speaker 1: Headcanon is another thing I'm considering a lot Speaker 1: as we're building out artist presence these days. Speaker 1: Let's first start by defining headcanon though Speaker 1: from like a clinical definition. Speaker 1: It's a fan's personal unofficial interpretation Speaker 1: of a fictional work filling gaps or developing theories Speaker 1: about characters, relationships, or events Speaker 1: not specifically confirmed in the official story from the artist. Speaker 1: Basically, the more you give fans hints

of things to think about, Speaker 1: the more you bait them to make up hypotheses and discussions with other fans. Speaker 1: Basically, you inspire fan fiction when you're a little vague and you bring new things into your world. Speaker 1: If you show a little but don't tell too much, that creates headcanon oftentimes once you have some excited fans. Speaker 1: Now, there's nuance to this in that just throwing things out with no ties to your lyrics Speaker 1: or other strengths will not help you create this word of mouth. Speaker 1: But let's

first start with painting a picture of what this even looks like Speaker 1: for some artists where you've seen headcanon before. Speaker 1: Dochi has this grid post about supporting her fans with this new website. Speaker 1: Fans will search throughout this single photo to try to find the meaning Speaker 1: and zoom in to read stuff in the fine print. Speaker 1: Once you have some enthusiasm, they're going to make up things about it. Speaker 1: Just think about this Dochi photo with the alligator. Speaker 1: Fans start to think about what the white

alligator means, Speaker 1: who that might be in their life, and they make up headcanon about it. Speaker 1: it causes fans to get intrigued and think about things more. Speaker 1: Even if you have a hundred fans right now, Speaker 1: if you make a post with small details, Speaker 1: somebody's probably gonna ask you about them. Speaker 1: With an album cover like Dochi's, Speaker 1: some headcanon could be the white alligator Speaker 1: and people can make their interpretations. Speaker 1: Alligators are known to be dangerous Speaker 1: and sometimes cry tears.

Speaker 1: It's white. Speaker 1: Is there a white person who's dangerous in Dochi's life? Speaker 1: Is she now taming them? Speaker 1: That's what fans are gonna wonder. Speaker 1: They'll make things up and interpret them. Speaker 1: Anyway, I have a video that goes way deeper Speaker 1: But this is another way my clients who are very smart are iterating off what artists do to generate conversations today. Speaker 1: So one of the things that so many musicians think is if they just buy a big-ass billboard off the 101 in LA or

Times Square, they're going to pop off. Speaker 1: And I can't tell you how dumb that is. Speaker 1: As someone whose office is literally in the center-most building of Times Square and whose window looks out on it, I can tell you this is not a thing that anyone is taking in. Speaker 1: There's like probably a hundred different artists whose billboard goes up every day in Times Square. Speaker 1: But there is a reality that a well-placed small ad in the real world is a hack to get the right people and have them believe

you are someone they should fuck with if you do it well and you put the right messaging around it, and if they're already hearing a buzz about you, it can show cultural cues that they should know you. Speaker 1: But that's a lot of ifs. Speaker 1: So the first question is what are these cultural cues? Speaker 1: Well, in the blood department, when I managed that pop punk group, Man Overboard, we had flyers that said, defend pop punk. Speaker 1: Because at the time, if you liked pop punk and you saw that poster and

it said they were coming to your town with three other pop punk bands and a club, Speaker 1: well, it increased the likelihood that you'd probably come out and investigate the group. Speaker 1: Now, on the mid-range of subtlety, some people make flyers and put for fans of or FFO on the flyer with all the groups involved in the show Speaker 1: and put for fans of next to each artist Speaker 1: so people know what type of culture it is. Speaker 1: Now, the more subtle range of things on the flyer, Speaker 1: you

could put a collage of people Speaker 1: who look like who you'd like to have come to this show. Speaker 1: That dude, The Dare, before he was massive, Speaker 1: threw a party in New York City called Frequencies Speaker 1: where this was the common flyer that he did. Speaker 1: Anyway, the less metaphor, the more the dumbest get it, Speaker 1: as we talked about before, Speaker 1: and you can use your discretion here. Speaker 1: But some of you may have picked the hint up Speaker 1: that if you're playing a venue,

Speaker 1: sending tour posters that give cultural cues Speaker 1: or say your genre name is nearly free advertising. Speaker 1: And aside from the poster printing, Speaker 1: labor and postage fees, Speaker 1: it's kind of free advertising. Speaker 1: These can be at a venue for up to six weeks Speaker 1: and every time a potential fan is at a show, Speaker 1: they're going to get the cue Speaker 1: that they should know who you are. Speaker 1: But for those of you not playing live, Speaker 1: there is hope. Speaker 1:

If you're catching a buzz, Speaker 1: stickers at venues or areas Speaker 1: where fans likely hang out, Speaker 1: whether that's skate parks, Speaker 1: coffee shops or university campuses Speaker 1: can do a lot making you seem important. Speaker 1: That's usually the age of kids Speaker 1: who will actually investigate these things. Speaker 1: I, of course, am not going to talk about Speaker 1: what stickers I personally put up, Speaker 1: since let's be real, Speaker 1: it'd be pretty embarrassing for someone my age Speaker 1: who does what I do

to get arrested Speaker 1: for putting up stickers still. Speaker 1: But one of the funniest things I see that happens Speaker 1: is when I put up stickers all around town, Speaker 1: some of the more viral stickers I design, Speaker 1: my friends will send me when their friends Speaker 1: post them on Instagram stories, Speaker 1: and they don't even know that I made them. Speaker 1: Stickers still work, Speaker 1: especially if you put them at eye level Speaker 1: of where somebody goes to the bathroom Speaker 1: of both positions.

Speaker 1: Now, you may have picked up that I keep mentioning where people hang out. Speaker 1: One of the tricks the savvy people in the music business know is that in Brooklyn, there's Speaker 1: about a half a mile where nearly every venue is. Speaker 1: And really about a dozen intersections where the odds are very cool, influential people Speaker 1: in music are walking regularly, including record critics, Spotify playlist curators, Speaker 1: or the people who work in the business. Speaker 1: So making your image visible in these areas can suddenly get people

to think that they Speaker 1: should click play when seeing your name who are very influential. Speaker 1: Or that when you pop up on YouTube that they should watch because they've heard your name before. Speaker 1: None of this will be what breaks you, but it can help be one of the straws that breaks the camel's back here. Speaker 1: And LA does have a similar area I talk about in my IRL promo video, Speaker 1: but it is much more vast and less foot traffic, so not quite as easy. Speaker 1: But a

real cheat code is that if you live in a city where a large number of people who like your genre of music regularly congregate, Speaker 1: you can do some real damage by making your stuff visible there. Speaker 1: Now, a classic way that people always promoted music is kind of obvious, which is to use the Speaker 1: artist's interest, but we really see people doubling down on this now. Speaker 1: Let's be real. Speaker 1: Authenticity is rewarded now more than ever in music. Speaker 1: And I know some people debate this, but I

see a lot of people using the word authenticity Speaker 1: wrong because they're not really the dictionary reading types. Speaker 1: Take, for example, we all know Dua Lipa positions herself as the world-traveling pop star compared Speaker 1: to all the others in her field. Speaker 1: And she's popping around the world all over, Speaker 1: eating at the finest restaurants Speaker 1: and dancing at the best clubs. Speaker 1: Well, because of this, Speaker 1: she has a newsletter Speaker 1: where she talks about these things Speaker 1: as well as the best smelling

soaps or something. Speaker 1: And she sends it out Speaker 1: to deepen fans' relationships Speaker 1: with the type of people Speaker 1: she wants to identify with her. Speaker 1: This keeps her fans Speaker 1: allegiant to her on top of mind Speaker 1: as it hits their inbox every week. Speaker 1: But she doesn't stop there. Speaker 1: This girl loves reading on the beach Speaker 1: and I shit you not Speaker 1: because this is actually real. Speaker 1: I produce interviews Speaker 1: with many of the top authors while they're

on their book tours. Speaker 1: And occasionally at my podcast studio, we'll be in the lounge and they will say, Speaker 1: man, that really was a great interview. Speaker 1: But you know who's the best interviewer about books right now? Speaker 1: Dua Lipa. Speaker 1: What? Speaker 1: Now, it could be there is. Speaker 1: After watching some of her interviews, it's clear that if Dua is interviewing you, Speaker 1: she really is interested. Speaker 1: And not doing the interview because she has to, she wants to. Speaker 1: But my God, this

is really working for her to connect to her fans. Speaker 1: And Lauvi has a book club where she reads the same book as her fans Speaker 1: bonds with them through it. This is clearly because this is what they're interested in. Speaker 1: Now, I know you are thinking you aren't as big as these artists, but so many artists form Speaker 1: communities early on by charging $5 a month on Patreon for discussing on Discord and a monthly Speaker 1: live stream discussing a book that they're all reading and help build a community or

watch movies Speaker 1: with them. And if you love reading books, this feels way more chill than other ways to make money. Speaker 1: So many artists who love to write right now are doing newsletters. I personally love A.C. Newman Speaker 1: mailing list blast knows you're getting something more real than most. Charlie XCX just started a Speaker 1: sum stack and it's kind of sick and amazing. Using your passions first for what you'd like to be doing Speaker 1: and then moving to your imagination about how it can be something fans want from you

and either Speaker 2: make it public or behind a paywall or a combination of both is a great way to win these days in Speaker 2: marketing. But now we need to talk about a concept that I really feel like not enough people get Speaker 2: because it's a little more advanced and it's the thing that so many people fuck up in their Speaker 2: marketing at first. So we just talked about your authentic self, and soon we're going to talk about Speaker 2: faking things. But for now, let's talk about the bridge between the

two. One of the most amateur Speaker 2: hour practices of those starting off in marketing and branding is they want the brand to have no Speaker 2: contradictions, and everything needs to be aligned. Brand alignment is the word that they just, Speaker 2: well, I can't say what they do to it because it's a little much. But that's boring. It is so 30 years Speaker 2: ago. If you read the book Difficult Men, it details what changed about prestige TV as the era of the Speaker 2: Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men came

in. Speaker 2: And what we started seeing is that complex characters Speaker 2: with contradictions that made them both likable, Speaker 2: but difficult and complex created discussions. Speaker 2: Tony Soprano is a guy who loves his family, Speaker 2: having a hard time trying to provide Speaker 2: and getting help in therapy, Speaker 2: like we want a modern man too, Speaker 2: but he just keeps killing people. Speaker 2: Walter White from Breaking Bad Speaker 2: is a man who wants his family to thrive after he dies, Speaker 2: but you know he

may have chosen a different method Speaker 2: to make some money, you know? Speaker 2: Now, luckily for you as a musician Speaker 1: to tap into this strategy, Speaker 1: you don't have to kill anyone. Speaker 1: But being a boring brand Speaker 1: where everyone can predict you all the time Speaker 1: and do obvious things as well, Speaker 1: pretty mid and not creating aura. Speaker 1: But most of all, since we're talking growth, Speaker 1: it doesn't give your fans a reason Speaker 1: to think and ponder what you're doing Speaker

1: and think about what happens next Speaker 1: and then take it to the group chat Speaker 1: and spread it to numerous friends. Speaker 1: This is why I came up with the marketing term, Speaker 1: the contradictions of the conversation. Speaker 1: Let me show you. Speaker 1: When Charli XCX drops an album that's theme is Club Bangers, Speaker 1: then the second-to-last song is a stream of conscience about whether she should have a baby, Speaker 1: and then bam, the next song is Let's Do Some Cocaine in the Club Tonight, Speaker 1:

that's a complex conversation filled with contradictions. Speaker 1: High-minded people will write think pieces on it, and the girls in the gaze can meme away. Speaker 1: When Poppy makes videos that have her dressed in high fashion, Speaker 1: but she behaves as a monster that cuddles up to cute, lovable Muppet types, Speaker 1: she creates conversations for her audience about the contradictions. Speaker 1: Poppy also often uses bright imagery as opposed to the dark metal imagery people do, but she then contrasts the two, contradicting one another. Speaker 1: Her backing band may often look

like a character of a metal band, and she's contrasted with those bright colors to stick out. Speaker 1: Just as when Cardi B is charactered as, these are not my words, a ratchet stripper with a foul mouth, and then she interviews Bernie Sanders, it changes the conversation on who she is with the contradiction. Speaker 1: What the biggest artists in the game are often thinking about is how to straddle the authentic parts of an artist, but bring in some more depth to their personality and correct the misconceptions from the lames analysis that we've talked about

before. Speaker 1: You know, that's the eminent. Speaker 1: As we identify these misperceptions and see what fans are saying about you, we can correct these with music videos and other content you make and create these big conversations around why you're such an interesting artist. Speaker 1: Now, to tip the hat to the next section, many people wonder why music artists today will use fan accounts and amplify lies and clear bullshit about their narrative. Speaker 1: For example, on my member feed, I often refer to when Shabuzzi admitted to hiring a firm that makes up

hyperstitions about artists. Speaker 1: Yeah, see the definition of hyperstitions on the side here? Read that and hit pause. Speaker 1: This firm made up that he was Dolly Parton's godson, since they know the discussion of if that made him a Nepo baby also would fuel that he was just annotated as a real country artist royalty and saw the discussion as a net good. Speaker 1: Because let's be honest, if Dolly Parton is embracing you, that makes you accepted. Speaker 1: And that's hard for a black guy with dreadlocks who looks like Shaboozie, which was

a lot of the psychological tricks they did to cement him into country culture, which was not fucking easy. Speaker 1: What many of the artists that are huge know, that it's not that any publicity is good publicity. Speaker 1: That's out of date, since Kanye's whole thing with his words towards Jewish people proved that to not be the case. Speaker 1: But it's better to have conversations that bring depth to your artistry that does not be talked about, Speaker 1: which is why we need to delve into the world of astroturfing. Speaker 1: So now,

we also must talk about the fake world, since everyone's doing it, Speaker 1: and well, it's up to you if you want to participate or not, Speaker 1: but this is very commonplace now, and what everyone's doing to promote their music. Speaker 1: So I would be reluctant to not tell you that going on Reddit and commenting with an account we call a sock puppet, which is a different version of you, and then every one to two of five times you discuss musicians, and about one out of every seven comments you throw in your own

project, and pretending to be someone else, well, I have to admit, it works really, really well. Speaker 1: And it sucks. Speaker 1: Those same sock puppet accounts commenting three to five artists on the influential accounts posting who's up next and posting your music listed up next to four other artists who are blowing up really works on the short form video apps. Speaker 1: And honestly, this is just the basics right now. Speaker 2: Interns, managers, and music artists are all doing this these days. Speaker 2: And there's way more. Speaker 2: But let's first

talk about what I'm not talking about, which is bots. Speaker 2: Now, I know so many of you like to focus on bot in streams, but playing with this world right now is playing with fire. Speaker 2: One of the fastest growing industries in music now is bot detection. Speaker 2: Since the major labels have the biggest artists and bot farm AI artists and others are trying to game the system. Speaker 1: And Spotify knows if they can detect this fraud, this is the only way they can keep their major labels from demanding a raise.

Speaker 1: Now, if we were having this conversation 10 years ago, I'd tell you to do a bot farm and go crazy. Speaker 1: But right now you risk burning down your music when the cord gets pulled as Spotify has done to tons of artists. Speaker 1: But the real way people are really faking things and doing a lot of work is these fan accounts. Speaker 1: So if you haven't gotten the memo or seen my video on it, when you go to sign to a major label these days, Speaker 1: one of the main

features they will brag about to you is they will use 50 to 60 fan accounts to basically flood the zone with accounts that have followings and get people talking about you. Speaker 1: Since then, a bunch of my clients have asked me to design minimal versions of this that work for their artists. Speaker 1: I've come up with four models that seem to be working. Speaker 1: And if I'm being real, I'm really seeing this stuff work well right now. Speaker 1: I don't know if it will in a year, but the thing I would

say to everybody is, if you're like, Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, I don't want to be doing this forever. Speaker 1: I believe that for a lot of you, if your songs are actually good, about three months of grinding on this can change your life. Speaker 1: It's a really good hack. Speaker 1: And there's a reason that nearly every one of the managers and labels I work with that have bigger artists have hired me to consult on their strategy around this. Speaker 1: To the point I'm starting to get a little bored of it. Speaker

1: And to be honest with you, now they keep calling me to keep expanding upon it because it works so well. Speaker 1: And that's kind of sad. Speaker 1: But let's first talk about fan accounts since they're the most common thing you see these accounts doing. Speaker 2: Fan accounts are some of those ones where you see if you stand any artist and spend time on social media and get shared videos from friends who obsess over an artist. Speaker 2: It could be something like Gracie Abrams Nation that posts every three seconds about Gracie

Speaker 2: and the really strange way she pronounces words that she sings. Speaker 2: Okay, they probably don't. Speaker 2: Or it could be for Too Hollis, a fan account called Too Horned Up for Too Hollis 24-7. Speaker 2: And it posts every single time a fan catches Hollis serving a look in Japan Speaker 2: or at some hypebeast clothing shop or whatever the fuck he does. Speaker 2: Or they could be those accounts that do a ton of the work for artists Speaker 2: who refuse to do social media or interviews. Speaker 2: So

if you're like one of those like McGee, it'll be called something like I Want McGee. Speaker 2: That reposts the little content he makes and like news about him when he's making that record with Justin Bieber. Speaker 2: He shows up on stage with Dijon. Speaker 2: So I'm sure a lot of you want me to make this make sense right now and go into why this could be worth your time. Speaker 2: A lot of the music promotion that's happening today is that these accounts are present on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, Blue Sky, Snapchat,

Speaker 2: and posting the numerous times about their favorite artists Speaker 2: or whatever subject they're trying to influence conversation around. Speaker 2: They know even if something isn't true or isn't the least bit controversial, Speaker 2: like when Chapel Road simply says she doesn't want to talk about politics Speaker 2: or the biggest one this year, which was like Morgan Wallen walking off of SNL early. Speaker 2: Well, all of this will get traction with the fans Speaker 2: as people fight with each other over whether it was okay or not. Speaker 1: And

frankly, it's fucking stupid. Speaker 1: And listen, when this stuff picks up, it's easy to write it off Speaker 1: something cooked up by a teenage girl in her bedroom or some fan deep in the internet brain Speaker 1: rot. Speaker 1: And yeah, it usually does start there. Speaker 1: But then someone on the artist team sees that somebody's offended by it and that little Speaker 1: spark gets a whole ton of gasoline poured on it as they aggregate this to a bunch of people Speaker 1: who get mad. Speaker 1: And the next

thing you know, all these controversies happen and everyone's talking about this artist Speaker 1: all of a sudden. Speaker 1: Fan account armies catch wind, pour gasoline and some more and blast it to their followers. Speaker 1: then everyone starts copying the same inauthentic behavior. Speaker 1: And suddenly we're all stuck talking about the dumbest shit imaginable. Speaker 1: In fact, this week, Twitter did a really hilarious thing Speaker 1: where it shows which country an account is posting from. Speaker 1: And boy, a lot of people are hiring Indian companies to do this. Speaker

1: But a lot of this activity is being paid for by the management labels Speaker 1: to interns and low-level influencers and other marketing companies Speaker 1: that don't need to disclose this. Speaker 1: Which is a thing that's been slowly growing for years now Speaker 1: and is starting to get really out of hand in my opinion. Speaker 1: But this is how the music internet sausage gets made. Speaker 1: Truly, so much of this is just letting the broken brains of the internet Speaker 1: generate an idea and then watching it spiral. Speaker

1: So you know how I said all these mean things about Lil Mabu all through the video? Speaker 1: Well, for all you know, I'm on Lil Mabu's team Speaker 1: and I'm just rage baiting and trying to create some controversy in the comments Speaker 1: so more people know about him. Speaker 1: Maybe I'm on the take. Speaker 1: Maybe I'm not. Speaker 1: You're never gonna know. Speaker 1: And that's the problem we have today. Speaker 1: and that's the world we've built. Speaker 1: Hell, you don't even know if he's going to

be in my Spotify wrapped Speaker 1: because I may Photoshop it later. Speaker 1: Now, you may have noticed I have a tattoo that says Speaker 1: Lost in a Fake World on my arm. Speaker 1: And while that's actually a quote about how it's important to do what I'm doing now Speaker 1: and explain the world to people that they don't understand, Speaker 1: and it's from an Adam Curtis documentary, Speaker 1: the sentiment on my arm is easy to feel when you watch all this stuff go down. Speaker 1: The point is, there

is a secret weapon of music promotion today Speaker 1: and something being used by the buzziest weird indie bands Speaker 1: on up to the top pop artists. Speaker 1: Honestly, I even see like weird art rock groups Speaker 1: doing this stuff. Speaker 1: Because the real fact of the matter is Speaker 1: their teams know when they have a great record, Speaker 1: this is the only way they're gonna get eyes on it Speaker 1: if they're bad at social media Speaker 1: is by doing it themselves. Speaker 1: And this keeps fans

talking and music spreading. Speaker 1: But next up, we gotta talk about what I was saying Speaker 1: about making a multiple account strategy. Speaker 1: This is the nimble way artists Speaker 1: are often getting a lot of juice from the squeeze Speaker 1: to compete with the way major labels are promoting. Speaker 1: And I should say, Speaker 2: This is the weapons grade level section of this step. Speaker 2: This is the type of stuff I often find works better Speaker 2: than nearly anything right now. Speaker 2: It just takes time

rather than a lot of money. Speaker 2: So I'd pay attention if I were you. Speaker 2: So when I talk about running three accounts, Speaker 2: what many people think is this is gonna become Speaker 2: five people's jobs when really a lot of this is low effort Speaker 2: and just doing the work you do in a day Speaker 2: in a much smarter way. Speaker 2: Let's crack in. Speaker 2: So method one I call outside influence. Speaker 2: This one is ideal for artists who either, Speaker 2: one, don't wanna post

much on their artist account Speaker 2: because they want to be high aura, mysterious, or just don't like it. Speaker 2: Or two, artists with very few fans looking to get their first fans. Speaker 2: Account number one in every one of these examples is the artist account. Speaker 1: So you have your artist account and it's the same thing that you've been doing forever. Speaker 1: It's going to post high quality curated content, the type of stuff you're proud of. Speaker 1: It's where you disseminate information from. Speaker 1: And if you're worried about

not posting lip sync, cringe, dances, Speaker 1: whatever it is that makes you uncomfortable, Speaker 1: you don't need to post that type of stuff here. Speaker 1: You just post what you like here. Speaker 1: But account two is what I call an influence account. Speaker 1: So for those of you who are not hip to this, Speaker 1: I'm going to show you a great example from TikTok. Speaker 1: All it basically does is curate Speaker 1: much like those Spotify artist playlists Speaker 1: we talked about earlier. Speaker 1: Remember when I

said we'd come back to those? Speaker 1: Here we are. Speaker 1: What you basically do is make videos Speaker 1: like best shoegaze groups, Speaker 1: but it keeps getting more niche Speaker 1: and you go down in the monthly listeners Speaker 1: and your song plays in most videos, Speaker 1: but occasionally you pepper in more popular songs Speaker 1: so you actually get follows on this account. Speaker 1: And that's the wager you're making Speaker 1: is sometimes you're promoting other artists Speaker 1: with popular songs people like Speaker 1: so that

they follow and then hear your song. Speaker 1: But where the real sauce is made Speaker 1: is if you made one of those Spotify playlists earlier, Speaker 1: you can link that in your profile Speaker 1: or in your LinkedIn bio Speaker 1: if you're able to have one as the account grows. Speaker 1: Now, it's important to keep the aesthetic look of the genre Speaker 1: and lead with images people in the genre Speaker 1: would find to be high aura. Speaker 1: Finding the sickest photo of an artist or art Speaker 1:

in your culture can really help. Speaker 1: And if you really want to add some sauce, Speaker 1: Type on the screen some feelings about each artist. Speaker 2: And if you don't think this works, well, you're one, really wrong. Speaker 2: But two, this is exactly what sent off that group Lady Radiator, Speaker 2: who I talked about, who I mixed 17 years ago, Speaker 2: and is now signed into Scope. Speaker 2: This all happened right at the end of the summer, Speaker 2: so it's current information. Speaker 2: Now, a lot of

these accounts will not go well at first. Speaker 2: But as they get better at this, Speaker 2: what we can see is they're using the same creative over and over, Speaker 2: and it's doing 2,000 views. Speaker 2: They keep at it, and then it goes up into the hundreds of thousands Speaker 2: or even millions of times. Speaker 2: But third is a way to spend some budget if you want. Speaker 2: So the next thing we do, Speaker 2: and this is the rare time I talk about running ads, Speaker 2: is

we make another account Speaker 2: that looks just like the outside influence account Speaker 2: and we do a simple rebrand. Speaker 2: Let's say this account is called like the example, Speaker 2: Alt Rock Now, Speaker 2: and makes another account that looks just like that Speaker 2: and makes the same style videos, Speaker 2: but you make it a capital I for the Alt replacing the L. Speaker 1: It looks the same and then from another device, Speaker 1: you're gonna run ads on it. Speaker 1: Frankly, if you target the artists Speaker

1: that are on this playlist Speaker 1: and you target the original account, Speaker 1: you're going to be getting a lot of traction on this, Speaker 1: and it'll be a very good spend. Speaker 1: I would just really make sure you watch my full video on it Speaker 1: since there's a lot of details on this, Speaker 1: which is on the roadmap, obviously. Speaker 1: Method two is the fan account plus agitator. Speaker 1: It's ideal for artists with some buzz, Speaker 1: you know, at least 10,000 monthly listeners. Speaker 1: So

this one has the artist account, Speaker 1: then a fan account, like we talked about earlier, Speaker 1: but obviously the artist account is more aura, Speaker 1: and the fan account is, well, a whole lot of slopping bit. Speaker 1: But then we have this agitator account, which can be an account that you can create, then from time to time comes in the comments trying to start fights so your fans defend you and drive up your engagement. Speaker 1: Since you're choosing the comments, you can say things like, this motherfucker only sounds good with

autotune. Speaker 1: Then you can hit reply to it and sing acapella with an acoustic guitar and show everyone that you're really good at it. Speaker 1: And this is a tale as old as time. Speaker 1: Simply look up Gale's hit song ABCDEFU about how it first got popular, Speaker 1: and you'll see major labels have been doing this for years. Speaker 1: But remember back when we were talking about linking TikToks from your Discord? Speaker 1: One of the best things you can do with an agitator account Speaker 1: is to then run

back to Discord with sock puppets Speaker 1: and complain about the hater in the comments, Speaker 1: which will incite fans to come over, comment, Speaker 1: stimulate the algorithm, and run your post up in the algorithm. Speaker 2: Method three is artists, edits, and culture. Speaker 2: And it's ideal for artists of any size. Speaker 2: So what this method relies on, instead of any of this, is inserting yourself into culture. Speaker 2: For example, you can do an edits account where you make trap, Speaker 2: and it's just replays of up-and-coming college sport

players, best plays. Speaker 2: It can be edits of Drewski making ridiculous faces in a video. Speaker 2: Whatever culture of people is likely to like your music, that's what you can put here. Speaker 1: And then we're going to take a whole other cultural style for that other account and do the same thing. Speaker 1: Really, for that last account, or what I like to call as the cultural account, Speaker 1: I either go more macro or micro. Speaker 1: So let's say this edits account is all horror movies for your cub metal band.

Speaker 1: Then the culture account, which is your third account, Speaker 1: may be just girls who are dressed up to go to cub metal shows Speaker 1: and you show off the baddest fits and tag them. Speaker 1: You insert yourself into the culture by posting your songs there Speaker 1: while people are looking at something else. Speaker 1: They hear the song and they're like, Speaker 1: she's looking kind of hot while listening to this song. Speaker 1: I wonder if I know this song. Speaker 1: I'll feel kind of cool around her

and be able to talk to her at the show. Speaker 1: All right, but method four is artists, influence, and culture. Speaker 1: And it's ideal for artists of any size. Speaker 1: All right, this is our last method. Speaker 1: And this is very simple. Speaker 1: Instead of having the paid account on the influence model, like in method one, Speaker 1: you're doing one of those cultural accounts. Speaker 1: Basically, we're mixing up method three and method one. Speaker 1: With the influence account, you're targeting similar artists. Speaker 1: With the cultural account,

you're trying to do something broader. Speaker 1: You're bringing more people into what they may like. Speaker 1: You can go more specific with culture, Speaker 1: but you're using both culture and your music style to try to get people into it. Speaker 1: This might be things that are very fashion-based, Speaker 1: since that's ideally one of the easiest ways Speaker 1: to signify to people that you're in a culture. Speaker 1: And we're getting close to the end here, Speaker 1: and I do have to plug that this is what we talk about

Speaker 1: on my members feed and in my newsletter, Speaker 1: because let's be real, Speaker 1: the YouTube algorithm really doesn't serve Speaker 1: as videos of this style. Speaker 1: So be sure to lock in there, Speaker 1: and become a member, Speaker 1: and turn on notifications for this channel Speaker 1: since you're already here. Speaker 1: Now, one of the dark arts for promotion today is clipping. Speaker 1: Now, you may be asking yourself what the fuck is clipping. Speaker 1: And if you guessed a cool experimental hip-hop Speaker 1: group

to Hollis' favorite synth production tool or Microsoft Clippy's cousin, well, you'd actually Speaker 1: be correct, but that's not what we're talking about here today. If you've ever seen on TikTok Speaker 1: reels, hell, even Twitter, Threads, or Blue Skies, clips of controversial videos or interesting Speaker 1: portions of interviews passed around in short little TikToks, this is called clipping. What Speaker 1: the job of many fan accounts is to do is to take interviews or vlogs or behind the scenes or any Speaker 1: other press an artist gets and throw it into this AI

clipping app called Opus. Then put some captions Speaker 1: on it and post it. These often serve as the lightly viral moments that spread an artist's face. This is Speaker 1: all to say that when you do interviews or press, even if the interviewer doesn't clip it, what many Speaker 1: artists do is take the YouTube video they post and clip it themselves. They film it themselves and Speaker 1: then make clips of it too. The key is, interviewers, even if they are in print, often get taped by a Speaker 1: spare iPhone laying around

for content since the moments where artists really drop on facts or bars Speaker 1: as they can say can go mega mega viral and one of the other great accounts you could do if you really Speaker 1: want to do this stuff is to do a clipping account where you just clip different interviews with Speaker 1: similar artists and then insert yourself into it now of course as we close out this section of the Speaker 1: fake world of music promotion we haven't quite gotten into the one every lazy person wishes Speaker 1: would make

their dreams come true there's a term in political marketing called flooding the zone Speaker 1: shit attributed to a man lovingly known as the human skin tag. And well, the idea you'll be Speaker 1: familiar with in politics is that you flood social media each day with tons of garbage and kind of Speaker 1: see what sticks. So when it comes to music, what many musicians think they can do is post hundreds Speaker 1: of videos a day from tons of accounts with their songs, and eventually the odds will be in their Speaker 1: favor.

Sites like Cashi, Covers.ai, and Flutify all let them create tons of AI videos to post Speaker 1: with their songs being lip synced by Peter Griffin or whoever else has unlocked IP on the AI sites. Speaker 1: Now, what this mistakes is that the platforms are quite used to this, so it really doesn't work. Speaker 1: So you may be wondering why I'm even talking about this. So there's one way this stuff really works. Speaker 1: If your song starts to blow up and get tens of thousands of videos made of it, Speaker 1: you

can go to these sites and make accounts on new devices and post your song to it and take the best Speaker 1: of them and post it to your fan accounts and outside influence accounts. And what it does Speaker 2: is it gives more options for what the algorithms can surface to people depending on what they've Speaker 2: engaged with. But basically, when a song has momentum, these can help so that users get served Speaker 2: the song again. But me and my friends have tried this enough to see that if a song doesn't already

Speaker 2: have that momentum, Prime Minister Modi singing Italian brain rot to your song ain't going to be Speaker 2: what takes sin over the edge, and your effort is better spent elsewhere. I don't know what to tell Speaker 2: you, but I'm happy to be out of this world. Now, when I've made much shorter versions of this video Speaker 1: in the past, I've always ended it with the advice that's super important, and that every genre and Speaker 1: micro genre has different cheat codes. The advice I've given throughout this video largely works in

Speaker 1: nearly every genre, but in some genres, some things work way better than others. Like, it's crazy how Speaker 1: many metal acts or Midwest emo acts will have doing playthroughs on guitar be a massive growth Speaker 1: mechanism, but try that in folk music and you're going to enjoy four views of the video. I have a Speaker 1: whole section of the roadmap on the genres I know well where I see the cheat codes and what I see Speaker 1: there. Since many people are shocked when I recommend radio promotion in 2025 to

heavy metal acts Speaker 1: while telling a pop act to avoid it at all costs like I said before. I go into insane details on Speaker 1: different genres and the main cheat code video has a lot of them for different genres if you don't Speaker 1: see it listed on the roadmap. But to get out of self-promotion land and give you actionable advice Speaker 1: this is one of those skills you really learn by going all the way back to our second step which is Speaker 1: defined community. That's really where you will learn

a lot of the cutting-edge cheat codes, Speaker 2: just like we discussed all through this step. When you're talking to the musicians and the Speaker 2: players of the game, be it promoters, labels, you really learn the cheat codes. I may know some Speaker 2: genres really well, but they're always evolving. And you can learn that, for example, some DJ has Speaker 2: become very influential and they have an open submission policy. I think a lot about an Speaker 2: interview I did with Ramon Pang on my podcast, My Point Four Cents, about how he

got a huge break Speaker 2: doing beat battles on Bauer's Twitch stream. Speaker 2: Tapping in with your community Speaker 2: is how you find so much of the cutting edge things Speaker 2: that are happening right in the present Speaker 2: before they're past tense and out of vogue Speaker 2: and no one is having them work anymore. Speaker 1: That's why it's so important to find your music community Speaker 1: and pushing through when people ghost you Speaker 1: or aren't interested until you find your people. Speaker 1: Your community and friends in

music Speaker 1: are one of the most rewarding things Speaker 1: you can find in all this world. Speaker 1: It's what makes my life great today and every day Speaker 1: and I hope it can do the same for you. Speaker 1: So listen, if you really enjoyed this section, Speaker 1: this is what we cover every week on my members feed. Speaker 1: So you should really head to the roadmap, Speaker 1: pick a video and go deeper and join us in that community. Speaker 1: Every week we're discussing the cutting edge Speaker

1: of music promotion. Speaker 1: And I bring you how to do things like this Speaker 1: literally every week. Speaker 1: And I've done that for over a hundred weeks. Speaker 1: And I've never missed a single episode Speaker 1: showing what I've been experimenting with Speaker 1: and what I learned each week. Speaker 1: So tap in with the link in the description. Speaker 1: So here's the thing, while you just learned a lot, Speaker 1: if you really want to grow, Speaker 1: You should obviously tap in with that roadmap. Speaker 1:

But if you want to just keep watching, Speaker 1: the video on the screen right now is on the Liam's analysis Speaker 1: and it's a great place to start. Speaker 1: So make sure you watch that next Speaker 1: if you really want to level up. Speaker 1: Thanks for watching, y'all.