How Musicians Go From 0 To 1,000,000 Fans In 2024

Summary

In 2024, the music industry's landscape has shifted, with algorithms playing a pivotal role in fan base building. This script offers musicians a strategic approach to engaging algorithms without compromising authenticity. It emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity in music releases, the power of consistent and eventful marketing, and the role of community in growth. The video also discusses the significance of understanding platform-specific algorithms, the value of collaborations, and the impact of social media, particularly TikTok, in driving discovery and fan engagement.

Takeaways

• 😀 Building a fan base in 2024 requires a strategic approach that includes understanding and appealing to algorithms, which are designed to mimic human attention spans.
• 🎶 Musicians should focus on releasing singles every six to eight weeks, with occasional alternative versions or covers, to maintain a consistent presence without overwhelming their audience.
• 📈 The delivery method and release strategy for music are crucial for maximizing reach and engagement, as algorithms reward authentic and emotionally powerful songs.
• 🔗 Collaborations, remixes, features, and split releases are effective marketing tools that can help artists grow their fan base by creating algorithmic connections with similar artists.
• 📲 TikTok has become a leading platform for music discovery, and mastering the creation of engaging short-form content can significantly boost an artist's visibility and fan base.
• 🎥 Investing time in creating high-quality music videos and other visual content for platforms like YouTube can help artists build deeper connections with fans and increase memorability.
• 🤝 Engaging with the local music community and understanding the micro-genre can lead to opportunities for collaboration and support from tastemakers, which can further an artist's career.
• 📈 Spotify remains a critical platform for artists to focus on, as it is a primary source for repeated music listening and offers tools for self-promotion.
• 📊 Consistently uploading content and engaging with fans on platforms like YouTube and Instagram can help improve an artist's algorithmic ranking and increase the chances of discovery.
• 🎵 Authenticity is key in social media engagement; artists should focus on expressing their genuine thoughts, traits, and stories to build a strong connection with their audience.

Q & A

What significant change in building a fan base did the speaker observe in 2023?

The speaker observed that in 2023, the rules of how to build a fan base changed more than in any other year, with a significant shift in strategies that musicians need to be aware of to succeed.

Why is appealing to algorithms important for musicians in 2024 according to the speaker?

Appealing to algorithms is crucial because most music discovery and fan base building happens through platforms' algorithms. By delivering music in a way that algorithms favor, musicians can ensure their music reaches a wider audience without compromising authenticity.

What is the recommended release strategy for singles to maintain engagement with fans?

The recommended strategy is to release a single every six to eight weeks, occasionally accompanied by alternative versions, covers, remixes, or features. This, along with consistent smaller events every week and more significant events every two weeks, helps in keeping the audience engaged.

How does the speaker suggest artists should approach the release of their music in terms of quality and quantity?

The speaker advises artists to focus on quality over quantity, emphasizing the importance of releasing emotionally powerful songs rather than just aiming for a high volume of releases. Artists should release their best material to build a strong fan base.

What role do music videos play in building relationships with fans, as per the speaker?

Music videos play a vital role in building relationships with fans by creating a visual impact that can make a song more memorable. Great music videos can lead to sharing among fans, converting new listeners, and deepening the connection with existing ones.

Why is it beneficial for artists to release singles rather than albums or EPs initially?

Releasing singles initially allows artists to lure in new listeners with a taste of their music, similar to a free sample that encourages people to return for more. Singles serve as an entry point for fans to discover and engage with an artist's music.

How does the speaker view the importance of community and collaboration in growing an artist's fan base?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of community and collaboration, suggesting that artists should regularly work and tag with other artists to create algorithmic connections. This helps in introducing artists to each other's fan bases and growing collectively.

What is the 'earworm era' mentioned by the speaker, and how does it influence music promotion?

The 'earworm era' refers to the current trend where catchy and repetitive songs that get stuck in people's heads are more likely to convert to listens and streams. This era influences music promotion by emphasizing the need to create memorable and impactful songs that resonate with listeners.

How does the speaker suggest artists should approach social media for music promotion?

The speaker suggests that artists should be authentic and consistent on social media, focusing on sharing their personality, interesting thoughts, and behind-the-scenes content. They should also remind their followers about their music by telling stories that involve their songs.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the use of TikTok for music promotion?

The speaker advises artists to study TikTok's trends and nuances, create content that resonates with the platform, and engage with the community through video replies, stitches, and duets. They also suggest focusing on creating a mix of lo-fi, edited, and hi-fi content to appeal to a broader audience.

Outlines

00:00

🎶 Building a Fan Base in the Algorithm Era

The paragraph discusses the significant changes in music marketing rules in 2023 and the importance of understanding these changes for musicians heading into 2024. It emphasizes the need for artists to not just produce great music but also to strategically release it to appeal to algorithms without compromising authenticity. The speaker, with over a decade of experience in music marketing, shares insights on how to build a fan base by leveraging algorithms, releasing singles regularly, and creating engaging content around music releases. The paragraph also touches on the importance of quality over quantity, suggesting that artists should focus on releasing their best material rather than a large volume of songs.

05:02

📈 The Power of Consistent Single Releases

This section of the script highlights the strategy of releasing singles every six to eight weeks as a way to build a fan base effectively. It suggests that artists should engage their audience with a mix of content, including alternative versions, covers, remixes, and features, to keep the music fresh and interesting. The paragraph also addresses the misconception that releasing a song every week is beneficial, arguing that it can come across as desperate and devalue the artist's work. Instead, the speaker advocates for a more curated approach, where artists release their best work paired with eventful marketing pushes to maintain audience engagement and build a lasting connection with fans.

10:04

📊 Understanding the Role of Algorithms in Music Promotion

The paragraph delves into the importance of algorithms in music discovery and fan base building. It explains how algorithms are designed to mimic human attention spans and reward authentic music that appeals to listeners. The speaker discusses the smart strategy of releasing singles in a way that aligns with algorithmic preferences, which can help artists gain more visibility and grow their fan base. The paragraph also touches on the idea that algorithms are not the enemy but a tool that artists can use to their advantage by understanding and working with them, rather than against them.

15:05

🎥 The Impact of Music Videos on Fan Engagement

This section emphasizes the role of music videos, particularly on YouTube, in building relationships with fans and enhancing music discovery. It suggests that a compelling music video can leave a lasting impression on viewers, leading to increased sharing and fan engagement. The paragraph also discusses the analytics behind music video views and how they correlate with fan loyalty and repeated listens. The speaker provides examples of how certain music videos have personally impacted them and their friends, illustrating the power of video content in converting new fans and deepening the connection with existing ones.

20:07

🌐 Maximizing Platform Algorithms for Music Discovery

The paragraph explores how artists can leverage the algorithms of various platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, to increase music discovery and fan engagement. It discusses the importance of consistent content uploading, strategic tagging, and creating algorithmic connections through features, collaborations, and remixes. The speaker also highlights the significance of understanding and working with the community of similar artists to grow collectively. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for artists to study and understand the algorithms of these platforms to maximize their potential for music promotion and fan base expansion.

📱 Navigating Social Media for Music Promotion

This section focuses on the role of social media platforms in music promotion, particularly TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. It advises artists to be authentic and engaging on these platforms, sharing personal thoughts and experiences that resonate with their audience. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding the unique algorithms and user demographics of each platform to effectively promote music. The speaker also provides a cheat sheet for which social media apps to prioritize based on the artist's genre and target audience, encouraging artists to study what works best for their music and audience.

🚀 Leveraging TikTok for Music Discovery

The paragraph discusses the immense potential of TikTok for music discovery and fan base building, especially for artists with limited budgets. It encourages artists to study the platform's trends and nuances to create content that can go viral and reach millions of users. The speaker shares tips on how to optimize TikTok content for algorithmic promotion, including engaging with other artists' content and creating a mix of lo-fi and hi-fi videos. The paragraph also addresses the misconception that TikTok is only for teenagers, highlighting the platform's growing adult demographic and its importance for artists of all genres.

🎵 The Importance of Authenticity in Music Promotion

This section stresses the value of authenticity in music promotion, arguing that audiences are drawn to artists who are genuine and true to themselves. It advises artists to reflect on their most interesting thoughts, personal experiences, and charismatic traits, and to share these aspects on social media to build connections with fans. The paragraph also discusses the importance of storytelling in promoting music, suggesting that artists should share the emotions and stories behind their songs rather than simply announcing new releases. The speaker encourages artists to develop their storytelling skills and to regularly remind their audience of their music in a way that is authentic and engaging.

📚 Understanding Genre-Specific Cheat Codes for Growth

The final paragraph of the script touches on the concept of 'cheat codes' within different music genres, which are specific strategies or practices that can significantly boost an artist's fan base if utilized effectively. It acknowledges that these cheat codes vary by genre and encourages artists to research and understand the most effective techniques for their particular style of music. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of community engagement and the accumulation of several smart strategies for artists to experience significant growth in their fan base.

Keywords

💡Algorithms

Algorithms, in the context of the video, refer to the automated processes that drive content discovery and recommendation on digital platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding and leveraging these algorithms to increase an artist's visibility and fan base. For instance, the speaker mentions that by delivering music in a way that algorithms favor, artists can gain more organic exposure without compromising their artistic integrity.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity is a core concept in the video, highlighting the need for musicians to be genuine in their music and online presence. It is defined as the state of being true to one's own personality, music, and creative vision. The video suggests that authenticity is rewarded on platforms, as it resonates with listeners and helps build a loyal fan base. An example from the script is the advice against releasing music just for the sake of it, but to ensure each release is emotionally powerful and meaningful.

💡Fan Base

A fan base refers to the community of dedicated supporters and enthusiasts of an artist's work. In the video, building a fan base is presented as a critical goal for musicians, achieved through strategic release of music and engaging content. The speaker discusses various tactics to grow a fan base, such as releasing singles regularly, creating compelling music videos, and engaging with fans on social media platforms.

💡Music Marketing

Music marketing encompasses the strategies and tactics used to promote an artist's music and grow their audience. The video provides insights into effective music marketing in the digital age, including the use of algorithms, social media, and community engagement. The speaker's expertise in music marketing is evident as they discuss various aspects like the importance of releasing singles every six to eight weeks and the role of video content in building relationships with fans.

💡Social Media

Social media is portrayed as a vital tool for artists to connect with their audience, promote their music, and grow their fan base. The video discusses the role of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube in music discovery and fan engagement. It also touches on the importance of creating content that is tailored to each platform's algorithm and user base, such as making videos that can go viral on TikTok or sharing behind-the-scenes content on Instagram.

💡TikTok

TikTok is highlighted as a significant platform for music discovery and promotion in the video. The speaker advises artists to understand and utilize TikTok's algorithm to their advantage, creating content that can go viral and reach a wide audience. The video also mentions the importance of engaging with the TikTok community through features like duets and stitches, which can help artists gain more visibility and fans.

💡YouTube

YouTube is discussed as a platform where artists can build deeper relationships with their fans through the power of music videos and other visual content. The video emphasizes the impact of a great music video in converting listeners into fans and the importance of regular uploads to stay visible to the YouTube algorithm. The speaker also suggests using YouTube as a place to experiment with different types of video content, from lyric videos to live performances.

💡Spotify

Spotify is presented as a primary platform for music streaming and discovery. The video discusses the importance of understanding Spotify's algorithm and using the platform's tools to promote music effectively. It mentions the significance of getting on editorial playlists and the strategy of releasing singles to increase the chances of being recommended on Spotify's personalized playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar.

💡Community

Community, in the video, refers to the network of artists, fans, and industry professionals that an artist should engage with to grow their fan base and career. The speaker stresses the importance of knowing and being active within one's musical community, whether it's local or online, to build meaningful connections, collaborate with other artists, and gain exposure. The video also suggests that being part of a community can lead to opportunities like getting signed to a label or being featured on influential playlists.

💡Cheat Codes

Cheat codes, as used in the video, are specific strategies or tricks that can give artists an edge in promoting their music within their genre or niche. The speaker implies that each genre may have its own effective methods or 'cheat codes' for gaining fans and recognition. Understanding and exploiting these cheat codes can significantly accelerate an artist's growth and success. The video encourages artists to research and identify these strategies within their specific musical communities.

Highlights

In 2023, the rules for building a fan base changed significantly, impacting musicians' strategies for 2024.

Musicians often miss key strategies that can crush their dreams, even with great music.

The speaker works daily with musicians, observing and chronicling effective fan base building techniques.

For over a decade, the speaker has been immersed in music marketing and various entertainment fields.

The speaker engages with industry professionals daily to understand what truly works in artist promotion.

The importance of appealing to algorithms in music discovery and fan base building is emphasized.

Authentic songs that resonate with listeners are more rewarded by algorithms than ever before.

A strategic release schedule, such as a single every six to eight weeks, can effectively build a fan base.

Releasing music too frequently can backfire, making the artist seem desperate rather than genuine.

The quality of music is crucial; artists should release only their best work to maintain audience interest.

Eventful marketing pushes, such as releasing different versions of a song, can keep attention spans engaged.

Albums and EPs are essential for deepening relationships with fans who have already shown interest.

Spotify is a primary platform for music discovery, requiring a strategic approach to playlist submissions.

YouTube is vital for music discovery and building fan relationships through impactful music videos.

Consistent promotion through video uploads can help serve an artist's content to a broader audience.

Collaborations and features are effective for growing an artist's fan base and algorithmic reach.

Understanding and leveraging one's community is essential for discovering opportunities and building connections.

TikTok has become a leading platform for music discovery, especially for artists with zero budgets.

Authenticity on social media is key to building real connections with fans and growing an artist's audience.

Each genre has its own 'cheat codes' for promotion, which artists should identify and exploit for growth.

Transcripts

In 2023, the rules of how to build a fan  base really changed more than any other  

year I've seen before. So going into 2024,  there's so many things that musicians miss,  

I see messing them up every single day that crush  their dreams even when their music is great. And  

unlike some of these YouTubers, I do this work  every day and I observe it and chronicle what  

I learn. Since I work with tons of musicians  on their ascent to building a huge fan base,  

whether they're DIY, indie, or major label, no  matter what the genre. But since I don't really  

want to bore my viewers, if you're sitting here  watching this thinking, I'm just another one of  

those YouTube con artists selling a course  who's just spouting off with no experience,  

I encourage you to go to my channel page and watch  the video on my biography that's featured there.  

But really what I think is most important is  for well over a decade, my head's been in the  

game when it comes to music marketing. I live and  breathe marketing and not just music, but comedy,  

podcasts, streaming video, YouTube. Hell, even the  cursed subject of politics. I talk to managers,  

PR people, booking agents and campaign strategists  all day. Even the people who run presidential  

campaigns as well as A&R of some of the biggest  artists in the world in tons of different genres.  

I'm on the phone every day with people who  are building up new artists influencers and  

other people in the public eye figuring out  what actually works. Not the (beep) printed  

on out out-of-date blogs or spread here by clout  goblin clowns using ChatGPT to write a script.  

I've been taking all that information from my  own work and who I talk to, and putting it into  

this YouTube channel for the past four years. So let's get some things out of the way though to  

make this video way more enjoyable. What I'm going  to do here is lay out top line strategy to build  

a fan base off of. If you think something I'm  saying is interesting and you wish you knew more  

about it, well, there's already videos I've made  to go way deeper on every subject in this video.  

So just head down in the description and find the  link or click on the playlist I made and become a  

real expert. And the same goes for if you're not  finding the section interesting. There's chapters  

to this video, so feel free to skip ahead. So let's talk about the first pillar of  

marketing in 2024 for a musician. This  is appealing to algorithms. Now I know a  

lot of you are going to get real turned off  by hearing that, but listen for a second.  

Appealing to algorithms happens to have a happy  ending, unlike most of the marriages aspiring  

musicians jump into. Right now the majority  of music discovery and how people build a  

fan base is because they use smart strategy  that appeals to the algorithm. But there's a  

smarter way to see this. If you deliver music  in the way the algorithm likes, which means  

you don't have to and nor should you compromise  your music and what's within that music, well,  

those algorithms will help you build your fan  base. Because the great thing about music today  

is songs that are authentic and actually appeal  to listeners are more rewarded than ever, and  

that's never been more true going into 2024. And  I know a lot of you don't believe me about that,  

but it's real, and I've talked about it a  lot here. But the delivery method and the  

way you release your music has a definitive  way that it'll spread as far as possible if  

you follow the rules of that algorithm. I should say the reason algorithms work is  

they're modeled off of human attention spans,  which is why people build those algorithms,  

was to appeal to the way humans consume things.  But right now what the majority of artists who get  

a fan base are doing to effectively build that fan  base is they release a single every six to eight  

weeks while occasionally peppering that with an  alternative version, a cover or a remix or hell,  

even one of those sped up or slowed down  versions that are popular on TikTok these days,  

or they add a feature to an existing song  here or there. They do this for a 12 to 18  

month campaign while doing something eventful  every two weeks and something smaller every  

single week. This only takes six songs per  year to fill up an entire calendar year.  

And if you release a video of just the album  cover and a stream of your song on the first week,  

then two weeks later, a lyric video or visualizer,  then two weeks after that, a music video and then  

an alternative version, well, you'll fill up  those eight weeks really easily. And then you  

just start the cycle again with another  song at either week seven or week nine.  

But a lot of people want to release a song  every single week now. And when you do that,  

it makes people feel like the music is not  important to you. Instead, you're just desperate  

and just guessing at what will work so you could  become another clout hungry famous person and no  

one is interested in someone guessing or messing  around. They want to see a real artist creating  

something powerful. And unlike what so many of you  think, songs are not a lottery ticket. They need  

to be emotionally powerful and it's not worth  releasing if it's not. And people don't want to  

see everything you can do, but instead the best  of what you do. Whereas releasing a song every  

two months and pairing it with eventful marketing  pushes, keeps everyone's attention spans engaged.  

Too many of you that I talked to on consulting  calls tell me how you have 28 songs in the can,  

but you don't get what makes so many of your  favorite artists your favorites is that they  

know how to release their best material. For example, here's Dua Lipa talking about  

making 94 songs for her new 12 song record because  she gets the game as much more about quality than  

quantity. Okay.  

Now with these songs you leave behind, it  doesn't mean you throw them away. It doesn't  

mean they never get released. But these artists  play with those ideas that don't release them  

until they've developed them enough to become  their best material. So you need to hint to  

your audience and the people who are going to  discover you what you're doing is exceptional  

by putting in the effort to make content around  the songs you drop and continually remind people  

that the music you're putting out actually  matters to you before it'll matter to them.  

Since people care about eventful things,  which is what makes them think they should  

pay attention to you, I want to remind you,  you're also competing with a lot of people for  

attention. This is why when Lil Nas X rose from  being a completely unknown artist to having the  

longest running number one song of all time, he  continually reminded people of his song and that  

it was something exceptional, by over and over  again, showing them memes and reminding them to  

build a relationship with the song. Basically  cementing the foundation of what's working on  

TikTok today, but more about that later. Now, a lot of people get really bummed when  

they hear me talking about releasing singles  constantly as they love albums and EPs. And  

you know what? So do I. I was listening to some  while I wrote this script, but you have to see  

EPs and LPs and mixtapes as what builds deeper  relationships with fans who start to like you.  

It makes them think about you more and more and  feel close to you, and you should release them  

from time to time after a string of singles. And the deeper that relationship is, the more  

likely they are to come see you live, buy your  merch, and engage with you on socials. And most  

of all, never shut up to their friends about  you, which is how you get fans. We need to see  

it this way, that singles are what lures  people in. Much like that sample of the  

chicken or tofu at the Chinese food stall that  they give out for free in the mall courtyard,  

they hope to lure you in at the counter and for  you to then buy a pound of it. And then they hope  

you'll keep coming back. And doing that each day  after you've tasted how good it tastes from that  

one free sample is the real goal here. And we have  to see albums and singles as two different things.  

Singles offer the opportunity to bring in enough  people that they're going to go through your album  

or back catalog and actually get to know you  and develop a relationship with your music.  

deal with. Because the way Spotify is designed and  people's attention spans work in a similar way,  

it's that the more singles you release of  quality material, the more chances people will  

have to take in your album and back catalog it. So let's go over this. The top way people discover  

music are now TikTok, Spotify and YouTube. But  before we get to TikTok, we're much more concerned  

about where people are going to repeatedly listen  to your music and make a relationship with you,  

which is YouTube and Spotify. Because when it  comes to streaming audio platforms and listening  

to music without video, if you open the majority  of artists analytics of where their listens come  

from, and I'm paid to look at this more than  just about anyone on earth, if we bar YouTube,  

it's usually 80 to 85% Spotify where these  streams come from. And then the other 15 to 20% is  

distributed between Apple and all the other DSPs. So like it or not, Spotify is where you really  

need to focus your energy. And luckily for  you, they give artists tons of tools to  

promote themselves, whereas all the other  DSPs give you virtually none. And because  

Spotify only lets you submit one song at a  time to its editorial playlist submission  

tool and they recommend you submit four weeks  in advance, this means releasing singles more  

than once a month is a wasted opportunity. And while I hear a lot of people quoting  

Spotify editorial playlists as being over, if  you read as much data as I do, I see over and  

over again this is a common ingredient and the  musicians who blow up as well as the key first  

ingredient and how an artist starts to break.  It's still one of your greatest chances to  

have your music discovered by a lot of people  is through editorial placements on Spotify.  

So you're basically failing yourself if you don't  follow Spotify's guidelines and give that song a  

chance. But let's also keep in mind it takes  weeks for some songs to spread on TikTok. So  

pushing out different songs constantly doesn't  benefit you since you need to be concentrating  

on drilling an earworm into people's ears since  we're in what I call right now the earworm era of  

music promotion. And while editorial playlists are  the biggest ones, we have to remember Spotify puts  

the artist who get on user playlists on their  editorial playlists. So it's important that  

after your song is released, you then pitch it to  other playlists. But there's important part of the  

Spotify game to keep in mind, that's trying to get  into the algorithm so you get on Discover Weekly  

and Release Radar. And to do that, you need to  keep your popularity score high, and that happens  

by driving as many ears that will potentially like  your song as possible as early as possible to your  

song, but now's a good time to mention. For that  work you need to have a high quality algorithm.  

What I hear all the time from artists is they  are doing blah, blah, blah to stimulate the  

Spotify algorithm, particularly ads. But what I  see over and over again is unless you build your  

fan base and train the algorithm in an organic  way, these people who build with ads hit a point  

where they find it nearly impossible to grow.  Whereas the artists who do the work I talk  

about in my video on building community and build  connections with the artists most similar to them,  

grow wildly while they sleep since the algorithm's  programmed to show them to the right people. It  

doesn't die the second they stop paying  for ads or get dropped from a playlist,  

but instead keeps recommending them to new  people continuously. And I have a lot more to  

your song as possible that are familiar with  you and already like you, or have the potential  

to like you because they like your genre of  music, not a bunch of strangers, not a bunch  

of randos, and definitely not a bunch of bots. But there's another platform we have to consider,  

which is YouTube. Which not only helps with  music discovery, it's also where you can build  

relationships with fans best. Since we all know  a great music video, it could be what tips you to  

be so blown away by what you're listening to and  watching, that you send it to a friend. So here's  

a good example of why YouTube is so important.  We've all been through this where we maybe hear  

a song on TikTok and then pop it on Spotify or  YouTube after, and then we'll hear it again a  

few months later after we stopped listening to  it and realize we forgot about it and never rinse  

this song as much as we would've. But when we watch a great video,  

what we see over and over again when we look at  data is you remember that artist more. And you  

also share the video when it has an impact on  you, which converts new fans while getting the  

ones who watch the video more invested in you.  I can think of numerous times in the last few  

weeks when I watched this sick video from Jersey  of them DJing. I sent it to a ton of people. Or  

Harmony's Shoplifting From Nike, which I passed  on to a bunch of friends I knew would like it.  

I see this on analytics since Spotify and YouTube  both have analytics to show you who it turns into  

diehard fans and gives your music repeated  listens, and those ones tend to correlate with  

the people who make good videos since they always  have higher numbers. And this is important too  

because YouTube rewards those who are uploading  weekly or bi-weekly, which is a little bit of  

a conflict with what I told you about Spotify.  So putting up behind the scenes, playthroughs,  

vlogs, lyric videos, single screen videos of your  song helps the algorithm favor you. It serves you  

to more fans while feeding the attention spans  of fans who are starting to grow a relationship  

with you as you put up different versions of your  song into their algorithm while keeping Spotify  

to be a much more highly curated. And this is  also why doing my release plan where we put up  

a video of just the album art then the lyric  video or a visualizer, then your music video,  

works so well, especially if you then pepper  in an alternate version. This all helps you  

serve another video every two weeks. So maintaining consistent sustained  

promotion by posting a video not only helps  you algorithmically, it helps audiences see  

you're regularly feeding them and that you're  an eventful artist who fans should be paying  

attention to. And when you regularly entertain  your audience and stay on top of their minds,  

fans inherently tell their friends about you  because they remember you and then they talk  

about you on social media. Because it's by  nature, humans seek out commonality in each  

other and want to bond over what they enjoy.  Doing this not only appeals to the algorithm,  

it reminds fans to grow relationships with  you. So they're thinking about you more and  

more and want to go deeper with you, but I know  what you're thinking. "Oh, Jesse. What does it  

matter? No one's paying attention to me anyway." Truly the greatest thing about algorithms is  

instead of some gatekeeper choosing you like how  every other artist use stuff to break through, if  

you use smart strategy, you could draw connections  between you and other artists algorithmically. And  

then have the platform push you to those other  artists. I made a video on how collaborations,  

remixes, features and split releases are  the greatest marketing opportunity in the  

history of music, and you should really watch  it as it's linked below. And these connections  

not only introduce you to another artist's fan  base, but they live on another artist's page,  

potentially forever. Continually growing your  fan base as the artist also makes new fans  

and vice versa. But there's an added algorithmic  benefit to this. You end up in the Release Radar  

and Discover Weekly of that artist. I've talked to  the managers of some of the larger artists I know  

who say this can help a lot more than getting  on the biggest playlists, especially those  

artists who are regularly doing collaborations  since they have lots of algorithmic ties.  

But the benefits of this do not stop at YouTube  and Spotify. One of the things musicians seem to  

forget the way Instagram and TikTok algorithms  learn to recommend you is the algorithm looks at  

when two artists are tagged together and mentioned  together. And when that happens regularly,  

like when you're playing small shows together  all the time with another artist or do a song  

with another artist, the algorithm ranks how often  this is happening between the two of you and then  

recommends you to one another's audiences. This  in addition to some music genome methods the  

streaming services have is just about the only  way an algorithm knows to link you to someone  

else. So if you're one of those people who's  always complaining that the algorithm doesn't  

pick you up, this is what you need to be doing.  And this is why not being an island to yourself  

matters. You need to be regularly tagging and  doing things with other artists to help you grow.  

But what does that mean practically though? Doing  features, collaborations, remixes as well as split  

releases and making sure you tag properly on  Spotify and YouTube, you'll link to those other  

artists to get you on Spotify radio playlists  as well as Discover Weekly and Release Radar  

playlists, and then doing music plus talk DJ sets  on Spotify or radio shows. And tagging the artists  

on Instagram and Twitter can help those sites  spread you and link you to them algorithmically,  

as well as messaging other artists and  socializing on Twitter can help you get seen  

by their fans. And the same goes on TikTok. Now before you get any big ideas though,  

the key with these algorithms is they  work at scale. Meaning if you're just  

doing this with Drake and tagging him all  day, it's not going to tie you to him.  

There's too much other competition. But this  right here is why knowing your community and  

working with other artists of your size and doing  this with artists who are just a bit above you and  

fan base size is the key to growing, which is why  you really need to know your community, which is  

why I emphasize this over and over again on this  channel. So you're probably wondering how you  

find your community and use it to leverage your  fan base. And instead of going into great detail  

on that, you need to watch that longer video on  that. I instead want to show you how it plays with  

the other pillars of what I'm talking about here. I just explained why knowing who the other smaller  

artists in your community is important. So you  doing as much research about your community will  

show you the other artists you should be creating  a connection together with so the algorithm knows  

who to serve you to the fans of, but community  work goes way deeper than algorithms. This is  

actually about people and connection to them. And  I know I said that last part was about people too,  

but this is even more so. Knowing where the  people in your micro genre, your local scene,  

et cetera, congregate, whether it's the clubs,  Discord chats or introductions you get from  

other people you've met is how you meet the  people who open doors for you and connect you  

to the right people. So often the artists who  grow are the ones who are most engaged in their  

online communities since the people who are in  those communities are tomorrow's tastemakers,  

playlisters, or A&R of a cool label. And  knowing your community, allows you to know  

who the best mixer or director in your price  ranges in your community to make you level up.  

If you're just trying to get signed, one  of the most common ways that happens is by  

working with the mixers, mastering engineers and  photographers and directors in your community,  

and then they share the work they do with  you on their socials. And all the A&R they  

work with and follow them, see your name and  your song. And if you have a great song, well,  

that's how managers and label relationships  often start. I see it all the time.  

Hey. So you need to be taking the time every single  

day to understand your community. And truly one of  the things I see that's different between whether  

people are growing faster or not is whether  they've done the work at this as it makes you  

a better artist and a better student of the game. And most of all, those who reach out in their  

community get propped up by it. This is how you  get your first fans, and I just made a video on  

that. So many people wonder what the first  step of getting fans is. I'll tell you this,  

it is often that you make friends with somebody  on a message board let's say, and they post about  

you to their fans and then you post about them  when they put up a new song. And then you have a  

web of people like that who are connecting you on  the algorithm again, and that's the first steps to  

get a leg up and build a fan base. And truly the  difference I see when I do consults with artists  

who do this work for 10 to 15 hours compared to  the ones who don't and don't listen to me. Well,  

the artists who don't do it are always  the ones who are flailing and confused,  

and the ones who do it are the ones who see  a path forward. So head to the description  

and watch my video on finding community. And truly one of the main things that changed over  

the last year is TikTok's algorithm being what  leads other platforms in innovation and they all  

imitate it. And if you don't teach the algorithm  who you are similar to in the best way possible,  

you get worse recommendations and you are less  likely to grow than someone who does this right.  

So taking the time to learn this is crucial. But now of course we should talk about what I  

think is the most exciting part of what I saw  change in 2023 and continues into 2024. I know  

this will make some people mad, but I'll tell  you this. When you get together with people  

who actually work breaking new artists, we all  see the same thing. Never before in the music  

business do you see artists with $0 budgets  start to get their music heard by millions  

of people for $0 after the song is recorded, as  long as they have some lighting, a decent camera  

on their phone and study how to do TikTok and the  nuances of it so they can blow up for no money.  

Since we're now in the earworm era where if you're  pushing your song over and over again and it gets  

to people's heads that converts to listens  and converts to the people's dreams coming  

true. So I'll make this as short as I can.  When we talk about having a great algorithm,  

what TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts  allow you to do is make algorithmic connections  

on those platforms to get it introduced to fans  who are likely to like you, but then also send  

the ones who like you to Spotify, Apple Music  and YouTube to then strengthen those algorithms  

since the fans who will jump to another app  out of enthusiasm to your song are the best  

fans to build off possible and the ones you want  building your algorithm, not the ones from ads.  

So I'll be straight with you. Right now if you're  a broke musician with time on your hands studying  

the moving target of what's working on TikTok  and getting good at making videos and editing  

in their app, CapCut, offers the greatest chance  of changing your life and building a fan base I  

or anyone else I know has seen. So make a new  account just to watch TikTok and study. Click  

not interested whenever you see some person  coming and saying on weird food or whatever  

and heart and follow every time you see a  musician. And in two hours the For You page  

will only serve you inspiring musicians. Take  notes and then make your own content and keep  

trying to level up. The people who do best on  TikTok are the ones who keep repeating similar  

content and getting better and better at it, who  do both lo-fi content, somewhat edited content  

and hi-fi content, like produce music videos. Also remember, the algorithm loves to see you  

interacting with video replies, stitches and duets  to the artist you're most similar to. And if you  

do that, you'll show it who the algorithm  should show you to. But luckily for you,  

I have an entire playlist on everything you  need to know to blow up on TikTok in 2024.  

And yeah, right now we're at the point with  TikTok where we were with Instagram in 2013  

where everyone was like, "It's just influencers  posting photos of food." I got news for you fella.  

All the adults are now coming on and it's  the fastest growing demographic of TikTok  

is moms 25 to 35. So please stop sounding like  a grandparent when you say it's for teenagers.  

Because if I hear that one more time, I may  turn into Patrick Bateman, but I'm a mature  

man who handles my rage into petting dogs. But let's talk about what works on these  

platforms. And I want to say this. The majority  of musicians I talk to on a daily basis have  

made social media far too complicated because they  don't realize what they're actually seeing. What  

appeals to you or any audience for that matter is  not someone trying to be something they're not. We  

all have authenticity radars that give us cringe  the second we see something inauthentic. And yet  

most musicians talk to me as if they should be  doing some performance that's not authentic to  

them and that they're not comfortable doing. It's  literally the thing I hear the most when I talk to  

musicians. And I got to be honest, that's not what  I see blowing up and making fans for artists.  

Devote time each day to thinking about your most  interesting thoughts or the most interesting  

things you are personally doing. Or the traits of  your personality that are most charismatic, and  

then how you can use them to build relationships  with fans by showing them who you are on social  

media. The honesty and vulnerability you express  in your music paired with doing that on social  

media is what people actually latch onto these  days. And if you show them that, they want to  

get to know you better and listen to your music. So many musicians think something is contrived or  

coached that they see from big artists  when really the huge artists that you  

admire, what they're doing is being  themselves. You just don't like it.  

Ah. Because they know this and it's been  

drilled in their head and they've thought long and  hard and probably talked a lot about themselves  

with their team. And they're developed so well  how to show themselves to the world because  

it's a muscle you need to exercise or else you're  going to be bad at it. I hear so many people say,  

"I'm just not good at this." Yeah, you haven't  done the exercise yet to get good at it. And  

by being in the habit of any time something  interesting comes to your mind or in line with  

the artist's image you want to project, well, your  favorite artists know how to share that. Because  

it's a muscle they're using every single day. And  really each day think about how you tell stories  

and thoughts in an authentic way that works for  you. If you don't get what I mean by stories, I  

have a whole playlist and tons of videos on that. And I also want to say this, you need to also  

remind people regularly about your music and  making stories that involve your music. Just  

saying your song is out now is the weakest sell  of a song possible. Tell the story of how the song  

makes you feel or makes other feel or how you felt  when you made it. If you do that, you'll see your  

song streams increase. And if you're regularly  telling people this with an understanding of  

community, you'll build relationships with fans  and grow their relationship with your music.  

But I know what you really want is a cheat sheet  on which social media apps you should be using. So  

let me leave you with this. Instagram is where  some people get a lot of discovery now that  

they've tweaked their algorithm over the summer  to be more like TikTok, but for some people it  

doesn't work. And some people it's way better  than TikTok. But for most fans, that's where  

they go to keep up with their favorite artists  or investigate the artist vibe when they first  

hear of them, which makes this app important. Twitter or whatever we're calling it these days,  

along with Threads, is probably the best place  to socialize and keep up with people a little  

since some people do that, but really that's  where you should build community and start  

conversations. And TikTok is where so much of  artists and music discovery happens today. It's  

nearly immeasurable. Remember that for so many  artists, TikTok doesn't work as well. And if your  

videos do better on YouTube shorts or Instagram,  favor those. And if your audience is under 35,  

every moment you spend on Facebook can  be better spent doing anything else.  

Okay, so the last pillar of how you grow in  2024 is to understand the cheat codes in your  

genre. So I can't get super specific with this  in this video since each genre or microgenre has  

their own cheat code. And what I mean by this is  there's often a trick happening at each moment,  

a practice or an aspect of music promotion you  can focus on that will get you more fans if you  

understand it and allocate more time to it. Think  of it this way. Right now, hiring a radio campaign  

if you're a DIY pop artist, well, you'll find  somebody who will take that money, but you may  

as well set it on fire since there's no chance  you'll ever get played unless you have a ton of  

streams have created momentum around your music. But a moody indie rock artist doing this for  

college rock radio or SiriusXM could really be a  small amount of money for the games that really  

make it a cheat code. And if you want to learn  more about cheat codes for different genres,  

I talk about them all the time in my membership  streams where I give you five hours of content  

for $5 a month and dissect all sorts of  different artists in different genres.  

But one of the reasons we watch your community  so closely is that you start to understand what  

the cheat codes are as you study it.  Understand and research the cheat code  

technique of your genre and then exploit  it as much as possible once you see it.  

Let's also remember, it's very rare an artist's  massive growth comes from concentrating on  

one place. It's often an accumulation of a  few smart strategies. So here's the thing,  

while you just learned all this, if you really  want to grow your fan base, you have to understand  

how to find community. And I just made an amazing  new video on that, which is on the screen now. So  

make sure you watch that next if you really  want to level up. Thanks for watching.DJ