From Streams to Relationships: How Genuine Connections Turn Listeners into True Fans
We often make marketing wickedly abstract. I, for instance, am running Meta ads for my music right now, with the general idea that someone somewhere in the world will see an ad for my music, listen to it, like it, and then love me forever. The process is somewhat concrete, I guess. It’s the people […]
The 14 Best Spotify Promotion Services in 2025
Looking to try Spotify promotion and not sure which services are worth it? I personally tried dozens of companies to see which ones got real results. Based on those campaigns, here are my top (legitimate) services: Each of the companies up there provided streams from real people, not bots. While results will vary, I’d consider […]
Halfway to a Million Streams: What’s Working, What’s Not, and Why I’m Still Grateful
I’m almost exactly halfway through the personal challenge I set for myself. Last August, I released the first single from a three-song EP and boldly (foolishly) proclaimed a goal of reaching 1,000,000 streams on the project within one year. (Here’s the post I wrote explaining my thinking at the time. Ah, to be so young and naive.)Time […]
YouGrow Promo Review: Legit Or Not?
I take it, by the fact that you’ve found this page, that you’re looking for music promotion. It’s a tough search, right? Maybe you’ve been cruising that r/musicmarketing thread on reddit, trying to figure out who actually knows what they’re talking about. Maybe you’ve been reading posts about playlisting services (like my own controversial list), […]
The One Simple Fix to Improve Your Music Marketing
Neither Tom nor I sent you an email last week. Shoot. I’m sorry. I think that’s the first time we’ve both skipped in like a year. It’s a case of shameful neglect, but we did have an excuse, at least… Tom (who is on the left, wearing what is, in my opinion, a quality sweatshirt) visited […]
How Much Money Do Musicians Make?
$13,327. That’s how much money the average musician made in 2024, according to my incredibly unscientific (but still very interesting) survey of this very email list. Honestly, that number is a little higher than I expected, although it overstates things a bit. The data is a little wobbly with outliers; our highest earner made $50,000 […]
How to Making a Living as a Musician in 2025
Here is a simple, three-step plan to make a livable income as a musician: 1. You write a mediocre song.2. You play that mediocre song at a coffee shop open mic.2. After playing the coffee shop, you go to a 7-Eleven and buy what turns out to be a winning lottery ticket! The brilliant thing […]
Spin Promo Review: The Results of My $299 Campaign
Ever heard of Spin Promo? I had not… Until I started getting near-daily emails from them last fall. I don’t think I’d ever signed up to their email list, although I could definitely be wrong. Past Jon has done all sorts of things I don’t remember, some of which, frankly I find pretty shocking. Spin’s […]
Why You Shouldn’t Over-Focus on One Data Point
Here’s my soapbox for today: Numbers don’t mean anything in isolation. Except for the number 42, obviously. Every other number requires context to be useful. I’ve been reminded of this as I’ve looked over a bunch of Spotify for Artist accounts and Meta ad campaigns; I’m doing some end-of-year review to try to figure out […]
Reddit’s Take on Music Marketing: Why ‘Around-the-Side’ Tactics Are a Game Changer for Artists
If you’re looking to find the absolute truth on a topic, go ahead and check out Reddit. I’m saying this tongue-in-cheek. But also, let’s be honest: Most of us trust Reddit far more than we trust the mishmash of ads and AI-generated responses that the internet regurgitates at us when we Google something. I’m a […]
