Michael Epstein on LinkedIn: Audiomack just introduced a new way for fans to speed up, slow down, &… (2024)

FREE GAME -For anyone pitching an artist or creator on an opportunity...Here are a few things worth including in your pitch:

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This week's Hey Mike newsletter breaks down 5 features I'd love to see implemented on social media and streaming platforms. Subscribe to get it tomorrow https://lnkd.in/eReqf9hp

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I checked in with 5 producers and asked the same question:"Are there any strategies or tools you’d recommend to other producers looking to strengthen the economics of their business?How do you see the artist and producer relationship evolving in 2024?"Here are their answers:

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Here's how I might try and fix the music industry's metadata problem:Before diving in, it's important to know what metadata is - metadata is the information that corresponds to a song or specific release and helps track the consumption and revenue associated with that particular release. The music business has a serious metadata problem when it comes to tracking song consumption on streaming platforms. For example, redelivering a previously released song can become a nightmare for many reasons -it's not common knowledge that all the original metadata has to be the same for streams to merge to the new version and even when using the same metadata, sometimes hiccups occur. When there are hiccups, the process to fix can become challenging. There aren't many dedicated resources (especially at DIY distributors) to fix metadata discrepancies and unless an artist or their team has a direct contact at a streaming platform, it can be very challenging to solve. There has to be a better way for artists, labels, etc to: •Update metadata•Ensure song streams merge correctly in redeliveries•Ensure that song metadata is consistent across platformsEtc Here are my suggestions:1. Start with educationMetadata can be confusing and convoluted. It'd be great for respective distribution companies and DSPs to offer educational resoruces on what metadata is and how it affects or relates to each platform. 2. Increased resources within distributors Within Tunecore, Distrokid, etc it would be helpful to have increased support for not only learning about metadata, but troubleshooting. Did you deliver a song that was originally released and the streams didn't merge? It'd be great for independent distributors to have more visible and accessible support for these types of issues. 3. Connect directly to DSPs It'd be amazing if Spotify for Artists, Apple for Artists, etc allowed artists and their teams to communicate directly via those platforms for help with metadata issues. Delivered a song to Spotify and streams didn't merge?It'd be amazing to be able to use Spotify for Artists to get in contact with the appropriate folks to help troubleshoot.If an artist is using Spotify for Artists (or any of these other analytic tools) it means they've already verified their authentication and should have the ability to troubleshoot releases. What do you think? Would love to know your thoughts below - Subscribe to my music marketing newsletter for release strategy, rollout breakdowns, executive check ins, & more https://lnkd.in/eReqf9hp

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One of the best self-development books I've read in a long time describes two mindsets most people have: •Fixed mindset•Growth mindset This week's newsletter explores how both mindsets can apply to artists and creators and why the growth mindset is so important.Subscribe here https://lnkd.in/eReqf9hp

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I checked in with 3 music professionals working in media and asked: "Can you share the ways you’re discovering artists and keeping your thumb on the pulse?If there was one thing you could change about artist discovery in 2024, what would it be?"Here are their answers:1) Mark Bricker - Starting Power Forward/Social Content Guy/Editor At Daily Chiefers"Traditional blogs and publications have had their time, but now it's in the hands of the common consumer. Anyone can create a platform and with consistent content, regardless of whether it's well thought out or not, you can build a community of followers. This is a good and bad thing because music is less "gatekept", but if you don't know where to look you're out of luck. These current times just challenges people to comb through countless hours of tiktoks, tweets, articles, playlists etc to find gems.Patience with development and having faith in the music as opposed to the numbers. Seeing the potential as opposed to a flash in a pan moment of virality allows real growth from artists and encourages them to keep building and fine-tuning their sounds. Just be more patient with artists in general."2) Natalee Gilbert - Freelance Music Journalist at RemixdMagazine"I discover artists through word of mouth, visuals, or coming across their music online/in person."3) Jacob Ezra - Editor at EARMILK"Normally, when it comes to artist discovery I like to connect with different communities, and see the ways artists are working together, and what kind of art is coming out of that. I think music being made by an organic community has a certain energy at play that can make it captivating. It also shows the importance of building community around your music, and forging relationships that are authentic- based on mutual understanding and growth rather than just individual gain.I also think trying to make your interactions and connections more personal and human can go a long way. This allows one to explore deeper into a scene or community and really g to to know how it works at a basic level."Subscribe to my music marketing newsletter for release strategy, rollout breakdowns, executive check ins, & more https://lnkd.in/e8UhEnti

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For many artists (not all, but many), the majority of their fanbases are built around the success of a few songs and the majority of their audience is acquired through a few specific pieces of content.Here's what I mean:It doesn’t apply to every single artist but for many…the majority of their fanbase discovered them through a few songs that became very successful, as opposed to incremental growth from each song.Many emerging artists have a few songs in their catalog that account for the majority of their streaming consumption (every week those songs are a big percentage of their overall streams) and the majority of their audience discovered them from those records. If an artist is fortunate enough, they’ll have many songs that result in this type of impact but some artists only have a few.As it relates to content, in many cases the majority of a creator or artist’s social audience will likely be gained from a few individual posts that overperform (not all the time, but in many cases) as opposed to incremental growth from each post.Subscribe to my newsletter for an in-depth analysis with examples: https://lnkd.in/eReqf9hp

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Artists: here are 8 ways to reframe your career mindset and increase your chances of success:1) Make a great product2) Build a team3) Understand your economics4) Market your product5) Factor in Murphys Law6) Relationship building7) Understand the landscape8) Do good business Subscribe to my newsletter for an in-depth breakdown of each one:https://lnkd.in/e8UhEnti

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Artists: if you’re looking to build a team, here are 8roles to consider:It’s worth noting the below roles aren’t the only roles that are important to an artist’s team - these are just a few that came to mind, in no particular order. 1) Manager - responsible for guiding an artist’s overall career, helping execute their vision, and creating opportunities2) Record label - depending on the artist's needs and where they are in their career, if they sign to a record label they can have the support of that label’s team and their resources (expertise, staff, financial, relationships, visibility, etc that come with it)3) Content creator - a videographer or content creator who specializes in video content creation. Someone to help the artist create content that will help raise awareness for their music and ideally can film as well as edit4) Digital marketer - help run the artist's social media (if needed) and execute digital marketing strategies to help the artist grow their fanbase online, increase visibility, and monetize5) Booking agent - establishing the artist in the live performance space, routing tours, booking shows, etc6) Business Manager - someone to help manage the artist’s business affairs - accounting, money management, etc7) Attorney - representing the artist in a legal capacity8) Publicist - setting up interviews, press coverage, and creating opportunities in the press worldBuilding a team is just one example of how artists can think about their career in more of a business-like approach. It’s called the music business and not the music hobby for a reason! Check out 7 other examples of how to reframe your career mindset in my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e8UhEnti

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