Read on Twitter
I asked on IG if anyone would share and an (independent) artist DM'd me and said from Feb 2018 - Oct 2020 they've had 138k streams and made $56 (so far - there's a 3 month payment delay, so the full amount is still tbc) https://twitter.com/k2rah_/status/1334176327524634624
they pay an annual fee of $30 to the distributor, so technically they’ve made their money back.
also this is an independent artist so that $56 isn’t split with a label (80/20 label to artist is common at major labels so you do the maths on that for $56)
also this is an independent artist so that $56 isn’t split with a label (80/20 label to artist is common at major labels so you do the maths on that for $56)
I think the lesson here for artists is don’t put all of your eggs into the streaming basket if you want to make a sustainable living from having your music online.
streaming platforms have clear benefits in terms of widening the reach of your music to a global audience, but that won’t consistently pay your rent til your streaming numbers are in the tens of millions..
BUT you can use the data available on those platforms to build your fanbase off those platforms.
For e.g. if you see you’re getting streamed a lot in a certain city or part of the world, then forge an authentic collaboration with an artist there & gain exposure to their fanbase
For e.g. if you see you’re getting streamed a lot in a certain city or part of the world, then forge an authentic collaboration with an artist there & gain exposure to their fanbase
reach out to radio stations and community platforms. share your music with them and see if they’re interested in playing it.
start building relationships with local promoters - there might be an opportunity for you to perform at their event when the world opens up properly
start building relationships with local promoters - there might be an opportunity for you to perform at their event when the world opens up properly
as @bysamkaizen mentioned.. find out who your ‘super fans’ are & connect with them. offer them a free preview of your next single, a discount on your merch etc. if they’re in the 0.1% of people that stream you on Spotify, there’s a strong possibility they’ll buy from you directly
take all of the ‘faceless’ data you can from streaming platforms and turn it into fans with real names, email addresses and phone numbers. once you have these you have more control over getting their direct support
while there’s no option to do live shows and gigs consider platforms like Patreon and Twitch where your supporters can pay a subscription fee to get regular content from you. this doesn’t mean you have to move like a YouTuber and start creating shiny new content and formats..
you're an artist, so start documenting your creative process and give your fans insight, that’s content in itself
sell your music and merch on places like Bandcamp where you can a) set the price of your release and b) receive the actual payment within days
there are loads of things you can do and it primarily starts with gathering data about your current and potential fanbase.
right now streaming platforms and social media platforms are the middle man between an artist and their fans, and are harvesting all of the data...
right now streaming platforms and social media platforms are the middle man between an artist and their fans, and are harvesting all of the data...
so it gives the impression that doing big numbers on those platforms is the only way to build a (paying) fanbase. not so.
she who has the data has the control!
she who has the data has the control!
of course it’s whether or not you want to put in the constant work it takes to cultivate a paying fanbase, cause that takes you from artist to manager/ PR/ digital marketer/ booking agent etc.
some people don’t which is fair enough cause it's a lot, and that’s where labels come in. that’s another conversation for another day though. I’ve been dodging my work all morning, let me stop procrastinating 
