The truth behind why you aren’t getting more streams [Randall Foster]

Just because your music isn’t getting attention does not mean it doesn’t deserve it. This post from Symphonic’s Chief Creative Officer covers what needs to improve your music streams.

By. Randall Foster, Chief Creative Officer, at Symphonic

Low streaming numbers do not mean you have a music problem.

It means you have an audience problem.  It does not mean your music is bad.  It means no one knows it’s there (if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to see it fall- did it make a sound?).  People are not interacting with your music because they don’t know who you are, nor do they care. Why should they?

75% of music streaming consumption is catalog. That means most people are utilizing streaming services to find music and artists they already know in love. Yes, there’s a moderate amount of discovery that happens through the streaming services, but people do not innately log in looking for the new thing according to the numbers. You must first build an audience.  To have an audience and that means you must get in front of people digitally AND physically. Stop hiding behind your keyboard. Play live shows. Go to the merch table and sign records and merch after your show. For god’s sake it’s the best margin items you can sell.  It’s also a chance to make a friend, find a fan, create a relationship.

Start approaching this like it’s a business and not a hobby. That’s the only way you’re going to succeed. At the end of the day, streaming is one part of that business, but in all honesty, it’s the advertisement (flyer) for the show. The show is where you make all your money.  Focus on being a performer, not being an influencer. Viral is not a marketing plan, nor should it ever be. Being prepared for if you go viral, however is important. That’s why having a good team around you is imperative.

If your streaming numbers are not growing, I would ask myself some very hard questions:

• First of all who is listening to me, and why are they listening to me?
• Where are they at? Are they in areas where listeners of my genre exist? Or did I pay someone to falsely inflate my numbers and now my core listenership is in New Delhi?
• How am I engaging the fan? Am I interacting?  Are we filling up their cup? Or simply taking from it? “My song is out – go stream it on Spotify” has got to be the weakest call-to-action in the history of music marketing.

While it is possible to be a bedroom musician and make a decent living from YouTube and other digital monetization, it’s not optimal. You must get out of your shell and find your ability to perform as that is what’s going to carry you and your entire career. When your fans are old and gray, they will be buying tickets to come see you play. That is the goal. Not new music Friday. Not a viral Tik Tok video. Not likes.

The goal is to be a musician for the rest of your life and make a handsome living doing it. Focus on that and focus on your audience and you will win the ball game. Lose sight of your audience, or of your need to build and take care of that audience, and you will fail miserably. End of story. Focus on the fans and the rest will work itself out.

Action Items (courtesy of Jay Gilbert) 

The music business has a 93% failure rate if you’re solely looking at ROI. How do you succeed?

1. Create GREAT music. “Give me a GREAT song and my job is easy. Give me a GOOD song and my job is impossible” – Jonathan Daniel / Crush

2. Consistency. In everything you do. Writing, recording, live performances, social media etc. etc.

3. Create a mini-campaign surrounding each track you release. A powerful narrative and compelling photos and videos.

4. Don’t “post” to social media ~ engage your audience. It’s a dialog. Respond to comments. Ask questions. Build a street team.

5. Collaborate and “base-swap” with other writers, musicians, and artists.

6. Build fans, don’t chase streams [Madelynn Elyse, Shark Attack Records – Read the FULL STORY] 

7. Optimize, don’t ever try to game the system. Optimize your website, socials, YouTube, eCRM, DSP artist pages etc.

8. Go to where the party is. Don’t try to build your own party. Use Bandlab, Bandcamp, Bandsintown etc. The number one place for music consumption is NOT Spotify, it’s YouTube by a mile. That’s what “a party is.”