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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

How to run free AI models on your studio computer

Most musicians with powerful studio computers are perfectly equipped to run AI locally.

Why it matters

Earlier, I recommended artists to navigate AI beyond the hype and build ‘AI intuition’. But experimenting with AI isn’t cheap. For example, basic access to Claude Code or Cowork costs music artists about €18,00 a month, which may be a significant investment for emerging artists.

However, most musicians have a significant advantage over other AI enthusiasts. If you produce music, your laptop or desktop likely has a high-end CPU, ample RAM, and perhaps a dedicated GPU. You are perfectly equipped to run powerful open-source AI models locally on your laptop, desktop, or even smartphone, entirely for free.

How it works

Local models aren’t on the same level as top-tier subscription models (Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, etc), but new models from Alibaba (Qwen3.6) and Google (Gemma 4), both released this April, are catching up at an astonishing rate. For everyday tasks like brainstorming content or drafting emails, they are more than capable.

The best part: Absolute privacy, with exactly zero recurring costs.

It’s quite simple to install your first local AI model:

1. Download an interface: Tools like Ollama act as your host software.

2. Download a model within that interface.

3. Start prompting: Once loaded, you can interact with the AI entirely offline. No data ever leaves your computer.

Here’s what I did:

1. I opened Terminal on my Mac and installed Ollama by pasting
   curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

2. Next, I installed Qwen-3.5
   ollama run qwen3.5

3. After downloading and installing, I could immediately chat with the AI.

Some ideas to get started:

• Because local AI is 100% private, you can safely upload a contract or a split sheet agreement and ask the AI to explain in plain English what rights you’re giving up.

• Like Claude Cowork, you can ask a local model to help you organise your chaotic downloads folder.

• Use it as a sounding board for your music and lyrics without worrying about whether they will be used to train the AI.

• Of course, you can still ask a local AI to help you write your emails and social media captions.

Yes, but..

I’m running the previous Qwen version, Qwen-3.5:9b, and it’s so slow on my last-generation Intel-based MacBook Pro. To run the latest, decent models, you still need good, up-to-date hardware. And I haven’t even mentioned that the download is 6.6GB.

On my laptop, I’m better suited to a lighter model, like the ultra-lightweight Qwen-3.5:0.8b (1GB), which can even run on a smartphone. It’s very capable for its size, but noticeably less powerful than the 9b version.

Take action now

If you have a decent laptop or desktop for running your music production software, give a local AI model a try. Approach it as a fun, geeky project to further experiment with AI and build AI intuition, rather than trying to embed it in your daily workflows immediately.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Qwen3.6-35B-A3B on my laptop drew me a better pelican than Claude Opus 4.7 (Simon Willison)

• Google’s Gemma 4 finally made me care about running local LLMs (XDA)

• Navigating AI beyond the hype in 2026 (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Why artists play it safe

Would you rather lose 500 long-term fans or gain 1.000 new fans?

Why it matters

Great artists make bold, creative decisions.

• Changing their sound between albums.

• Changing genres when their interests change (for example, from pop to indie).

• Embracing activism into their brand.

• Changing their aesthetic through fashion.

• Etc.

These decisions feel enormous. Creative instinct pulls in one direction, but the way the human brain processes potential loss pulls even harder in the other.

Artists often play it safe because the fear of losing what they have outweighs the excitement of what they might gain.

How it works

Prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979) is a psychological framework that helps explain why artists resist creative risk, even when doing so might benefit them.

The theory suggests that losses feel roughly twice as painful as equivalent gains feel pleasurable. Gaining 1.000 new fans doesn’t feel as significant as the prospect of losing 500 current fans.

The existing fanbase, no matter its size, feels like something to protect rather than something to build upon. The asymmetry between imagined loss and imagined gain distorts decision-making.

Loss aversion is prospect theory in action:

• Fear of public outcry when moving away from an established sound.

• Reluctance to drop a visual identity that’s ‘working’.

• Hesitation to alienate current fans by targeting a new audience.

• The belief that what’s already been built could collapse overnight.

We tend to be more risk-averse when things are going well, and opportunities for gain are apparent. Simultaneously, we are much more risk-seeking in a loss domain, where we are more likely to take risks to recover a previous position. This is why struggling artists are more likely to attempt radical creative reinventions, while commercially successful ones often play it safe.

Artists adopt more fan-first, outside-in approaches within their authenticity-first, inside-out strategies. But loss aversion often prevents this balance, locking artists into audience-pleasing behaviour that quietly erodes the artistic identity that attracted fans in the first place.

Artists who avoid all risk to protect their fanbase may end up with a fanbase that no longer reflects who they are or where they’re going.

Yes, but..

These aren’t irrational fears. The music business is driven by vanity metrics. Some festivals book their line-ups solely on follower counts. When market value is tied to visibility and follower counts, creative reinvention carries real commercial risk.

Too much focus on authenticity might limit commercial success, while excessive market adaptation risks undermining artistic credibility. The risk isn’t zero, but it’s rarely as high as loss aversion makes it feel.

Take action now

Do not let loss aversion dictate your discography. Take action now to bridge the gap between where your sound, brand, and reputation are and where you want them to be.

Name the fear explicitly. Write down exactly what you think will happen if you release that niche track. Be specific. “I will lose 200 followers.” Seeing it on paper reduces its subconscious power.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263. (full-text)

• Finding the metrics that matter (The Fanbase Builder)

• Market value is the music industry’s hidden currency (The Fanbase Builder)

• The hidden power of casual fans (The Fanbase Builder)

• The psychology of scarcity (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

The hidden power of casual fans

Superfans are essential, but casual listeners are the bridges to new audiences.

Why it matters

In 1973, sociologist Mark Granovetter published a paper about how professionals in Boston found their jobs.

Surprisingly, the overwhelming majority didn’t get hired through their closest friends or family members. Instead, they found opportunities through acquaintances: people they saw only occasionally. Granovetter called this “the strength of weak ties.”

We can apply this to artists by differentiating superfans (strong ties, “close friends”) from casual listeners (weak ties, “acquaintances”).

Many artists are now advised to focus on superfans. However, there is a risk: we assume our closest followers will naturally grow our fanbase, but many superfans operate within the same tight-knit communities that often become echo chambers.

Your superfans all know the same people, listen to the same playlists, and attend the same shows. To break out of this bubble, artists need bridges to entirely new social clusters.

Those bridges are casual listeners, your weak ties. They are the ones who carry your music across the borders of your current audience and drop it into uncharted territory.

How it works

Here is how the mechanics of weak ties function in music marketing:

• Network bridges: Strong ties (superfans) are deeply connected to each other. Weak ties (casual listeners) are connected to diverse, distinct networks that your strong ties cannot access.

• Information flow: When you share an announcement, your core fans see it at the same time. But when a casual fan shares your track on their Instagram Story, they introduce it to a network completely insulated from your usual marketing reach.

• Removing friction: Treat your easily shareable content like a landing page. Weak ties won’t do the heavy lifting of explaining your lore. Remove friction from the listener’s journey by making sure your music and visual identity clearly convey the vibe so casual fans can share it effortlessly.

• Algorithms: Recommendation algorithms favour novelty and diverse engagement. When a track spans multiple user clusters, platforms categorise it as having broader appeal. This boosts algorithmic reach.

Yes, but..

Don’t ignore superfans. Your core audience pays the bills, buys the merchandise, and creates the vibrant culture that makes your project special.

However, hyper-focusing solely on monetising the core while ignoring the casuals is a recipe for long-term stagnation.

You need the strong ties for stability and the weak ties for discovery.

Balance your output to reward loyalty while leaving the door wide open for passing strangers.

Take action now

Look at your recent posts. How many were inside jokes meant for your core fans? How many were open invitations meant for discovery?

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Granovetter, M.S. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380. [pdf]

• The strength of weak ties in fanbase building (The Fanbase Builder)

• People discover music through social media (The Fanbase Builder)

• New fans come from the actions of current fans (The Fanbase Builder)

• Show ads to people who already know the artist (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Simplify your marketing strategy

I used to overwhelm artists with complex data and strategy. But artists don’t need to be marketing scholars to build sustainable careers.

Why it matters

This weekend, I listened to a Dutch podcast interview with a world-class running coach. Instead of lecturing athletes on VO2 max and lactate thresholds, he gave them very simple instructions.

He told them their runs should feel either “easy,” “doable for two hours,” or “hard effort.” Behind those simple words lay complex physiological theory, but he knew that explaining the science would only distract the runner from the actual running.

I used to make the exact opposite mistake in the music industry. Because I love marketing theory, I naturally assumed it was vital for artists to understand it too.

I’ve spent countless hours explaining the theoretical foundations of brand positioning, narratives, and fanbase mechanics, only to watch their eyes glaze over.

Nowadays, I understand that my enthusiasm for marketing theory is causing friction rather than easing it.

When artists are forced to think like marketing academics, they lose the intuitive, creative energy that makes their music special in the first place.

The goal is to provide actionable insights, so artists know what they must do rather than becoming passionate about marketing theory.

How it works

The underlying mechanism of a theoretical shortcut is translation. Effective strategies reduce cognitive load from the artist. You are converting an abstract, macro-level concept into a tangible, micro-level action.

• Identify the main goal: Before doing anything, remove the jargon. Are you aiming to get more email subscribers, or are you simply trying to build a closer relationship with your core audience?

• Summarise the theory: Acknowledge the complex marketing theory but avoid dwelling on it.

• Formulate the cue: Translate the theory into a simple, actionable rule. Instead of saying “we need to focus on our core audience”, say “try to create content with an inside joke in it”.

• Focus on the feeling: Use qualitative benchmarks. Instead of obsessing over algorithm metrics, ask if a task feels “easy,” “sustainable for a month,” or “high effort.”

Yes, but..

Artists should not be ignorant of how the music business works. It’s always beneficial to have a basic understanding of the landscape they operate in.

However, there is a hard line between being informed and being distracted. You don’t need a degree in music to play piano. By relying on simplified operational cues, artists can navigate the industry without letting the mechanics of marketing overshadow their art.

Take action now

Look at marketing tasks that seem overwhelming or too technical. Remove the jargon. Turn one complicated goal into a simple, actionable cue that you can complete today.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Why losing followers isn’t a bad thing for artists (The Fanbase Builder)

• How artists can regain control over their marketing efforts (The Fanbase Builder)

• The limits of business logic in music (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why artists should stop trying to please everyone (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Why losing followers isn’t a bad thing for artists

Forget churn, it’s irrelevant for artists.

Why it matters

Rejection is tough for everyone, but perhaps especially for artists. When you invest so much of yourself into your work, it can feel disheartening when people walk away or show disinterest.

For artists, a useful measure of rejection is a declining follower count. However, there’s a 0% chance that everyone will like your work.

When artists lose more followers than they gain, they might avoid taking creative risks to prevent their numbers from dropping. That’s why it’s helpful for artists to realise that losing followers isn’t actually that bad.

How it works

The business metric that measures customer churn could be applied to followers:

So, if an artist has 100.000 followers on March 1 but loses 100 followers, the churn rate for March would be (100 / 100.000) x 100 = 0,1%

While this business logic may seem perfectly applicable to artists, I think this is a metric that artists should avoid.

Artists shouldn’t worry when fans leave a fanbase, because it’s nothing to be concerned about.

In most cases, it’s perfectly fine when people unfollow accounts. Some valid explanations:

• Friction: Churn is a valuable metric for businesses that sell utility. Music fandom is a cultural identity and a sense of belonging. Friction is a necessary filter.

• Seasonality: Fans go through phases that often do not match an artist’s development. Active fans might drop off, but stay casual listeners for a decade.

• Core audience: Strong brands attract and repel in equal measure. If you’re not losing followers, you’re probably not outspoken enough or not saying anything significant. While emerging, artists should focus on making their core target audience smaller rather than larger.

• Algorithmic advantage: High engagement from a small, dedicated group is far more valuable than a large, silent list.

• Fake followers: Platforms frequently remove fake accounts, such as bots. Artists cannot control the presence of fake accounts in their follower list, but their follower count decreases once those accounts are removed.

• Nobody cares: Nobody pays attention to a declining follower count. Of course, there are industry geeks who notice a drop in follower count. But they monitor the wrong metrics in the first place, so why bother?

Yes, but..

Sometimes, churn is problematic. For example, people walking away during a festival show represent a highly visible form of churn, affecting both artists and the crowd. It creates a negative perception and could damage your reputation. Artists should always aim to deliver a great show to keep the audience engaged.

On the other hand, the cause might be poor booking: a mismatch between the festival and the artist. It’s not always due to a bad gig. When it happens, view it as a learning opportunity that not every booking will benefit your career.

Obviously, bad PR and scandals lead to churn.

In any case, we must distinguish levels of fandom when discussing churn: When superfans are the ones leaving, you have a product problem. If casual observers are leaving because you’ve become too niche, you’ve won the brand battle.

Take action now

Are you an artist or creator worried about losing followers? Change your mindset and start taking creative risks. You might lose some followers, but your connection with your core audience will grow stronger.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Friction in the sea of sameness (MusicX)

• Why artists should stop trying to please everyone (The Fanbase Builder)

• Finding the metrics that matter (The Fanbase Builder)

• The limits of business logic in music (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why your live show should be more than just your album played loud (The Fanbase Builder)

• How to leverage user intent (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Finding creative clarity in unlikely crossover interviews

Why an interview in a running magazine might be the best piece of music strategy you read this week.

Why it matters

Academics read scientific journals. Advertisers read advertising magazines. Finance professionals study market and trend reports. Every field of expertise has its own specialist literature to sharpen its practitioners.

But what is the professional literature for music artists? You could argue that reading magazines about gear, plugins, and music production keeps you up to date on the craft.

However, being an artist is about much more than creating great music. It requires an understanding of how to communicate your perspective to the world.

I believe that to become better professionals, artists must step out of their own echo chambers and peek into the creative frameworks of others.

How it works

When I heard that Harry Styles was interviewed by Haruki Murakami for Runner’s World, I was immediately intrigued. I am an avid runner, and so is Haruki Murakami, who is also one of my favourite authors. Within my hyper-specific niche of running enthusiasts who also love music, Harry Styles is known for running a sub-3-hour marathon.

Strategically, the interview and accompanying photoshoot are a brilliant piece of PR to promote Harry Styles’s new album and Haruki Murakami’s upcoming book. However, between the lines, the conversation reads as a masterclass in creative positioning.

Two core takeaways for building an ecosystem around your brand:

• Artists as consumers: During the interview, Haruki Murakami rejects the romanticised notion of the divine creator.

  “I don’t even think I’m a creator; I’m just a recipient. I love to listen to music, I love to read books, but I’m just a reader, just a listener.”

  I believe it’s great that he perceives himself as a consumer or a fan first. To become successful, you must be a passionate recipient of culture.
  I cannot understand artists who expect people to buy their records when they do not actively buy music themselves. Support your scene, buy concert tickets, buy physical media, and remain a music fan.

• Artists as observers: Harry Styles consciously distances himself from the interpretation of his work.

  “I think I’m of less importance... my job here is to just remain a person, and to keep recording that. That’s what my job is. Rather than me being supposed to deliver the answer and let everyone know what life is about.”

  For some artists, it can be hard to accept that once a song is released, it no longer belongs solely to the creator, and listeners interpret it in ways that differ from the artist's original intent.
  Harry Styles encourages listeners to discover their own interpretations. By removing obstacles from the listener’s journey and avoiding dictating a “correct” meaning, he enables his community to project their own understanding onto his music.

Yes, but..

I understand it is a stretch to frame a promotional magazine interview as “professional literature” for independent musicians.

We create mental frameworks to make sense of our complex industry. When two highly successful people from completely different creative fields sit down to debate their similarities and differences, they step away from their heavily rehearsed, pre-framed PR answers. That is where the genuine, actionable insights hide.

Take action now

Read the full interview. Study how both creators discuss their routines, their audiences, and their creative boundaries. Then find other interviews in which two creators from entirely different disciplines interview each other. Take notes on how they describe their connection to their audience.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Harry Styles Is One of Us (Runner’s World)

• Why listeners interpret songs differently than songwriters intended (The Fanbase Builder)

• Artists should normalise buying music again (The Fanbase Builder)

• We’ve forgotten how to buy music (The Fanbase Builder)

• The Guanxi approach to networking in music (The Fanbase Builder)

• Four industries that beat artists at fan growth (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Navigating music industry gatekeepers with stakeholder mapping

The Power-Interest Grid helps artists prioritise their industry relationships.

Why it matters

The music industry is heavily gatekept. At the same time, artists are selling music, which is a product rooted in human emotion. In many ways, success in music relies heavily on relationships.

For artists, it’s important to distinguish between those who can move the needle and those who are simply along for the ride.

How it works

A well-known business model for identifying, analysing, and strategising with gatekeeper stakeholders is the Power-Interest Grid, developed by Aubrey Mendelow in 1991.

Mendelow’s matrix categorises stakeholders by two variables: their power (ability to influence your career) and their interest (how much they care about your brand and music).

|  **High Power** |  Sleeping Giants    |  Key Players       |
|  **Low Power**  |  Generic Audience   |  Fans              |
|                 |  **Low Interest**   |  **High Interest** |

• High Power / High Interest (Key players): These are the people who have already invested in you or hold the keys to bigger stages.

  • Examples: An established artist mentoring you in the scene, industry moguls, or a high-profile journalist championing your sound.

  • Strategy: Manage closely. Involve them early in your creative and business processes. Keep them consistently updated.

• High Power / Low Interest (Sleeping giants): These stakeholders have the influence to alter your trajectory, but currently do not care about you or your music.

  • Examples: Festival bookers, major label A&Rs, radio playlist editors, or even potential bad press.

  • Strategy: Keep satisfied. You must figure out how to transition the useful ones into key players, while ensuring the others don’t become roadblocks.

• Low Power / High Interest (Fans): They lack the industry leverage to book you at a major arena, but they are deeply invested in your journey.

  • Strategy: Keep informed. Involve them in the narrative. They represent your market value. As a group, they open doors to bigger stages.

• Low Power / Low Interest (The generic audience): The broader public who might hear a track on the radio or a playlist, but don’t actively engage.

  • Strategy: Monitor. Keep an eye on broad trends, but do not expend your primary marketing resources here.

Yes, but...

It can be frustrating to classify your most devoted listeners as “low power” in a traditional business matrix. But in the context of industry gatekeeping, individual fans rarely possess the structural leverage to secure a sync deal or a headline tour. However, collectively, their high interest is the proof of concept you use to awaken the sleeping giants.

Take action now

Grab a piece of paper and draw a cross to create four quadrants. List the top 10 people in your professional network right now. Place each name into the appropriate quadrant based on their power and interest.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Mendelow, A. L. (1991). Environmental Scanning: The Impact of the Stakeholder Concept. Proceedings From the Second International Conference on Information Systems 407-418

• What Is Mendelow’s Matrix And How Is It Useful? (Oxford College of Marketing)

• The Guanxi approach to networking in music (The Fanbase Builder)

• The strength of weak ties in fanbase building (The Fanbase Builder)

• How to make your album announcement newsworthy (The Fanbase Builder)

• The limits of business logic in music (The Fanbase Builder)

• Market value is the music industry’s hidden currency (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Get found by bots using Schema markup

Understanding the hidden code that feeds crawling bots like Google’s.

Why it matters

Humans are not the only ones who visit websites. Behind the scenes, thousands of robots crawl the web methodically to gather information for search engines like Google and LLM AIs such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

In an industry where many talents strive to ‘get discovered’, it’s valuable to understand how to please those crawling bots. Especially now, as we enter an era where vibe coding lets anyone create a beautiful website in seconds, the sheer volume of noise makes it harder for bots to distinguish between a legitimate artist and clever growth hackers.

How it works

When an LLM or a Google bot visits your URL, it’s looking for structure. The simplest way to add structure to websites while maintaining brand identity is to use a small piece of hidden code called Schema markup.

Think of schema markup as a direct translator between your website, search engines, and LLMs. It’s like a landing page designed specifically for non-human audiences. Instead of making Google digest your bio text to understand you’re a musician, this code presents the information clearly on a robot-optimised silver platter.

For example, take Knowledge Panels, the large information box that appears on the right side of Google when you search for artists. Schema markup is one of the main ingredients that helps Google connect the dots to create one of these for you.

Using structured data makes your site appear more professional to algorithms, helping your official domain outrank competing domains that publish about you, such as media outlets, DSPs, music stores, venues, and festivals.

Yes, but..

For those of you who find this a bit too technical, stay tuned for a copy-paste example in the next paragraph.

Take action now

I have drafted a simple and generic Schema markup code snippet for artists.

1. Replace the placeholder text below with your details.

2. Paste this entire block of code into the <head> section of your website. If you use a website builder like Carrd or Squarespace, look for header code injection or custom code settings.

3. Once live, use Google’s Rich Results Test to ensure the bots can read it.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "MusicGroup",
  "name": "{{YourArtistName}}",
  "url": "{{https://yourwebsite.xyz}}",
  "image": "{{https://yourwebsite.xyz/your-press-photo.jpg}}",
  "description": "{{OneSentenceBio}}",
  "genre": [
    "{{YourGenre1}}",
    "{{YourGenre2}}"
  ],
  "sameAs": [
    "https://open.spotify.com/artist/{{ID}}",
    "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/{{ID}}",
    "https://www.instagram.com/{{ID}}",
    "https://www.youtube.com/c/{{ID}}",
    "https://soundcloud.com/{{ID}}"
  ]
}
</script>

Go deeper

Besides the MusicGroup code shown above, Schema Markup includes other Schema types that are useful for artists, such as:

• MusicEvent for shows.

• MusicAlbum for albums.

• MusicRecording for songs.

• Product for merch.

And many more. Explore the Schema.org documentation, or use AI to create custom Schema codes for your website.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Schema.org

• Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search (Google Search Central)

• How artists can get recommended more in ChatGPT and Claude (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why artists should focus on what they can control (The Fanbase Builder)

• Simple things artists can do to attract music supervisors (The Fanbase Builder)

• Retrieving catalogue data using the Spotify Web API (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

The strategic choice between raw and polished content

The multiplier effect of substance and polish.

Why it matters

Many artists recognise what I often call the ‘perfection trap’. They believe content, and often their music as well, isn’t worth publishing if it’s not perfect. These artists aim to edit or colour-grade their content to a professional standard.

Most of the time, perfectionism causes delays, creating friction that kills momentum, even though today’s media landscape doesn’t require perfection.

What scales are the message, the emotion, and the meaning, not the polish. However, posting only raw, unpolished content doesn’t fit the purpose either. When should artists post raw content, and when should they polish it?

How it works

Let’s introduce another dimension to the raw-versus-polished debate by categorising content based on two variables.

• The level of substance: the value or significance of the content.

• The level of polish: the production value of the content.

Polish acts as a multiplier, not a requirement. The formula is simple:

If your substance is zero, no amount of polishing will yield anything other than zero.

The two variables combined generate a matrix:

|                    | **Low Polish**   | **High Polish** |
|--------------------|------------------|-----------------|
| **High Substance** | Authentic virals | Masterpieces    |
| **Low Substance**  | Noise            | Empty calories  |

• High Polish / High Substance: Masterpieces. This is your 20-minute documentary, your official music video, or a deeply researched long-read Substack essay. These demand more time but contribute significantly to brand value.

• Low Polish / High Substance: Authentic virals. An honest insight, a brilliant songwriting tip shot on a phone, a genuinely supportive comment, entertaining TikToks or Threads. This is the sweet spot for growth because it feels human and accessible.

• Low Polish / Low Substance: Noise. These are the pointless posts with no story or purpose. Post just because someone told you to. They add friction to the fan’s feed without offering any value. Avoid these.

• High Polish / Low Substance: Empty calories. Over-produced fluff. A heavily edited video that says nothing at all. It often feels “cringe” because the effort outweighs the reward for the viewer. You probably wouldn’t even share it in a group chat.

We generally see that long-form channels (YouTube, Substack) favour polish, while short-form platforms (Shorts, Stories, Threads) depend on the raw and immediate. In between (Photos, Caroussels, Reels, TikToks, etc), there are many variations where rules are more relaxed.

By varying your production levels, you enable your fans to engage with your brand more mindfully rather than scroll aimlessly.

Yes, but..

This matrix is a model for content like many others. On its own, it provides some key insights. But when integrated with other models, its practical implications become evident.

Take, for instance, the Hero-Hub-Help content model. Using the matrix helps creators avoid the trap of trying to make Hub content look like Hero content.

If you spend 20 hours editing a short tour video (Hub), you’ll burn out and post less frequently. By using the matrix, you give yourself permission to be raw in the Hub, as long as the substance remains high.

Posting raw and unpolished content isn’t laziness, it’s often a strategically backed decision.

Take action now

Artists could audit their latest five weeks of content and plot them on the matrix. How many of them were ‘empty calories’?

Your thoughts

Further reading

• I think the Head of Instagram is wrong about Instagram... (Future Social)

• Instagram is betting on the momentum, not the reaction (Rachel Karten)

• How to develop a content strategy using a model for YouTubers (The Fanbase Builder)

• Help content doesn’t naturally fit artist brands (The Fanbase Builder)

• Quality versus Quantity: Two content strategies for artists (The Fanbase Builder)

• A simple trick to create content that doesn’t feel cringe (The Fanbase Builder)

• The anti-content strategy (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

The Guanxi approach to networking in music

Moving from transactional exchanges to mutual obligation in the music scene.

Why it matters

The music business is built on relationships. “Your network is your net worth”, as business people often say. However, the networking advice given to artists is usually poor.

In standard Western business, networking is often treated as a transactional, high-volume game. We treat humans like data points in a CRM. Think of a salesperson at a trade fair, handing out business cards after a 30-second elevator pitch, scanning the room for a better conversation while you are still talking.

In a creative industry driven by emotion and trust, this transactional approach fails.

Networking in music looks different. It’s more like spending two hours talking to a junior lighting engineer about your favourite holiday destinations, without ever asking for anything. Ten months later, that lighting engineer might mention your name to a talent agent they happen to chat with because they like your vibe.

Building relationships in music is not about desperately hunting opportunities, but more like confidently farming relationships through mutual exchange.

This dynamic reminds me of the Chinese concept of Guanxi (关系). It is a classic social mechanism, but it is probably the most effective approach for modern artists seeking to build a sustainable career.

How it works

Guanxi is deeply embedded in Chinese society. It is impossible to truly understand Chinese business, social life, or even day-to-day interactions without a grasp of it.

Broadly, it refers to a network of social relationships and connections that facilitate business. Unlike Western networking, which often ends when the deal is signed, Guanxi is built on mutual obligation, trust, and the exchange of favours over a lifetime.

For much of China’s modern history, formal legal systems were weak. To achieve goals such as securing a job or enrolling children in good schools, people relied on their personal networks. Guanxi became the most dependable way to navigate bureaucracy.

While I do not claim to understand every cultural nuance of Guanxi, the underlying principles offer a powerful antidote to a cold email in music. Here are five elements of Guanxi to apply to your career:

• Renqing (人情): This is the “emotional currency” of Guanxi. It refers to the exchange of favours, but with a twist: doing a favour creates an unspoken obligation for the other person to return it later. This is not cynical transactionalism. It’s viewed as the proper way to nurture a human bond.

• Mianzi (面子): Often translated as “face,” this is about social standing and reputation. In a public-facing industry like music, Mianzi is everything. To build Guanxi, you must be an expert at giving others face (publicly validating them) and never making them lose face (embarrassing them or wasting their time).

• Xinren (信任): This implies a deep trust in capability. If you recommend a producer to a label A&R, you are staking your Guanxi on that producer’s ability to deliver. If they fail, your connection with the A&R weakens.

• Ganqing (感情): This is the emotional or personal element. Western business often tries to strip away emotion to be professional. Guanxi acknowledges that business is personal. It is built over long dinners, shared struggles, and late nights.

• Zijiren (自己人): This translates to an insider or “one of us.” This is the goal of every scene. Once you are considered Zijiren, the gatekeepers stop guarding the gate and start holding it open for you.

Unknowingly, the best music networks already operate on the basis of Guanxi. We cannot simply hack our way into the industry because music careers are built on a delicate web of mutual obligation.

Yes, but..

Guanxi is slow. It requires patience. The debt of a favour might not be repaid for five years. But while a standard network can disappear when your hype fades, Guanxi lasts a lifetime.

Take action now

This is what artists can do right now to build relationships in music using concepts of Guanxi:

• Stop pitching, start hanging out. If you are trying to enter a scene, your presence is your pitch. Attend events without a demo link in your pocket.

• Don’t ask. For your first three interactions with a new contact, do not ask for anything. Offer help, offer a listening ear, or offer company.

• Nurture warm intros. Stop emailing A&Rs directly. Find the person who knows the person.

• Bank your favours. Do favours that don’t scale. If a promoter is in a bind and needs a last-minute opening act, do it. If another act needs content help, hold the camera.

• Give face relentlessly. Publicly validate everyone you work with. Shout out the sound tech, the photographer, and the bartender from the stage.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• From Guanxi to Coffee Chats: Why Networking in America Is More than What Many Chinese Think (Asia Society)

• The Importance of Relationship Building in China (Harvard Law School)

• Guanxi - an overview (ScienceDirect)

• The limits of business logic in music (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why artists should do things that don’t scale (The Fanbase Builder)

• The strength of weak ties in fanbase building (The Fanbase Builder)

• How to track Asian pop culture (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

How to make your album announcement newsworthy

Why music journalists ignore your announcement and what actually catches their eye.

Why it matters

Getting attention from the press remains a highly effective tactic in music. We operate in a gatekept industry where media journalists are part of the gatekeeping guild. When high-value media outlets write positively about artists and new music, it immediately frames the artists as reputable. It’s a form of brand spillover between media and artists.

It’s why almost every campaign hires a publicist whose emails and DMs to media outlets are actually read. It’s also one of the reasons artists choose to sign with a label.

However, reaching their inboxes is just one step. In a world where thousands of songs are uploaded to DSPs daily, not every announcement of new music makes news. For artists and their teams, it’s important to learn how to influence news selection by framing their new music announcements as interesting stories.

How it works

Before we begin, accept that a new album is rarely news on its own. To a journalist, a new album is simply a product launch.

To get coverage, you need to stop thinking like a publicist (”here’s my product”) and start thinking like a journalist (”here’s a story”).

Academics such as Galtung & Ruge (1965), Harcup & O’Neill (2001 & 2017), and Shoemaker & Reese (1996) have developed key theories and frameworks on news value, explaining why some stories make the front page while others disappear into inboxes.

Here’s a five-point checklist, based on these academic theories, to help artists make their announcements more newsworthy. You don’t have to tick all the boxes, but I recommend ticking at least two.

1. Does the story have a human face?

• Theory: Personification (Galtung & Ruge, 1965). The media are biased towards people rather than concepts.

• Application: Focus on the person behind the album rather than just selling the album itself. In the press release, emphasise your personal journey during the making of the music.

2. Does it fit a familiar story template?

• Theory: Consonance (Galtung & Ruge, 1965). If a story fits a stereotypical narrative, it’s easier for an editor to approve.

• Application: Ensure the journalist recognises the story type instantly, such as a comeback, protest, or underdog story. For example, utilise a brand archetype or the hero’s journey framework.

3. Can we name-drop a legend or institution?

• Theory: Elite Nations or People (Galtung & Ruge, 1965), The Power Elite (Harcup & O’Neill, 2001 & 2017). Events involving famous people and institutions are more newsworthy.

• Application: Associate yourself with someone or something already famous. Consider the label, producer, featuring artists, remixers, recording studio, etc. This aims to provide social proof.

4. Is it easy for a journalist to copy-paste?

• Theory: Media Routines (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996). News isn’t just selected, it’s also driven by deadlines, staffing shortages, and technical requirements.

• Application: Remove all friction. Send out a press release written precisely in the style of a news article, with ready-to-use quotes. Just like you'd do to make a marketer’s job easier.

5. Does it offer an emotional counter-balance to today’s news?

• Theory: Composition (Galtung & Ruge, 1965). Editors need a balanced composition of news sentiments.

• Application: If the current news is dark (war, pandemic), promote the music as joyful or escapist. If the news is light, present it as raw or serious. Alternatively, act as a mirror: if the news is angry (protests, scandal), frame it as truth-telling.

Yes, but..

News values are always relative. Current events can be overshadowed by more newsworthy ones. Providing journalists with a story doesn’t guarantee coverage, but it does give artists a better chance of being featured.

Take action now

Artists developing release strategies for their new music could select two theories from the checklist above and apply them to their press announcement.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Galtung, J., & Ruge, M. H. (1965). The structure of foreign news. Journal of Peace Research, 2(1), 64–90.

• Harcup, T., & O’Neill, D. (2001). What Is News? Galtung and Ruge revisited. Journalism Studies, 2(2), 261–280.

• Harcup, T., & O’Neill, D. (2017). What is News? News values revisited (again). Journalism Studies, 18(12), 1470–1488.

• McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (6th edition).

• Shoemaker, P. J., & Reese, S. D. (1996). Mediating the message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content.

• Why sign with a label? (The Fanbase Builder)

• Brand spillover: The hidden brand effect behind artist collaborations (The Fanbase Builder)

• Positioning artists as heroes, outlaws, jesters, and magicians (The Fanbase Builder)

• The Hero’s Journey helps artists create mysterious brands (The Fanbase Builder)

• Improve storytelling by evoking suspense, curiosity, or surprise (The Fanbase Builder)

• The psychology of scarcity (The Fanbase Builder)

• Clever artists make their marketers’ jobs easier (The Fanbase Builder)

• How an artist’s career resembles a Netflix series (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Make social media social again

Beyond the turning point for social media.

Why it matters

While we were collectively nostalgic for 2016 last month, the reality is that a decade ago, social media actually lived up to its name.

I’ve written about this before: Back then, we used social media to keep up with friends. Now, we use it as an addictive substitute for television, scrolling through short-form videos in isolation.

“We’re amusing ourselves to death”, as sociologist and media scholar Neil Postman would say.

Some even say that, in a few years, we look back on 2025 as the turning point for social media, when AI-generated slop content rapidly transformed to the backwaters of the internet.

However, things may take another turn. Social media platforms have also taken note of these expert statements and are beginning to take action.

How it works

I see several developments that suggest social media is becoming social again:

• Shares are now a primary indicator for algorithmic success. Platforms reward content that sparks private interactions.

• Instagram is testing replacing the followers count with a friends count. It specifically emphasises mutual relationships over platform status.

• Instagram added a dedicated Friends tab within the Reels section, showing Reels mutual followers have liked, reposted, or commented on.

• Spotify recently introduced in-app group chats for up to ten people, immediately facilitating social interactions within the app.

• TikTok introduced shared collections and feeds, allowing friends to consume content together rather than alone.

• Personally, I often overlook Snapchat, while it might be the most social of all social media platforms. As an indication of its popularity, observe at concerts how many mobile phones use a yellow shutter button to take photos.

Yes, but..

This isn’t thorough research, but monitoring trends begins with connecting the dots. It may offer a glimpse into how the “cosy web” of niche communities on Substack and Reddit is perceived on big tech campuses. I’m curious to see how this will develop over the coming months.

Take action now

If social media becomes more social, artists could explore strategies from broadcasting to belonging. For example, add your most engaged superfans to your close-friends list and treat close-friends stories as a private, high-value content channel.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• 7 Reasons to Think Social Media Has Peaked The platforms have serious problems (Intelligencer)

• Everything Is Television (Derek Thompson)

• The 26 Most Important Ideas For 2026 (Derek Thompson)

• Post-social media (Rachel Karten)

• Spotify’s new group chats share music with everyone in your circle (The Verge)

• The Extended Internet Universe (Venkatesh Rao)

• Instagram Tests Displaying ‘Friends’ Instead of ‘Following’ (Social Media Today)

• New Features to Help You Connect With Friends (Instagram)

• New ways for friends and families to discover, share, and connect on TikTok (TikTok Newsroom)

• Social media is a thing of the past (The Fanbase Builder)

• TikTok explores close-friends communities with new app Whee (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why video shares are crucial for creators on TikTok and Instagram (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Why your live show should be more than just your album played loud

Concerts are about experiencing fandom together, not alone.

Why it matters

When I worked at a music venue, the hardest shows to market were always for artists whose press kits focused solely on their new album. They would send over posed photos and press releases about their music, but nothing that explained what the show would actually feel like.

There is a fundamental misunderstanding here. If you market your tour simply as an opportunity to hear the songs live, you are underselling the experience.

Fans are paying for proximity to the artist and each other. Shows are gatherings of like-minded people, places where the “weird kids” or the “romantics” assemble. Artists are selling a sense of belonging and validation for identity.

This specific desire is what sociologist Émile Durkheim famously described as collective effervescence. For artists and their teams, understanding this concept is valuable so they can sell the atmosphere of a show to build community.

How it works

Durkheim introduced the term 'Collective Effervescence' in 1912 to describe the intense energy produced when groups gather for rituals.

When people perform synchronised actions, the boundaries of self fade away. The group is uplifted by a force greater than the sum of its parts. Durkheim argues it’s the source of sacred feelings.

Indeed, this may sound religious, but it is perfectly applicable to concerts. The gig is the ritual, and the music acts as a means to attain synchronicity. Engaging in synchronised actions creates a collective emotional experience that fosters a sense of belonging.

These moments occur because the artist provides a clear, simple framework for the crowd to act as one. Some examples:

• Freddy Mercury’s iconic Ay-Oh call-and-response at Live Aid 1985.

• Oasis always let the crowd sing the “I said maybe” part of Wonderwall.

• Fred Again’s crowd ends the show with a Delilah singalong.

• Sit-downs, wall-of-deaths, mosh pits, silent immersed audiences, synchronised jumping, etc.

Concerts are about experiencing fandom together, not alone.

Yes, but..

Some artists might argue that their fans are introverts or that their music isn’t high-energy mosh pit material. That’s valid; collective effervescence doesn’t require chaos. A room of 200 people sitting in pin-drop silence, holding their breath during an acoustic guitar solo, is experiencing the same sociological phenomenon as a crowd fist-pumping synchronously at a rave.

Take action now

Three simple things artists can do to apply this highly conceptual theory:

• Evaluate the marketing assets you send to venues. Do you help the venue marketers to sell your show?

• Script a ritual into your show. Begin with something simple, like a rhythmic clap.

• During the show, steer the narrative towards engagement, like: “Look around you, we are here together in this moment.”

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Durkheim, É. (1912). The elementary forms of religious life.

• Collective Effervescence (The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion)

• Durkheim’s Collective Conscience (EBSCO Research Starters)

• Clever artists make their marketers’ jobs easier (The Fanbase Builder)

• How to fill a room at showcase festivals (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why fans wear band shirts like football jerseys (The Fanbase Builder)

• Creating a strong sense of community (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

The psychology of scarcity

HYBE is testing a new model for BTS that relies on a psychological trigger.

Why it matters

Last week, news broke that HYBE is developing “a new experience model based on scarcity”, and it seems that the entertainment giant will test the model with the return of BTS, who just announced a new album and tour.

Strategising scarcity is not a new concept in the music industry; we’ve been selling out venues for centuries. Creating a situation where demand exceeds supply is a common practice to enhance market value. However, it’s worth noting that HYBE is explicitly highlighting this approach as a strategic shift to improve the fan experience.

The concept of ‘scarcity’ immediately brings to mind the work of psychology and marketing professor Robert Cialdini. His research explores why people say yes and how to utilise those insights. Cialdini discovered that, in general, people make irrational decisions that can be influenced by external factors.

In his famous book Influence (1984), Cialdini identified six principles of persuasion: Reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. Later, in 2016, he added ‘unity’ as a seventh principle.

To understand what HYBE is working on, it’s valuable to understand Cialdini’s scarcity principle.

How it works

We often assume fans want abundance, but psychology tells us they value exclusivity. Cialdini’s research highlights two forces driving this: Loss aversion (we fear losing out more than we enjoy gaining) and psychological reactance (we fight to retain freedoms when they are threatened).

Cialdini outlines specific tactics to trigger this response, which translate directly to music marketing:

The limited number

We value things that are running out. When a resource is finite, the pressure to act becomes immediate.

• Mechanism: Now or never pressure.

• Tactics: Never release open edition merch, print only 50 shirts.

The deadline

We procrastinate when time is infinite. A deadline forces a decision while the freedom to choose still exists.

• Mechanism: Time pressure.

• Tactics: Expire download or pre-registration links after 24 hours.

The competition amplifier

Cialdini notes that the scarcity principle is most explosive when we must compete for the resource.

• Mechanism: Seeing others reach for the same item validates our desire for it.

• Tactics: Announce low stock. Play smaller venues. Variable ticket pricing. Crashing websites. User-generated content.

Yes, but..

I find it highly questionable whether these FOMO tactics are ethical. Scarcity shuts down our logical thinking and replaces it with panic. It says a lot that websites like Booking .com rely heavily on personalised urgency and scarcity cues, such as “only one room left, book now,” in their behavioural marketing.

We can only hope HYBE has an eye for the ethical implications of exploiting scarcity. Fortunately, Cialdini recommends a two-step defence that helps to say “no”:

• Notice the rush: If you feel panic or desperate desire, stop and ask why you want it so much.

• Separate possession from utility: Do you want it for what it does or represents, or simply because of the thrill of buying or owning it?

Take action now

Imagine working at HYBE. Suggest the leadership three tactics for the BTS album campaign using Cialdini’s scarcity principle. Use it ethically.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• As K-pop superstars BTS return, HYBE CEO to test ‘scarcity’ model for fandom business (Music Business Worldwide)

• Cialdini, R. B. (1984). Influence: the psychology of persuasion.

• Bronzwaer, S., Rengers, M., & Kooiman, J. (2022). The machine. Overamstel Uitgevers.

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

The limits of business logic in music

Some corporate buzzwords should be kept out of the studio.

Why it matters

In past editions, I’ve mapped business frameworks to music marketing, like the Brand Identity Prism, AARRR, Customer-Based Brand Equity, MoSCoW, Make, Buy, Ally, and many more. Models like these can clarify the chaos of positioning an artist’s brand or crafting a release strategy.

But not every tool that works for a fintech startup belongs in the studio. When you try to force-fit corporate logic, your strategy is just noise.

How it works

Here are five corporate concepts to delete from creative strategies, and what to use instead:

Brand promise

• Corporate concept: We promise to solve this problem.

• Music reality: Artists don’t solve consumer problems. Music is emotional, not rational.

• The fix: Belonging. Artist brands offer community and identity. Music may offer emotional states and behavioural responses (e.g. dancing, crying). Do not promise these results explicitly, imply them.

Mission statement

• Corporate concept: The “we’re healing the world” paragraph on the company’s About Us page, written by the marketing employee who has just watched Simon Sinek’s ‘Starts With Why’ TED talk.

• Music reality: Fans can smell a fabricated mission statement immediately.

• The fix: Activism. What are you fighting for or against?

Elevator pitch

• Corporate concept: Explain what you do in 10 seconds.

• Music reality: While it’s a valuable networking skill for industry mixers, it’s not a branding asset. Fans apply their own meaning to music. If you explain everything, you ruin the magic of becoming a fan.

• The fix: World building. Pitch the ecosystem. Fans buy into scenes, stories, and specific worldviews. Let them discover the story themselves.

Unique Selling Points (USPs)

• Corporate concept: Identify the one feature that makes us better than the competition.

• Music reality: Music is not a zero-sum game. A fan listening to Fred Again doesn’t mean they can’t listen to Burial.

• The fix: Flip the script. Similar artists have similar fans. Collaborate with your peers rather than compete with them.

Return on Investment (ROI)

• Corporate concept: Every euro spent must yield a measurable financial return within the quarter.

• Music reality: It’s impossible to measure the ROI of an underground gig that only 50 people attended, but everyone talks about.

• The fix: Cultural capital. Spend budget to build lore. Build market value and reputation rather than chasing quick revenue.

Yes, but..

Don’t ignore business concepts entirely. As I mentioned earlier, I apply many of them to artist strategies daily. Just accept that music isn’t a SaaS startup. You can run your backend like an organised, efficient business while keeping your frontend wild, emotional, and human.

Take action now

Imagine creating a corporate marketing campaign for your artist brand. What does it look like? How does it differ from a regular campaign?

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Crafting an artist’s brand personality (The Fanbase Builder)

• How to use pirate metrics to set up a fan journey (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why strong artist brands matter to fans, not just artists (The Fanbase Builder)

• How artists can improve their work priorities (The Fanbase Builder)

• When artists should make, buy, or ally (The Fanbase Builder)

• Harnessing brand activism for artists (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why listeners interpret songs differently than songwriters intended (The Fanbase Builder)

• How artists create brand worlds (The Fanbase Builder)

• Brand spillover: The hidden brand effect behind artist collaborations (The Fanbase Builder)

• Market value is the music industry’s hidden currency (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Navigating AI beyond the hype in 2026

How artists can become AI experts just by building stronger intuition.

Why it matters

In the early 1980s, the Musicians’ Union in the UK fought a bitter war against the synthesiser. They believed this new machine would make human orchestras at West End theatrical productions obsolete. Obviously, they were wrong. The artists who bothered to open the manual and learn how to tweak the knobs created entirely new genres.

With AI, we’re currently standing at a similar precipice. One side screams that AI is theft and will replace us, while the other side, mostly self-proclaimed AI-experts, peddles cheap shortcuts and magic prompts. Both sides create a false sense of urgency and inadequacy for artists.

AI is here to stay and will fundamentally change human life and work. Like synthesisers, artists need to know what the machine is capable of, where it hallucinates, and how to push it to break creative boundaries.

How it works

The problem with “ChatGPT experts” is that they are merely tool experts. Just as knowing how to use Excel does not make one a mathematician, knowing how to prompt a specific chatbot version does not make one an AI strategist. Tools change, and often rapidly. The AI expertise required is mastering the mindset, not the tools.

To navigate AI beyond the hype, we must distinguish between the technology and the interface.

• The technology is the underlying capability of Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative tech. It is evolving to become faster and smarter, much like computers have doubled in speed every two years for decades.

• Tools are the specific products like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, MidJourney, Runway, etc. These change drastically every few months.

Relying on an AI guru to teach you specific tools and prompts is a short-term strategy because the landscape shifts too fast.

• Early 2025, specific prompt engineering hacks were required to get good results. Today, modern models understand natural language so well that those hacks are obsolete.

• Six months ago, ChatGPT was dominant. Now, Gemini and Claude have leapfrogged ChatGPT in quality, and developers are increasingly shifting to cheaper APIs like DeepSeek.

• By January 2027, the market leader could be a tool that doesn’t exist yet.

Instead of rote learning commands, I recommend building stronger AI intuition. For me, that’s about understanding what AI can do right now to boost your creativity and processes, and have a sense of what it might do next year.

We are still in the very early stages of this technology. It’s like the internet in the late 90s, undeveloped and often clunky. That’s good news. It means that if you invest the time to build AI intuition now, while everyone else is chasing shortcuts, you will be the expert in the room by December.

Yes, but..

I am not an AI apologist. I know that models are trained on copyrighted music, and that artists often only benefit slightly from agreements between rights holders and AI companies. This is a massive ethical and legal failure.

However, refusing to engage with this technology until it is ethically pure is a career risk. The fear of replacement is real, but history suggests otherwise. We should not view AI as a replacement for human-created music, but as a new instrument. It is a teammate that requires direction, taste, and curation.

Take action now

Here is a starter kit for building stronger AI intuition:

• Pick a tool that’s not ChatGPT. My current recommendation is to start with Google Gemini.

• Use it every day. It does not have to be for high-stakes work. Play with it. Understand what works, and what not.

• Switch tools each month. Understand the nuances between the frontier models developed by the leading AI labs.

• Treat AI as a teammate. Approach it as an external consultant, not as an intern. Do not just ask it to write a post. Tell it who you are, who your fans are, and what you’re trying to achieve. Debate with it.

• Retain critical thinking. Never copy and paste blindly. Challenge the output. Ask the AI, “What are the counter-arguments to this idea?” or “Critique this strategy from the perspective of a cynic.” or my favourite “, What can I do to further improve this?”

• Create something cool, don’t just optimise. This is the fun part. Use AI to generate something that didn’t exist when you woke up this morning, like code, visual art, research, or even music. While doing so, remain critical of how the model was trained and be mindful of copyright-protected data.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• The day the ‘Loony’ Musician’s Union tried to kill the synthesizer (MusicRadar)

• How I Built a Computer Game for my Song Release (Step by Step) (Sound of Fractures)

• Mollick, E. (2024). Co-Intelligence: The Definitive, Bestselling Guide to Living and Working with AI. Random House.

• Three Years from GPT-3 to Gemini 3 (Ethan Mollick)

• The blueprint trap: Why copy-paste strategies fail (The Fanbase Builder)

• Google’s latest tools could change how artists use AI (The Fanbase Builder)

• How artists can get recommended more in ChatGPT and Claude (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

How to track Asian pop culture

Let’s give you something to read in this lazy week between Christmas and NYE.

Why it matters

I am a European born in the eighties, so American pop culture was the default setting for cool in my youth. But that dominance is shifting rapidly.

In the late 1990s, the South Korean government made a calculated bet: it invested heavily in exporting its pop culture to develop soft power. It was a successful investment, and the ‘Korean Wave’ is now undeniable. Western youth are now just as likely to consume Blackpink, Squid Game, and bibimbap as they are established Western culture.

In 2025, we witnessed this strategy expand beyond Seoul. Netflix invested $200M in Thailand’s creative economy. But it is China specifically that is strengthening its soft power. We saw the rise of Ne Zha 2 and the Labubu phenomenon, while chains like Luckin Coffee and Mixue are entering our street scenes, conquering the world via Singapore.

For artists and industry executives, this is a critical signal. Culture operates like an ecosystem. To gather inspiration and to examine growth opportunities, it’s valuable to explore trends in Asia rather than focusing solely on the EU and the US.

Yes, but..

We need to add nuance here before we discuss strategy. Obviously, Asia is too vast to capture as one entity or shared subculture. Digital ecosystems vary widely by region. Behind the Great Firewall of China, apps like Weibo, WeChat, and Xiaohongshu flourish. In South Korea, it is Kakao. In Japan, X (formerly Twitter) remains dominant. In Thailand, Facebook is still crucial for community management.

Furthermore, user behaviour varies significantly. In China, livestreams are consumed and created more than short-form videos. Paradoxically for this topic, China remains highly protective of its digital borders. Most apps are gated behind registration to Chinese phone numbers, creating a closed ecosystem that is difficult for outsiders to access.

The concept of the ‘Superapp’ (mini-apps for payments, transport, etc.) is widely adopted in Asia, making the user journey frictionless, unlike Western apps that are still trying to replicate it. We might dive deeper into these distinctions in future editions, but for now, recognise that you are entering a fragmented landscape.

How it works

Here is my recommended starter kit for diving into Asian pop culture and staying up to date on the latest trends.

Consume the content

• Download RedNote (Xiaohongshu): Remember the “TikTok refugees” of January 2025? They flocked to RedNote. It is a massive platform. Download it and scroll through the recommended content and livestreams to understand popular formats.

• Explore Asian content on your favourite social app: Use tools like Gemini (or try DeepSeek) to suggest hashtags and creators for discovering content on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Localise generic search phrases like “OOTD Bangkok” or “City Walk Hong Kong” to see what is happening on the ground.

• Watch Asian content on Western streaming services: For example, seek out shows like The Believers (Thai) or any Korean series on Netflix.

• Explore K-pop brand partnerships: For example, look at how individual Blackpink members are positioned globally. It’s a masterclass in brand spillover.

Expert newsletters and media

• Chaoyang Trap: Inactive now, but the archives are excellent. They dissect the Chinese internet, niche subcultures, and memes that define Chinese Gen Z.

• Jing Daily: The authority on the business of luxury and consumer culture in China.

• RADII: A media platform dedicated to understanding modern China through the eyes of its youth. They cover hip-hop, indie fashion, tech, and queer culture in China.

• sabukaru.online: A globally operating media collective from Tokyo that covers the intersection of subculture and fashion.

• South China Morning Post (SCMP): A Hong Kong-based English newsletter. Despite the rough paywall, it’s excellent for Pan-Asia news. It’s owned by Alibaba, but blocked by the Great Firewall. Last week’s coverage of tech giants bidding for New Year’s event sponsorships is a great read.

Take action now

If you can do only one thing, choose between subscribing to a newsletter (so the trend updates go to you instead of you having to look them up) or exploring Asian content in your favourite social media app (which is a great thing to do if you’re already mindlessly scrolling).

Your thoughts

What are your favourite newsletters, subreddits, content creators, or research labs to track Asian pop culture? Leave your recommendations in the comments below.

Further reading

• Korean Wave (Hallyu) – The Rise of Korea’s Cultural Economy & Pop Culture (Martin Roll)

• K-Content Leads Remarkable $79 Billion Cultural Powerhouse (Behalf Korea)

• Nezha, Mixue, Labubu: The cultural exports making China cool (Jing Daily)

• Investing $200M in Thai Storytelling: Netflix Drives Impact Across Local Creative Talent and Economy (Netflix)

• Tech giants go prime time in the fight for China’s biggest audience (SCMP)

• Four industries that beat artists at fan growth (The Fanbase Builder)

• Brand spillover: The hidden brand effect behind artist collaborations (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

The blueprint trap: Why copy-paste strategies fail

There is no one-size-fits-all in music marketing.

Why it matters

There is a dangerous misalignment between the marketing skills artists are told to master and the actual value those activities generate for their specific careers.

The explanation is logical: Artists are creators, not Chief Marketing Officers. While the best marketing often feels organic and effortless, it is unrealistic to expect artists to be experienced strategists by default.

This is where marketing freelancers (like me) and newsletters (like mine) can inadvertently set a trap. We share advice, but we often fail to mention that every recommendation is context-dependent.

I estimate that each piece of advice I give is truly applicable to only about 5% of my readers at that specific moment in their journey.

If Beyoncé drops an album without a rollout, it is a flex, while if an emerging artist does the same, it is just silence. The key difference is the career context.

We tend to overlook a fundamental truth: every artist is a unique ecosystem. Strategies cannot be copy-pasted because they rely on variables like budget, personality, local culture, and technical skill. When artists force generic templates onto their specific careers, they waste energy on tactics that were never designed for them.

How it works

To break free from the blueprint trap, we must first distinguish strategy and tactics.

• Strategy is the map. It is the high-level plan based on where you are and where you want to go (e.g. “Build a high-value community of superfans through social media”).

• Tactics are the vehicles. They are the specific actions you take to move across the map (e.g. “Post three TikToks a day” or “Run Instagram ads”).

Most guru advice fails because it only shares tactics, while a tactic is only effective if it fits within your specific resource triangle:

• Time: Do you have 40 hours a week to edit video, or 4 hours a week between shifts?

• Money: Do you have an investment budget, or are you bootstrapping?

• Skill: Are you a native video editor and social butterfly, or are you a studio hermit?

A tactic that works for a wealthy, extroverted pop artist (high money, high social skill) will be disastrous for a bootstrapping, introverted singer-songwriter. We must recognise that what works for one might fail for another.

Yes, but..

Since I’m writing a weekly newsletter advising artists, I am partly to blame. I can become very enthusiastic about a new shiny tool or tactic that has worked for me in a project.

There are universal principles that apply to every artist, such as the need to build a brand or the importance of community.

However, it is the execution tactics that must be tailored. It can be frustrating to hear that there is no easy mode, but accepting this reality is the first step towards sustainable growth.

You must act as your own filter, treating advice as a raw ingredient rather than a finished meal.

Take action now

Get yourself a relaxed Christmas by decluttering your mental space.

Review your inputs: Unfollow accounts that promise hacks, secrets, or viral loops. Be wary of anyone who labels a new tool a “killer” of an earlier one. (I’m looking at you, AI gurus :))

Apply the resource test: When you see a new piece of marketing advice, ask yourself: “Does this person have the same resources (time, money, skill) as I do?”

If the answer is no, you can just discard the tactic but look at the principle behind it instead.

Merry Christmas! 🎄

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Why artists shouldn’t skip steps (The Fanbase Builder)

• When artists should make, buy, or ally (The Fanbase Builder)

• Don’t run ads: Better ways to spend a hundred euros (The Fanbase Builder)

• Focus on input, not output (The Fanbase Builder)

• Artists should work with creative people, instead of hiring marketing gurus (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

Focus on input, not output

Next year, stop looking at outside metrics and start managing your career through input metrics instead.

Why it matters

We are kicking off the second half of December, and naturally, my writing starts to read like a New Year’s resolution. If you are looking for one, this might be the most impactful change you can make.

It’s tempting to open Spotify for Artists or Instagram Insights first thing in the morning to see if you are “winning.” But this approach is risky. It ties your sense of progress to factors like algorithms, playlist editors, and luck.

Artists who focus solely on results risk burnout. You might write a great song, but if the algorithm buries it, you feel like a failure. Shifting your focus to the work you put in might bring the fun back into marketing music.

How it works

Think of your career like an athlete training for the Olympics:

• Athlete output metrics: Winning gold. No athlete can wake up and simply decide to win today. Winning depends on training and external factors such as the weather and the performance of competitors. You can have the best race of your life and still lose because someone else was faster.

• Athlete input metrics: The training. The hours spent in the gym, the strict diet, the sleep schedule, and the mental preparation. An athlete has 100% agency over these variables. If they focus on the training, the probability of winning increases, but the outcome is never guaranteed.

Athletes compete in objective games: the fastest runner wins. For musicians, the dynamic is even more complex. Music is a subjective market. You can deliver a flawless creative product, but that alone isn’t enough to “win”. You also have to build the fandom, tell the story, and engage the community.

• Artist output metrics: Streams, monthly listeners, ticket sales, revenue. This is the scoreboard.

• Artist input metrics: The consistency of your newsletters, the quality of your fan interactions, and the frequency of your demos. This is the training.

By focusing on inputs, you accept that you cannot control the external factors that are so important in music marketing, but you can control your “fitness level”.

Yes, but...

Artists need output metrics. Promoters need to know you can sell tickets, and labels want to see streaming momentum. But the best way to grow them is to put in the hard work.

Assume there are no shortcuts. Don’t skip steps. Use input metrics to drive your daily to-do list. Don’t stress about the numbers; adjust the inputs.

Take action now

Consider managing your career in 2026 by focusing on what you put in, rather than what you get out.

Here is a model to try, using the only two essential metrics artists should track:

1. Set an Internal North Star: Instead of a goal like “I want 10k followers” (Output), try: “By December, my content creation workflow will be consistent and stress-free.” This places the focus on your system, not the result.

2. Define your OMTM (One Metric That Matters): Select a single, trackable input metric for the next four weeks. Start simple, like “I will spend 5 minutes commenting on similar artists’ posts daily.”

3. The monthly review: Evaluate your OMTM after four weeks. Did you hit the target?

Your thoughts

Comment below if you’ll take this on as a New Year’s resolution, and begin managing your career in 2026 by focusing on input.

Further reading

• How artists can regain control over their marketing efforts (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why artists should focus on what they can control (The Fanbase Builder)

• Artists should focus on only two metrics (The Fanbase Builder)

• Measurement fallacies in music and fandom (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why artists shouldn’t skip steps (The Fanbase Builder)

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

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Developed by Soundcharts in collaboration with ESNS, EMERGE will be launched at ESNS26 in January. Leveraging Soundcharts’ data and AI, professionals can search directly for what they’re aiming for using the chat interface, without having to go through a whole database, graph, or ranking. Give it a try at emerge.soundcharts.com

Why fans wear band shirts like football jerseys

Tajfel and Turner’s 1979 Social Identity Theory explains why fans define themselves by the music they love and hate.

Why it matters

Mods vs. Rockers. Beatles vs. Stones. Skaters vs. Gabbers. People love to fight over their identities, defined by the music they listen to and the clothes they wear.

While we rarely see physical brawls between music fanbases today, the psychological drive remains unchanged. Fans wear music like a badge of honour. The mechanism behind it is like supporting a sports team, which isn’t just about the game but about belonging to a tribe and differentiating oneself from rival supporters.

Music provides fans with a sense of identity. When artists effectively build or connect with a social identity, passive listeners might become active advocates.

Earlier, I wrote about how artist brands help fans to express their identity and build social capital using Keller’s Customer-Based Brand Equity model. People want to identify themselves with groups. Social Identity Theory provides insights into how to foster such behaviour.

How it works

Social psychologists Henri Tajfel and John Turner developed Social Identity Theory in 1979 to explain intergroup behaviour. They proposed that a person’s sense of self is rooted in their group memberships.

We can utilise this academic framework in music marketing through three stages:

• Social categorisation: People categorise themselves and others to understand the social environment. In music, this is the scene (“I am a metalhead,” “I am a raver”). Artists must clearly signal where they belong so potential fans can categorise them instantly.

• Social identification: We adopt the identity of the group we have categorised ourselves as belonging to. This is where merchandise and inside language come into play. If an artist creates specific symbols, such as a logo, a colour palette, or slang, they give fans the tools to identify with the group publicly. You are facilitating fans to say who they are.

• Social comparison: The most critical step for differentiation. We tend to compare our group (the in-group) with other groups (the out-group). To maintain self-esteem, our group needs to compare favourably with other groups. An artist’s brand must stand for something, but also arguably against something. It’s why outspoken, activist artists are best suited to apply social identity theories.

Yes, but...

Clearly, an “us versus them” dynamic fosters toxicity. To avoid this, Social Identity Theory suggests we seek positive distinctiveness rather than conflict.

The goal isn’t to incite hatred against other artists or genres. Instead, it is to highlight the unique traits of your community that make it special.

You are simply drawing a circle and telling your fans: “Inside this, we value X, Y, and Z.”

Take action now

Artists can apply this theory by either joining an existing tribe or establishing a new one.

• Signal membership to a scene: Identify the cultural identifiers other than music that the core audience values, such as specific brands, aesthetics, or clubs, and incorporate these symbols into artist content. This should be natural for artists, since they should already belong to a scene or niche with their own culture.

• Define the out-group: Without being toxic, clearly articulate what the artist brand is not. This could be an internal document, but if it fits the brand, mentioning it publicly works.

• Create shared symbols: Design a simple symbol, catchphrase, or visual aesthetic that allows fans to signal their membership to the outside world.

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.) (1986), Psychology of Intergroup Relations (pp. 2-24). Brooks/Cole.

• Why strong artist brands matter to fans, not just artists (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why artists should stop trying to please everyone (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why artists should stop mentioning their genre (The Fanbase Builder)

• How artists can find their niche (The Fanbase Builder)

• Creating a strong sense of community (The Fanbase Builder)

• Harnessing brand activism for artists (The Fanbase Builder)