the TrueFans AMP— Magazine Issue 148

Helping Music Artists build real careers
—without selling their soul.

____________________

"I have to make music without giving up who I am— not for any pop dream or any promise of greater success."
— Peabo Bryson

In This Issue... 20 pages (about 27ish minutes to read) You'll Get... 

• Recommends— The Swiftie Detective Agency: The Case of the Really Big Boat by Jo Lily

• Your BIZ— Why Older Music Is On Top Again based on Luminate's Special Retro Revival Report.

• Greatest Music Artist of All Time— Peabo Bryson: The Voice of Love

• in partnership with Luminate 

• TrueFans Feature— Do You Need to Play an Instrument to Write Songs? from Jason Blume

• P.S. from PS— the Business of Being Yourself

Here’s the playlist

Taylor Swift has fans. Disney has fans. Put the two together and strange and onederful things can happen.
Like how about a mystery novel set aboard a Disney cruise ship featuring a Taylor Swift exhibit, friendship bracelets, easter eggs, hidden clues, suspicious characters— even a murder— and enough Swiftie lore and Disney detail to make devoted fans of both smile? Here it is... 

• Recommends— The Swiftie Detective Agency: The Case of the Really Big Boat. By Jo Lily

Taylor Swift has done something most Music Artists never achieve. She has created a world— actually a small-ish galaxy. Not just songs. Not just albums. A place where fans trade friendship bracelets, hunt for clues, debate theories, discover easter eggs, and happily disappear together down rabbit holes for hours and days.

That's fandom at a level most Artists simply cannot conceive of. 

Which is just one of my fascinations with this book, which I recently enjoyed way more than I expected.

Full disclosure: the author, Jo, is my son-in-law.
Fuller disclosure: if I didn't genuinely enjoy the book, a lot, it wouldn't be appearing as a Recommends in the TrueFans AMP™.

The Swiftie Detective Agency: The Case of the Really Big Boat, takes place aboard a Disney cruise ship featuring a Taylor Swift exhibit. When priceless memorabilia disappears, two best friends find themselves chasing clues, decoding mysteries, and trying to solve the case before the culprits disappear. Okay, good enough. But there's more...

What really impressed me was the detail. As a reader, I felt like I was on the ship.
As a writer, I admired the craftsmanship— with the often thought, Ooooo, wish I'd written that.

Jo knows these two worlds, and it shows. The Disney experience feels authentic— I was on that ship. The Swiftie culture feels authentic— I became one of them.

The friendship bracelets, hidden references, fan lore, and easter eggs are woven naturally into Disney's utterly other-worldly Really Big Boat making a story that's just great fun and put me smack in the middle of it all.

As a semi-Swiftie myself (I am absolutely in love with TS as THE poster child for TrueFans everything), I caught enough of the references to appreciate them. Real Swifties will undoubtedly catch many more.

This isn't a business book.
It won't teach you how to market your music.
It won't explain streaming royalties.
It won't help you build a fan funnel.

What it will do is remind you what happens when an Artist creates something people care deeply about. A community forms. A culture emerges. People want to spend time in that world. And even write books about it.

If you're looking for a clever, engaging, entertaining, escape, especially if you have any affection for Taylor Swift, Disney, or cozy mysteries, you'll enjoy this cruise.

I did.
In fact, I'm reading it a second time.
And that never happens!

For decades, the music business was obsessed with what's next.
The next hit. The next artist. The next trend.
But a new Luminate report suggests something unexpected is happening.
Older music is winning again.
Not just among older listeners reliving the past.
Among younger listeners discovering it for the first time.
And that has major implications for every Music Artist.

• Your BIZ— Why Older Music Is On Top Again based on Luminate's Special Retro Revival Report.

How the Music Business Is Quietly 
Turning Into a Catalog Business
“2026 is the new 2016” 

Every song you release today is competing with every song ever recorded.

For most of music history, that wasn't true.
A teenager in 1975 couldn't instantly access Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, and every current release at the same time.
You listened to what was available.

What was on the radio.
What was in the record store.
What your friends owned.
What MTV played.
Today?

A listener can move from Prince to Morgan Wallen, Fleetwood Mac to Billie Eilish, Johnny Cash to Zach Bryan, Nirvana to Sabrina Carpenter, all in the span of fifteen minutes. And increasingly... They do.

A new report just released from Luminate suggests something remarkable is happening in the music business. Older music isn't simply surviving. It's thriving. And in many cases, outperforming the new stuff.

Gen Z Is Falling In Love With Music From Before They Were Born
One of the most surprising findings in the report is that younger listeners are increasingly embracing music from previous decades.

In 2021, only 18% of listeners ages 13-24 said music from the 1990s or earlier was their favorite. By 2025, that number had climbed to nearly half.
Think about that for a moment...

Young listeners who weren't alive when Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alanis Morissette, Prince, Whitney Houston, Tupac, Oasis, or The Cranberries dominated popular culture are choosing that music over much of what is being released today.
That's not a nostalgia story.
It's a discovery story.

For millions of listeners, older music is brand new.

Every Song Ever Recorded Is Now Your Competition
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, Netflix, and every other digital platform have changed one fundamental reality of the music business.

Shelf space no longer exists.

The old business rewarded new releases because physical space was limited. Record stores only held so many albums. Radio stations only had so many hours. Retailers only stocked what they thought would sell. Streaming removed those limits. Now a song released yesterday sits beside songs released fifty years ago.

Every artist is competing against every artist.
Every release competes against every classic.
Every Friday release competes against The Beatles.

Good luck. Welcome to the modern music business.

Streaming TV Is Now the New Radio
One of the report's most fascinating observations is how film, television, and streaming platforms are creating entirely new audiences for older music.

We've already seen it happen with Kate Bush.
We've seen it happen with Fleetwood Mac.
We've seen it happen repeatedly with classic rock, country, soul, and pop recordings.

The report documents how Prince's Purple Rain and When Doves Cry experienced major streaming increases after appearing in the final season of Stranger Things.
A song can be 40 years old and suddenly become culturally relevant again.
Not because radio programmed it.
Not because a record label promoted it.
Because somebody heard it in a scene.

The Surprising Return of Physical Music
The report also highlights another trend many people thought was impossible.

Physical music is back.

Vinyl continues to grow. CDs have stabilized. Even cassette tapes have found a niche audience. And why are people buying them?

Not convenience. Not technology. 
Emotion. Memory. Connection. Identity.

In other words...

The same reasons people become TrueFans.

The format is almost secondary.
People are purchasing meaning.

What This Means For Music Artists
There are several lessons hiding inside these trends.

First, your catalog matters. 
Every song you release becomes a long-term asset. Too many artists think only about release week. 

The smartest artists think about 10 years from now.

Second, music discovery is no longer controlled by traditional gatekeepers.|
A sync placement, viral video, influencer post, television scene, or fan-created content can create more discovery than many traditional marketing campaigns.

Third, great songs age remarkably well.
Technology changes. Platforms change. Algorithms change. Human emotion doesn't. A great song recorded 20 years ago can connect just as deeply today as it did when it was released.
Sometimes more.

The TakeAway 
The music business used to be obsessed with what was next.
Today it's becoming equally obsessed with what lasts.

That's good news.
Because Music Artists aren't really in the music business.

They're in the meaning business.
And meaning doesn't expire.

The artists who win in the years ahead won't simply be chasing streams.
They'll be building catalogs.
Creating songs that matter.
Songs people will discover, rediscover, share, remember, revisit, and love for decades.

Because increasingly... That's where the opportunity is.
Because increasingly... That's where the listeners are.

Tap this link to download the extensive Luminate Special Report Retro Revival

• in partnership with Luminate

Another great voice has left us.
Peabo Bryson spent more than five decades singing songs that touched millions of hearts. From soul and R&B classics to unforgettable duets and Disney favorites, his voice became part of the soundtrack of countless lives.
As we remember Peabo Bryson, let's celebrate the life and legacy of one of music's great romantic storytellers.

• Greatest Music Artist of All Time— Peabo Bryson: The Voice of Love

"I have to make music without giving up who I am."
— Peabo Bryson

For more than five decades, Peabo Bryson occupied a unique place in popular music.

He wasn't the flashiest performer.
He wasn't the loudest voice.
He wasn't constantly chasing trends or reinventing himself.

Instead, he built a remarkable career doing something much harder: he became exceptionally good at being Peabo Bryson.

With his rich baritone, impeccable phrasing, and ability to communicate genuine emotion, Bryson became one of the most successful and respected singers in R&B history. Along the way he recorded dozens of chart hits, won two Grammy Awards, became one of the greatest duet partners popular music has ever known, and earned a nickname that followed him throughout his career:

The Voice of Love— From Greenville to the World
Born Robert Peabo Bryson on April 13, 1951, in Greenville, South Carolina, his path to success was anything but guaranteed.

Raised primarily by his mother and grandparents, Bryson fell in love with music at an early age. His mother exposed him to great performers including Sam Cooke and Little Richard, influences that would remain with him throughout his life.

By age twelve he was already winning local talent contests.
By his teens he was performing professionally.

What followed was years of learning his craft the old-fashioned way— night after night, stage after stage, audience after audience. Those years gave Bryson something many artists never develop:

Patience.

A Career Built on Songs
When Bryson emerged nationally during the 1970s, disco dominated the charts. He went another direction. Rather than chase dance trends, he focused on songs.

Real songs. Songs about relationships, commitment, romance, vulnerability, heartbreak, and hope.

The approach worked.

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s he became one of R&B's most dependable hitmakers. Among his best-known recordings:

• Reaching for the Sky
• Feel the Fire
• Let the Feeling Flow
• Can You Stop the Rain
• I'm So Into You
• If Ever You're In My Arms Again

The last of those became one of the defining love songs of the decade and remains one of the recordings most associated with his name. At a time when many male performers felt pressure to project toughness, Bryson embraced sensitivity.

His message was simple:

There is strength in tenderness.

The Master of the Duet
If Peabo Bryson had accomplished nothing beyond his duet recordings, he would still have secured his place in music history.

Few artists have partnered successfully with one legendary singer. Bryson did it repeatedly. His voice blended beautifully with Roberta Flack. With Natalie Cole. With Regina Belle. With Deborah Gibson. And, of course, with Celine Dion.

The secret wasn't simply vocal ability.
It was generosity.

Bryson understood that a duet isn't a competition. It's a conversation.

He listened.
He responded.
He supported.
He elevated.

The result was some of the most memorable duet performances ever recorded.

"Peabo's voice is one of the most beautiful voices I have ever sung with."
— Celine Dion

"There was nobody quite like Peabo."
— Natalie Cole

Disney and Musical Immortality
Ironically, the songs that introduced Peabo Bryson to millions of people around the world came after he was already a major star.

In 1991 he teamed with Celine Dion to record Beauty and the Beast.
The song became a worldwide hit.

A year later he partnered with Regina Belle for A Whole New World from Disney's Aladdin. That recording became one of the biggest songs of the decade, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Both songs earned Grammy Awards.
More importantly, they earned something even rarer:

Generational longevity.

Today there are adults introducing those songs to children who weren't born when the recordings were released.
That's legacy.

Staying True
The music business has always rewarded artists willing to follow trends.
Peabo Bryson spent most of his career resisting them.

He never became a rock singer. Never became a rapper. Never tried to become something he wasn't.

"One of the finest singers I've ever worked with."
— Kenny G

Instead, he trusted the qualities that made audiences love him in the first place. That commitment may have limited some opportunities. It also made his career endure.

Many artists achieved bigger moments.
Few achieved greater consistency.

More Than Success
Like many artists, Bryson experienced personal setbacks. Financial difficulties led to a highly publicized IRS seizure of assets in the early 2000s. For some performers, such a blow might have ended their career.

Bryson kept going.
He continued touring.
Continued recording.
Continued performing.

The same determination that helped him build a career sustained him through difficult seasons.

Fans admired him for his voice.
Fellow musicians admired him for his professionalism.

What Artists Said

"Our voices fit together naturally."
— Roberta Flack

"Peabo made everyone around him better."
— Regina Belle

"His voice was pure class."
— David Foster

The Legacy
Some artists are remembered for innovation. Some for spectacle. Some for controversy.

Peabo Bryson will be remembered for something both simpler and rarer.

He made people feel.

His songs accompanied first dates, weddings, anniversaries, long drives, heartbreaks, reconciliations, and countless quiet moments in between.

For more than 50 years, his voice reminded listeners that love, vulnerability, and emotional honesty are not weaknesses.
They are strengths.

Long after chart positions are forgotten and music trends have faded away, people will still hear Tonight, I Celebrate My Love.

They will still smile when Beauty and the Beast begins.

They will still feel a lift when A Whole New World starts to play.

And that's because great artists don't merely make music.

They become part of our lives.
Peabo Bryson did exactly that.

Someone in Jason's Facebook group, Songwriting With Jason Blume, asked if he played an instrument. He was surprised when the question sparked such a lively discussion.
His answer: “Yes … and no.”

• TrueFans Guest Article— Do You Need to Play an Instrument to Write Songs? From Jason Blume

I grew up playing woodwinds— melody instruments— which probably explains why I’m so focused on melody. I also play guitar and mandolin… but not very well. I’m even worse on keyboards, where I use two or three fingers to hunt down the chords I’m hearing in my head.

I’m not being modest. Despite what some readers suggested, the truth is that when I perform at festivals or songwriting events, I need to practice a lot to pull it off. And here’s a little secret: I only perform songs that are easy for me to play— and I avoid performing some of my own songs because they’re simply too difficult for me to play on guitar.

Early in my career, when my instrumental skills were even more limited, I would sometimes pay a musician to help me figure out the chords I was hearing in my head. They’d offer a few options, and the moment I heard the one that matched what I imagined, I knew.

Which raises an important question:

Was that a collaboration?

Usually, no. But this is something that absolutely must be determined in advance.

In country music, where chord progressions tend to be fairly straightforward, I typically would not give someone a co-writing credit for playing chords that I already heard in my head but couldn’t physically play.

In other genres— such as pop, R&B, hip-hop, jazz, and dance music— the situation can be very different. In those styles, the chord progression, bass line, and drum track often come first. In many cases, the person who creates that backing track receives 50% of the songwriting credit— even if the “topliner” contributes 100% of the vocal melody and lyrics.

But again, this is something that should always be discussed and agreed upon in advance. That’s why it’s wise to complete a split sheet so everyone has the agreement in writing.

If I pay someone simply to translate the chords I’m hearing in my head, we’re usually not collaborators. But if that person suggests chords or musical ideas that significantly shape the song in a way I hadn’t anticipated, then the situation changes— and it needs to be addressed.

I suspect the person who asked the original question was really wondering something else:

Do you need to play an instrument to write successful melodies?

My answer is a loud, clear, resounding "NO."
But... it does help.

I tend to write my strongest melodies when I’m working with a collaborator who’s playing an instrument— or when I’m writing to a backing track. Both approaches free me to focus completely on crafting the vocal melody.

That said, I’ve written successful songs without touching an instrument.

For example, I wrote Wings, the end-credit theme from the animated Barbie of Swan Lake, entirely a cappella. I recorded the melody first, then later worked out the accompanying chords on a keyboard. I wasn’t proficient enough to play the keyboard on the demo, but I could tell the musician I hired exactly which chords to play.

The ability to play an instrument is a completely different skill from the ability to write a melody that burns itself into listeners’ brains.

In fact, when I meet musicians who play incredible licks and grooves but want to improve their songwriting, I sometimes tell them that their next challenge is getting past their instrumental chops and focusing on writing vocal melodies. Sometimes this means setting down their instrument. Because with only the rarest exceptions, people don’t walk down the street— or stand in the shower— singing chord changes, guitar licks, bass lines, beats, or grooves.

They sing melodies.

One rare exception might be the iconic guitar riff that drives Layla. While the song is associated with Eric Clapton, the signature fast-paced slide guitar part is credited to Duane Allman, who reportedly based it on a vocal melody by Albert King. Another is the instrumental hook in MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This.
But these instances are the exception.

The rule is melody.
Bottom line: We all have limitations.
We can allow them to stop us— or we can find ways around them.

__________  

Jason Blume is a songwriter with more than 50 million album sales. He's had singles on Billboard’s Pop, Country, and R&B charts, and his songs have been recorded by artists such as Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, the Oak Ridge Boys, K-Pop & J-Pop artists, and many more. He's composed the background score and songs for an Emmy-winning TV show and another that was Emmy-nominated. His songs have been heard in top TV shows and movies, and as a songwriting expert, Jason’s been interviewed by the New York Times, Rolling Stone magazine, and on CNN, the BBC, and NPR. 

Jason is the author of 6 Steps to Songwriting Success, This Business of Songwriting, and Inside Songwriting (Billboard Books). His website is a treasure trove of useful and valuable Songwriting articles. To receive Jason's free video, 3 Things You MUST Do for Success, and subscribe to Jason's email list and get weekly tips to enhance your creativity tap the link. 

Success is not easy— but it is possible.

Inspired by the life and career of Peabo Bryson, NML's Founder reflects on a simple idea that may be one of the most powerful business strategies available to any Music Artist:
Be yourself.

• P.S. from PS— the Business of Being Yourself

Peabo Bryson said:

"I have to make music without giving up who I am— not for any pop dream or any promise of greater success."

That stopped me.
Not because it's inspirational.
Because it's practical.

Every week I hear from Music Artists who are trying to figure out what kind of content they should post, what kind of music they should make, what platform they should focus on, what trends they should follow, and what other successful Artists are doing that they can copy.

There's nothing wrong with learning from others.
In fact, it's smart.

But there's a line between learning from someone and becoming a watered-down version of them. And that's where many Artists get stuck.

The music business has always rewarded originality. Not novelty. Not gimmicks. Not chasing every shiny new thing that comes along.

Originality.

The artists who build lasting careers bring something nobody else can bring: themselves.

Their voice.
Their perspective.
Their story.
Their way of seeing the world.
Their humanity.

Peabo Bryson spent more than 50 years proving that point.
He didn't become Michael Jackson.
He didn't become Prince.
He didn't become Luther Vandross.
He became Peabo Bryson.
And because he did, we're still talking about him today— and will be for many years to come.

The irony is that being yourself is often viewed as the risky choice.
I think the opposite is true.

If you're trying to build a career by sounding like everyone else, you're competing against everyone else. If you're building a career by becoming more fully yourself, you're competing in a category occupied by exactly one person. You.

That doesn't mean standing still. It doesn't mean refusing to learn. It doesn't mean ignoring change. It means growing, improving, and evolving while remaining true to the thing that makes you uniquely you.

The business of being yourself isn't soft.
It's not sentimental.
It's one of the most practical career strategies I know.

Because trends come and go.
Platforms come and go.
Algorithms come and go.

But a genuine artist with a genuine voice like Peabo Bryson never goes out of style— plus, they have a real career and keep their soul.

Thanks for reading. Give us your feedback.

And PLEASE, if you've got any Music Artist friends, pass the TrueFans AMP™ on, because... It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time...