“Maybe you just want to play locally, five or six shows a year, and keep your day job. That’s fine. The goal isn’t full-time. It’s sustainable.”
— Ariel Hyatt
Here are the posts that have appeared in the New Music Lives™ Group on Facebook this week...
• TrueFans CONNECT - Live Music Discovery & Artist Support from TrueFans CONNECT™— After 2 years of testing, tweaking, breaking, fixing (and a few forehead slaps later)… We did it. TrueFans Connect™ is LIVE.
And it changes everything. For the first time ever —
• Artists get paid instantly when they perform.
• Fans support with one tap — no app. No friction. Easy.
• Artists keep 80% and own their fans forever.
That’s Right Now Money.
That’s Fans Forever.
• This 1969 One-Hit Wonder Was Working As a Cook When His Song Went No. 1 (And It’s Still One of Our Favorites Today) from AmericanSongwriter— If the song is good enough, one hit is all you need. The fascinating story of Norman Greenbaum and his evergreen one-hit wonder Spirit in the Sky.
• Time of the Season To be clear, the issue is not about the value these technologies can provide. On LinkedIn— It is about who gets to decide on how they are used. There is already lots of evidence that artists— both living and dead— will find creative ways to apply new technologies to enhance or to revive careers.
• The 25 Biggest Halloween Songs of All Time on the Hot 100 from Billboard .com— Halloween songs might not be as beloved— or profitable— as Christmas music (though that’s changing a bit), but there’s no denying the grave reality that people go batty for spooky songs on Oct. 31.
• How To Write Spotify For Artists Pitch (That ACTUALLY Gets Playlists) from Chris Greenwood on YouTube— In this video, Chris breaks down exactly how to pitch music to Spotify using proven strategies that help independent artists get on Spotify playlists and grow faster. Whether you’re learning how to get your music on Spotify playlists or how to get more streams on Spotify, this guide will walk you through what really works.
in partnership with SongTown On Songwriting
SongTown on Songwriting is a refreshingly honest look at what it takes to write a great song and navigate the sometimes stormy seas of today's music industry. SongTown's podcast is an always useful and valuable ‘how to' resource and a celebration of songs and Songwriters. SongTown also provides an extensive library of articles and videos, plus community and coaching on Songwriting, production and the ins and outs of the music business, all from music industry pros for those of you looking to level up your Songwriting and get your songs heard. We frequently (as in weekly) post SongTown shorts, full videos and podcasts in the New Music Lives™ Group on Facebook. They're always good to great stuff you can count on.
Founders and award winning songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson are sincerious (both sincere and serious) in their commitment to helping Singer Songwriters understand their art, craft and the business-of-the-business. Open. Honest. Clean. Clear. They're like hanging out with friends— been there, done that friends who know.
Up for a sample from SongTown? Tap here: 5 Songwriting Tips You Might Not Have Thought Of. Over the course of Marty Dodson's pro songwriting career he's picked up many such tips. These are his top 5. (And they're really good.)
Tap this link to go to SongTown's YouTube channel featuring Songwriting Tips From Hit Songwriters— Where Hit Songwriters share their Songwriting Tips & process with you! SongTown on Songwriting Podcast— With industry insights and real songwriting tips from the professionals on the SongTown on Songwriting Podcast. Stories Behind The Songs— Hit Songwriters share the stories behind some of their biggest songs! Pro Producer Tips— Hit Music Producers share production tips with YOU! The Business of Music plus Past Live Streams and more.
Tap this hyperlink, SongTown On Songwriting and you'll go to a page with a variety of rich resources to sample. Scroll down (to the bottom left) and enter your email to Subscribe under STAY CONNECTED and you'll join over 30,000 Songwriters world-wide who receive SongTown's free weekly lessons and more.
... and here's the more...
• the AMP 117— Great Issue. Probably THE best "Info you need to know" we've done. Let us know what you think. Please.
• How to Build a Sustainable Music Career (with Ariel Hyatt of CyberPR) | from Indie Music Minute on YouTube— Two of our fav Music Artist lovers... a great 20 minute deal. In this video, Disc Makers CEO Tony van Veen sits down with Ariel Hyatt, founder of @CyberPR and one of the top independent music publicity experts in the country.Together, they dive deep into how artists can build a lasting, sustainable music career, not just a moment of buzz.
• The Future of Music: Gen AI and Artist Remuneration from Mark Mulligan posted on LinkedIn— We need to level-set when it comes to gen AI music. While the input can certainly be artist-first, by definition all gen AI is in fact artist-second. This is because it is competing against human music for time and money, in a finite marketplace for attention and remuneration.
• How to Promote Music Releases in 2025: A Realistic Guide for Independent Artists from Cyber PR Music— Releasing music in 2025 is exhausting. When I first wrote my 12-week release timeline years ago, you could pick a date months in advance, map out a plan, and it would work. That’s not the reality anymore. With over 120,000 tracks uploaded to Spotify every day, the landscape is completely oversaturated.
• How to engineer a viral music video on TED .com— The band OK Go dreamed up the idea of a massive Rube Goldberg machine for their next music video— and Adam Sadowsky's team was charged with building it. He tells the story of the effort and engineering behind their labyrinthine creation that quickly became the YouTube sensation "This Too Shall Pass.”
Thanks for reading. Give us your feedback.
And PLEASE, if you've got any Singer Songwriter friends, pass the AMP on, because... It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time...
