Rob Abelow’s Post

Culture (social movements) is what breaks artists faster than anything. The solution is how to engineer culture into the algorithms (let’s pretend we’re offline)

Making music is what inspires us to become artists. Writing a new song or creating a new beat is a feeling like no other. It's why we pour all of our spare time and extra cash into making music. But it also comes with some major challenges & downsides. We think making good music is enough, but it never is. An audience will always want more. More new songs, more content, more and more and more. But what we view as "more" isn't the only thing we can deliver. More can mean QUALITY instead of quantity. If you give deeper context, and create a world where your music lives, that's also 'more'. It doesn't have to be post after post or song after song all the time. More can simply mean deeper. What does deeper look like? A brand an audience will want to support and share. So dive deeper into what being an artist means to you and what kind of community you want to build, and let that be 'more'. Be the artist, not just the face behind the music.

I've written quite a few articles and blogs over the years (still do) but I've always fancied doing a 'column'. So it is with great pleasure I'm announcing my "new series of writings" (i.e. a column) which will be put out for all to read by the wonderful Featured Artists Coalition (FAC). I love the work they do, because I love the work music artists do (I admire the creativity, bravery, resilience, the work). It's the output though - the music itself - I appreciate the most. Mostly! So, the column (not blog) is called "Art of Listening" and explores themes along those lines i.e. time, appreciation, fandom, formats, discovery, enjoyment and well, listening. I am (ambitiously) hoping to write about some things you might not have read about before, even though you might have thought about them. And in a roundabout way, I'm hoping that...for music artists, it helps! This first piece is about music volume? Is there too much music? And, as a superfan, what you might do about it. It's published roughly twice a month on the News feed here: https://lnkd.in/e7JiUecN Enjoy it and feel free to comment and debate, there are no right answers when it comes to music taste or listening habits.

Did your label's music release disappear into the void? There's a better way to get noticed. Most record labels rely on outdated promotional tactics. A few spammy posts and hope for the best. But hope is not a strategy. Think of your release like a story. A story people want to be part of. Start by creating genuine conversations. Talk about the journey of the artist. Share behind-the-scenes snippets. Ask your audience for their thoughts. Engage, don't just broadcast. Create content that invites interaction. Make your fans feel like insiders, not bystanders. Forget the hard sell. Remember the connection. When was the last time you felt connected to a song?

👀 Have you ever heard a song or watched a music video that stopped you in your tracks? The kind of music video that when you're done watching it, you have no other visceral urge than to watch it again? Maybe it brought a tear to your eye, sparked a forgotten memory, or inspired you to dance like no one was watching. 🪄 That’s the magic of storytelling through music and video. It’s a universal language—one that transcends words, stirs emotion, and connects us to something greater than ourselves. 🌎 For musicians, storytelling isn’t just a form of expression; it’s a way to share the most profound aspects of the human experience. Stories of struggle, hope, loss, and resilience take center stage, and when paired with visuals, their impact is amplified. Music videos have the power to immerse us in creative worlds, give emotions a heartbeat, and bring narratives to life in unforgettable ways. 🎼 One that has stuck with me recently is Mitch & Millie’s “Little Town”—a poignant tribute to Amelia’s late sister. The song’s heartfelt lyrics and the video’s intimate visuals intertwine to tell a story of loss and resilience, leaving an indelible mark. It’s a beautiful reminder of how music and visuals can elevate personal stories into something truly universal. 📚 As creators, we know the effort and vulnerability it takes to tell these stories. But it’s through this work that we amplify voices, share untold stories, give voice to the voiceless and remind each other of the beauty in our shared humanity. 🎶 What’s a music video that’s stayed with you long after the final note? #musicindustry #musicpromotion #musicmarketing #professionalism #communication #hipvideopromo Check out Mitch and Millie's "Little Town" here: https://lnkd.in/enw8tEUN

One of the many challenges artists and their teams have been struggling with for years when it comes to promoting their music on radio is turnaround time. -Generally, when artists submit their songs for airplay consideration; radio stations don't give them feedback due to the high volume of submissions they receive daily. On average, each submission takes 6 weeks to go through the station's music committee before hitting the airwaves for the first time if successful. -To find out if their song has been playlisted; artists need to tune into each station everyday or follow-up within the 6-week vetting period. Without a radio contact or a chart-topping hit, they may never know until it's too late (more on this in the future.). This is one of the problems we are helping artists, agencies, record labels, distributors and publishers tackle. On Sync Discovery, artists and their teams get real-time notifications and analytics when their songs have been listened to, queued, rejected or playlisted. ✅

Don't push the song. Push its story. Showcase the creative process that went into it. People want to know the story. Music is everywhere, if they're just looking for a new song to listen to, they'll find it. Focusing on that is like trying to play odds in the lottery. Lean into who you are as an artist, create content and promote what artistic context that song gives your catalog. That's how you get fans to invest in YOU and not just land on somebody's playlist they listen to maybe once a week. Be an artist people can get behind and tell stories to match the music. As your catalog grows, you'll have more ways to connect. Be listened to > be heard.

🎧𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻! An ASMR collection for your creative projects has arrived! ASMR is a popular internet trend. So, have you considered adding the sounds of cats purring, a fire crackling, or ocean waves to your creative projects? Interesting fact. Did you know that over 2 million stock music files and over 800k sound effects are available on Depositphotos to elevate your content? 🤯 I suggest you start exploring it with a collection of ASMR triggers that will give you and your audience that tingling feeling:🔗https://lnkd.in/d5DnsWxu. What kind of ASMR sounds do you find most inspiring? Share your thoughts in the comments! ✨

Rereading Seth Godin's “Purple Cow” right now and it’s amazing how its three main pillars from 2003(!) still resonate, even in the current music industry. How? Allow me to paraphrase: 1. People these days have less money, time, and attention that they’re willing to give you, so you need to create something original to catch people’s interest. Your music should be a “purple cow” — remarkable and unique. While making music for the masses may seem ideal (and exactly what traditional “mass marketing” does), the unfortunate truth is that the majority will not listen to you. Fans have too many choices and too little time to sort through them, so there are no guarantees that your music is what they want. No matter how genius and catchy your songs are (or how much money you spent creating them), to them, you’ll be nothing but more background noise. 2. To get attention, do something no one else is doing. Speaking of “purple,” remember when Prince gave away a copy of his latest CD to an entire concert audience, when CDs were $20 each? It was brilliant - it was remarkable. Seemed ridiculous at the time, but it connected everyone in that concert to him in a take-home version. 3. The real value is appealing to the innovators and early adopters. They will be the ones to promote your music to the majority. Therefore, your “Purple Cow” music must be both remarkable enough to attract the innovators and flexible or universal enough to appeal to the majority, once they finally listen to it thanks to a source they trust. #purplecow #musicindustry

Kudos to our own Greg Mize and Franco García for concepting and spearheading this promo and Insung Kim and Daniel Easley for the knockout creative. Outside of the facts that I am an indie rock fan, a vinyl aficionado, and have been known to frequent record stores (shout outs to Criminal Records, Wuxtry Records-Athens, SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS, and my childhood haunt RTO in Dunedin, Florida) here's why I love this promo: - It doesn't work without collaboration and partnership with our All-Star pitcher Spencer Strider. He is committed to the idea, and as the linear notes below describe, is passionate about local independent music and the Atlanta music scene. As team marketers, we strive to connect our players, with their permission, more deeply with our fans. Spencer is sharing his love of music and it is resonating. - This is both a gate giveaway AND an experience. On top of the vinyl giveaway, these bands will play a free post game show in our plaza and Spencer will host their performance. While the vinyl giveaway requires a ticket to receive it, the concert is not ticketed and open to the public. It's entirely possible we draw two different audiences for the same promo night. - From its launch a few hours ago, I am already seeing this promo take our brand into interesting places. We've heard from other artists, music venues, independent record stores, and creative types who have been struck by this promo. I'm excited to see what unexpected collaborations and opportunities will emerge from this. - There's been a lot of complexity to get this done. I applaud Greg for persevering. It's easy NOT to do something, especially when there's no need to do it. We could've rolled out a safe promo and conducted business as usual. But here we live by the creative mantra of "Wouldn't it be cool if?!?!?" rather than, "My only concern is..." We are better for it. So I am excited to get this program launched and see where it goes. Come check it out August 7th!