If you want to be a great artist, you have to be a great communicator.
The ability to speak with music is a gift that connects you to your audience on an emotional and intellectual level. It binds us together through shared experiences.
At our core, we are all working to find our tribe and connect with them in a meaningful way.
To achieve this, here are three fundamental skills I believe every artist should work to perfect that will transcend genre, age, and audience.
Learn to write
Everything starts with writing.
Putting ideas down on the page helps me to clarify my thinking and crystalize ideas worth sharing—tweets, captions, song lyrics—all of it moves the needle.
I write every day—it has been a part of my morning routine for over a decade.
Writing regularly is a great way to simultaneously work out the details of your creative work while removing the backlog of content from your brain.
If you’re not writing every day, I highly recommend you start. Write poetry, keep a journal, write lyrics—write any and everything you can think of.
In doing so, you will rapidly increase your ability to communicate and connect with your audience, musically or otherwise.
A strong writing habit is foundational.
Learn to tell a great story
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come…”
– Steve Jobs
Stories are a fundamental expression of humanity. We are drawn to them.
Your music tells a story. Your lyrics tell a story. Your content tells a story. Everything you do is an opportunity to tell a compelling story about yourself, your work, or the world around you.
Whatever the format, a good story will always win.
And whether you realize it or not, everything is story-driven.
The job of your content is to tell a story that draws the viewer into a deeper relationship with you as an artist. The job of your music is to tell a story that takes the listener on an emotional journey throughout the song.
If you can tell a great story, you will earn your audience’s trust.
Get good at short-form video
If the internet is a castle, short-form is king.
We live in a world dominated by content. Great writing leads to great storytelling, and TikToks, Reels, and Shorts are where crystal-clear writing and great storytelling converge.
Master the first two, then put them in video format.
It is such a powerful skill to be able to distill complex ideas and emotions down into a 15-second video.
The good news is that, as artists, we are all already well-versed in this skill, even if we don’t realize it.
Combing complex emotions and great storytelling into a three-minute song that connects and communicates, all without any visual medium, is the very basis of music itself.
It’s what we do.
If you are a songwriter, you are a writer and you are a storyteller.
The only missing piece is figuring out how to take that gift and put it in video form.
Great art is communication that transcends time and place.
If you can cut through the noise with great writing, great storytelling, and strong short-form video skills, the sky is the limit.
If you want to be a great artist, you have to be a great communicator.
The ability to speak with music is a gift that connects you to your audience on an emotional and intellectual level. It binds us together through shared experiences.
At our core, we are all working to find our tribe and connect with them in a meaningful way.
To achieve this, here are three fundamental skills I believe every artist should work to perfect that will transcend genre, age, and audience.
Learn to write
Everything starts with writing.
Putting ideas down on the page helps me to clarify my thinking and crystalize ideas worth sharing—tweets, captions, song lyrics—all of it moves the needle.
I write every day—it has been a part of my morning routine for over a decade.
Writing regularly is a great way to simultaneously work out the details of your creative work while removing the backlog of content from your brain.
If you’re not writing every day, I highly recommend you start. Write poetry, keep a journal, write lyrics—write any and everything you can think of.
In doing so, you will rapidly increase your ability to communicate and connect with your audience, musically or otherwise.
A strong writing habit is foundational.
Learn to tell a great story
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come…”
– Steve Jobs
Stories are a fundamental expression of humanity. We are drawn to them.
Your music tells a story. Your lyrics tell a story. Your content tells a story. Everything you do is an opportunity to tell a compelling story about yourself, your work, or the world around you.
Whatever the format, a good story will always win.
And whether you realize it or not, everything is story-driven.
The job of your content is to tell a story that draws the viewer into a deeper relationship with you as an artist. The job of your music is to tell a story that takes the listener on an emotional journey throughout the song.
If you can tell a great story, you will earn your audience’s trust.
Get good at short-form video
If the internet is a castle, short-form is king.
We live in a world dominated by content. Great writing leads to great storytelling, and TikToks, Reels, and Shorts are where crystal-clear writing and great storytelling converge.
Master the first two, then put them in video format.
It is such a powerful skill to be able to distill complex ideas and emotions down into a 15-second video.
The good news is that, as artists, we are all already well-versed in this skill, even if we don’t realize it.
Combing complex emotions and great storytelling into a three-minute song that connects and communicates, all without any visual medium, is the very basis of music itself.
It’s what we do.
If you are a songwriter, you are a writer and you are a storyteller.
The only missing piece is figuring out how to take that gift and put it in video form.
Great art is communication that transcends time and place.
If you can cut through the noise with great writing, great storytelling, and strong short-form video skills, the sky is the limit.
If you want to be a great artist, you have to be a great communicator.
The ability to speak with music is a gift that connects you to your audience on an emotional and intellectual level. It binds us together through shared experiences.
At our core, we are all working to find our tribe and connect with them in a meaningful way.
To achieve this, here are three fundamental skills I believe every artist should work to perfect that will transcend genre, age, and audience.
Learn to write
Everything starts with writing.
Putting ideas down on the page helps me to clarify my thinking and crystalize ideas worth sharing—tweets, captions, song lyrics—all of it moves the needle.
I write every day—it has been a part of my morning routine for over a decade.
Writing regularly is a great way to simultaneously work out the details of your creative work while removing the backlog of content from your brain.
If you’re not writing every day, I highly recommend you start. Write poetry, keep a journal, write lyrics—write any and everything you can think of.
In doing so, you will rapidly increase your ability to communicate and connect with your audience, musically or otherwise.
A strong writing habit is foundational.
Learn to tell a great story
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come…”
– Steve Jobs
Stories are a fundamental expression of humanity. We are drawn to them.
Your music tells a story. Your lyrics tell a story. Your content tells a story. Everything you do is an opportunity to tell a compelling story about yourself, your work, or the world around you.
Whatever the format, a good story will always win.
And whether you realize it or not, everything is story-driven.
The job of your content is to tell a story that draws the viewer into a deeper relationship with you as an artist. The job of your music is to tell a story that takes the listener on an emotional journey throughout the song.
If you can tell a great story, you will earn your audience’s trust.
Get good at short-form video
If the internet is a castle, short-form is king.
We live in a world dominated by content. Great writing leads to great storytelling, and TikToks, Reels, and Shorts are where crystal-clear writing and great storytelling converge.
Master the first two, then put them in video format.
It is such a powerful skill to be able to distill complex ideas and emotions down into a 15-second video.
The good news is that, as artists, we are all already well-versed in this skill, even if we don’t realize it.
Combing complex emotions and great storytelling into a three-minute song that connects and communicates, all without any visual medium, is the very basis of music itself.
It’s what we do.
If you are a songwriter, you are a writer and you are a storyteller.
The only missing piece is figuring out how to take that gift and put it in video form.
Great art is communication that transcends time and place.
If you can cut through the noise with great writing, great storytelling, and strong short-form video skills, the sky is the limit.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.