Are you building assets or asking for permission? 

I want to change the way you think about promoting your music. 

Let’s start by going back to 2006, when Spotify sprung to life. 

Since then, the world of streaming has evolved into a broad, multivariate spectrum of creation, curation, and consumption. 

And, just as promised, this has largely democratized artists’ ability to create work they love and share it with the world. 

But that’s not the only thing that has happened. 

In many ways, we’ve traded one problem for another. 

See, the “traditional” music business had become a gatekeeper’s paradise, a place where you either had to pay to play or the stars had to align if you wanted to build a career. 

Streaming was supposed to fix that. 

Only it hasn’t. 

Asking for permission 

Ok, so maybe streaming has solved a lot of the problems of old. 

Virtually anyone can release music now, and at a fraction of the cost. 

All you need is an internet connection. 

No more pressing 1,000 CDs only to sell 20 (been there). 

No more being confined to your small-town, local scene (been there too). 

And no more asking for permission. 

Unless you want to. 

Or unless you’re not sure about the alternative. 

Sure, the landscape may have changed over the past 20 years, but in many ways, the game seems to have largely remained the same. 

Make music. 

Release it. 

Ask for permission to promote it. 

It used to be radio. 

Now it’s playlists. 

The medium may have changed, but the mechanics haven’t. 

But this isn’t just another “playlisting versus ads” argument. 

In fact, it’s not about changing our mechanics at all. 

It’s about changing our mindset. 

Own your distribution 

At its most basic level, an asset is something you own that earns money for you while you sleep. 

Essentially, the asset does the work so you don’t have to. 

So instead of only getting paid from 9-5, you’re getting paid 24/7. 

Beautiful. 

Your music catalog is a great example of this. 

Somewhere in the world, someone is listening to music on Spotify every second of every day. 

Millions of people, in fact. 

Given enough listeners, you have the ability to enter a world where your music is never not being consumed. 

But that’s just the start. 

If you truly want to turn your music into an asset that earns every moment of every day, it’s not enough just to build it. 

You have to control it. 

This means owning your distribution. 

Any playlist you appear on that you don’t own is what’s known as “borrowed” distribution. 

You don’t own it, so you don’t get to say where your music is placed or how long it stays. 

You are borrowing that attention until your song gets removed. 

On the flip side, your artist profile and any playlists you do create are “owned” distribution. 

You are in control. 

These avenues are assets. 

This is why pitching to playlists isn’t a smart long-term play. 

It’s also why per-song label deals are a smart long-term play. 

When you partner with a label, they own a piece of your song, making it a shared asset. 

Now you both have a vested interest in the ongoing success of the track. 

The better the song does over the long term, the more money the label makes and the more money you make too. 

With pitching, the payoff for the curator is immediate, so it doesn’t matter what they do with your song once they’ve been paid. 

With a label, the long-term outcome is more important. 

The same is the case for you. 

So rather than wondering which playlist to pitch to, which label to consider, or which promotional avenue to pursue, instead, look at every opportunity through the lens of assets and long-term ownership. 

Ask yourself, “Will this opportunity potentially turn my work into an asset?” 

If the answer is “yes”, consider it. 

If “no”, adjust your focus and find something that does.