Last week, I posted this short-form video about the perils of being an independent artist.
Based on the comments, it struck a bit of a chord with other artists experiencing the same thing.
When we’re building an artist business on our own, there is a lot that seems to constantly require our attention—producing, mixing, mastering, graphic design, marketing, web design, content, engagement, community—the list goes on and on.
Honestly, it’s overwhelming.
And of course, this doesn’t even factor in having a full-time job, a family, and friends on top of that.
So how do we decide where and how to focus our attention?
Well, here’s how I think about it.
What’s most important?
The first question I like to ask myself is, “what aspect of my artist business is the most important?”
Now, obviously, we’re bypassing the actual most important stuff in life like family, our job, etc.
We’re just looking at the independent artist portion of this.
In my mind, music is the single most important element. Without music, nothing else matters.
If I don’t have music out in the world, then content doesn’t matter, my email list doesn’t matter, and my merch doesn’t matter.
Releasing music is the cornerstone of being an independent artist.
Everything else is downstream of that.
Low-input, high-output
The next question I like to ask myself is, “what has the highest chance of moving the needle for me while requiring the least amount of my time?”
On a day-to-day basis, I want to focus as much of my attention as possible on high-leverage items.
In my mind, things like short-form video and advertising both fit the bill here.
On the ad front, a single high-performing ad can work for us 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year, all without us having to lift a finger once it’s set up and optimized.
It’s like a little perpetual-motion machine that does the work so we don’t have to.
With short-form video, the impression rate is just so much higher than other forms of content at present.
One short-form video posted across platforms will most likely see more eyeballs than a single long-form video on YouTube (unless we have an established audience, of course).
Plus, creating short-form video is far less labor-intensive compared to long-form.
Low-input, high-output.
What will last?
Most social media content has a very short shelf-life. Even the best, most viral reels and tiktoks seem to fade away within a matter of weeks or months.
If we want staying power, long-form content is king.
YouTube videos, blog posts—these things are indexed, searchable, and, if done correctly, can be evergreen content that drives traffic to our music for years to come.
Even our music itself falls into this category.
Catalog music on Spotify (songs over 18 months old) continues to increase as a percentage of what listeners are consuming on the platform.
This means the song we put out today has the potential to be more impactful for us a year and a half from now than it does on release day.
If we can combine evergreen music, video, and written content, we have a winning long-term strategy.
Social media might make a bigger splash, but evergreen content fills the pool.
Last week, I posted this short-form video about the perils of being an independent artist.
Based on the comments, it struck a bit of a chord with other artists experiencing the same thing.
When we’re building an artist business on our own, there is a lot that seems to constantly require our attention—producing, mixing, mastering, graphic design, marketing, web design, content, engagement, community—the list goes on and on.
Honestly, it’s overwhelming.
And of course, this doesn’t even factor in having a full-time job, a family, and friends on top of that.
So how do we decide where and how to focus our attention?
Well, here’s how I think about it.
What’s most important?
The first question I like to ask myself is, “what aspect of my artist business is the most important?”
Now, obviously, we’re bypassing the actual most important stuff in life like family, our job, etc.
We’re just looking at the independent artist portion of this.
In my mind, music is the single most important element. Without music, nothing else matters.
If I don’t have music out in the world, then content doesn’t matter, my email list doesn’t matter, and my merch doesn’t matter.
Releasing music is the cornerstone of being an independent artist.
Everything else is downstream of that.
Low-input, high-output
The next question I like to ask myself is, “what has the highest chance of moving the needle for me while requiring the least amount of my time?”
On a day-to-day basis, I want to focus as much of my attention as possible on high-leverage items.
In my mind, things like short-form video and advertising both fit the bill here.
On the ad front, a single high-performing ad can work for us 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year, all without us having to lift a finger once it’s set up and optimized.
It’s like a little perpetual-motion machine that does the work so we don’t have to.
With short-form video, the impression rate is just so much higher than other forms of content at present.
One short-form video posted across platforms will most likely see more eyeballs than a single long-form video on YouTube (unless we have an established audience, of course).
Plus, creating short-form video is far less labor-intensive compared to long-form.
Low-input, high-output.
What will last?
Most social media content has a very short shelf-life. Even the best, most viral reels and tiktoks seem to fade away within a matter of weeks or months.
If we want staying power, long-form content is king.
YouTube videos, blog posts—these things are indexed, searchable, and, if done correctly, can be evergreen content that drives traffic to our music for years to come.
Even our music itself falls into this category.
Catalog music on Spotify (songs over 18 months old) continues to increase as a percentage of what listeners are consuming on the platform.
This means the song we put out today has the potential to be more impactful for us a year and a half from now than it does on release day.
If we can combine evergreen music, video, and written content, we have a winning long-term strategy.
Social media might make a bigger splash, but evergreen content fills the pool.
Last week, I posted this short-form video about the perils of being an independent artist.
Based on the comments, it struck a bit of a chord with other artists experiencing the same thing.
When we’re building an artist business on our own, there is a lot that seems to constantly require our attention—producing, mixing, mastering, graphic design, marketing, web design, content, engagement, community—the list goes on and on.
Honestly, it’s overwhelming.
And of course, this doesn’t even factor in having a full-time job, a family, and friends on top of that.
So how do we decide where and how to focus our attention?
Well, here’s how I think about it.
What’s most important?
The first question I like to ask myself is, “what aspect of my artist business is the most important?”
Now, obviously, we’re bypassing the actual most important stuff in life like family, our job, etc.
We’re just looking at the independent artist portion of this.
In my mind, music is the single most important element. Without music, nothing else matters.
If I don’t have music out in the world, then content doesn’t matter, my email list doesn’t matter, and my merch doesn’t matter.
Releasing music is the cornerstone of being an independent artist.
Everything else is downstream of that.
Low-input, high-output
The next question I like to ask myself is, “what has the highest chance of moving the needle for me while requiring the least amount of my time?”
On a day-to-day basis, I want to focus as much of my attention as possible on high-leverage items.
In my mind, things like short-form video and advertising both fit the bill here.
On the ad front, a single high-performing ad can work for us 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year, all without us having to lift a finger once it’s set up and optimized.
It’s like a little perpetual-motion machine that does the work so we don’t have to.
With short-form video, the impression rate is just so much higher than other forms of content at present.
One short-form video posted across platforms will most likely see more eyeballs than a single long-form video on YouTube (unless we have an established audience, of course).
Plus, creating short-form video is far less labor-intensive compared to long-form.
Low-input, high-output.
What will last?
Most social media content has a very short shelf-life. Even the best, most viral reels and tiktoks seem to fade away within a matter of weeks or months.
If we want staying power, long-form content is king.
YouTube videos, blog posts—these things are indexed, searchable, and, if done correctly, can be evergreen content that drives traffic to our music for years to come.
Even our music itself falls into this category.
Catalog music on Spotify (songs over 18 months old) continues to increase as a percentage of what listeners are consuming on the platform.
This means the song we put out today has the potential to be more impactful for us a year and a half from now than it does on release day.
If we can combine evergreen music, video, and written content, we have a winning long-term strategy.
Social media might make a bigger splash, but evergreen content fills the pool.
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.