by By Abigayle Severson
In the age of technology, it is easier than ever to start a music career. TikTok and Instagram push music at us constantly, giving people their one second of fame, but how does an artist maintain that? Most Apple computers have GarageBand preinstalled, meaning anyone can play around until they make something they like.
Once you have finished a track, sites like DistroKid, CD Baby, and RouteNote will release the music on all streaming platforms across the world for only a small fee. Next thing you know, you have a song released. However, just because anyone can release music doesn’t always mean everyone can “make it.”
With the ease of music creation and release, it is the musician’s job to capture your attention, except everyone is doing that. Twenty years ago, an artist’s biggest problem was how to release music, but now artists have to ask themselves… How do you gain a fanbase? Over 100,000 songs get uploaded to streaming services every single day. (Let’s bypass the fact that you now have to compete with AI for a minute.) This creates a huge oversaturation issue for artists who want to stand out and make this a long-lasting career.
Let’s go back to that “viral” moment, while there is definitely the organic growth and virality of a song, a lot end up buying their spot on that chart. A viral song is helpful for artists starting out but it won’t necessarily make a career. How a musician markets before, during, and after the spike in audience attention is way more important than the song blowing up to begin with.
An excellent example of intentional marketing to create that “viral” song is Ashe and her recent release “Stop the Wedding!”. Ashe’s rollout for this song showed that a strong storyline is a really good enticement for digital audiences. She put herself into an older sister role, cautioning younger women about the “red flags” in a relationship. She brought back her other viral song “Moral of the Story,” relating the two songs to each other. This reminded people who she was and resparked old trends for both of these songs. This release was relatable and driven by a personal narrative meant to resonate with anyone who has ever been in a bad relationship.
Rather than relying on other people to find her song or buying her way to the top, Ashe and her team used a hook to reel people in. Once a trend was started by her, everyone else hopped on board. Relatable content and a little bit of luck were what truly set this song’s release above some others that I have seen.
With thousands of tracks flooding streaming platforms every day, how you set yourself apart matters. The ability to make a good song doesn’t matter as much as it did twenty years ago. Ashe’s success shows that creative marketing strategies cut through the noise better than just throwing a song into the void and hoping to get attention. Inviting audiences into the world an artist creates is a way to share the narrative and hook a true fanbase. Having a viral track may get you noticed, but how you market that success is ultimately the true test of a long-lasting musician in this modern age.
