I like the way you don't come across as a hyped motivational speaker trying to get everyone pumped up and convinced that they can make it. Just a cold hard analysis of the figures. Good stuff.
Thanks a ton for this comment. I try to be as objective, but at the same time as encouraging, as possible. I want to paint an honest picture, but I don't want to discourage by doing so. I appreciate you watching!
Man I'm thankful I came across this video. Tom, you are a legend dude. Thank you so much for this well made video. You're helping people start out dreams out here dude!
My man! Dude, you are so welcome. I'm really happy to hear that you found it helpful. Thank you for watching and commenting. Best of luck on your journey!!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Man it's tough and a little bit sad, but thank you so much for your very helpful video. It made more sense to me than all the previous videos that I've seen, literally on channels that specify themselves on music promotion and tell you the same things over and over with no clear instruction. I hope this video will blow up even more than it already did for you, you deserve it brother 🙌💛
Man thank you so much for this comment. I really appreciate the encouragement and I’m super thankful it was helpful and informative for you. I hope to keep delivering content that is equally helpful!
Thanks a lot again Tom; you are a good person by giving us this information despite losing money ($1000 is money), you give us good advice, you are not selfish. Hey! I like your music! ("Upload" is intense). Thanks you so much!
@@tomdupreeiii Just wanted to echo what the first comment said. I appreciate you making a genuine video like this. I was getting so tired of all the "10 WAYS TO BLOW UP ON SPOTIFY" videos lol. It's like you waste 20 minutes watching some dude talk about spotify and then at the end of it nothing really helps. I found your video very informative, I'm going to look into some of the sites you mentioned, the only one I had heard of was submit hub. Cheers man
@@thebreaksinc man thanks a lot for this comment. I get tired of the fake guru talking heads too. I’d much rather document with transparency than try to be some sort of motivational speaker. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Wow that was super thorough, thank you sharing your experience! My artist days are pretty much behind me for this exact reason as i'm concentrating on writing for sync now but it's really interesting to hear the results!
I'm so glad it was helpful! I am definitely planning to do a yearly recap video for 2020 as well. Thank you for the encouragement. And thank you for watching!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Thanks so much for this video, im glad i didnt click off of it and grew patients with all the information you provided. Please keep going for Underground artist.
That's exactly right! Everything is an education on what to do and what not to do if we are willing to see it that way. I just wanted to share my experiences in a data-driven way so that others might be able to have an easier time navigating these first steps. Thanks for the comment!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
This vid was GREAT information. So very helpful. I’m looking for what’s the next step in my production and this vid hit many points about playlists paying. Your point about real fans
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Hey Tom, I just stumbled upon you from your original Playlist Push video and WOW am I happy that I did. You directly answered some of the things I was hoping to hear and I also appreciate your attitude and honesty in these videos. I recently became a solo artist after leaving a group that has found lots of success with getting on algorithmic and editorial playlists, but I feel like I'm back at square one. My sound is a blend of hip-hop, rap, and r&B and I'm confident that my music has the ability to get playlisted if it can get in front of the right set of ears, but I don't want stream numbers to define my profile. One thing I really learned to look for on artist profiles with my previous group is how many followers that an artist page has. Since fake streams can be bought my almost anybody, I think the follower count serves as a realistic look into an artist's actual influence or presence. Do you feel that these services, especially when they activated the Discover Weekly algorithm, helped you build a fanbase?
Hey Tyler, thank you so much for the comment! I agree that follower count is a much more accurate metric to judge by. I do think that when the services are used correctly, and when all goes to plan and they do trip the algorithm, they do help to build an actual fanbase. Of course, the fanbase results are only going to be a small percentage in comparison to the stream number results (e.g. 1,000 streams may only yield a few true fans and followers), but that's ok. That's not the fault of the platform. I think the true method is to use the playlisting platform route in conjunction with other advertising avenues. And of course, nothing replaces actual human interaction, both in the DMs and face to face. And there is just no quick way to achieve that aside from simply putting in the time. So, in short, yes, I think these services help, but they won't do all of the heavy lifting for you. They're just one piece of a well-organized plan.
Hi Tom DuPree thank you for being so honest! I've just stumbled across your channel at the perfect time. We've been on UA-cam but about to go onto Spotify with our new release so your tips really help!! Keep up the good work. Zerene :)
@@tomdupreeiii You got it! Keep us posted please. I'm still trying to figure out how to trip that Spotify algorithm. Maybe our collective brain power can figure out this crazy system!
Love this video. I love how honest you kept it. I love how accountable you were for realizing you make niche music and how you didn’t look at it as losing $1,000 but you looked at it as making an investment. I love the positive outlook. I make indie pop style music and this gives me a lot of hope for using these websites. You get. Subscriber out of me just for keeping it real. Best of luck with all your music endeavors :)
Thanks so much for this comment! I’m really glad the video resonates with you. Transparency and positivity are pretty much the cornerstones of all the videos I make so I’m happy to hear it comes through. Thank you for the sub!!
Tom DuPree III it’s funny I just listened to you talk to the creator of sub hub and I loved it. I’ve never heard of it before watching your video last night but that interview you did definitely made me feel more comfortable and it’s even funnier cause the creator and you were both on the same page about transparency. Your content is great!
This really goes to show, that after alllll these years, the radical change in the music industry, the insane upheaval spanning the rise of radio through Napster to current streaming platforms, that recorded music, financially for 99% of musicians, is nothing more than advertising for live shows. There’s a reason even The Rolling Stones still have to prop themselves up on stage.
Just got the opportunity to listen to Upload, The Blur and 3113a...all three sounded well composed and produced to where i could see them being used in a tv or commercial. If you haven't already you should consider submitting selected instrumental tracks of your's for placement. What i heard from just those three tracks, to me they sound in line with what i hear in current background music for movies, sitcoms and commercials
Man I really appreciate you being so honest about this. I’ve used some “boutique” ones with “direct contacts” at spotify. The outcome was essentially the exact same as you
Thanks SO MUCH Tom...we are just getting our feet wet in these services and this video helps to curb the expectations. Love your positive approach though. Its only not-so-good news if all you care about is the $$. theres life lessons and relationships to be had. CheerS! gonna watch your video you posted with Jason from SubmitHub next.
Man, you're so welcome! I'm happy to hear you found the video helpful. Managing expectations and being diligent are two cornerstones of making this whole thing work for you. That's for sure. I hope you enjoy the SubmitHub video too. Please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see me cover that I haven't hit yet!
Hey Tom, do you share these cool spreadsheets to track streams/saves/follows somewhere? Would love to use that as a template... Keep up the great work!
Hey Tom. This is the second time I have watched this video. The first time was right after it came out and I was about to release my first solo track on Spotify, etc. At the time I didn't know that Spotify was more of a Hip Hop, Rap and Pop oriented format and the same with Submithub. I play indie/experimental music that is somewhere between The Cure and Queens Of The Stone Age. Now watching this video the second time I am smiling at the part where you mention that if you basically play anything out of what is considered the norm you may have more difficulty getting ahead. In your opinion is there a better way than Spotify to go about it if you are a non Pop, Hip Hop or Rap artist to build a fan base? In other words other platforms.
Hey dude thanks for watching again! I think there is plenty of opportunity to grow your listener base on Spotify. It really just comes down to how you promote your music. There are a ton of playlisting and direct marketing opportunities for music that doesn’t fall into the mainstream. I would recommend working on learning Facebook Ads. You can really target your audience very specifically and grow over time. And just be thoughtful about submitting to playlists directly too instead of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. Hope all that helps!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
This brings up the old joke, "Do you want to to make a million playing jazz? Start with two million." I began releasing my solo music on Spotify at the end of February. I have gone through Submithub and have been accepted (along with 14 rejections) on one playlist which is more like a radio station so there are around 150 songs on it and I am down in the bottom third. I will be honest, on the days I get any streams at all it's literally a couple. My music is not EDM, Pop, Rap or Hip Hop. I have to call it Alternative because I haven't been able to nail it down to anything else. Think of Pearl Jam meets Post Rock with a little U2. In other words I probably have screwed myself over but I play what and how I play. IMO Submithub is somewhat of a joke. By that I mean you pretty much have to structure your songs to meet the curators listening parameters. You better either have the hook (and you better have a hook) in the first 30 to 50 seconds or start with the hook. This means no real instrumental intros. If you don't follow this you will get rejected. The curators also list off what genres they accept except they don't always do what they say. I have submitted to a few that said they took Alt only to read in the rejection notice that they don't accept that genre. I was also told by one curator that my song had a great beat. It was one track of guitar and one track of vocals. I guess every song has a beat but generally one associates a great beat with slamming drums. Did he actually listen to my song? Was he thinking of a different song? Either way I was turned down and lost money.
Yeah, SubmitHub (and other review platforms) can be quite a trip as an artist. You can do your best to dial things in as tightly as possible to fit the curators you’re trying to please and still end up with rejection across the board. The best bet there, in my opinion, is to just make the music you love, do it consistently, and keep working to find your niche and your audience, whether it be on SubmitHub or direct to consumer with ads, etc. No matter how you slice it, starting as a new artist is the exact same as starting a new business-it’s going to take a minute to find your core audience and drive down your customer acquisition costs. It’ll feel like a lot of money burned at the beginning, but I try to view it more as money spent on education and knowledge about my art and its connectivity rather than as money wasted. Eventually your cost per fan gained will drop and you’ll get a system dialed in that will allow you to expand quicker and quicker over time. The beginning is easily the hardest part. I hope you’ll keep experimenting with new ways to find fans and increase your listenership. Keep going!!
The criticism on SubmitHub is occasionally very high quality. Also, I've had really positive reactions from the other artists on the site via the Hot or Not feature.
Yes. I'm forced to list my music under a genre its really not with submithub. I don't like that. If I select hip hop then there are a bunch of sub genres that don't actually fit the style that I do. Then you finally pick a genre, select genre match for curator, and the curator doesn't care for the sub genre that you chose. Headache. Then some will like the song but reject it because they didn't like one placement of a hi hat you put in. 😑
Good info. I totally agree I’ve used playlist push and it’s cool but they’re making profit off what you give them. Better to build those personal relationships for sure🙌🏾🙌🏾
This video is a perfect description of why streaming is the destroyer of artists and the pot of gold for the streaming companies. In what universe is it fair that an individual can listen and play any song they want for mere pennies? I made an EP in a pro studio and spent $10K. I will never make that money back given how things are set up, not even if I get five million listens. Why anyone would want to get into music these days as a career baffles me. Keep it a hobby and have fun on your spare time, but when it's all said and done - getting a real job has a happier ending.
It's definitely a rough road man. No doubt about it. It can be really tough to recoup expenses in this game. That's one of the reasons so many people are doing as much as they can in-house these days, to keep costs down. I say, whether hobby or career, if it brings you joy and adds value to your life, then making music is a fruitful endeavor. Getting into it solely to make money is definitely not the way to win. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for watching!
Streaming platforms are killing this industry. I made under £450 on royalties on a major compilation. I don’t know what can be done about it but things have to change
Tom you're killing me...I'm laughing so hard hearing you talk about making 195.00....lol....it's like playing the lottery ....I do scratch off cards all the time and they have all my money...lol...
Definitely wouldn’t waste money on playlist until you actually break through on your own first..fan base helps way more. I used submit hub for a song and got added to a few playlist..but I made a song that people genuinely loved on UA-cam and got added to nearly 9k playlist
Totally agree that playlisting alone isn't the answer. It can help add a few streams to the bank, but nothing is going to beat actually connecting with people.
I tried searching for you and searching for your songs on Spotify - no success. I typed in "Tom DuPree" - there's some other user with that name; typed in "Tom DuPreeiii" no results, finally when I typed "tomdupreeiii" it took me to your user page - but just some created playlists. The only way for me to find your music was to directly click the link above. (I even searched for the songs in combination with your name - nothing). Just wanted to let you know - it's hard to find you on there. Thanks for the video - it was very informative!
Thank you so much for pointing this out. My artist name is TDIII (my initials) that's probably the reason for the issue. I've given consideration to changing it, so I'm glad to have this feedback. Thank for watching and commenting!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Absolutely. This is a great tactic too, and one I've employed in addition to using these services. It can just take a bit of time to gather all that contact information and create a list of people you send new music to with each release. Thanks for the comment!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
This was a very honest open video. I watched the fuzz. It certainly not main stream at all. Probably like you said the main reason why it didnt take off. YEt someone like drake who isn't a great musician at all manages to get billions of streams because he creates real trendy current music.
Thanks so much for this comment. It really is about finding the right balance between application of your skills and correct promotion. Trial and error!
Playlist Push is still the most streams I’ve gotten through any single platform, but it is also the most expensive, which is something to consider. I’d also recommend SubmitHub, SoundPlate, and DailyPlaylists. But of course, nothing beats Facebook ads!
This is what i tell the artists I work with. They keep paying money for streams and then sleep. moral of the story if you are not pushing your work no one will.
little did you knew 2020 turned out to be one hell of a year when you made this video. Good old days
Oh 💯Kinda wish I had celebrated 2019 at the beginning of this video instead...
lmao this was pre corona 😭😭
was JUST thinking that
Was about to comment the same thing
You definitely tripped another algorithm with this video because it showed up in my suggested! Great video- another sub from me!
Hey that’s awesome! Glad to know it’s getting pushed out there. Thank you for the sub dude!!
I like the way you don't come across as a hyped motivational speaker trying to get everyone pumped up and convinced that they can make it. Just a cold hard analysis of the figures. Good stuff.
Thanks a ton for this comment. I try to be as objective, but at the same time as encouraging, as possible. I want to paint an honest picture, but I don't want to discourage by doing so. I appreciate you watching!
One of the most honest video I've ever seen! Keep it up bro and well done!!!
I appreciate that!
By the way, great video! It is really nice to see how differentiated you look at the things, well done!
Thanks so much fir watching. Glad you enjoyed it!
This video was so enlightening. I love all the honesty. Great job dude, thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it. Thank you for watching!
Awesome video Tom. Thanks for taking a loss so others could learn!
No problem. Thanks for watching!
Great video man! Keep up the good work!
Dude, thank you! I appreciate you watching.
I love your honesty mate! You just got yourself a follower!
Thank you! 🙏🏻
Thanks for this. We've been putting a bit of effort into trying to get on Spotify playlists lately, and it's good to get some perspective on things.
You bet! I’m glad you found it helpful. Thank you for watching!
Man I'm thankful I came across this video. Tom, you are a legend dude. Thank you so much for this well made video. You're helping people start out dreams out here dude!
My man! Dude, you are so welcome. I'm really happy to hear that you found it helpful. Thank you for watching and commenting. Best of luck on your journey!!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
One of the most transparent & insightful videos I have seen. Awesome.💯💯💯
Thank you so much for saying that! I appreciate you watching. 🙏🏻
Man it's tough and a little bit sad, but thank you so much for your very helpful video. It made more sense to me than all the previous videos that I've seen, literally on channels that specify themselves on music promotion and tell you the same things over and over with no clear instruction. I hope this video will blow up even more than it already did for you, you deserve it brother 🙌💛
Man thank you so much for this comment. I really appreciate the encouragement and I’m super thankful it was helpful and informative for you. I hope to keep delivering content that is equally helpful!
Thanks a lot again Tom; you are a good person by giving us this information despite losing money ($1000 is money), you give us good advice, you are not selfish.
Hey! I like your music! ("Upload" is intense).
Thanks you so much!
You are so welcome! Thank you for the thoughtful comment and for watching. And thank you for the compliments on “Upload”! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
@@tomdupreeiii Just wanted to echo what the first comment said. I appreciate you making a genuine video like this. I was getting so tired of all the "10 WAYS TO BLOW UP ON SPOTIFY" videos lol. It's like you waste 20 minutes watching some dude talk about spotify and then at the end of it nothing really helps. I found your video very informative, I'm going to look into some of the sites you mentioned, the only one I had heard of was submit hub.
Cheers man
@@thebreaksinc man thanks a lot for this comment. I get tired of the fake guru talking heads too. I’d much rather document with transparency than try to be some sort of motivational speaker. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Followed you on Spotify. I like that you just started this in 2019. Curious to watch how things unfold. Good luck out there
Thanks a ton for the follow on Spotify! That is huge for me. I'm anxious to see how things unfold as well!
I have a unique sound and I have tons of music coming out this year, hope you like it
You are just great, Tom! Love your realism and humour.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the video.
Just stumbled across your channel. Thank you for being honest with your videos. Keep it up man! We need real talk in this music business 😊
Man thank you for saying that. I’m so glad you found the channel. Always trying to be honest and transparent!
Great video. This is an extremely well articulated streaming experience! Thank you for posting!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Wow that was super thorough, thank you sharing your experience! My artist days are pretty much behind me for this exact reason as i'm concentrating on writing for sync now but it's really interesting to hear the results!
Thanks so much for watching! I’m glad to hear you liked all the detail!
Yep. Sync music is the money maker
I appreciate your transparency. It helps so much! I hope you keep making music and videos!
Thank you so much for this comment! I’m really happy to hear you found it helpful. And I appreciate you watching!
How honest and helpful this guy is! I'm subscribing!!
Thank you so much for the sub! I appreciate you watching 🙌🏻
As an pre-starting artist - this was really nice to view !! - i will take your losses for my education // THX !
Yes, learn from my mistakes!
Thank you this was the most useful and transparent video I've seen on this topic. I hope you make another video for 2020🙂
I'm so glad it was helpful! I am definitely planning to do a yearly recap video for 2020 as well. Thank you for the encouragement. And thank you for watching!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Thanks so much for this video, im glad i didnt click off of it and grew patients with all the information you provided. Please keep going for Underground artist.
Man I definitely will. Thank you for watching and thank you for the comment!
I appreciate the honesty of your presentation.
Great point towards the end. Sometimes we pay for information in ways like this, which pushes us one step further ahead.
That's exactly right! Everything is an education on what to do and what not to do if we are willing to see it that way. I just wanted to share my experiences in a data-driven way so that others might be able to have an easier time navigating these first steps. Thanks for the comment!
Great video and insight, thanks for sharing and all of the effort making it. Really useful 😎 liked and subscribed 🎵👊🏻
You bet! Thank you so much for the sub!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Really appreciate your transparency and sharing this info. Glad it showed up in my relateds!
Thank you so much for saying that! I'm really glad it resonated with you. Thank you for watching and thank you for the comment!
This was direct and honest! thanks Tom..
You’re so welcome. Thank you for watching!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
This vid was GREAT information. So very helpful. I’m looking for what’s the next step in my production and this vid hit many points about playlists paying.
Your point about real fans
Man I'm so glad this was helpful! Thank you for watching!
Your a real one for this I subscribed and liked before the video started
Man I appreciate you saying that. Trying to be completely transparent. Glad it resonates. Thank you for the sub! 🙏🏻
Enlightening, thanks! I also mostly these days write eclectic arty stuff. Good info. Subbed!
Thanks so much for the sub! I'm glad you found the video helpful!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Thanks for being honest! We needed this! Subscribed!
Of course! That’s my policy. Thanks for watching and thank you for the sub!
Excellent video. I appreciate that you do the math and review and evaluate your actions. Thanks for sharing the details.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
Hey Tom, I just stumbled upon you from your original Playlist Push video and WOW am I happy that I did. You directly answered some of the things I was hoping to hear and I also appreciate your attitude and honesty in these videos. I recently became a solo artist after leaving a group that has found lots of success with getting on algorithmic and editorial playlists, but I feel like I'm back at square one. My sound is a blend of hip-hop, rap, and r&B and I'm confident that my music has the ability to get playlisted if it can get in front of the right set of ears, but I don't want stream numbers to define my profile.
One thing I really learned to look for on artist profiles with my previous group is how many followers that an artist page has. Since fake streams can be bought my almost anybody, I think the follower count serves as a realistic look into an artist's actual influence or presence. Do you feel that these services, especially when they activated the Discover Weekly algorithm, helped you build a fanbase?
Hey Tyler, thank you so much for the comment! I agree that follower count is a much more accurate metric to judge by. I do think that when the services are used correctly, and when all goes to plan and they do trip the algorithm, they do help to build an actual fanbase. Of course, the fanbase results are only going to be a small percentage in comparison to the stream number results (e.g. 1,000 streams may only yield a few true fans and followers), but that's ok. That's not the fault of the platform. I think the true method is to use the playlisting platform route in conjunction with other advertising avenues. And of course, nothing replaces actual human interaction, both in the DMs and face to face. And there is just no quick way to achieve that aside from simply putting in the time.
So, in short, yes, I think these services help, but they won't do all of the heavy lifting for you. They're just one piece of a well-organized plan.
Who is watching in August 2020 being like...oh you sweet boy if only you knew what was coming....thank you for the info though Tom super helpful!!! xx
Haha! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought that about this video. That intro did not age well at all. Thanks for watching! Glad it helped!
Hi Tom DuPree thank you for being so honest! I've just stumbled across your channel at the perfect time. We've been on UA-cam but about to go onto Spotify with our new release so your tips really help!! Keep up the good work. Zerene :)
Love that! So glad you found me!
Followed on Spotify, and Subscribed on YT. I dig your sound, plus the info is very informative. Thanks!
Awesome! Thank you!
Thanks for spending your money on this and sharing with us Tom! :-)
You bet dude! Thank you for watching and commenting!
@@tomdupreeiii You got it! Keep us posted please. I'm still trying to figure out how to trip that Spotify algorithm. Maybe our collective brain power can figure out this crazy system!
Erik Hawk oh we’re gonna do it! I’ll definitely keep sharing what I uncover. We’re gonna win this thing!
@@tomdupreeiii virtual fist bump!
I'm subscribing because of your honesty. So much BS online. Obviously there's no silver bullet. But thank you.
Man thank you. My goal is transparency on this channel, not sales or fluff. I’m glad that translated here. Thank you for the sub!
Love this video. I love how honest you kept it. I love how accountable you were for realizing you make niche music and how you didn’t look at it as losing $1,000 but you looked at it as making an investment. I love the positive outlook. I make indie pop style music and this gives me a lot of hope for using these websites. You get. Subscriber out of me just for keeping it real. Best of luck with all your music endeavors :)
Thanks so much for this comment! I’m really glad the video resonates with you. Transparency and positivity are pretty much the cornerstones of all the videos I make so I’m happy to hear it comes through. Thank you for the sub!!
Tom DuPree III it’s funny I just listened to you talk to the creator of sub hub and I loved it. I’ve never heard of it before watching your video last night but that interview you did definitely made me feel more comfortable and it’s even funnier cause the creator and you were both on the same page about transparency. Your content is great!
Man that’s awesome! I’m glad you liked that vid too. Thank you for telling me!
Thanks for posting (just now catching it in Aug 2020). Interesting and enlightening. Kudos.
Glad you found it and happy to hear it was valuable. Thank you for watching!
This really goes to show, that after alllll these years, the radical change in the music industry, the insane upheaval spanning the rise of radio through Napster to current streaming platforms, that recorded music, financially for 99% of musicians, is nothing more than advertising for live shows. There’s a reason even The Rolling Stones still have to prop themselves up on stage.
You’re absolutely right. At its core, music is a live entertainment business for sure.
Just got the opportunity to listen to Upload, The Blur and 3113a...all three sounded well composed and produced to where i could see them being used in a tv or commercial. If you haven't already you should consider submitting selected instrumental tracks of your's for placement. What i heard from just those three tracks, to me they sound in line with what i hear in current background music for movies, sitcoms and commercials
Thanks so much for this comment dude! I will definitely explore ways to do that. Thank you for the kind words and thank you for listening!
I appreciate you for making this video
So glad you found it helpful!
Thanks for sharing your experience mate!! Really helpful!! 👍
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video man! Pretty much exactly what I wanted to know.
Awesome! I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for watching!
Man I really appreciate you being so honest about this. I’ve used some “boutique” ones with “direct contacts” at spotify. The outcome was essentially the exact same as you
That's honestly really good to know. Thank you for sharing that!
Super helpful thanks. Definitely gonna put some of this into practice.
Awesome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching. And let me know how it goes!
thank you tom..this video is a gem
You bet! Thank you for watching!
Thanks for the time you spend sharing your experiences! There's a lot to learn even from the comments you, somehow, trigger!
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you got something out of it. And I agree, there is a lot to learn from the comments on this video as well!
Great video my friend! Thank you . Especially like how you say playlists are part of a bigger picture, makes a lot of sense. Thank you 👍👍👍🎸
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
awesome. very honest and straight forward. I like that!
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching!
Super helpful information and advice, from start to finish. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
You're so welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful. Thank you for watching!
Right off the bat your personality hooked me😂 you got a new sub🔥
Man thank you! I appreciate that! 🙏🏻
Thanks SO MUCH Tom...we are just getting our feet wet in these services and this video helps to curb the expectations. Love your positive approach though. Its only not-so-good news if all you care about is the $$. theres life lessons and relationships to be had. CheerS! gonna watch your video you posted with Jason from SubmitHub next.
Man, you're so welcome! I'm happy to hear you found the video helpful. Managing expectations and being diligent are two cornerstones of making this whole thing work for you. That's for sure. I hope you enjoy the SubmitHub video too. Please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see me cover that I haven't hit yet!
Hey Tom, do you share these cool spreadsheets to track streams/saves/follows somewhere? Would love to use that as a template... Keep up the great work!
I have a copy of my spreadsheet in the description of this video: ua-cam.com/video/-233iFIbHrs/v-deo.html. Hope it helps. Thanks for watching!
thx for this one bro!!appreciate you!!
Man, of course! Thank you for watching!
Thanks guy for your honest information - saves me some time and efforts.
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this - kind of what I expected, really, but very insightful.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching.
Hey Tom. This is the second time I have watched this video. The first time was right after it came out and I was about to release my first solo track on Spotify, etc. At the time I didn't know that Spotify was more of a Hip Hop, Rap and Pop oriented format and the same with Submithub. I play indie/experimental music that is somewhere between The Cure and Queens Of The Stone Age. Now watching this video the second time I am smiling at the part where you mention that if you basically play anything out of what is considered the norm you may have more difficulty getting ahead. In your opinion is there a better way than Spotify to go about it if you are a non Pop, Hip Hop or Rap artist to build a fan base? In other words other platforms.
Hey dude thanks for watching again! I think there is plenty of opportunity to grow your listener base on Spotify. It really just comes down to how you promote your music. There are a ton of playlisting and direct marketing opportunities for music that doesn’t fall into the mainstream. I would recommend working on learning Facebook Ads. You can really target your audience very specifically and grow over time. And just be thoughtful about submitting to playlists directly too instead of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. Hope all that helps!
This video is brilliant. Thank you very much. I enjoyed watching!
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Man thanks a lot for these first hand information
You’re welcome. Thank you for watching!
I just discovered your channel via this UA-cam....Great title hooked me right away (no pun intended)
Very helpful...excellent thanks!
Awesome! I’m so glad you found me. Thank you for watching and thank you for the kind words!
Thanks for this video Tom. I appreciate it! 🎼😊🎼
You bet. Thanks for watching!
Nice video thanks for sharing your results!
Of course! Thank you for watching!
This brings up the old joke, "Do you want to to make a million playing jazz? Start with two million." I began releasing my solo music on Spotify at the end of February. I have gone through Submithub and have been accepted (along with 14 rejections) on one playlist which is more like a radio station so there are around 150 songs on it and I am down in the bottom third. I will be honest, on the days I get any streams at all it's literally a couple. My music is not EDM, Pop, Rap or Hip Hop. I have to call it Alternative because I haven't been able to nail it down to anything else. Think of Pearl Jam meets Post Rock with a little U2. In other words I probably have screwed myself over but I play what and how I play. IMO Submithub is somewhat of a joke. By that I mean you pretty much have to structure your songs to meet the curators listening parameters. You better either have the hook (and you better have a hook) in the first 30 to 50 seconds or start with the hook. This means no real instrumental intros. If you don't follow this you will get rejected. The curators also list off what genres they accept except they don't always do what they say. I have submitted to a few that said they took Alt only to read in the rejection notice that they don't accept that genre. I was also told by one curator that my song had a great beat. It was one track of guitar and one track of vocals. I guess every song has a beat but generally one associates a great beat with slamming drums. Did he actually listen to my song? Was he thinking of a different song? Either way I was turned down and lost money.
Yeah, SubmitHub (and other review platforms) can be quite a trip as an artist. You can do your best to dial things in as tightly as possible to fit the curators you’re trying to please and still end up with rejection across the board. The best bet there, in my opinion, is to just make the music you love, do it consistently, and keep working to find your niche and your audience, whether it be on SubmitHub or direct to consumer with ads, etc. No matter how you slice it, starting as a new artist is the exact same as starting a new business-it’s going to take a minute to find your core audience and drive down your customer acquisition costs. It’ll feel like a lot of money burned at the beginning, but I try to view it more as money spent on education and knowledge about my art and its connectivity rather than as money wasted. Eventually your cost per fan gained will drop and you’ll get a system dialed in that will allow you to expand quicker and quicker over time. The beginning is easily the hardest part. I hope you’ll keep experimenting with new ways to find fans and increase your listenership. Keep going!!
Rory Troy Where can I listen to your stuff?
The criticism on SubmitHub is occasionally very high quality. Also, I've had really positive reactions from the other artists on the site via the Hot or Not feature.
Yes. I'm forced to list my music under a genre its really not with submithub. I don't like that. If I select hip hop then there are a bunch of sub genres that don't actually fit the style that I do. Then you finally pick a genre, select genre match for curator, and the curator doesn't care for the sub genre that you chose. Headache. Then some will like the song but reject it because they didn't like one placement of a hi hat you put in. 😑
Fuck them, do what you love.
Super insightful much appreciated
You bet. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing your information and your experiment with us!
Of course! Thank you for watching! 🙌🏻
Honesty, educational, respect, sub.
Man, thank you! 🙏🏻
Great video! I learned a lot from your experience.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video dude.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you! This video was super insightful.
You bet! Thank you for watching!
@@tomdupreeiii inbox me man $$$
Good info. I totally agree I’ve used playlist push and it’s cool but they’re making profit off what you give them. Better to build those personal relationships for sure🙌🏾🙌🏾
Definitely. You just can’t beat 1 to 1. Thanks for the comment! 🙏🏻
For sure bro!!!
This video is a perfect description of why streaming is the destroyer of artists and the pot of gold for the streaming companies. In what universe is it fair that an individual can listen and play any song they want for mere pennies? I made an EP in a pro studio and spent $10K. I will never make that money back given how things are set up, not even if I get five million listens. Why anyone would want to get into music these days as a career baffles me. Keep it a hobby and have fun on your spare time, but when it's all said and done - getting a real job has a happier ending.
It's definitely a rough road man. No doubt about it. It can be really tough to recoup expenses in this game. That's one of the reasons so many people are doing as much as they can in-house these days, to keep costs down. I say, whether hobby or career, if it brings you joy and adds value to your life, then making music is a fruitful endeavor. Getting into it solely to make money is definitely not the way to win. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for watching!
Distrokid actually shows pay per stream numbers if you click on "See excruciating details"
Good looking out. Thanks for letting me know!
Veeery good video! Thank you so much! 🍀😎❤️✌️
Thanks for watching!
Streaming platforms are killing this industry. I made under £450 on royalties on a major compilation. I don’t know what can be done about it but things have to change
Man that is such a bummer to hear. I'm really hoping some sweeping changes will be made to how artists and creators get paid in the long term.
Tom you're killing me...I'm laughing so hard hearing you talk about making 195.00....lol....it's like playing the lottery ....I do scratch off cards all the time and they have all my money...lol...
Hahaha! It’s exactly like playing the lottery!
Nice work on this
Definitely wouldn’t waste money on playlist until you actually break through on your own first..fan base helps way more. I used submit hub for a song and got added to a few playlist..but I made a song that people genuinely loved on UA-cam and got added to nearly 9k playlist
Totally agree that playlisting alone isn't the answer. It can help add a few streams to the bank, but nothing is going to beat actually connecting with people.
Great video!!
Thanks!
THIS WAS SO VERY HELPFUL
Awesome! I glad you found some value in it. Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
No problem. Thanks for watching!
Can you make a clear video on how to monetize Spotify playlist , how much money we can earn , and what are thresold we need to start ?
I have yet to come at things from the playlisting side. I've only tested the artist side of things so far.
I tried searching for you and searching for your songs on Spotify - no success. I typed in "Tom DuPree" - there's some other user with that name; typed in "Tom DuPreeiii" no results, finally when I typed "tomdupreeiii" it took me to your user page - but just some created playlists. The only way for me to find your music was to directly click the link above. (I even searched for the songs in combination with your name - nothing).
Just wanted to let you know - it's hard to find you on there.
Thanks for the video - it was very informative!
Thank you so much for pointing this out. My artist name is TDIII (my initials) that's probably the reason for the issue. I've given consideration to changing it, so I'm glad to have this feedback. Thank for watching and commenting!
Actually u can view the distrokid per song and per stream income... the see excruciating details hyper link at the bottom of your Bank tab
Good looking out! I'll check that out. Thank you!
That was really worthwhile information! Thanks! I've smashed all the smashers! Salutations from cloudy and ghostly quiet Ireland! ☘️☮️🤘🏽🤠👍🏽☮️☘️
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Hey Tom! Nice content Really feeling your videos , just wanted to highlight that DISTORKID actually do show you the streams money.
Oh cool! That’s good to know. I must not have looked hard enough. Thank you for telling me!
Yep, honest and insightful. I've subbed.
Thank you so much for this comment. And thank you for the sub!
Great video, I'm going to try this
Thank you for watching. Let me know how it goes!
I feel you man, love how rich you get from streams ;)
Haha! Yeah me too. A get rich quick scheme if there ever was one 😂
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing! 🔥
Of course! Thanks for watching!
I just created a artist page on Facebook and then run Facebook ads to that page. Seems to help my organic growth A LOT
Love that. I’ve switched to Facebook ads as well since making this video. Far better results than playlisting!
very insightful dude, thx for sharing. Keep believing your style and someday people will appreciate it
I appreciate that! Thank you for watching and thanks for the comment!
Bro, this is very insightful information.
Thank you for watching!
Artists can also DIRECTLY contact owners of Playlists.
Some want money, some are free.
Then theres SUBMITHUB. Which is legit too.
Absolutely. This is a great tactic too, and one I've employed in addition to using these services. It can just take a bit of time to gather all that contact information and create a list of people you send new music to with each release. Thanks for the comment!
Tom DuPree III Fr bra ! ay ya know what they say !
no time, spend money, no money, spend time
Hi bro, I am a Spotify promotor. I do promote by various social media ads campaign, music-related groups posting, music-related blogs posting, email marketing, etc. so you will get the real and active audience in your tracks. If you look at my IG @fsohelbd you will understand simple of my service quality. Just DM me on my IG if you need to take our service.
This was a very honest open video. I watched the fuzz. It certainly not main stream at all. Probably like you said the main reason why it didnt take off. YEt someone like drake who isn't a great musician at all manages to get billions of streams because he creates real trendy current music.
Thanks so much for this comment. It really is about finding the right balance between application of your skills and correct promotion. Trial and error!
Appreciate the info so is push playist still good to use or any other legit promotion playist if we belive n a good song? Goin in to 2021
Playlist Push is still the most streams I’ve gotten through any single platform, but it is also the most expensive, which is something to consider. I’d also recommend SubmitHub, SoundPlate, and DailyPlaylists. But of course, nothing beats Facebook ads!
@@tomdupreeiii thanks bro appreciate ill look into hope u have great holidays n much sucess to u on your journey 💯
This is what i tell the artists I work with. They keep paying money for streams and then sleep. moral of the story if you are not pushing your work no one will.
💯 It’s a constant process. You have to be the hardest worker for what you want.