It’s 2020.

Your fans exist online.

You need to find them.

It’s no surprise that music discovery is happening on Spotify and the other streaming services. Yes, playlists are a driving force. And when an artist’s song gets included on a popular playlist, their streams can skyrocket overnight.

I’ve heard of artists who were able to quit their day jobs because they got included on a few hot playlists which earned them millions of streams a month (thousands of dollars a month), only to get dropped from those playlists and have to go beg for their job back when their streams dropped to virtually zero.

Because that’s the thing. Getting included on hot playlists may bring in a lot of streams (from many listeners) in a short amount of time.

But these are not your fans.

They could be. But they’re not right now. They are fans of the playlist that your song got included on. And when your song gets removed, those listeners aren’t following through to your profiles to stay in touch with you.

We are living in an era where there are artists with millions of streams on Spotify who cannot draw 50 people to their local shows.

We’ve become too obsessed with playlists. Depending on playlists for revenue is incredibly unstable. You don’t just want streams. You don’t just want monthly listeners. You want fans. Who stick with you for life – no matter the platform that’s hot at the moment.

Of course we know that Instagram is one of the best engagement tools that artists have at their disposal right now. And it’s most fans’ favorite way to keep up with (and interact) with their favorite artists. It’s hot right now. Will it be just as hot in 2 year? Who knows. But right now, it’s one of the best tools artists have to grow and cultivate their fanbase.

And it has become one of the best ways to find where your fans exist and get them into your world.

Finding your fans online is not about getting on playlists

…and hoping that people who are passively listening like the song enough to follow you.

This rarely happens.

So how do you find real fans online?

He’s on zero official Spotify playlists:

This was all done through direct marketing.

We have tested Lucidious’ strategies with a bunch of artists…

and it works with everyone. Will this kind of growth happen overnight? Of course not. It took Lucidious three years and lots of trial and error. But if you’re in music for the long haul, then you should implement these strategies.

Brassroots District went from 1,000 monthly listeners to 14,000 monthly listeners and from 150 followers on Spotify to 5,000 followers on Spotify in 8 weeks spending around $10/day on ads.

Similarly, Brassroots District went from 600 followers on Instagram to 4,500 in 8 weeks with an engagement rate of 7%.

Start now.

Stop waiting around for a label to come along and sign you. If you have no true fans, labels aren’t interested. Period.

You have to build your movement on your own first.

Then when you have die hard fans following everything you do, labels, managers and agents will beg to work with you. And then you can decide if you want to sign with them or continue on your own. But at that point, you have the power. You don’t need them. They need you.

This is what you’re working towards.

The labels haven’t implemented these strategies.

Yet. They will. But what Lucidious has done is so flexible and nuanced that labels aren’t able to keep up or move quick enough to capitalize on the tools available today.

Managers are starting to take notice. And the best ones are utilizing these strategies to rapidly excel their clients’ growth.

It’s time to make it happen.

Ari Herstand

The Ari of Ari’s Take

“The poster child of DIY Music” – Forbes

Los Angeles based Ari Herstand (pronounced Ar*ee Her*stand), is the author of the best-selling book How To Make It in the New Music Business. It remains at the top of the Amazon charts and has been widely adopted by music business schools worldwide.

His music business advice blog, Ari’s Take, has become the go-to resource for independent musicians on how to run a successful music career in the NEW music industry. Herstand’s well-researched, relatable, no BS approach is why so many musicians continue to trust him for advice. He offers encouragement without condescension and maintains a “we’re all in it together” attitude not found elsewhere in the space.

Ari Herstand is an independent musician who has played over 700 shows around the country (nearly all self-booked), has opened for or toured with Ben Folds, Cake, Matt Nathanson, The Milk Carton Kids and Ron Pope, has performed on Ellen, and has had his music featured in countless TV shows, commercials and films. He currently leads the 1973 funk project Brassroots District.

Herstand has written for many of the top musician trade magazines and websites including Music Connection Magazine, American Songwriter, Digital Music News, Playback Magazine, CD Baby, Tunecore, Reverbnation, Roland, Discmakers, ASCAP, Hypebot and others. He has been a featured speaker at SXSW, BBC One’s Amplify, ASCAP Music Expo, SF MusicTech, CD Baby’s DIY Musician Conference and Berklee College of Music.