I’m not a Marshall McLuhan maven, but one thing is for sure, the internet has changed the message, and too many refuse to accept this.

It crosses all art forms, from books to movies, but here I’m going to focus on music.

It starts off with short. No one is going to dedicate a lot of time to that which they don’t already like. So, your first entry must be short.

This is the essence of TikTok/Instagram Reels, where everything breaks today. You can deny this, but it is only to your detriment.

How do you grab people quickly?

There are many ways, but one thing is for sure, the traditional path just doesn’t work.

People don’t want to see a fifteen or thirty second clip of a new recording over images… No, because the means of production are in the hands of the proletariat, i.e. everybody has a recording device in their pocket and access to the internet and free distribution, it’s become about humanity. So, whatever your clip is, it must focus on humanity. You can use razzle-dazzle images, but even if they gain traction, they’re one and done. The focus must be on those in the video, and in music, that must be the people making it.

Now back when production and distribution was expensive and most people could not play, the key was to deliver perfection, in drips and drabs. Remember when a live album used to be a big thing, put out after four or five studio LPs? The internet has eviscerated that paradigm. Today, live is free on YouTube. But, since there’s so much product in the marketplace, perfection is no longer key, never mind that most people are listening on substandard systems. Yes, in a digital world of zeros and ones, you need to deliver what computers cannot, i.e. humanity. It’s a fool’s errand to comp vocals, do it over and over again to get it exactly right. That’s what Suno does, you’re human, you make mistakes, you need to leave them in.

And you must display your emotions, you must laugh and cry, be serious and…

So, if  you want to break a new artist, you must do it on these platforms.

Ups are cheap and outs are not counted. That means you should do it until you get it right, i.e. people respond. Songwriting camps? How passé! These should be multimedia camps creating short clips. Not for others, but for those who write the tunes. It should be closer to an OnlyFans house than it is to the songwriting camps of today. You all get together and create…BUT THAT’S THE END PRODUCT! It’s not about writing something for someone else to sing, but you. And you need to post right after you’ve written it, when you’re still in the same emotional space. It can be just you and your guitar if you can convey the gravitas and the meaning, if it’s an emotional effort, not  studied one. However, you and your compatriots at the camp/in the house should be making innovative clips, that’s part of the songwriting process today. It’s all baked at once. Fast. And if it doesn’t work, you go back to the drawing board.

And when you create this way, genres are irrelevant. The major labels are looking for easy lifts, something like the last thing that they can promote in the press and to radio. No, you start with online and stay online. Your hope is it crosses over to traditional DSPs, period. But you have to build it, the thought of breaking through a DSP playlist is laughable. You’re one of a zillion songs, that people may never hear again, never mind they’re not paying attention to begin with. But on TikTok…people  are focused. You’re either on or you’re off, you’re not distracted. So the audience is giving its full attention, and if people see something they like, they want more of it. Period.

As for longer efforts…

Once you gain an audience, once people are hooked, then you can experiment with longer form content. Before that, thirty seconds is enough. That’s right, we’re looking for HOOKS! Certainly less than a minute. If you can’t get your message across in that period of time you’re not really an artist.

You must get your head out of the old game.

Both the labels and the creators. Stop talking about making albums, which only came about because of the invention of the 33 1/3 vinyl record. You’re doing it all wrong.

Number one is your relationship with your audience. If you truly hook people, they’ll follow you anywhere. And the rule of TikTok is you’ve got to produce, produce, produce. The truth is if someone likes what you’re doing, they want more of it. You’re now a friend of theirs, on the verge of being a best friend. You connect with your best friend every day, that’s what people are expecting of the posters on TikTok.

It’s audience first!

Don’t think about music first. Don’t think about the chart first. Think about what it’s going to take to get people to pay attention and to continue to want to pay attention. This does not necessarily mean lowest common denominator, it means INTERESTING! Sometimes catchy. Always innovative. We’re looking for progenitors online, not imitators.

Now young people already know everything I’ve stated above. They don’t read newspapers. They want that direct hit that only comes from the phone. And the oldsters are so pissed about this that they rail about social media and want to take youngsters’ phones away. But that’s like trying to kill the Beatles. The audience is hooked, they want more. And what is delivered on TikTok is exactly what oldsters do not purvey. It’s a feeling more than an image, it’s not mere content, it’s about the effect. You know, the way you felt hearing a song only once and needing to go to the record store to buy it.

You can argue with me all you want, but the ship has already sailed, this is where we are.

Everybody’s cottage industry and the major labels have no power the individual does not. And the more layers you put between creator and audience the more you squeeze out the juice. People need to feel that direct connection, that’s what being sold in this digital world. Which is why experiences are king. Think about delivering an EXPERIENCE! That’s what your music should be.

P.S. I’ll say it again, if you’re not spending a lot of time on TikTok… I hope you’re not in the music business. TikTok is like Napster, only in this case, the disruption is in content as well as distribution. And until you understand the new platform, you can’t operate. This is why the major labels are wasting so much money trying to break new artists, they’re just doubling-down on an old paradigm that is nearly dead. Spending a lot on a few, polishing and promoting. No, today the marketplace is broad, and you don’t have to spend a lot to make it. It’s about making as opposed to promotion. Everything is your art. You’re performing online every time you post. Forget gatekeepers, those who promise exposure. Sure, a sync in a major production may yield dividends, yet the odds are very low. But the majors keep shooting arrows, hoping to hit the target. The world of creativity has already been disrupted. But all we get from Spielberg and the oldsters is movies are inviolate and must be seen in a theatre. How out of touch can you be? As for short attention spans… People have unlimited time for that which they love, but if they don’t love it, they just scroll on.