New year, same thoughts about my situation as a “worldwide” recording artist. How to reach a larger audience when I’m not a “hey, look at me!” type of person. Getting noticed and discovered and recommended by more people is what we want. There are a lot of us with this predicament. I don’t play live, don’t have a manager, promoter, or a record company staff doing any marketing for me or otherwise helping me get attention online or in publications or whatever. And I can’t bring myself to seek out such opportunities or do any of that type of work in my free time. I’m not a hustler, I’m a creator. I am always self-deprecating, and I balance the desire to create new music and share it with the world with wondering if the music business is telling me the streams just aren’t there to justify continuing. Should I drop myself from my own label? One problem is I can't afford any marketing, but another is I sort of despise self-promotion. What else could I be doing? Some say the cream rises to the top naturally, and since I'm still a bottom-dweller after 20+ years, maybe I need to get a clue and either get better or get out. Better songs is one thing to focus on in the new year, which I certainly have control over, but I’m ruling out better recording quality and better performance quality by not being able to afford pro engineers and session musicians that pro studios (whether brick/mortar or cloud service) could provide. I honestly believe some of my songs are worthy and deserving of the pro treatment, and I know that forking out over two grand for a premium Martin guitar about 15 years ago that I didn’t think I was good enough to deserve, did indeed turn out to be worth it for my favorite hobby. Should I invest more in myself and take it more seriously, or should I be ashamed that I’ve taken it as seriously as I already have been for all these years? Such are my thoughts as I begin a new year, and I know I’m not alone.
It takes great patience and the right frame of mind to read my long-winded posts that help me figure these things out, and yet I know from my analytics that quite a few of you do, so I’ll type on.
The underground music scene, which has been increasingly marginalized on streaming platforms by power-hungry and control-hungry major record labels under the guise of their "artist-centric" rhetoric, is as strong and fresh as it has ever been. Self-releasing independent DIY lo-fi artists like me seem to thrive on platforms like Bandcamp. Such music sounds very real/genuine/authentic/etc. compared to the trend-chasing, digitally-polished and artificially-perfect fake-sounding music the major labels release. Unlike the signed artists who are expected to sound perfectly fake and market the heck out of themselves on social media and elsewhere, artists like me have no expectations (or budget) for such nonsensical pursuits. Most of us don't really seek publicity, don't buy fake streams, and don't buy fake playlist adds. We love being totally independent so we can focus on the important stuff like writing good songs without any expectation of recouping recording or marketing loans. We don't stoop low enough to drum up controversy or “sensationalization” for attention.
Music Marketing for “Emerging” or “Aspiring” or “Developing” Artists
All that being swept aside, it is necessary to market yourself as an artist, and to do that, you must first have some understanding of what genre of music you make, what other artists you sound like, and who your audience is. If you are not able to describe it, categorize it, explain your style, etc., then it's a tough row to hoe. The major labels / streaming platforms are now ramping up their gatekeeping so that if you don't get a certain number of streams for each song (1,000 per year each to be more precise), you stand no chance of getting paid. This allows them to make more money, and that's why they exist. For a couple of decades now, however, due to it becoming increasingly inexpensive to buy simple home recording equipment and pay for aggregator digital distribution services, they claim something needs to be done about the "oversaturation" of music that simply isn't popular enough. When the fans decide what they like best, as opposed to what the major labels decide to market to them, it is theoretically better for everyone, but with so much competition, you can't get over a thousand streams per year of each song you release, year after year, without scrambling to get online attention somehow.
Past Mid-Career Already, Yet Not Easy To Market
I have more than two decades and twelve albums under my belt, so I must have a story capable of capturing attention if I want to take things to a higher level of public awareness, right? If I only knew how to describe myself as a musical artist, I might then be able to formulate a marketing strategy, plan and execute a publicity campaign of some kind. I guess that would mean reaching out to music bloggers and ask them to write about me, or paying for actual advertising to get that fan base past the streaming threshold. As a non-performing solo artist seeking a larger audience online, I suppose doing a lot of frequent social media posts might help, as would getting the music reviewed or being interviewed. Before thinking about what my “brand” is, or how to make my story more interesting, I need to at least be willing to seek attention, and it goes against my grain, but I think about it from time to time. The fact is that platforms like Bandcamp are full of really interesting artists who you would never imagine being appropriate to be promoted for radio airplay, but nonetheless are so much fun to discover and listen to. So, although I’m not an attention-seeking personality type, I give it some thought.
A New Approach – Maybe Brutal Honesty Would Work?
Last year, someone asked me what kind of a solo artist I am. Once again, as always, I struggled to provide a quick, easy answer for such a question. My music does not fit neatly into a popular genre people are familiar with. I wish there was a simple way to explain it, but I have trouble with it. People really want a categorization or at least some sort of explanation, and they find it hard to believe I can't describe myself to them. The right thing to do is to have a short answer that makes them want to listen to decide for themselves. It should include who you get compared to. I remain unprepared, and wish I could be ready with the perfect elevator pitch answer. Sometimes I say something like “you know how there’s people who aren’t very good who just release their music on the streaming platforms anyway? I’m one of them.” They usually don’t understand, because they only listen to their favorite famous artists anyway.
Looney Tunes
It seriously took a lot out of me to even tell people about my last album “Sunrise” when I released it last June. Social media makes people get crazy, so I generally like to avoid it. I got a little Looney Tunes near the end of 2024, what with the holiday stress and all here where I live near Goodrich, Michigan, home of the Martians, and like Marvin the Martian, there were a few times when I wanted to shoot a ray gun at my music “career” and make it go away, find a different hobby, but then I came back to my senses.
Also last year, I finally thought of another self-deprecating way to describe myself:
I'm the Raygun of solo artists, the Rachael Gunn of music streaming.
Translation: So bad I make people laugh hysterically.
Becoming Aware of Raygun, the Dr. of Breakin', the OG Australian B-Girl
Let me explain. Somehow, last year I was made aware of a video on YouTube showing a losing performance by this Raygun person in the summer Olympics breakdancing competition. First of all, I didn't even know breakdancing was technically a sport, let alone an Olympic sport, but apparently, it is now. That, by itself, was hilarious to me. Also, the name Raygun sounded hilarious, especially after seeing what she looked like, but I did initially think it could be a good breaker's name. Then before clicking the link to play the video, I expected it to look like the breakdancing I'd seen on TV or in those bad movies of the 1980s when it was new. It didn't. I expected a black person in 80s style urban street attire. Instead, it was a white Australian woman wearing what looked like a uniform of track pants and a baseball hat. Her moves didn't look like the breakdancing I'd seen before, and I started thinking to myself as I watched it that maybe it had evolved a lot since I'd seen it back in the day. Trying to keep an open mind, I found myself laughing out loud a little bit as I watched it. I wasn't sure what I'd just seen, and thought it was not out of the realm of possibility that it was a joke of some kind.
Then I decided to google her, and learned that a lot of other people had the same reaction. Unsurprisingly, she got a score of zero, meaning no points awarded by judges at all. People shared theories online that she had somehow scammed the system to get into the competition so that she could use her Olympics experience as a free vacation while representing her country and getting them to foot the bill. Further research revealed this was not the case at all, and she took the "sport" so seriously that she actually had a PhD degree in breakdancing. The world changed a lot since Krush Groove and Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo, when no one could have ever fathomed that it would not only become an Olympic sport, but something you could get a doctorate degree in. Obviously, she took it very seriously, was trying hard to be creative with her own style, flair, technique, and choreography, and wanted to win. Then I learned that she had some legitimate qualifications at the national level, which made me think break dancing must have evolved to something way different in Australia. Even more funny are the online comments on the video footage of her. People have named her various moves and created memes. Lastly, I was sad to learn she was not able to laugh along with others' reactions and instead felt so bad about the cyberbullying that she quit.
Not Like Raygun in Some Ways
Fortunately, I have not experienced any bullying about my music career. Unlike Raygun, I don't have any formal music education at all. I'm completely self taught. Also unlike Raygun, I am able to make fun of myself and maintain a sense of humor about trying to go for it in the music business. If songwriting became an Olympic sport, there'd be a ton of Americans who would qualify before me. I'm cracking myself up as I type this.
Zero Scores, Zero Streams
But like Raygun's zero scores, I have written, recorded and released many songs that have zero plays on some some streaming platforms. No points scored at all. One could argue it's due to a lack of any marketing whatsoever on my part, and although there is truth in that, I can admit, those songs are not my best. I am a terrible singer and weak guitar player and even worse at the other instruments and recording and production and all that other stuff I attempt.
Similar Reactions?
I know people must have a similar reaction when they do stream my music. They must think to themselves, "okay, what's this?"...and then after hitting play on a couple more, they must think to themselves "why is this guy even on Spotify in the first place?" Things along those lines, I imagine. So, that's how I'm like Raygun. The Raygun of singer-songwriters who makes people wonder "how did he get here?" or "why is this even allowed?"
No Joke
Also, like Raygun, my art is not a joke. I seriously love writing songs and recording them, and actually think many of them are pretty damned good songs. I'm serious about the passion I have for the craft. I'm still laughing as I type this, realizing how it must sound to those who have heard the quality of my recordings (or lack thereof). On the one hand, I don't take it that seriously, and I think of it as a fun hobby. I don't work very hard on it at all – a fact that should be evident to all who listen. On the other hand, I'm enthusiastic about it as a creative outlet in my life. Some of my songs are intentionally humorous, almost like novelty songs, but not quite. I know many must laugh at the ones I didn't intend to be funny too. I can laugh along with them. Some of my acoustic guitar solos are the music equivalent of Raygun’s Kangaroo pose. I know I'm not awesome, but I do have some ill moves in my arsenal. 😊 I’d put my shredding technique up there with former 80s child actor Corey Feldman – another person who went viral last year.
Sneaking In and the Inevitable Increased Gatekeeping
Raygun sort of snuck in when the sport was new, and they may not let in others like her in future competitions. The powers that be might get a little stricter with their gatekeeping. Similarly, I sort of snuck in to the music business when they started allowing self-releasing DIY independent artists like me about twenty years ago now. In the last couple years, the music business has been getting more stringent with their gatekeeping so there will be fewer like me allowed into the music streaming services in the future.
I haven't given up yet, and the “artist-centric” greedy major record labels and music streaming service gatekeepers haven't totally shut me out yet, so I'm going to keep going for it and releasing new music. A lot of people don't realize it's dirt-cheap to put out an album these days yourself without needing to be signed to a record label deal. So, they’re surprised when they learn my music is available alongside the greats of the industry.
The Eye of the Beholder Thing
Streams happen, or don't. Stats happen. Judgement is going to happen. Beauty in any creation is different for each individual person who experiences it. Opinions about the value and merit of different types of art, including breakdancing or music, are personal. Emotional reactions are subjective, appreciation depends on people's tastes. You be the judge. I don't seek outside opinions about my music at all. Just my wife and a couple friends. I'm not competitive in any way. No one ever reviews my music. I'm in a bubble, yes, but I don't have a skewed perception of reality. I'm fairly certain more than one person in the world has thought I was embarrassing myself by releasing music, or that I should be embarrassed about doing it. I am a little embarrassed, for some of the songs, but I keep trying, and I actually notice little ways I might be getting better over the years. Maybe not at all though, come to think of it, and at least I can laugh about that.
No Guts No Glory
I am someone who has had the courage to be vulnerable and offer up my creativity for judgement by releasing my music on a worldwide stage, just like Raygun. She and I each had the guts to give it a try, thinking it was worthy and that some people would like it. We were right. It's not so much that we had confidence despite lacking talent. I'm not ultra-confident, but I just do it anyway. I am afraid to have people hear my music, but at the same time, I want it to be available because I know some people will like it. I'm not delusional.
Raygun has stated that she is only going to dance for personal enjoyment for the rest of her life. I think it would be better if she came back strong in Los Angeles in 2028. It would also be great if she could learn to laugh at herself, laugh along with people laughing at her. I have respect for her. For real. I also can’t help but laugh – both at her routine and the world’s reaction to her.
The Inevitable Humble-Bragging
At least Raygun can say she competed in an Olympic sport. Whatever level of accomplishment anyone has in anything, there are some who are better and some who are worse off. You need the people who fail. Someone has to lose. I make other solo artists look good, and solo artists like me must exist if you think about it in a certain way. We can’t all be tied. This is ridiculous because writing songs is not a sport, but if it were, at least I’d be able to say I got a certain number of streams, and that number would be higher than some other artists.
I really do like to think of myself as a modest person, and yet, I like to occasionally humble-blog about myself. It’s the equivalent of the nauseating holiday letters that boast accomplishments you get along with Christmas cards from large wealthy successful families you sort of envy/hate/make fun of. But it’s also a form of me, the Raygun of solo artists, engaging with you, my superfans, which “they” say is extremely important.
I was fortunate last year that a really good singer and solo artist named Ultimate Rick Jones recorded and released an outstanding professional and commercial-sounding cover version of one of my songs, “Used To Be Good Looking.” He was one of the few out there in the world to recognize it was a good song, which admittedly wasn’t easy to spot from hearing my own version, but if you listen to his, you might start thinking I am not a terrible songwriter, at least.
This gave me some additional confidence, but I'm definitely not overconfident. This blog is full of posts where I basically admit I know I'm not great, but the stats don't lie. Last I checked, my not quitting has resulted in my song "Mackinac Island" (admittedly a novelty song) racking up over 26,000 streams on Spotify alone.
Not to brag, but I might be laughing all the way to a whole penny someday soon. But yeah, in some ways, as Raygun is to breakdancing, Scott Cooley is to music making. We’re both out to express ourselves creatively and entertain.
Happy New Year! As always, I’ll be working on the next batch of tunes for you, as free time allows, while wisely not giving up the day job, and will be planning another release, possibly even later this year. Also as always, I’ll be blogging about myself as I continue to pretend I’m a solo artist. It’s a little insane, I know, but people need hobbies.
