What Is Engagement on Spotify (and What Does Good Engagement Look Like)
It’s not a secret that what’s measured gets improved. As much as we musicians like to hate on metrics, the truth is that the same goes for Spotify success. If you’re an artist and seriously thinking of making music your profession, you don’t just have to analyze your audience –you’ve also got to build your […]
Soffee’s “Orange Maple” is Delightfully Bittersweet
Soffee’s music is a latte. It seems the autumnal-themed songs are rolling in with the turn of Fall, and Soffee‘s 8th single “Orange Maple” is no exception. While the titular maple tree is Fall-themed enough, I dare to make more parallels. Indeed – Soffee’s sound is not just the tree; it is itself like the […]
Feist Excavates Decaying Relationships on “The Bad in Each Other”
Met·tle /ˈmedl/NounA person’s ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way. It’s early in 2011 and Feist, having just finished recording her fourth album, is happily considering the final strokes. In social and family circles, one of the most frequent questions she receives is “What […]
David Beck Throws Away the Rubble on “Miner’s Song”
“Miner’s Song” is the lead single of David Beck’s upcoming album Bloom and Fade, out September 30. Beck sings from the perspective of a prospector: “You can throw away the rubble, give me the gold.” The rough, definitive backbeats of the drums strike like a pickaxe through the course of the song, electric guitar chords […]
BADSOMA’s “Violet Hue” is Cryptic and Charming
California based musician BADSOMA has had a very busy 2022, dropping three singles in the space of 7 months (all by himself, too). Following this slew of fresh releases, BADSOMA unveiled his debut EP in September, Heat and Disorder. It features four tracks, all of which take inspiration from bands such as LCD Soundsystem, Tame […]
My Phone Died
I submerged my phone in coffee last week. Not purposefully, of course. Here’s how it happened… I’d just gotten coffee from Mango Tree, my favorite local shop that features high ceilings, mahogany furniture, and people with interesting haircuts and tattoos of humanoid mushrooms. Every time I go in there, I feel like the least hip […]
The Best Music Marketing Plan for 2023
Most weeks, someone sends me an email like this one: Hey Jon, I’m completely lost in the streaming/playlist/tagging/pitching/social media connecting digital age. I’m just trying to scratch out some insight, education and perspective, to figure out how in hell I might be able to reach an audience out there… because I’m an artist, and I’d […]
“Lightning Rider” Arrives on Wispy Clouds
Smooth vocals soaring over flute and guitar start “Lightning Rider” with a lilting “Do you want to be my…?”, repeated like the sing-song voices of children at play. Then the saw-like buzz of the cello enters, and similar vocals – an octave lower than the first – cut in with a more rugged earnestness. The […]
The Smoky Sounds of Jake Rozier’s “Cigarettes”
Spokane’s Jake Rozier has that easy familiarity with his guitar – and banjo, for that matter – which naturally emerges from years of that combination of love and steady practice that you know when you hear it. After you’ve heard those strings a while, there’s more. There’s a storyteller’s voice, singing phrases that are fresh […]
Jade Jackson on “As You Run” and the Roots Rock Renaissance
If you’re wondering where to find the next Rosanne Cash, look no further than roots-rock artist Jade Jackson. In the late 1980s, Rosanne Cash and Bonnie Raitt had a string of radio hits, then their type of music unfortunately fell out of vogue. Now it’s making a comeback thanks to artists like Jackson and Aubrie […]
