From: myfirstmillionpod
Connor and Brianna have achieved significant success in music streaming without major label support by developing innovative marketing and content strategies that prioritize audience engagement and direct monetization. Their approach highlights the potential for independent artists to thrive by owning their masters and diversifying their revenue streams.
The Business Model of Independent Artists
Historically, the music industry has seen little money in streaming due to labels owning a large percentage of artists’ songs, often 80% [00:00:19 | 00:00:22]. However, Connor and Brianna demonstrate that owning one’s songs can lead to substantial earnings from streaming platforms [00:00:22]. On average, one million streams on Spotify can generate approximately $4,000 USD [00:00:00]. The artists are currently averaging about 60 million streams a month [00:00:07].
Their initial financial goal was to make 1,000 monthly to over $100,000 [00:22:43].
Their diverse revenue streams for independent artists include:
- Streaming royalties (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) [00:29:02]
- YouTube monetization (especially YouTube Shorts) [00:29:04]
- Brand deals, which can reach high six figures [00:32:04]
- Sync licensing (songs in commercials, TV, video games) [00:32:19]
- Publishing (songwriting royalties) [00:32:25]
- Merchandise [00:32:53]
- Live shows and festivals [00:32:55]
The primary focus is on streaming, which is their number one revenue stream by far [00:29:02]. While touring can be lucrative for mega-superstars, for artists at their current stage, it often just breaks even due to costs like bus rentals, tour managers, travel, and DJs [00:34:03]. They strategically choose pop-up shows and festivals to maintain fan engagement without the extensive financial and time commitment of full tours [00:35:46]. They also offer free meet-and-greets to fans, prioritizing connection over additional revenue from VIP experiences [00:37:17].
Their long-term business goal is to continue scaling their music catalog and potentially sell it someday, similar to how a business would be valued [01:17:00]. Their ambition is to achieve a valuation of $500 million within three to four years [01:41:45].
Innovative Marketing and Content Strategies
Brianna, with a background in marketing and sales strategies from a pet company, applies a similar approach to music [01:13:04]. The key is to “hook someone in” and tell a story around the song [01:13:08].
Leveraging Social Media Platforms
Connor and Brianna have mastered using platforms like TikTok to promote music, playing the platform “like a fiddle” [01:41:00]. They recognized that users on TikTok tend to swipe away if they feel like they are being sold something [00:05:27]. Their strategy is to provide entertainment first [00:05:32].
Key elements of their social media growth strategies:
- Opening Skits: Instead of traditional song intros, they use short, engaging skits to pique curiosity before introducing the music [00:04:50]. Connor, with his acting background, plays multiple characters (e.g., producer, nerdy brother) to create diverse and entertaining scenarios [00:05:03]. These skits add meaning and context to the songs, making them more memorable [00:45:11].
- Strong Hooks: Videos aim to hook the viewer within the first two to three seconds [00:15:58].
- Visual Storytelling: Incorporating visual elements, such as the spinning globe or a carrot flute, creates a compelling narrative around the music [00:18:06].
- Constant Engagement: They ensure something new happens every 4-5 seconds in their videos to prevent audience lapse [00:20:12]. This applies even to the music, where Connor switches his flow faster to create new moments [00:42:00].
- Repurposing Content: They successfully repurposed popular TikToks onto YouTube Shorts by using original files without watermarks [00:29:23]. This led to rapid subscriber growth, with 800,000 subscribers gained in one month [00:29:53].
- Understanding Platform Nuances: YouTube is considered more creator-friendly than TikTok for monetization and promotion, as it allows pinned comments with streaming links, which TikTok has removed [00:31:03]. TikTok actively discourages users from leaving the app by hiding comments with phrases like “link in bio” or “Spotify” [00:31:41].
Flagship Series: “Spin the Globe”
Their “Spin the Globe” series was a pivotal moment for their growth [00:15:19]. The concept involves Connor spinning a globe, landing on a country, and then collaborating with an artist from that region [00:15:21].
- The first video, featuring a collaboration with a Zambian artist named Killa, garnered 72 million views on TikTok and another 72 million on YouTube Shorts [00:15:32]. Killa’s monthly listeners soared from under 1,000 to over a million due to this exposure [00:15:47].
- This series demonstrates how an initial concept can be reverse-engineered into content, even if the song existed first [00:18:49].
- The success of “Spin the Globe” solidified their approach of creating content around the song, sometimes even conceiving the content idea first and then composing the music to fit it [00:21:03].
Content vs. Traditional Music
Connor and Brianna acknowledge that their TikTok approach is distinct from traditional music promotion [00:42:50]. While their full songs are good, the skits add significant value and memorability, making the content highly original [00:45:11]. Their goal on TikTok is to reach new listeners, while YouTube focuses on nurturing existing fans and monetizing views [00:43:20].
They choose to remain independent artists, despite offers from major labels [00:55:20]. This decision is driven by their desire to control their creative process and business, aiming to prove that independent success is possible [00:55:36].
Family and Future Endeavors
The entire operation is a family affair, with siblings and in-laws quitting their jobs to join the team [00:25:17]. This includes Christian, Brianna’s brother-in-law, who mixes and masters all the music and played the carrot flute in a viral video [00:25:29]. Working with family requires careful management, including planning date nights to maintain the husband-and-wife relationship separate from the business partnership [00:27:26].
Brianna attributes much of her creative drive to being homeschooled, which fostered a need for creativity and led her to start various small businesses and film projects from a young age [01:05:18].
Future aspirations include:
- Expanding their character-based skits into a longer-form series, potentially called “The Studio,” with guest appearances from actors like Idris Elba or Courtney Cox [00:46:34].
- Pitching “Spin the Globe” as a Netflix show, where Connor would travel to the featured countries, meet local artists, and explore their music scenes and cultures [00:47:02].
- Brianna plans to launch a newsletter and potentially a business called “Home Studio” to provide kits and resources for aspiring independent artists to make music from home [01:17:37].
Advice and Insights
- Fear of Judgment: Connor initially released music anonymously under an alter ego (“Unidentified”) due to fear of judgment [01:03:37]. Brianna’s encouragement helped him overcome this and “go all in” [01:04:22].
- “Real Estate” Mindset: Connor compares songs to real estate, advocating for consistent production: “If you can buy a piece of real estate every two weeks, why wouldn’t you?” [00:40:49] Some songs will be “shacks,” others “mansions” [00:40:54].
- Copyright-Free Music: Connor offers a Spotify playlist of his DMCA-safe, copyright-free music for streamers and video creators to use, believing the long-term value of creators using his music outweighs immediate small royalties [01:16:32].
- Parenting Advice: For new parents, they emphasize being present during the newborn days, as time flies quickly [01:10:07]. They learned to put down their phones and be fully present with their child to avoid feeling overwhelmed [01:12:13].