Happy Saturday!

Welcome or welcome back to my newsletter; Where I’ll reveal hot news from the music industry along with updates on my own musical journey! Today’s main points of discussion are “virality” and consumer culture.

Just in this week, we have a new #1 song on the top 100 charts, “Rich Men of North Richmond” by up and coming artist Oliver Anthony music. Until today, I’d never heard of Oliver Anthony, let me tell you I’m glad I do now and I recommend you check out his music. There is a cut throat honesty to his voice and the words he sings. From the production to the lyrics, this song is raw and seemingly unfiltered. As a producer and songwriter myself, I know the temptation to put on filters. To filter what you have to say or to filter the cracks in your voice for a more “clean” sound. I love this song for saying to h*ll with that. It’s authentic, thought provoking and it goes against the grain of all the music we’ve been seeing be mass produced into the world today.

It’s that idea exactly that leads me into todays topic of discussion: “Virality” and consumer culture. Before we dig in, if you could guess, how many songs would you say are released per day onto streaming services like Spotify and Apple music? Think of a number… The answer is 100,000. One hundred thousand songs every single day. Just this week, two huge artists released already hit songs; Miley Cyrus released “Used to Be Young” and Selena Gomez released “Single Soon”. Now, those sit among the 700,000 song released just this week. Considering the other well known artists that may have released music in that mix, it is easy to feel small as an underground or up and coming artist. However, this week, along side names like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, names we’ve been hearing or years, is the name Oliver Anthony.

fun fact : music helps plants grow faster! <3

I decided to do the research so you don’t have to. How did Oliver go from a country boy writing songs in the woods, living mostly off grid, to a top chart artist. The answer is by using social media as a tool in the most authentic way possible. Oliver did not hop on trends and ride the already viral wave. He created the wave, and is now continuing on it. Oliver used his lifestyle to make himself relatable. He recorded videos of himself singing and playing guitar in the woods and showing his off grid song writing camp and people responded astronomically well. To the point where he now has a number one charting single.

Take aways :

No matter what it comes to, whether you’re a musician, an author, a painter, a comedian, an influencer, a yoga instructor, etc. Here are the top three tools I have concluded in order to use social media as a tool to reach the perfect fan base/market for you.

Let’s wrap up this conversation with some food for thought, is “virality” or “going viral” sustainable? I have seen the answer be yes and no. A lot of times people aren’t ready for the amount of attention and necessity that comes from going viral. You’ve got to be ready to give the consumers what they want. Along with keeping it fresh with new content that matches or tops the previous. I’d say going viral is what you make of it and how you sustain it. Think about what it would look like to go viral and how you might sustain that type of attention. Let your brain wander!

Thanks for tuning in this week! Don’t forget to check out my socials, I just did a collab with local coffee shop The Melody Maker, check out that video below!

I hope to see you at my upcoming gigs!

Love Aways,

Aili Bauman <3

She/Her