In advance of NY:LON CONNECT 2023, we asked Amuse – which is co-sponsor of the event’s Artist Manager track – to share with us the exciting opportunities they see ahead in 2023. Aimed at indie artists, this “pep talk” – from Hannah Dudley, Head of Artist Marketing & Promotion at Amuse – takes stock of the music business landscape, and offers some advice, perspective, and positive encouragement in the face of what can sometimes feel like an overwhelming glut of data, services, and competition.
While the challenges of being an independent artist in 2023 continue to grow, in almost equal measure, the opportunities and benefits that come from being independent are also increasing. At Amuse we talk about data a lot. We use it to sign artists, we use it to take decisions and we use it to continue to develop our product, distribution service, and the support we provide, everything to disrupt the music industry and help artists to succeed on their own terms.
Data continues to be an almost overwhelming yet fundamental part of being an independent artist. The brilliance of the somewhat democratization of data is that you can access everything yourself as an artist. This truly does empower artists to ever-increasing degrees by allowing them to know their audience, understand what is working, and test out tactics such as different release patterns or TikTok video ideas.
It’s there for the taking – if you know where to look
In our view, the fundamental core of being an independent artist is that no one can want this more than you. But if you are willing to read the data, dig into your metrics to see where your content is being best engaged with or where your track is showing the most traction, and then turn that into how you work on promoting it yourself, it’s all there for the taking.
The challenge remains that it can be hard to know where to start, which data to focus on, or which platform to lean in on the furthest. But the worst thing you can do is allow yourself to be overwhelmed and not do any of it! You will never build a loyal fanbase if you don’t engage directly with your audience. You can’t have a Discord community if you never use Discord.
Sometimes artists miss the most simple yet important parts of these different marketing tactics. And some make the mistake of thinking that having a team do things for them, incorrectly means they don’t have to still be involved. Having a team should support and empower your vision, not replace it.
So while no one can want this more than you, no one can understand your capabilities more than you either. Don’t over-commit, if you know you won’t follow through. Focus on the areas where you are seeing the most rewards – and only add team members who will help you build on this.
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