2ton3’s style as an artist is melodic but lyrical, something I’m getting accustomed to hearing from southern artists like S.A.E, NBA YoungBoy, and Yungeen Ace, but 2ton3 brings his own style. I like how his vocals pierce through the beat and bounce off the 808s.

We’re back with another song review of an artist, this time a song produced by a member of S.A.E., an affiliate artist of Stoned Produce. The song is called Devotion, by the artist Quaid, another artist on the Atlas88 label, and it is his second song ever officially released, though it is hard to tell with how well the song is put together, only about a minute long, the song is potent. To start, the production is not what I’d expect from S.A.E., but that is not a bad thing, as it is a jazz inspired boombap rap track with no melodic adlibs, but packed with lyrics and flows.

We’re back with another S.A.E. review, this time for their latest single Millions, produced by Apollo Jay. The newest affiliate artists of Stoned Produce have dropped another banger with their melodic, yet lyrical style. I first wrote about the duo from Mississippi when I discovered their 2022 single Chain Gang, and have since added them to my rotation, and was pleasantly surprised that they recently dropped again.

I found another gem searching for new music and it comes from the duo hailing from Lumberton Mississippi, S.A.E. The name of the song in question is Chain Gang and it’s full of energy. The upcoming duo, made up of artists R.S.K. and Kp4bandz, released their first single of the year on February 11, crafting a song around their melodic and precise delivery with the perfect amount of vocal effects.

JBadge is an up and coming artist from Fairfield, California, and he’s back with an independently sold song, Statements.

On New Year’s Eve, up and coming producer/artist Zayne blessed us all with his latest release, a vibey house tune called Arcane.

This song is a form of vibes personified. It’s as if Zayne produced a movie, set at nighttime at a dance bar. The night starts off calm, setting in the atmosphere needed for the rest of the night. Then the clock strikes twelve and the song picks up, slowly building energy, until you have no choice but to feel the beat and start tapping your foot and nodding your head.

I’ve just discovered a new artist that’s unique, yet familiar that I was impressed by and wanted to bring to everyone’s attention. As I’m cruising the Spotify algorithms, I was suggested a song by an up and coming artist, Killerteddybear, and I was transported back to the 80’s. The particular song was Cruising and the production alone is timeless, as it could fit in multiple decades. But once you get past the production, Killerteddybear’s vocals are the definition of modern.

KevKov is an up and coming producer from Germany, who’s talent lies in his versatility and sound design. His discography is full of diverse instrumentals, making you want to either vibe or dance. Ambiguity is the first release in which KevKov instrumentation is fronted by a vocalist which does nothing but enhance his production and engineering. He does a fantastic job at creating an atmosphere throughout his music that is sure to hook anyone that’s listening. I cannot wait to hear what the duo have in store.

There are four principles of marketing music that are often overlooked by new artists when trying to gain a fanbase:

1. Accessibility: Getting your music heard

2. Accessibility: Branding/Aesthetic

3. Perception: Proof of Work Ethic

4. Perception: Social Proof

In this article we will explain them, and how they help bring attention to your music from new listeners.

The basics of marketing is the same for every artist, what separates them is how they use the principles of marketing creatively.

Before figuring out what you can do, you must study the mistakes that other artists make. How many times have you seen artists just spam their song links in whatever platform they’re using? How many times has that made you want to listen to their music?

If you don’t have a following, posting your link and asking someone to listen to it, won’t get them to do it. You have to find a way to creatively either force them to hear the music, or impress them with the content around the music enough to convince them to listen. Here are some ways to accomplish this:

You’ve finished recording, mixing and mastering, and you’re ready to release your art, what’s next?

Your first step should be picking a release date. While it sounds simple and arbitrary, the day your song or project goes live can add or take away momentum from your music, for many reasons.

Marketing music is the most pivotal aspect of the industry that defines the difference between a successful and unsuccessful independent artist. Chances are, the greater your reach, the more people will like your music. If out of 100 people, only 10 like your music, then potentially 100 out of 1000 people will like it. The ultimate goal of marketing for any business is to get the product seen or heard, because someone is bound to take a chance on it. With that being said, artists have to get their music in front of an audience.

Franklin Stone has continued his run of emotionally packed hits with the release of his debut EP, Seasons, and we were fortunate enough to interview him about it.

Lenses, by Franklin Stone, was released on July 2, 2021, and as of today, a month later, has allowed Stone to reach a few milestones. The first is his monthly listener count, rising from 6 to 1200. The second, and more important, milestone is his follower count, going from 40 to just shy of 200. While the numbers aren’t that high, we did it all with no social media or major roll out. In this article we will explain the ins and outs of our marketing campaign for him, including budget, strategies, and takeaways.

We covered one way of finding Spotify playlist curators in a previous post, the method we described is the most accessible way of finding curators that want songs submitted to them, but there are other, less obvious and direct ways of finding curators. We will cover four more ways of discovering and reaching out to the Spotify users who have made playlists for placements.

How to Find Independent Playlist Curators

This is what you came for right? Well be warned that this process does take a long time and a dedicated mind, especially if you don’t want to pay someone to do the research for you. With that being said, the process is quite easy.

How do I promote my music for free? I only have a little money to spare for marketing my song, how should I spend it? What’s the best promotion strategy for my music?
If you’ve asked these questions then you’re not alone. Thousands of new artists are searching for ways to maximize a low budget when promoting music. In this article, I’m going to cover free ways to invest that return your desired results. Stick around until the end for where to spend your money, if you do have it, to invest in marketing.

Because we recognize the importance of playlist curators as gatekeepers in music, we’ve gone ahead and found 100 playlists and curators that are willing to accept submissions for free, and tips on how to pitch your music.

Want to know how to approach Spotify playlist curators, or what curators to submit music to? 

We have it all here!

“If you can sell one, you can sell a million.” I heard that quote from an advisor while building a startup company in college, and while there is a bit of embellishment, the sentiment behind the statement is true, nonetheless. Today I want to address the importance of securing one true fan and the obsession with instant success for independent artists.

The final reason, which is the most important, is that music is consumed differently than the days of CDs and vinyls. People find new music in curated playlists and they curate their own personal playlists or pick the songs in which they want to listen. They aren’t listening to full projects, especially if they don’t know or are fans of you, the attention span of consumers these days is too short. Bodies of work still have their place in the industry, but only once the artist builds integrity with their fans.