The Thrills and Folly of 10k Streams

One of my main goals for “Dare Me”, our latest single release, was to finally get over 1,000 streams on Spotify for 1 song. I have some other songs up, but I didn’t put the work into promoting them that they deserved, and they were mixed and mastered at an amateur level. I was just excited that my music would be up, online, and available for people to listen to.

“Dare Me” was different. I watched so many vlogs, read so many articles, every single person saying something different about how to get attention to your music. I listened to hours of music and reviewed it on SubmitHub so I could get my song listened to with free feedback. I asked everyone for their ideas, everyone I knew. I knew I was asking enough people when someone said, “Have you considered trying to go viral?”. Yes. Yes, I have. I was officially scraping the bottom of the barrel, but I had time and was willing to try anything (especially if it didn’t cost me money).

I wrote a press release. I submitted the song to every applicable blog, as many playlists as I had time for. I updated my website. I paid for a promo video teaser. This was much bigger than a Facebook post, begging my family to listen and share (which I also did). At least, I hoped it was. I don’t think there’s a secret recipe for “making it big” (other than lots of money, of course). There’s hard work, luck, and timing. I put so much hard work into this release, but I know that doesn’t always equal the payoff we hope for.

In this case, we reached 1k streams in under a week. We’re at 10k in just over a month. Not only did the song start strong out of the gate, it’s holding momentum. People LIKE it. We have new followers and fans that are excited about us. In some ways it doesn’t feel real, because I’ve released music before and it’s never been like this. If I’m being honest, though, the entire thing makes me feel like I need to move the goalposts for the next release.

First of all, I know Spotify doesn’t mean everything. Sometimes it doesn’t mean anything. We get percentages of pennies for those streams. We aren’t on any of the editorial playlists, which is where you can really catch people’s attention. And there are so many streaming services now, maybe I should be caring more about our SoundCloud numbers, our Pandora standings. Maybe I should be focusing on selling vinyl of our EP and make some of the money I’ve spent back.

This industry is so nebulous, so random. If I do everything exactly the same for the next song, there’s no guarantee that it will be met as well OR that it won’t do much better. I just have to keep trusting my ear, my voice, and my music to be worth the work, whether or not they get the response I’m hoping for.

If this blog post has made you think that I will never be satisfied, you are correct. However, I am very proud of our Spotify stream numbers. They do make me feel like I’m on the right track. Thank you each and every person that has listened to “Dare Me”. You make me (Rose) and the band feel heard and understood. I might always want more, but I know better than to not be grateful for what I have. THANK YOU!!!! 10K STREAMS!