Your Weekly Guide to Artist and Business Development

One Songwriting Tool...

What better way to learn songwriting than by watching a Grammy-winning artist break down one of her biggest hits? In this MasterClass, Alicia Keys teaches you how to write from authentic emotion as she walks you through the songwriting process behind “Fallin’.”

FYI: MasterClass is a paid subscription service like Netflix, but instead of shows you’re learning new skills from icons like John Legend and Christina Aguilera.

One Performance Resource…

Level up your pre-show warm-up with this simple exercise from Eric Vetro, vocal coach for Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter. Warning: it might feel a little silly at first, but the results don’t lie!

One Music Business Idea...

Releasing an EP soon? You might want to try a waterfall release, where you release one song at a time, adding each new track to the previous ones before dropping the full EP. This lets each song get its own chance at playlist pitching, builds streams over time, and gives your music more opportunity to gain traction on social media.

Try it out: Decide your release order, and schedule each drop 4 weeks or more apart. Pitch each new song to Spotify before release. Be sure to use the same ISRC code when re-releasing earlier songs so new streams are counted correctly.

Release schedule example:

Week 1: Song 1

Week 5: Song 2 + Song 1

Week 10: Song 3 + Song 2 + Song 1

Week 15: Full EP

One Music Production Idea...

Sometimes the secret to a bigger chorus isn’t adding more instruments, it’s adding more speed. On your next song, experiment with bumping the tempo of your chorus up by just 2 or 3 bpm to add energy in a way that feels almost invisible.

Try it out: Automate a gradual tempo rise to build tension, like Benson Boon in These Beautiful Things. Or flip it by slowing the chorus down for drama, like Lana Del Rey’s West Coast. Experiment with what feels right for your track.

Pro-tip: Start experimenting before you record any live instruments or vocals!

One Marketing Tip...

Try posting your music on a platform where you don’t already have friends and family following you. This gives you a clean slate to experiment with content without the pressure of people you know watching. It also helps you find communities that support your music more organically and connect with listeners who might not exist on your main socials.

Try it out: Pick one platform you’ve never seriously used before (like Reddit, TikTok, or Twitch). Experiment with different types of content and ways of sharing your music. Track which types of content gain traction there and try incorporating your best-performing content on your main account.