Using everything we learned from interviewing 250+ artists and industry pros, we graded 12 of the most common music marketing strategies. 

The goal of this episode is to help indie artists who feel like they are drowning in "marketing advice" make decisions on where to spend their time, money and energy in 2026.

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0:00 Intro
1:18 #12 Playlisting campaigns
4:11 #11 Signing with a label
8:01 #10 PR / press runs
11:59 #9 Radio + DJs (FM / clubs / regional)
15:17 #8 Spotify in-app promo tools (Marquee / Showcase / Discovery Mode)
18:55 #7 Influencer marketing / creator seeding (UGC)
24:31 #6 Paid ads (Meta / TikTok / YouTube)
30:09 #5 Clip flooding / account network strategy
35:03 #4 Audience swapping (collabs / features / remixes)
41:10 #3 Relationship marketing (DMs + IRL)
45:05 #2 Organic short-form content
48:02 #1 Search-driven long-form (YouTube / podcasting)

For indie artists struggling with how often to release music, how to promote songs on social media, and how to stop getting stuck in perfection paralysis… this episode is for you.

Pertinence breaks down the Hyper-Drop Strategy—a repeatable system for releasing music and posting short-form content consistently so you can build real momentum as an independent musician.

You’ll learn:
🔂 A realistic release schedule (why bi-weekly drops can be the sweet spot)
🔂 How to plan a rollout strategy that feels cohesive (not random singles)
🔂 How to build a short-form content system that’s sustainable
🔂 How to use Spotify for Artists data to spot songs still growing
🔂 Why you should post your old music
🔂 Mindset shifts to help you be more consistent

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0:00 Intro
2:47 Meet Pertinence: 2026 goals
4:45 2026 Release Rollout Strategy
5:29 How to Stay Consistent & Why It Matters
7:40 How Often Should an Indie Artist Release Music
9:07 EP vs Album on Spotify: how releases get classified on DSPs
10:58 Branding for musicians: cohesive cover art + worldbuilding
15:38 Music marketing ideas: live experiences to promote releases on a budget
17:58 Songwriting tips for artists
28:58 Avoiding burnout: balancing content creation, releases, and touring
33:02 Short-form content strategy: batching videos for TikTok & Instagram Reels
35:38 Building a team with no money
52:30 How to get more Spotify streams on old songs
58:17 Rapid Fire Rampage w/ Pertinence

Curtiss King (aka Captain DIY) is back for round two. This episode is the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) 101 playbook for indie artists—especially the ones who feel weird or insecure about selling their music.

Curtiss breaks down how 100 diehard fans can change your life and the exact tools & systems he uses to run a successful DTC business. For Patreon members, we go all the way in on AI and where it’s headed from a DIY artist’s perspective.

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0:00 Intro: Curtiss King x One More Time Podcast
2:28 Why Direct-to-Consumer Matters for Musicians
3:50 What Is Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) for Indie Artists?
5:26 Why Spotify Isn’t Your Business Partner 
7:01 Why Artists Avoid Selling 
8:53 You’re Not Evil for Charging Money (Mindset Shift)
11:37 Music Is “Medicine” (Value, VIP Offers, Superfans)
13:01 Disposable Music vs Real Art (Why Quality Wins)
15:13 Streaming vs DTC Strategy (Independence + Ownership)
17:54 “Strip It” Strategy: Use Streaming as Promo, Drive to Your Site
21:10 LaRussell’s DTC Proof: $1,000 Backyard Show
23:46 Why Fans Still Pay for Music (Emotional Connection + Storytelling)
25:23 100 Diehards Explained (Chipotle Analogy)
29:38 Reframe Mindset on Content and Branding
31:47 Why You Should Start DTC NOW 
47:10 Best DTC Tools to get Started
53:00 AI & Music: Using AI as a Tool (Patreon Bonus Tease)
59:25 Rapid Fire Rampage w/ Curtiss King

L.Dre breaks down how he went from a warehouse job, $30K in debt, and posting “into the void” to living off chill beats, streaming royalties, and brand deals with Honda, Samsung, Visa, and even a cat company.

If you’re an artist or producer thinking about quitting, this episode will show you how to pivot, keep going, and build a real full-time music business from home.

WATCH on YouTube: https://youtu.be/E-xemFCxajU

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Ari Herstand is an artist, educator and best-selling author of "How to Make It in the New Music Business". With his platform Ari's Take, he's helped tens of thousands of artists and is often referred to as the "poster child of DIY music". 

In this episode, he breaks down what "making it" actually means, how to avoid burnout as an artist, best way to build a team, and the strategies successful indie artists are using to make a living. 

WATCH on YouTube: https://youtu.be/A6n3GkB5-kU 

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On this episode, we sit down with Futuristic – an artist, manager, and CEO who spends 100% of his time in the indie artist world. He’s not just using the game for his own career anymore… he’s obsessed with helping other independent artists win.

Yes, he turned millions of views into millions of dollars and built a seven-figure career off viral content. But today, most of his energy goes into managing indie artists, running an indie artist education platform, & building systems, content formats, and release strategies that other artists can plug into.

In this episode, he breaks down:
👉 Why this is both the best and worst time to be an indie artist
👉 Why 1M views doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know how to capitalize on it
 👉 How to master a repeatable content format
👉 How he uses whiteboards, time-blocking, batch content days, and to-do lists to run multiple artist careers
👉 Why your story, branding, and music all need to actually match
👉 The release strategy every indie artist should be using in 2026

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Chapters:
0:00 – Intro: Futuristic x One More Time Podcast
1:52 – Why 1 Million Views Today ≠ 1 Million Views in 2015
3:07 – The Content Grind: 75 Reels per Song & Surviving the Algorithm
4:28 – What “Independent Artist” Really Means in 2026
7:19 – Major Labels vs Indie Teams
9:05 – Artist, Manager, CEO: How Futuristic Balances All Three
13:18 – Should Artists Have Side Hustles?
14:39 – How Futuristic Manages His Time
18:44 – Futuristic “Nerd Raps in Compton”
22:44 – How to Capitalize on a Viral Moment as an Indie Artist
25:13 – Biggest Mistake After Going Viral
28:35 – Turning Viral Ideas Into Series & Shows
30:32 – Mindsets that are Holding Indie Artists Back
33:02 – Importance of Authenticity & Believability
38:58 – Most Common Futuristic Music Review Feedback
48:01 – Why Futuristic “Retired” from Rap to Focus on Educating Artists
50:24 – “Soul Goals”: Redefining Success for Your Real Life
51:38 – 2026 Release Strategy for Indie Artists
59:28 – Turning Your Music Skills Into Income
1:00:48 – Should You Sign to Another Artist?
1:03:06 – Rapid Fire Rampage with Futuristic

We sit down with Chris Herche, SVP at Create Music Group (recently valued at over $1B) to break down exactly how the modern record label operates in 2026.

We dig into:
👉 How indie labels are beating the majors
👉 Why A&R + digital marketing are the only two functions that matter
👉 New-era deal structures 
👉 What real artist development looks like today
👉 Why some artists win with tiny teams while others don’t grow at all
👉 The power of data, consistency, and sustained momentum
👉 The future of platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and AI in music
👉 How Create Music Group thinks about building labels, entrepreneurs, and artists

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0:00 – Full Circle Intro & Who Is Chris Herche?
1:05 – What’s Really Happening With Major Label Layoffs
7:02 – Defining the “Modern Record Label” in 2026
8:27 – Why A&R + Digital Marketing Run Everything Now
10:01 – New-Era Deal Structures & Track-Level Signings
13:20 – Is Artist Development Dead? (Chris Disagrees)
18:03 – How Indie Artists Can Develop Themselves
23:42 – Data, Consistency & Sustained Growth Over Time
28:31 – TikTok Will Go Away, YouTube Keeps Winning
31:26 – Young Teams, Interns & Building “Pods” Around Artists
43:13 – How the Industry Is (Actually) Thinking About AI
57:53 – Signing Sublime & Why Rock Might Be Coming Back
1:06:04 – Why Everyone Is Buying Catalogs Right Now
1:15:00 – Rapid Fire Rampage with Chris Herche

Director of Music Distribution at Genius/Worldstar Kayvan Daragheh breaks down why community is the new superpower for indie artists. 

We dive into building real fans, keeping them engaged, and why most artists lose the audience they already have by treating fans like customers instead of people.

Kayvan shares how he built “Kayvan’s House,” what modern A&Rs actually look for, and the mindset every artist needs to build a lasting career.

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Brian Freeman, creator of Cadillac Chronicles, breaks down how he accidentally built one of the most impactful music platforms today. 

We talk self-discovery, consistency, artist development, virality, and why performance/interview platforms matter more than ever. 

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Every artist dreams of being independent, but few talk about the price tag. LaRussell gets brutally honest about what it actually takes to stay indie: the money, the marketing, the mindset. 

In this episode, LaRussell breaks down how he funds his career, the ROI of spending $30K on a single release, content systems to reach 80M people monthly, and much more. 

This episode is for every artist who’s ever wondered: am I really built for the indie lifestyle?

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