This is Why You Never Give Up

Playing the Long Game

Mar 08, 2023

I started writing here because I wanted to talk about “perseverance in the arts”, so I should probably include some personal examples.

This is [an artist name pseudonym] that I release [a certain genre] of music under.

It was an experiment. The first recordings were released in late summer 2017.

You’re looking at Spotify data. And while Spotify is very popular worldwide, this sort of thing could occur on other streaming services. I’ve seen variations of this occurring at Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora, Yandex, Resso, etc.

The first 18 months looks like almost nothing. Some days it was zero, but most days there were numbers in the low single digits to maybe 20.

Over time, I made more recordings in this genre and released them. I built public playlists and hoped somebody discovered them. Around January 2019, I got a little bump up for some reason, but it really was just three more years of bumping along.

Most recording artists would be like, “This is a failed experiment!” Or they’d complain about how Spotify doesn’t pay them enough to live in Brooklyn.

During these years, Spotify created Spotify For Artists (SFA). One of the perks of having access to SFA is being able to pitch a forthcoming release to a Spotify playlist curation team. You don’t get any kind of response, but you might get a recording slotted into a popular playlist that Spotify manages.

And that’s what happened in late 2021 - I got a track into a Spotify-curated playlist a few months after the song was released. By then, I had largely stopped releasing “albums” and instead focused on singles so I could get more tracks pitched.

Meanwhile, I continued to occasionally make new public playlists for this music on Spotify and other services.

Then, at the start of 2023, I saw that recent spike.

Those are Spotify Radio plays.

Apparently, the “radio” side of Spotify added some of my oldest tracks into the service. I don’t listen to Spotify Radio, so I have no idea what’s going on.

I’ll show the image again:

You see, this is why you don’t give up on your catalog.

This applies to music, visual art, and writing. Or as I like to call it, “intellectual property” - anything with a copyright that is distributed.

It’s not like I was pushing this music every single day. I was making a body of work. I didn’t abandon it. I didn’t give up.

There’s no way I could have predicted any of this. Sure, there’s always a chance a recording artist can get a song in a Spotify-curated playlist. But sometimes those tracks are in and out in a month. There’s no secret handshake for how tracks get into Spotify Radio. You have no control over what’s going on.

I kinda like it that way. It’s a surprise.

Where does it go from here? I have no idea.

Is the money good? Well, I’m grateful for anything.

I see all these artists out there, trying to crack the code. There’s no code to crack! You cannot beat the algorithm! Or whatever it is…

Just ride that wave…

Back when I had 5 people listening every day, somebody was enjoying it.

There is a niche for everything.

Arts is a lifestyle. It’s not a race to be won.

Who am I?

Hi, I'm Mark Rushton, a professional recording artist and fine artist who has managed to hang on to creativity.

As a fine artist / painter, I make original abstract landscapes on paper and canvas, limited edition prints, and functional merchandise.

As a recording artist, I've released more than 2500 music and sounds on streaming services since the early 2000s under many different names, including my own. I largely create ambient, beat-driven electronica, and avant-garde music and soundscapes, as well as field recordings and sound effects.

Follow along -

Join my email list: https://www.markrushtongallery.com/mailing-list

Mark Rushton Gallery: https://www.markrushtongallery.com

Mark Rushton Web Site: https://www.markrushton.com

Mark Rushton Gallery Blog:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markrushton/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markrushtongallery

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MarkRushton/videos

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ambientrushton

BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Wm6OcMlyIThS/

Odysee: https://odysee.com/@markrushton:9

Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-1462743