death to streaming!

hey you!

Yes you! The one with less than 100K monthly listeners! The one with less than 1 million monthly streams! Yeah you. Don’t you think it’s time for a change?
They haven’t found you by now. You haven’t blown up yet. You’re not a star. That one song that has over 1 million streams did you no favors. You can’t live off your royalties, can you? That deal you signed with an independent imprint, what did that garner you? Don’t you have to pay back that advance? Why are you waiting to go viral on TikTok? Why are you paying to go viral? Let’s spit some facts, shall we?

81% of indie artists on spotify have less than 1k monthly listeners
18% of indie artists on spotify have 1k-100k monthly listeners

CASE STUDY: EVERYBODY’S WORRIED ABOUT OWEN
Everybody’s Worried About Owen is an established artists with 118k monthly listeners and millions of streams dating back before 2021. They dropped an album in October 2025. To date, the project has 1.23 Millionsstreams. Did you know in 7 months that has grossed less than $4,000 total -or- less than $600 per month -or- since royalties are paid quarterly, less than $1,600 quarterly? That is NOT life sustaining wages. That is a hobby or side-hustle. Musicians put too much time into their music to be slapped in the face with tenths of a penny!
DO NOT TURN TO GATEKEEPERS FOR HELP
There are plenty of “gurus’ that know this fact and will tell you that direct-to-consumer is the way the music industry is headed now. They will ask you to sign up for some b.s. method and then try to see what your marketing budget is and ask you for money for marginal success. They are going to do nothing but bot your profile and make it seem like you popping in India when there’s not a soul over there that can recite your song if their lives depended on it.
THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE
Think about it. There is a niche audience that is out there buying albums. There are 8 billion people in the world. You just have to connect to your audience. It sounds oversimplified but it is much better than fishing in the ocean and the bait you have is not even noticed by the fish you’re looking for. First thing’s first though.
1. WITHHOLD YOUR PROJECTS FROM STREAMING ONLY PLATFORMS
You are spinning your wheels. Stop it. Get some help.
2. RADIO IS THE KEY
Terrestrial radio is the still the number one medium of discovery for new artists and songs. Try your local radio station and grow from there.
3. UPLOAD TO BUY ONLY OR OPTION TO BUY PLATFORMS
Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and SoundCloud get paid regardless. They will not miss you and you will not miss out on anything by going to sell your album BEFORE uploading to streaming only services. If you have a quality product, the fans will come. Remember the case study? 118k monthly listeners grossed them less than $4000 in 7 months. A $10 album with 400 fans can net you the same amount or more.
4. ADVERTISE WHERE AND WHEN YOU CAN
Money makes the world go round. You gotta pay to play. If you don’t have a street time or a fanbase willing to post your songs and content for free, nothing will change. Save the money you are using to go viral and find a platform that will put you everywhere at a low cost.
5. AURi HAS A PLAN FOR THE 81%
Lock in with us. We don’t gatekeep. We’re working on something major!