TikTok

Do you want to know who the most powerful gatekeeper in the music industry is right now?  No, it’s not a Spotify playlist editor. It’s not a major label A&R. It’s not even a person. It’s the TikTok algorithm.  TikTok is currently the most powerful free promotional tool that musicians have at their disposal.

In this week’s episode, I spoke with artist NEFFEX and his manager Ryan Sullivan. We breakdown NEFFEX’s impression release strategy in which he successfully released one copyright free song a week (yes, you read that right!) to eventually surpassing 4 billion DSP streams all independently. We also dive into his previous record deal with 12Tone Music, embracing TikTok’s open verse challenges as well as how he expanded his role as a songwriter and producer.

Ryan Chisholm is the General Manager of Work of Art Management, as well as the Senior Vice President of Arista Records’ West Coast division. At WoA, the company currently represents notable artists such as Mike Posner, Trevor Daniel, Verzache, Tai Verdes, Wes Period and MILCK. Prior to WoA and Arista Records, Chisholm worked with Nettwerk Music Group under their Artist MGMT and A&R department. In this episode, we dove into Tai Verdes’ musical journey, the significance of TikTok, influencer marketing deals and gaining leverage with the major labels.

Griffin Haddrill is the co-founder and CEO of the leading viral marketing agency, VRTCL, providing marketing services for some of today's most popular artists. In this episode, he also discusses ways independent musicians can leverage TikTok in their own careers.

Justin Vibes is a multi-platinum songwriter, producer, vocalist, and vibraphonist. In this episode, he discusses how he went viral on TikTok, incorporating the vibraphone into mainstream music, and his career as a solo artist and collaborator.

Ritt Momney (real name Jack Rutter) is a 21-year-old musician who went viral on TikTok at the end of 2020 for his song "Put The Records On."

Today my guest is David Potter of the band Stand Atlantic out of Sydney, Australia. This is the first guest on the show from the pop punk music scene.

Austin Georgas is the senior account manager at Flighthouse Media. They are a full on influencer and media agency that help break songs on TikTok. They've worked on previous campaigns like Doja Cat's "Say So."

You may know Ricky Montgomery from his Vine days. You may know him from his band The Honey Sticks. Or you may know him because a few of his songs went viral on TikTok in 2020. This led to a massive bidding war amongst 50 major labels.

Blackbox is a marketing agency that has worked with Andra Day, JP Saxe, Best Coast, Christina Perri, Dirty Honey, Jesse McCartney.