No Gold? Sell the shovel! - An honest view on digital music marketing services
- domgarnett
- Jun 26
- 10 min read
What a strange musical era the age of Spotify and social media represents. Slight health warning here for anyone trying to grow their music: this post contains some tough but honest truths and real reviews based on my own experiences. And my views are totally independent and not set up by AI or online grifters and influencers. Weirdly (and bear with me here), there is also a fascinating parallel to some family history in the Australian Gold Rush of the 1800s .
Let's start with something positive: it's never been easier to make and publish music. As with other creative arts, the field is wide open. Distrokid, for instance, will let you publish across multiple platforms for a very modest annual outlay. But here's the inherent cruelty: while the dream of making a living through music is sold to more people than ever, the opportunities to make a creative income have been drastically cut.
I know this directly as a journalist and non-fiction writer. Before the growth of online "free" content and AI slop, I made a full time income writing books and print articles (if you're vaguely interested, I've done a For Dummies book, six others and more articles than I can remember , mostly about fishing, approproately enough!). Fifteen years on, even with greater contacts and experience, I can barely make half an income with freelance writing alone.
Such is the way the online now eco-system works. Silicone Valley makes the big money, and a tiny nunber of influencers make a killing, while you, me and everyone else provides content for next to nothing. If you've not come across it yet, I'd recommend reading up on Jaron Lamier's theory of BUMMER (Behaviours of Users Made and Modified into an Empire for Rent).
Gold against the soul? My opinions and reviews here are honest, and not affiliated with any influencer bellends or online grif outfits!
It can seem depressing, but there is also a better and more real (and occasionally profitable) world out there for musicians, writers and other creatives. And, naturally, we cannot just wait for the toxic ecosystem of Facebook, TikTok et al to evolve to something less awful while there is fun and art to be made.
So, the million dollar/ million stream question: what is worth using as an independent music maker or artist? There are so many fake reviews and scams out there it can be hard to get a real, honest assessment, so here goes.
The truth about music marketing, influencers and those offering to generate streams and fans
Honest question: if there is such a pitiful amount to be made via recorded music and streams for all but the biggest artists (see a million critical articles and posts about Spotify and YouTube), why are there promoters and ads everywhere you look? Take any involvement in music making and your feed will be inundated with salesmen and services, all pretending they have the secret to your success. Real reviews in just a bit, but hear me out first here...
The influencers, services and course leaders range from companies like Members Media, to individuals like Bernth- a tattoed, walking rock cliche, to self-proclaimed award-winning Christian rap and hop hop artist (now there's an interesting genre) Manafest. These and many others all claim they have the code to crack the algorithm, market yourself to millions and win the game. Scroll further and groups like Members Media promise to turbo charge your streams (for a tidy fee, of course) and win you real fans and money.
Shovel sales rising... actual gold often missing!
But if influencers like Bernth and Manafest are so successful (and they obviously have some degree of talent and influence), why are they forced to earn income through marketing courses and hard sell tactics?
It's a laughably shallow game and the typical tricks of online sales are there at every turn. Here are some classic music marketing tricks and signs of grift. Or as I would call it, how to spot online hard sell tactics or outright grift
The course is shown as massively discounted! (Ok, so it definitely once sold for £1000 but is £6.99 right now because we're so kind).
There is always time pressure. There may even be a countdown! It'll only be around right now... until you're back on my feed tomorrow and for the rest of eternity.
The claims are dubious, misleading or- most sneaky of all- are faux modest ("if you have the dream and the desire, we can make it work")
The ads blatantly riff on your hopes, aspirations and dreams - or the deep seated resentment, ironically, genuine musicians feel for the horrible eco system they now face (classic line: "Your music is amazing- it's not your fault the algorithm stinks. Let us fix it/ show you the secret!")
You only have to look at other current industries and online grifters to see what is going on in many cases. Self made online millionaires are another classic example- weirdly, they tend to only have one talent: selling others the dream of being a millionaire. It's a fake, cynical world out there- which I took huge relish taking the p*** out of in the song "Self Help" -a sort of 21st Century update on Tom Waits' Step Right Up. An A-Z of lifestyle grift, if you like.
A digital gold rush? Or just human psychology?
All of which, weirdly, makes me think of one of my ancestors (a several times great grandfather) involved in the Australian Gold Rush of the 1850s. Lulled into dreams of wealth, Charles Garnett got swept up in the craze which saw hundreds of thousands of Victorian Brits and others flock Down Under. Soon realising he was never going to strike much literal gold, however, Charlie struck on a much smarter tactic: don't go for gold yourself, sell supplies to the suckers digging for it!
Providing the hungry hordes with shovels, panning equipment and provisions, he made a small fortune, rerturning to Manchester, England, a wealthy man. Ironically, he came home with actual gold, too, after successfully letting others sweat for it! Sound familiar?
Times might have changed, but human psychology is the same: hard nosed people don't chase stars, they look for the gaps. If you cannot get rich from the dream, there's plenty to be made by selling the dream to others. And it's infinitely lower risk. Most people will never criticise you or even examime your motives closely. Don't sell the cure- increase the itch and charge a premium for the scratch!
And we're back to our influencers and salesmen right away. Bernth- a guitarist whose breakthrough viral video wasn't about his obvious talent for playing fast riffs, but a gimmick piece about playing a guitar filled with water. Or look at Manafest- whose has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars getting airplay and column inches for his Christian rap/rock music, before turning his grifting skills to, yep, you guessed it, online courses for musical gold diggers . Blessed be the salesman, for they shall inherit the earth.
Are these promoters scams? That seems unfair, even if non-curated honest reviews are hard to come by. They have some genuine desire to help- I found Manafest's checklist for launching music cheap and handy. But with so much of these promoters and courses we return to an unavoiable conclusion: why are the influencers and even pretty successful people having to make a living not via achieving the dream, but by selling the dream to others. Is it sheer generosity? Or is the digital and social media ecosystem such a game of "fake it till you realise you can't make it" that it is always the shovel seller who ultimately wins where the dreamer fails?
The good, the bad and the ugly: Are Members Media, Deezer, Facebook ads, YouTube promo and other services worth it? An honest look at the best and worst of them...
Now we get to a question truly worth its weight in gold! A few words, therefore, on my limited exprience, both good and bad. I've used Facebook ads to some success with books, but never music. To be brutally honest, I despise their lack of any checks or scrutiny witjh adverts, and the way they have undermined the whole UK tax system. I may never use them again. We'll see. Mark Zuckerberg gifting money to Trump is another red flag that the company has all the ethics of a feral dog- and probably a horny one that ate some crack dust by accident.
Members Media, on the other hand, I have used recently. Did it bump my streams and listeners up? Yes. But for over £100 per release, the least you'd expect is some real human interaction, not cut n paste comms. Once again, all the reviews seem curated and not honest or independent! And it just seems desperate, frankly. Wonderful, a few extra strangers have heard my songs. Kerching! I won't spend the 32p all at once. If you're looking for honest reviews of Members Media- my verdict is not a zero, but not especially impressed.
Groover, has been slightly better, I must say. The French company puts you in touch with real DJs and playlists. You get far more human interaction for a lot less money. In fact, I got several reviews and air play for tracks including Middle Class Punk and Slop (now there's an irony- using digital slop hosting platforms to share a song criticising the same digital gruel!). Is the feeback always appropriate? No, but at least it's human and from real DJs and promoters.
I also got decent bang for my buck with YouTube, I have to say, with a spend of little over £20, although the algorithms seem weird. Even vaguely political or sweary songs seem to be heavily penalised- while my disposable culture anthem Rubbish, shot to 8k views in no time. And a lot of the comments and feedback I got were obviously real and non-bs. Several people at gigs and open mics I didn't know had seen the video for "Rubbish"!
As far as promoting your own music goes for British artists, though, the best value of all, by a long chalk at just £5.99 a month, has been The Unsigned Guide- a UK website and signup service that has a huge directory of radio shows, labels and other services. To date I have had a total of six tracks played on independent radio- not earth shattering but great fun and very satisfying! The Fox's Den show, on Vixen FM, is especially good- clearly made by people who care about real music and are willing to do something different.
As for the actual streaming services, I have to say that Spotify are pretty poor. It's an ecosystem that suits salesmen and promoters and not musicians. Like Amazon, sellers and makers are over a barrell, feeling like they have to be on it, even if they don't like it. But alternatives do exist. Band Camp is a much better, much more musician friendly and less greedy platform, in my experience- and this is backed up my almost every independent musician I know.
Back to the real world: Why live performance is still the best way to boost listeners and revenue for musicians!
If you are reading this far- congratulations! You are not the drooling product of systems designed to turn your brain to jelly and fire dwindling amounts of dopemine through your tired brain cells. You probably also like real, non virtual culture, which brings us to our final and most important point.
Music should never be all about chasing targets and followers, or even necessarily getting anything in return! The best bits of making music and art are the bits they cannot commodify: the here and now, the buzz of creativity, the satisfaction of expressing yourself in a way that is unique to you. And above all, hitting people directly, not through a crummy screen or via some digitised curator who couldn't give a damn about you. So my message is very much hold onto the real world,, the real gold of being a musician, artist or writer, with everything you have!
There is a reason live music is still thriving. It is not second hand or scrolled (unless you are one of the cretins who spends whole gigs on their phone). To hell with followers and figures- there is just absolute joy in sharing music live with people- and it is still the most impactful thing you can do. Because it is REAL and in the moment and not dished up by the grifters and marketers and consumers who seem to heavily outnumber genuine creatives.
In my own music, I have swayed between objectives over many years, on and off. I've made awful music and things I'm quite proud of. I've done totally unpaid gigs, but also earned some useful money. But nothing beats the right here and now. With my current act, Part Man Part Fish, it is the laughter and the audience interaction that is the best thing of all - people genuinely getting excited, or heckling, or sharing a joke, or just giving that "WTF?" look. This is the real treasure- and it costs little beyond a willingness to put yourself out there.
It's ridiculously easy, in the digital era, to be hoodwinked into chasing things and grasping for things you are not all about. Dreams, money and above all- attention! But if you are dissatisfied with second-hand, screen based living, and want to make your own culture it can feel like a rough ride.
There are also times you suspect the number of people making cool, original music outtnumber the people consuming it! You only have to look at the horrendous number of tribute acts and wedding band level duffers churning it out to see that, especially here in the UK.
Fancy a night of exciting, cool new bands? No- let's see a tribute to the BeeGees! No, actually, let's just stay indoors and pretend it's still the Blitz. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
Perhaps it sounds too obvious- but the main thing music has taught me is to stop chasing and start living now. As soon as you drop things like having to be popular or profitable, and give less of a toss about making mistakes, everything becomes easier and more fun. Ironically, connecting with people and getting more listeners also becomes easier, when you stop grasping. Why do you create things in the first place? To grasp at followers or profit or to create stuff that is fun and fulfilling?
For my part, music still feels like a battle. When I look at what I write, I have reached stacks of people- some of my books still give me royalty checks 15 years later. But that is through two decades of concerted effort and paid work. Had I put the same effort into music, I would be a lot further! But I will keep going as long as I have something to say and sound to make.
Perhaps this is the truth behind all creative enterprise- real progress takes real world effort. Everyone wants a shortcut or some way to go viral but there isn't one! This is all part of the con of the digital media age- and alas, we are back to people selling dreams that bear almost no resemblance to reality.
So I will sign off by saying be careful out there. Your best friends are not the scroll merchants and dream salesmen- they are normal people, the pubs, festival organisers and independent radio stations. And if you enjoy what you do and find people who like your music, that is the real gold here. Otherwise, you might end up as another of these embittered grifters, selling other people the bottled dreams you ultimately couldn't realise yourself.
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