My 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, it’s natural to look back and take stock. This year, I dipped a toe into the local East Anglia music scene - recording my own music at Black cactus studios, distributing my music to streaming platforms, experimenting with music promotion services, and riding opportunities that have come my way. It’s been super fun! Along the way, I've noticed a few things as I've peeked behind the curtain for the first time. Maybe some of these observations can help others thinking of doing the same in 2025. Here’s what I learnt in 2024:
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The East Anglia local music scene and community is amazing
I’ve been absolutely blown away by how welcoming and incredible the people are in the local East Anglia music scene. Every single person I’ve met has been a genuine pleasure - friendly, supportive, and brimming with encouragement.
As a middle-aged guy battling a serious case of imposter syndrome (Are my songs any good? Am I cool enough? Am I too old and boring for this music gig?), I can’t overstate how much this warmth has meant to me. It has helped me rediscover my creativity, build my confidence, and find real joy.
To everyone who’s been part of this: thank you. You’ve made my year so much fun!
This year had so many unexpected opportunities! I started recording my first EP, Reflections, with the brilliant AJ at Black Cactus Studios. From there, things snowballed - my first Colchester gig with Litter of Kings at the Brewhouse, a live radio debut on City Sound Chelmsford, and even a set at HMV Colchester (where I bought my first tape as a kid!). On my 42nd birthday, I played with Combats Sports for 1 song at Three Wise Monkeys and wrapped up summer at Black Cactus’s 4th birthday party with a full set there. I didn’t really have any expectations I’d do any of that! And I've released 15 songs on all music platforms... Go check them out ;-) Lots of links here.
Along the way, I’ve met incredible musicians and bands, connected with people online, collaborated with Liam Hooker for drums, Jen from the JenTones on cello, and Patrick Kelly on violin, and got many radio play across stations like Colne Radio, City Sounds, Ipswich Community radio, Cambridge’s New Music Generator, and Future Hits Radio. And even one play on BBC Introducing (thanks Ben Brown for picking me for one of his local plays!)
I got a lot of joy this year, as well as a lot of personal challenges. It all came about from trying to say yes, and soaking in the kindness of this incredible community. Thanks again. I do wonder what 2025 will bring?
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Social media operates on a spam model, is very addictive and has very low return on investment
I’ve avoided social media my entire adult life. As someone with a fairly addictive personality, it just didn’t seem like a good idea for me! Despite this in December 2023, I took the plunge and started a music Instagram account. It felt like the logical move for a local musician trying to modestly grow an audience and connect with other musicians.
At first, I didn't really understand it all! Soon I figured out the difference between Stories and Reels,and discovered the grim reality of people’s 10-second attention spans. By the end of the year, I had a basic handle on it, but what I learned about social media was that it's a strange, random and unfulfilling beast.
A big takeaway for me this year: music feels like 20% music creation, and 80% promotion, creating 10 second content, chasing attention, and looking “interesting.” Social media for small artists feels like a giant spam machine akin to sending email spam: you post a reel, get 500 views if you are lucky depending on how the algorithm scores your content, out of those 500 viewers maybe 5 people check out your profile, and if you’re lucky, one person might stream your song. And that feels REALLY lucky. It’s a painfully low return on investment if you view it from an income/business perspective. It’s easy to fall for the warm fuzzy “feeling” and it is a feeling of success rather than anything tangible, by saying huh, I got 10 likes this time not 5, so that’s progress right? Is it? Progress to what?
Take my Christmas single. I spent a lot of time making daily posts, grew my followers by 100 in a month, and got 350 streams on Spotify. Was it worth it? Depends on how you look at it. If music is just for fun, sure, it’s fine, it’s like playing a weird computer game. But if this is your career? It’s demotivating and unsustainable.
Social media to me feels like an endless hamster wheel. You chase followers and likes, get a fleeting dopamine hit, and then it’s gone because everyone’s already moved on to the next shiny 10 second thing. Add to that a minefield of scams and sketchy promoters, and it’s no wonder artists burn out.
After one year, I recognise the gambling inspired techniques social media uses to get you addicted, and in 2025, I’m planning to step back. I want to find balance - less time in the hamster wheel and more time focusing on MUSIC CREATION not CONTENT creation, and genuine connections and people actually listening to my music - even if it is few people.
For someone like me, with limited time for live gigs due to family and work, the big question remains: if you can’t get out and gig gig gig, is there a better way to promote music beyond the social media spam game? There has to be.
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The Music Industry’s monetary economics are in ruins for small to medium artists
It was all very exciting at first getting on music platforms like Spotify. With 22 years in tech, I loved diving into the tech: recording studios, distribution platforms like TuneCore and DistroKid, and streaming giants like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Seeing my music on Spotify and tracking my first 10 streams was great. But then I wondered: how do artists actually make money?
Take Spotify. In 2023, it held 32% of the global streaming market and paid artists $0.003–$0.005 per stream. About 66k artists earned $10k–$100k, 11.6k earned $100k–$1m, and 1.2k earned over $1m. That’s $9 billion paid to ~79k artists, while Spotify itself made $14.3 billion in revenue but still posted a €532 million net loss. All figures from their own site - here.
To earn $10k on Spotify, you need around 3 million streams. Let’s also note that $10k is around ⅕ of the UK’s median salary (£37.5k or ~$48k in 2024). For context, I had 2.5k streams on one song in a year. Achieving 3 million annual streams across your catalogue feels like a viral miracle, yet only 0.7% of Spotify’s 10 million artists hit this threshold. And many have to split earnings with bandmates!! It’s like climbing Mt Everest for $10k.
You might argue that the more songs you have on Spotify the more chance you’ll hit a total of 3 millions streams per year, you might argue that earnings grow with streams on other platforms, touring, merch, or Patreon, but even successful local artists struggle. Rising touring costs, minimal label support, and low payouts make full-time music careers untenable for most. As James Blake questioned in 2024, does music even hold value anymore, or has it become disposable?
On top of that, there’s the scam-ridden promotion industry. There are legit services like Musosoup, Groover, and SubmitHub who try to promise bot free playlist exposure. Many other “businesses” or “services” are super dodgy and promotion fees exceeding $50+, they prey on the hopes and dreams of small and medium artists chasing the dream. Artists risk having their content removed from services if bots streaming is detected… The return is often questionable and risky.
I worry about the industry and people who want to pursue music as a career. The economics of music need a major disruption to make the industry sustainable. Could platforms like Bandcamp, Patreon, or even subscription-exclusive content be the answer? I’ve yet to see evidence they can replace the current broken model. Is the pragmatic solution to earn “around the music” with sponsorship / clothing / endorsement deals? Do small / medium artists have access to something like this?
I’ve learnt that even if people feel really passionate about music, like myself, there really isn’t a realistic career switch into music from an earnings / supporting my family point of view. I wonder how many people pull out from music / the arts per year due to it not feeling economically viable for them? Feels like something major needs to change.
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In 2025, I want to double down on what I find fun
I want to have more collaborations with other musicians. I want to really enjoy making and recording music. I want to learn new instruments. I want to invest in the relationship I’ve built and also meet more new people. I want to say Yes to more interesting opportunities but not spend my life chasing more and more things I can actually fit in my life. I want to find the right balance on social media and music promotion. I want to have personal targets to get 100 listeners in one day for a release but not get sad if I don’t get it. I want to get radio play and enjoy the highs of it, but not get obsessed with it. I definitely want to try to get on BBC introducing as some sort of peer recognition to dull my imposter syndrome. I want to make a music video and have lots of fun doing it in 2025. I want to try and experiment with new types of music outside of folks and indie.
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I look forward to 2025. It’s gonna be fun.
Rob