Event Preview: Mvtant Releases New Track from Forthcoming LP Electric Body Horror

 Event Preview:

Mvtant Releases New Track From Forthcoming LP 

Electric Body Horror

"Kanashibari"

   Mario was working with Joseph Mvtant before I was back in the picture with Dream Recordings, but I heartily approve of the man and his music- he tours as a one piece, he tours A LOT and he's got a positive attitude about posting on social media.  His streaming numbers have been the issue.  We released his compilation record back in April of 2021 and his Spotify monthly number was under 2000.   Already at this point, we knew he was touring, that he had toured, that people liked the live show etc.  So we were surprised and alarmed when, after that release, his streaming number didn't move. 

   At the time, we chalked it up to the ongoing COVID issues surrounding touring, the idea being that he couldn't really go out and play shows like he wanted to, and was capable of doing.  So, my specific reaction to that situation- this is like- 2022 or so, was to suggest that we do a tape only covers album that would allow us to put another LP worth of material onto Spotify and associate him with the acts that he covers- that being one of algorithmical principles of streaming: Like attracts like.   So I had that idea in 2022 and then the tape was released in July of 2023.  I think that was the right move because it got him above 2000 monthly listeners and then eventually to 3000 monthly listeners before we released the first single from this LP, his first, original songs LP that isn't a compilation. 

   We released the first single two weeks ago, which was a bit of a rush job from the label perspective but was a function of the artist looking at it from his own perspective (understandably)- that he wanted merch for his upcoming tour, that everything was taking too long (common complaint with artists and the vinyl production process no matter how much you may caution them about potential production issues.)  But, my conversations with Mario have been, "Well, do what you want and what he wants."  An artist who has less than 5000 monthly listeners, it's more a goal to simply credibly release the record- the vinyl record, the distribution to DSP's and some level of marketing- these days you don't really need "PR" at the lower levels of the industry because social media can get you to the same place (i.e. not very far).

  If you release a record for an Artist with 5000 monthly listeners and you end up multiplying the number ten fold, say, to 50,000, that's going to be more a function of those 5000 listeners actually LIKING the songs and LISTENING to them more than once.  Spotify is the ultimate truthteller in that regard, because if you have some amount of fans- a measurable amount, and you tour, and you put out your record in a physical format, and at the end of the year or whatever cycle you have, the number hasn't increased... that means that the people who ALREADY listen to your music don't like your songs very much.  It means they haven't been listening to your music month after month, or obsessively within the same month, and they haven't been telling their friends about you, or playing your music for your friends. 

   However, if you put out an actual record, you have an additional data point, which is whether the actual record sells or not.  There are plenty of artists out there who haven negligible Spotify streaming numbers but are capable of selling hundreds if not thousands of vinyl records.  Similarly, there are plenty of (mostly older) artists who can sell dozens, hundred and thousands of concert tickets without the commensurate streaming numbers, and vice versa to all those metrics.  The point being that you have to do all these things to be able to measure the results, and if you don't have multiple points of measurement, success on a single data point can be deceptive or false. 

  Specifically, streaming numbers are easily increased via manipulation.  Paying for the use of a "streaming farm" or a service that contracts with a streaming farm is easy enough and although I haven't looked into it, I'd bet it is pretty affordable- i.e. I'm sure you could obtain measurable results with under 500 dollars a month.  My sense is that is a route 100% embraced by artists as a means to essentially trick the different parts of the music industry: labels, booking agents, managers, or it's something that artists and managers work on together.  My sense is that the labels don't do this directly but that perhaps they don't put a stop to it if the artist is doing it on their own account. 

  Generally speaking, you can presume that monthly streaming numbers under a hundred thousand are legit, beyond that, there is reason to interrogate any artist that shows a monthly streaming figure above five million listeners a month.  At that point, it likely pays to spend the money in terms of how it increases your ability to book bigger venues etc.  It also increases the likelihood of exposure, such as when one of these sort of artists books an arena tour and it flops.  That happens all the time, particularly in hip hop.   My sense is that the practice is endemic in the world of hip hop, that it happens often in the world of non-US genres- K-Pop, Afrobeat, etc and that it is less prevalent in the world of rock, indie, folk etc, because those folks aren't familiar with the underlying scamming strategies.   Any Top 200 Billboard artist is potentially suspect.

   The thing I have learned about Mvtant over the past few years is that he does sell records- -plenty of them- no worries there.  I've learned that he tours like a literally demon- that box is very much checked.  I know that his Spotify streaming numbers are of concern to his booking agent, and his low number limits his fee when he tours, and therefore it is in everyone's interest to move that number up.  And I know that in the last week he has finally moved above 4000- 4379 as of today, but it represents upward movement after the release of a single from a forthcoming record.   From my perspective, that of the label, the data looks promising.  I'm sure there will be poachers soon enough, which is how you know you've succeeded it at my level of the business:  When the poachers show up to take your artists.