EVEN

MYTH: You need a massive fanbase to make money from your music. FACT: Not on EVEN. The truth is, DIY artists with fewer than 10 monthly listeners and less than 100 fans on EVEN are earning thousands. Unlike other streaming services where artists receive just a fraction of what they deserve, EVEN empowers artists by allowing fans to buy directly from them. This is the power of going direct. We’re changing the music industry by putting control back into the hands of the creators. On EVEN, it's not about the number of listeners but the connection between the artist and the fan. #GetEVEN #BuyTheArtFromTheArtist

How do you even split a penny into three pieces? (Asking for a friend). We meet with artists and teams every day who agree that $0.004/stream is not sustainable. When I started building EVEN two years ago, I began by analyzing the streaming data and revenue of over 100 artists, from emerging DIY artists to global stars. What I discovered was both upsetting and unsurprising. Artists need over 200,000 fans to listen to their music to make $5,000 a month from streaming. 200,000 people every month have to listen to an artist more than 5 times (assuming these are premium listeners) just for that artist to survive and pay their bills. This is wild on its own, but it gets even wilder when you realize that if this were any other business in the world that had 200,000 customers, you would be making hundreds of thousands to millions every month. It became apparent that the music industry has a streaming problem. That year, we launched EVEN’s MVP and saw that, with EVEN, an artist only needs 200 fans to make $5,000, just like any other business. Who would have thought that people would be willing to pay for music simply by putting a price tag on it again? The solution to the streaming problem is simple: MUSIC SHOULD NOT BE FREE! Sell music first directly to fans with EVEN. Upload to streaming platforms second. That is the formula. #musicindustry #musicnews #streaming #dtc #superfans #EVEN #consumer

Recently, we hosted a contest with California rapper LaRussell to support his new album Majorly Independent. We flew one lucky winner out to attend one of his sold-out backyard shows. Tray, our winner from Atlanta, is a standout in LaRussell’s fan community. This is what sets EVEN apart from the rest: our ability to connect fans with artists in ways that are impactful for both. This is what you can achieve when you get EVEN. #buytheartfromtheartist

This week on EVEN, singer Trevor Jackson launched his latest album "It’s Complicated" on EVEN and using our custom Access Points, was able to offer fans one of kind experiences at varying price points. One fan decided to pay $900 for not only the album but a chance to meet him. Are your fans doing that? This is the power of EVEN, where fans buy the art from the artist. #timetogetEVEN #buytheartfromtheartist

I love it when artists get creative with their releases on EVEN. At EVEN, artists have complete flexibility—from the rewards they offer fans to the pricing. This week, Hip-Hop veteran Starlito went live on EVEN with his new album, 'Imposter Syndrome.' What's unique? He's offering it at $100 or more, allowing fans to pay what they want. I know it sounds wild, but his fans are paying! Some are even receiving personal calls from Starlito himself. Check out this tweet from a fan who got a voicemail: https://lnkd.in/eTyXRexc This is the power of selling music before uploading it to streaming platforms. Imagine: 1000 fans pay $100 each... Well, you can do the math. It's safe to say Starlito got EVEN. #musicindustry #musicnews #superfans #dtc #streaming #EVEN

Artists deserve to get paid no matter how big or small their audience is. This whole narrative around "streaming thresholds" is nonsense. This morning, I received a report from our team about DIY artists participating in a social media campaign for EVEN, and out of curiosity, I went to look at their Spotify monthly listeners and compared it to how much they made on EVEN the last month. My jaw dropped. In the last month, artists on EVEN—many with fewer than 10K monthly listeners—have been making thousands of dollars. These are not the "emerging stars" you see on billboards or artists you would see on an editorial playlist. These are DIY artists who took a leap of faith and decided to sell their music first on EVEN before uploading it to streaming platforms. This only gets more exciting as we prepare to announce our partnerships with some of the leading DIY distributors (guess who 👀) to onboard more of these incredible artists. Think about it: In a world where streaming platforms are cutting off payments to artists who don't hit 1,000 streams in a calendar year, this means most of these artists we are featuring would have never seen a dollar from their music this year. But because of EVEN, they are making real money, engaging real fans, and building real careers. What will this do to the industry? What will happen when (not if) the millions of artists who don't make a single dollar from DSPs start making hundreds and thousands of dollars on EVEN? It’s time for artists, managers, and executives to rethink what’s possible. The broken models of the past are beginning to be left behind. We’re witnessing an industry that is getting EVEN. #musicindsutry #musicnews #streaming #dtc #superfans #EVEN

I am incredibly honored and humbled to share that I have been nominated by my peers as one of the most impactful executives in 2024. Being recognized alongside some of the industry’s leading executives, many of whom I’ve looked up to throughout my career, is a privilege. Billboard’s 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players’ Choice Award is a peer-voted honor that acknowledges the executive who has had the most significant impact in Hip-Hop/R&B and over the past year. Checkout the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/eEbKABMV S/O to Billboard and my fellow nominees: Josh Binder, DeMont Callender, Mariel Gomerez, Ebony Hadley, J Dot, Faith N., Josh Norek, Brandon Pankey, Ghazi Shami, Kevin Shivers, Austin Thomas, Ryan Thomson, Darren Xu It’s time the industry got EVEN.

Join EVEN Community: The first pay-what-you-want community subscription. Now in Beta with LaRussell. 🚨 More artists, podcasters, and creators coming soon. Check out the community at: https://lnkd.in/grsry8fv

This past week, there was a bit of controversy over a remark made by the CEO of Spotify, who said, "The cost of content is close to zero." Artists and music professionals around the world reacted as expected. So we wanted to provide a list that shows *actual costs and how you can earn it back on EVEN vs DSPs. Creating music is not free and neither are the tools you need to make it happen. #BuyTheArtFromTheArtist

A breakdown on why the biggest artists in the world stick with major labels. Artists like Drake, Kendrick, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, J Cole, continue to license their music to labels despite the wide range of options out there to release their music. In this episode, we explore: • why these deals have become more popular • how the economics work for labels and artists • the blurred lines between label and distributor • companies like TuneCore, EMPIRE, and more • Kanye West's experience as an indie artist Shoutout to Brian Zisook for joining me on this one. Listen to us on Trapital wherever you get podcasts!