Module 1 · Introduction Lesson 1 of 30
Welcome! WTF is this?
Zack opens the course by naming what it covers: using Meta Ads aka conversion campaigns to drive intentional listenership on Spotify. He makes the case for why now is different for independent musicians, citing that half of streaming revenue, $4.5 billion last year, now goes to independents, and that five billion people are reachable for free on social media.
He's upfront that running these campaigns isn't about getting a return on investment, and that ownership matters just as much: no contracts, nothing signed away. It closes with a quick word on Magic Nothing itself, a project that started in April 2024, and a thank you for showing up.
Read the transcript
0:01 Welcome to the course
What's up, everybody? Thank you for being here. My name is Zack Fischmann. This is a Magic Nothing course, and it's called Music Marketing Doesn't Have to Suck. Yay!
0:12 What this course will teach you
Woo-hoo! Thank God. In this course, we're going to learn how to promote our own work using Meta conversion campaigns to drive intentional listenership on Spotify.
0:29 Half of streaming revenue now goes to independents
Some things I want to say before we get started. This is a new era for independent musicians. Half of streaming revenue now goes to independents, that's half of all the money that comes from Spotify revenue payouts. I know a lot of people think that's not a lot of money: it's $4.5 billion, paid out to artists last year.
0:50 Why this isn't about ROI
Which is a whole other thing. Running these campaigns isn't really about getting a return on your investment. We'll get into all of that. Just bear with me.
0:59 Reach millions for free, and the new barriers to entry
I also want to say that this is a special time for independent musicians. You can reach millions of people for free on social media. There are five billion people on social media as of today, actually more than that. The new barriers to entry are now education, persistence, and practice.
1:14 You have more agency than ever before
You can do everything yourself if you want, or you can outsource it if you don't. You have more agency over your work than any other time in history as a musician. This is real.
1:29 Own your work, don't sign it away
I also want to say that this is a great time to own your s**t. You don't have to sign contracts. You don't have to sign things away. Those are choices that you get to make. You have a lot of power.
1:40 Who Magic Nothing is, and thanks for being here
We are Magic Nothing, an online ecosystem for independent musicians. This is a new project that started in April of 2024. We're learning as we go, and we care deeply about our community. So I just want to say thank you for being here.
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