Episode 630 – Why Chasing Algorithms Is Killing Your Music Career With Keith Jopling

On this week’s podcast, I speak with Keith Jopling about what separates artists who last from those who burn out chasing the wrong metrics.

Keith spent 25 years inside the business, including time at Spotify, before interviewing 80 artists and bands to write Riding the Rollercoaster.

The creative director model he extracted from that research shows musicians how to flip the equation: command the platforms, define your own hit, and build a career on your terms before the rollercoaster throws you off.

Keith maps five routes to longevity: a hit song, a classic album, being dropped by your label, becoming a cult artist, and building your brand.

The dropped-by-your-label route surprises people, but his case studies show artists consistently respond by making their strongest record since their debut, independently or on a new label.

Too many aspiring musicians hand control to social platforms, grinding out content as servants to algorithms while the industry gaslights them with success measures that have nothing to do with real longevity.

You can hear the conversation at bobbyoinnercircle.com, or via Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Mixcloud, Spotify, Deezer, TuneIn Radio, or RadioPublic.

Also, a video version of this podcast is now available on YouTube as well.

Enjoy the show!

Chapters:

00:00:00 – Coming up…

00:01:02 – What separates artists who last from those who fall away?

00:03:59 – Is the era of the band actually over?

00:06:30 – Why the collapse of live venues threatens the entire music ecosystem

00:12:19 – What does success actually look like for artists today?

00:17:10 – Has the album made a real comeback or is it just nostalgia?

00:21:59 – Why fans still buy physical albums in a streaming world

00:25:30- What is immersive music and can it ever go mainstream?

00:29:44 – The five routes to career longevity, explained

00:33:57 – Why getting dropped by a label can be the best thing that happens to an artist

00:36:54 – The most important thing artists are not doing to protect their career

00:40:22 – Where to get Keith’s book

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