Industry Insights

Otherworldly, melodic, enchanting. Dream pop takes alternative rock style and makes a sound entirely of its own. With heavy synths, layered vocals, and reverb guitar, the genre can only be described as atmospheric.

It’s 1977, Brian Eno is based in divided Berlin making Heroes with David Bowie. On the very first day of the year, Boston-born artist Donna Summer released a track that would have a significant impact on Eno and Bowie’s creative direction with the album, ‘I Feel Love’, an iconic tune of the disco era.

TikTok is dominating the market, with hits and fast-paced pop going viral repeatedly. Few would have predicted that moody classical music and instrumental soundscapes would make a comeback.

Folktronica is a unique genre that blends traditional folk elements with electronica elements, often including hints of hip-hop, dance, and pop. At its core, folktronica pushes the limits of genre-bending, incorporating futuristic production to the nostalgic roots of folk.

Landing your song on a Spotify Playlist in 2025 is still one of the best and most effective ways to boost your streams, to help your music reach new listeners and to build credibility in the music industry.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the latest viral music video making the rounds on TikTok is from Brendan Abernathy, an American singer-songwriter. It’s a stripped-back live performance of his track “Married in a Year.” The vibe is raw and intimate, his vibrato-soaked voice getting gritty in the high-energy parts, then dropping to a whisper in the quiet moments.

There’s no question that streaming has taken over the music industry. CD and vinyl sales, though important for emerging artists, are no longer a reliable income source. In 2024, physical music sales generated 4.8 billion U.S. dollars, digital music sales made 0.8 billion, but streaming revenues reached 20.4 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, according to two reports by Statista. For better or for worse, audiences are becoming accustomed to instant gratification, and anything that doesn’t offer it is likely to be ignored.

So you’ve dropped a few singles, played some sweaty basement shows, maybe even built a loyal little following online. Things are happening. But there’s still that burning feeling that you’re not quite at the level you should be.

We get it. You’re talented. Your music has the power to change lives. You’re on your way to becoming a rockstar. Amazing. Really. But here’s the thing (as we’ve mentioned before): this is not enough. As an artist, being good at music is the bare minimum. Look, talent is great. But in today’s music industry, talent alone won’t cut it. If you want people to remember your name, stream your tracks, and actually give a damn about your music, you need a brand that slaps.

Spotify recently released its Annual Music Economics Report in an effort to “increase transparency by sharing new data on Spotify’s royalty payments and breaking down the global streaming economy, the players, and the process.” The report does exactly what it says on the tin, covering key aspects such as the streaming giant’s yearly payouts to the music industry, the number of artists generating over $1 million through Spotify and the rise of independent artists. Gaining an insight into the finances of such a huge business is important, and transparency with streaming is great to see considering many artists’ historical disagreements with the service. However, we couldn’t help but notice that Spotify conveniently left out a few crucial details.

In a recent interview with NME, Sam Fender described the music industry as being “rigged”, with “90 per cent kids who are privately educated”. Fender himself has defied the odds, becoming a highly celebrated artist despite his working class background in North Shields. Yet, he acknowledges the immense barriers facing aspiring artists who aren’t born into wealth. “A kid from where I’m from can’t afford to tour, so there are probably thousands writing songs that are ten times better than mine, poignant lyrics about the country, but they will not be seen because it’s rigged,” he said.

So you’ve poured your heart and soul into a track. You wrote the lyrics while staying in an ashram in India, came up with the chords on a family heirloom guitar, recorded the whole thing in a cabin in the woods and put every fibre of your being into this one outstandingly beautiful piece of art. You decide, after years of writing, that you’re going to release this magnum opus into the world.

Facebook and X (or Twitter) have been essential tools for musicians for years. Both huge social media platforms, using at least one of them has essentially been a necessity for the past decade and a half. However, things are changing. We don’t like to get too political over here at Decent, but let’s just say we can understand, due to some recent events, why some people might consider moving over to a newer platform.

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between Decent Music PR and Chartmetric, a leading platform for music data and analytics. This collaboration represents a significant step forward in our mission to empower artists and deliver impactful results in the ever-evolving music industry.

In 2024, the Music Venue Trust (MVT) dealt with 200 emergency response cases, a 19% increase from the previous year. That’s nearly a quarter of their entire membership that reached out for urgent advice and guidance to prevent their venues from closing down. These statistics paint a pretty bleak picture; the UK music industry is facing a crisis. But as streaming becomes the norm for consumers and we increasingly move towards a mainly digital existence, The question is: do we even care enough to save these disappearing spaces?

Lennon & McCartney. Simon & Garfunkel. Ant & Dec. Collaboration between artists has helped create some of the most beautiful works of art in music history. Working with others not only relieves the incessant loneliness and boredom of being a musician in 2025, but it can unlock opportunities, spark creativity, and propel your career forward, especially if you’re a new artist. Here’s how collaborations can help to boost your music career in 2025.

Decent Music is proud to announce its official partnership with We Are Hummingbird, a groundbreaking non-profit organisation dedicated to raising mental health awareness through the power of music. This collaboration underscores Decent’s commitment to supporting the mental well-being of artists, fans, and the wider creative community. Together, we aim to foster an environment where mental health is openly discussed, destigmatised, and treated with the seriousness it deserves.

Spotify uses its own algorithms to reward artists with new listeners organically within their own platform. There are 4 main types of algorithmic playlist, and each one has their own trigger points.

Forget everything you thought you knew about how to promote your music. Anything that worked before is old news. It’s 2025 now, people. 2024 is a distant memory.

According to Music Radar, more music is being released today (in a single day) than was released in the calendar year of 1989. Thanks to advancements in technology, releasing music has never been easier. Uploading to streaming platforms is now quicker, more affordable, and often more impactful than physical releases.

Music promotion on social media in 2024 is a full-time job. Spending your time researching social media trends, creating reels and posting carousels are all imperative for successful music promotion. The Plugged Into Music Fandom study by Wasserman estimated that income from social platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Twitch accounted for between $0.8 and $1.2 billion in 2021 (Source: Midia), reflecting just how important social media is for musicians. So, releasing music today is just hours of creating social media content, pitching to Spotify editorial playlists, and radio plugging, right?

Thinking of becoming a professional musician in 2024? Get ready to join a battlefield of artists fighting tooth and nail for relevance, streams, and attention. It’s not 2003 anymore. The music magazine is dead. Even music education magazines are going down, with three of the biggest guitar magazines recently announcing their closure. Even Facebook is becoming obsolete (though still a powerful tool for musicians, as we posted about here). You’ve got to hustle. You’ve got to find new ways to promote yourself.

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, staying current is crucial for musicians wanting to amplify their reach. While platforms like TikTok and Instagram are becoming the first choice for many, Facebook almost feels like the “weird uncle” of social media, reminiscent of Myspace’s decline. However, Facebook remains a formidable tool for music promotion on social media in 2024. Here are five reasons why you should leverage this platform to elevate your music.

Getting featured on the right Spotify playlist can be a game-changer for artists and bands looking to expand their fanbase. With the right approach, it’s an effective way to reach the right audience. Here are our top five tips to ensure your Spotify editorial playlist submission stands out and gets your music heard by the right ears.

2 billion users log into YouTube every single month. 694,000 hours of videos is streamed on YouTube every single minute. And guess the most viewed category on the whole platform? Music! Using YouTube to promote your music is a no-brainer. Not only is it a great platform for perfectly-crafted music videos or behind the scenes edits, but with YouTube Shorts, it’s now cornering the market of the shorter attention span. In fact, it’s starting to dominate it. YouTube Shorts receive around 50 billion views ever single day. Damn. That’s a big old audience awaiting your music.

Let’s be real. As a DIY musician, you know that the best way to get your music from your bedroom speakers to people’s headphones is through social media. We’re all on it. All the time. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram wield the power to shoot an independent artist to stardom overnight. To have a platform, you need to take your social media promotion seriously. Gone are the days of artist development, led by labels to nurture an artist from the ground up. Start a successful social media presence and the industry will meet you on the fifteenth floor. You’ve got to have a platform. But the good news? That’s totally attainable.

Getting your face featured in your favourite music mag is a two-fold process. You need to craft the perfect press release and write a punchy pitch. Then, you need to find out where to pitch it. The latter takes a level of persistence and commitment that only a DIY musician on a mission to make it could muster. It takes trawling the internet for the right contacts and submission forms with potentially not much return. But, when it does pay off, boy, does it feel great.

You’ve done the hard graft. You’re re-mixed and mastered your single every other day and now you have it perfect. The tune is finally ready to go. You’ve uploaded it onto DistroKid and have your release date. What is next? The press release.

How we discover, enjoy and share music has changed hugely in recent years. Spotify, and Apple Music, along with the rise of social media sounds and TikTok trends have allowed us to have millions of tunes in the palms of our hands… twenty-four hours a day. Which is, quite frankly, a touch of heaven for us music lovers out there. However, whilst securing a spot on a coveted Spotify playlist or starting a trend that sweeps through TikTok with your catchy chorus may seem like the golden ticket, there’s one side of digital music promotion that we absolutely shouldn’t forget – radio plugging. Yes, we’re talking about the good, old-fashioned radio.

So you’re an independent musician, in other words, you’re doing almost absolutely everything by yourself. You’re the songwriter, the label, the graphic designer, the producer, the videographer, god knows what else… Oh yeah! You’re the promoter, the publicist, the radio plugger, and the playlister. Oof, that’s a lot of plates spinning. But, on the road to becoming an established artist, there’s one particular plate that is so important that dropping it might just be make or break. Music marketing.

Setting out to grow your following on Spotify is just as tricky as growing on social media platforms. In fact, think of Spotify as another social media platform in itself. It really needs working, with strategy and persistence. It feels frustratingly slow at times, and it could be a full-time job in itself! But fear not, we’ve got some bright ideas up our sleeves here at Decent to help you along the way to gaining more Spotify followers.

One indispensable tool in any musician’s kit is the EPK. A word often thrown around by music industry pro’s, publicists and managers, the term ‘EPK’ is a little confusing for many, especially those newer to the industry. If that’s you, then fear not as we’re here to cast light on this mystery term, why it’s used and even more importantly, how to make one.

At Decent Music, we encourage all our artists, and everyone that we speak to, that you are right to approach any marketing of your music with some level of skepticism.