Navigating a career in music is damn near impossible. First off, it’s easier to catch lightning with your bare hands than it is to make a hit record. And even after accomplishing that feat, navigating the stormy seas that follow sudden success without proper guidance can cause the bravest to jump ship. The above was true before the advent of the internet, but with the vast number of platforms and potential pitfalls that present themselves to artists in 2018, it’s more real than ever.
For a lot of artists, a million plus plays on a track or video is an accomplishment. But what about the phonies who pick up that song and use its rising popularity to snag subscribers on another channel? Most will overlook that issue. Creating music is a full-time job, that’s why management exists. But between working late in the studio, finding a worthwhile manager, interacting with fans on social media and the other myriad chores necessary to keep up in today's market, it’s all too easy to let money slip through the cracks. Money, which rightfully belongs to the artist.
Enter, Repost Network. Repost is a music startup out of Venice that helps monetize an artist’s music via their online audience. No more chasing down rouge channels ripping off tunes or trying to figure out all of the annoying backend administrative work that comes along with that TuneCore account. Repost has their back.
Oh great, another business slapping a fresh coat of UI on the same old distribution model, right? Not so fast there, bud. TuneCore may offer freedom with their straightforward model, but what happens with something goes wrong? What happens when an artist, tired from working in the studio all night, can’t get a song to push to Spotify? Or, what if the song goes up, but Spotify throws it in the wrong profile? Can’t talk to TuneCore, now can you?
No, but you can talk to Repost. Over the course of our conversation, Jeff Ponchick (CEO of Repost) and Edgel Groves (Sr. Director of Label Services) explained their goals for the company but drove home the importance of support in Repost’s business. For them, Repost is all about support and education, which is why each member of their team spends part of their day, every day, working through artist support issues. Yes, that includes Mr. Ponchick and Mr. Groves.
The platform presently boasts a roster of over 5k artists which include the likes of Mayer Hawthorne, Waka Flocka Flame, Ugly God and Redbull Records. But don’t think for a second the above acts/labels got on because of talent. Unlike traditional labels or distribution platforms, Repost focuses entirely on data. If an artist has less than 10k plays on any given song and less than 1000 followers on SoundCloud, Ponchick and Co. won’t bring them on board, regardless of their sound. While this may sound sacrilegious to those of us who pride ourselves on “knowing a future star when we hear it,” the data-focused approach makes sense. Ponchick wants to help artists with a following monetize their art. So even if a musician’s work is amazing, without the reach to back it up, there isn’t much for them to do.
Repost Network is part of the new class of music businesses using technology to help artists. In their eyes, every artist can live off of their music so long as they have the right tools by their side. So things like monetization, content protection, advanced profile features, and an analytics dashboard are a no-brainer for the rising class of artists who don’t want or need the overbearing strings of a label.
Repost Network is a young business with a team of driven music nerds behind it. For all those artists out there looking to make a life out of music, Repost should be your first stop.
