Music is a Choose Your Own Adventure Game

Yo! It's been a long long time since we chatted like this last. I come today with a concept on my mind that I've heard and talked about a lot, but wanted to make it permanent. For music fans, music is a choose your own adventure game. For music artists, your job is to create paths in the choose your own adventure game that is your fandom.

You ever play a video game with multiple endings? You ever read one of those Goosebumps books where based on what option you choose, you head to a different page? What channel do you get your news from? All day, every day, we make decisions to do things based on our preferences, but in music the options have become limited. The only thing we're doing these days is choosing the platform to stream the songs on. Does choosing a specific streaming platform benefit you as a listener more than another? Does choosing a specific streaming platform show you support an artist more than someone else? Does choosing a specific streaming platform get you into a special club with the artist? Does choosing a specific streaming platform do...anything? I think this is where choose your own adventure becomes important. As an artist, I'm able to have my music on streaming platforms, my music for sale, merch, a fan club, and a whole bunch of other things. Not everything even has to be about the release! With these things in mind, I challenge artists to look at all of the different pathways you can create new paths for your fans depending on what they may be looking for. I believe fans will naturally go to where makes sense for them.

I am admittedly a terrible fan. I believe that a lot of creators aren't the greatest fans. If we consume too much, then it becomes too much a part of our identity and our work is influenced by the things we consume...so many of us will consciously avoid overconsumption. On the other side of that, if we're inspired by something, we can quickly become the highest level fans. If I sort of like an artist, I might play their single on Spotify or Apple Music (I use both but (⚠) Apple Music has better sound quality and I'm an iPhone/Mac user). If I like them more, I'm watching an interview or music video. If I like them even more, I'm following them on social media. If I like them EVEN MORE, I'm buying an album or merch or a concert ticket. If I like them even more than that, I'm advocating for that artist and talking about them when they aren't there. Sometimes, these steps don't even exist for fans to participate in. Sometimes it looks different.

I recently released an album called Aspiring Gundam Pilot (you should listen to it while you read this), and instead of just saying "head on over to Spotify to check it out" I created a series of paths depending on where you come/know me from and where you wanna go.

➡ New here? My album is out on all of your favorite streaming platforms, listen to it here. If you like the tunes, hit that follow button!
➡ Like the tunes? They're on Bandcamp, waiting for you to download. Pay what you'd like.
➡ Like the tunes and know me from crypto? Collect your favorite songs on Supercollector for $10/song. Download the songs you like for free, and collect the songs you love. Join the collector club there.
➡ Loving the tunes, know me from crypto, and wanna support me even more? I believe that Supercollector is really killing it with the $10/song vibe. Think of that collect as a way to support me as an artist, and not just supporting the attached music. I have NFTs for sale on Catalog, Sound & Zora. I have Black Dave Token.
➡ Want to go even further? Don't worry that's coming soon!

It is no coincidence that its called a marketing campaign and its also called a campaign in Dungeons & Dragons. As an artist, you set the stage. You craft the mazes. You help the party reach their goal, wherever that is.

Don't think you have to follow the simplest or most direct path. Go the way YOU want to go. The world is YOURS, so long as the dungeon master says it exists, of course.

Design more. Explore more. Listen to my music. I go by Black Dave MK2 now.