The 2025 Grammy Awards delivered some major and unexpected wins, perhaps none more so than Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter win for Album of the Year. From that, a lot of discourse emerged, depending on which side you were on, but one of my favorites was this post by Olivia Shalhoup of Amethyst Collab. It speaks so much to the positive side of art and the power of showing up each day and doing what you love. Of putting the music first, always.
My artist soul believes this and knows at its core, it’s true. The music has to be good first and foremost. However, my entrepreneur brain knows it’s more complicated than this.
Done well, marketing feels organic
Good marketing means your audience will never realize they’re being marketed to. At least, they won’t realize how MUCH they’re being marketed to and how long it’s been going on. Good marketing allows these things to happen in a way that feels organic.
What works for major label artists doesn’t work for indie artists
This is true in music but also other industries. Scrappy is the friend of start-ups and smaller brands. Beyoncé and Charli XCX would likely not have had these wins if they were say, just starting out. Which brings me to…
This was years in the making
Alexa, play Arkells’ “Years in the Making”
Charli XCX and Beyoncé have been at this for years/decades and have built the audience, eco-system, and network to create these opportunities. They still 100% deserve their success and these wins were a long time coming. But it’s important to understand the mechanics of it if we’re to replicate it with smaller artists/brands.
Thoughts?
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