I’ve written before in this weekly blog about metrics. Across a variety of different types of creators, I have shown how/where you can look to see that people are enjoying and engaging with whatever it is that you’re putting out there.
Approximately two weeks ago, a song was submitted to me that I liked when I heard and earmarked it for writing about today. Since it was from an artist that I wasn’t familiar with and I only listened to it one time, not to mention how much time had gone by since that initial play, I can’t say I had immediate recall for it.
But today as I sat down to write this, I went to Spotify to play it again and the fact that I reacted immediately with, “Oh, right, yes, this song!” and felt myself smile as that was all taking place was a good sign of a song connecting with a listener.
Furthering the case that, “See? People are listening and enjoying what you’re doing” was the fact that “I Create in Color Now” by The Quiet North just came out thirteen days ago and it already has 3,578 plays on Spotify alone!
Mind you, I’m not surprised that the track seemingly is enjoying a successful launch.
When I had first played it, I liked the optimistic and encouraging musical intro. The start of the vocals caught me right away, wanting to hear more. The lyrical content was equally agreeable -- victorious. A great perspective. I even sent my congratulations to the artist on musically demonstrating making lemonade when life gives you lemons. What we have here is a really nice mid-tempo track. If what I had received didn't say 'debut track' I would go looking for more from The Quiet North.
Of course, the hope is that the listener will enjoy it and want to follow for more releases.
Speaking of coming back for more, here’s how else you can tell that a song is connecting with someone. Today, as I mentioned, was me coming back to the track to write about it after having first listened maybe two weeks ago. Will I come back a third time, simply wanting to hear it for enjoyment reasons?
And then the ear worm concept comes into play. Will “I Create in Color Now” be stuck in my head? Heck, there’s even viral potential with this, its hook, its title. Picture this.
I can foresee people responding back to someone who’s trying to bring them down, “No, don’t go there. I’m not going to take a turn to negative town. I create in color now.” Heck, I know it would be a bit lengthier than we and a lot of the platforms would like, but maybe even – especially in the spirit of mental health – #iCreateInColorNow to accompany some positivity posts. And with that, of course, should be this new song playing.
It's rare that everything clicks on your debut release, but The Quiet North sure has come awfully close to giving you a case study in ‘checking all the boxes,’ so to speak. Quite frankly, I’m quite surprised that this is “just” the first release for this artist, given the quality of the song – not only production-wise but the composition and performance. It’s all very polished, sounding like a seasoned pro.
When you hear a song like this and think, “How do I not know who this is” and it’s because the song marks their first release, the answer to your question is, “You do now!”
Of course, the challenge now is that the bar has been set high. Expectations will need to be managed and the pressure of having an equally strong follow-up release (already in the queue, by the way) will be real. That being said, there’s a solid foundation to build from off the backs of “I Create in Color Now.”
For the record, The Quiet North is the solo project of Scandinavian producer Fredrik Kristiansen. It’s not lost on me that he also found a sweet spot with the running time. Clocking in at three minutes 19 seconds only makes it an even more radio friendly track.
With already over 2,700 monthly listeners, he’s sure to see that number increase after you listen to “I Create in Color Now” and come back for his next release too, I’m sure.
For more than twenty years I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more. What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to? Connect with me so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.