Social media marketing has changed and it’s about to be worse in 2025. It will be WAAAY harder for artists to be discovered. My team had massive success in the Viral Era but 14 months ago, we realized that it’s come to an end. Before you could be seen by so many people so quickly if you went viral, it was worth the gamble of procrastinating on building a solid foundation. But it’s no longer about “being seen” by a lot of people overnight, it’s now about “connecting” with the few that see you. Instead of “how do I go viral???” The question is…”How do I convert streams or social media views into actual fans who will spend money on me?” For example…which of these artists would you rather be? ARTIST 1: Do you want to be an artist with 1 million streams on a song and no real fans or meaningful brand? OR… ARTIST 2: Do you want to be the artist with 90k monthly listeners and 2k real fans that give you $50k/year minimum? Artist 2 will be the one who wins in the “Connection Era”. We’ve already seen the results with several artists over the last few years, with some now generating over $450k/year. All it takes is ONE year. So stop thinking about the short term and let this be the year that you are patient enough to build something meaningful. Make this the year that changes EVERYTHING. For the holidays, we’re offering access to 12 months of marketing advising, private insider information from the campaigns we’re running AND the tools we use to do it… And we’ve made a 14 day FREE ACCESS deal for the first 100 artists who sign up! Click HERE now to claim your spot now before all spots are taken.

As we now stand here in 2025, the air is buzzing with potential, and it's the perfect time to recalibrate your musical ambitions. Reflect on the last few years—what have you achieved? What lessons have you learned? Also, what didn't you do that you meant to accomplish last year? Now, think about how you can channel those insights into creating a body of work that not only reflects your musical journey, but also reaches new audiences. Consider setting a goal to produce and release an EP of your best songs that weaves together stories from your life, capturing the essence of your experiences in every note and lyric. Embrace the digital age; AI and other technologies are only growing more pervasive and competition to get people to pay attention to your music is getting harder by the day so perhaps now’s the time to dive into learning more about things like AI, utilizing online platforms to distribute your music, and connecting with fans globally so they know you exist. Remember, it’s never too late to explore fresh genres or styles—there’s beauty in evolution, and your unique perspective can add richness to whatever you choose to create. Surround yourself with those who inspire you; whether they’re seasoned veterans or bright-eyed newcomers, collaboration can breathe life into your projects. The landscape of music is ever-changing, and your voice has a vital role in shaping it. Now is your moment—seize it with both hands! ~ Khaliq

Working on "We Are The World" was one of the greatest blessings of my life and career, and I learned a lot of lessons watching him, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie put together that legendary song from beginning to end. The short time I got to work with him was life-changing and I think this might be helpful to others too. Quincy Jones was not a legend by accident. Everything he did, from what I observed, was based on immense talent, deep insights, and life lessons that made him look beyond the surface for what touches the soul. They were always talking about letting God in This goes way beyond just musical skills. It's a way of looking at all things. From the first day of tracking I was like a fly on the wall listening to the conversations he and Michael would have about what they wanted people to FEEL when they heard the song. It was way beyond the notes. It had to touch the heartstrings and tap into us all being one, no matter what color, nationality, enthnicity, or religion. To make that happen via sound was very intentional. Watching and listening why they cast certain musicians, find the right sounds, modify the feeling of different parts, and craft the lyrics was amazing. Listening to them explain why things like the bass part and sound had to be changed to not draw too much attention to it ,or be too funky was an incredible insight. The song should always be about "We" and never "I" am the world. Mind-blowing! Watching Michael Jackson pull out the original lyrics and then they all zeroed in on certain lines like changing it to "there's a CHOICE we're making. We're saving OUR OWN LIVES" instead of (and I'm paraphrasing) "there's a chance we're taking. We're saving all their lives" was so eye opening because they always wanted the song to be INCLUSIVE so that it's not a separate US vs THEM thing, even though the song was about saving starving children. We are all in this together and that was their purposeful mission. Changing little lyric phrases like that made the song a masterpiece, so MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

Somebody was having a problem getting two 808s to work together consistently so here are a few ways that I may tackle that kind of problem. I thought this may be helpful to others as well. ======== (Post from Skool member) =============== ⚠️ Consistency compressing my 808 Hey, guys. I'm working on a beat I made and there's a combo of two 808s that come in and out to make up my 8 bar pattern. The one I need help with is pretty inconsistent, definitely needs that consistency style of compression, but I can't seem to get it to even out. I've run into this problem before with other beats, but I really want to get this right. I' tried using a single compressor as well as serial compression until each instance it plays had the same amount of gain reduction. I'm pretty sure I have way too many on there now. There's like seven, but the gain reduction is all under 2 dB. I tried using a slower release time still on tempo when I did the serial compression. It did get the other parts to the same level, but the last section is still noticeably louder. I haven't tried it with the faster release time, but before I spend days more on this, I thought I'd come ask you guys for help. ============================================ 💡 HERE'S HOW I APPROACH FINDING A SOLUTION 💡 ============================================ The way I approach problems with multiple kicks or 808s is to first isolate which one is causing the problem by deciding which one is the main one, and which one is supporting the main sound. How does the original recording sound before doing anything or adding plugins? Does each one sound good and consistent in quality? Next, I mute the secondary sound and determine if the main sound is consistent throughout the whole song or has any problems such as vanishing or fluctuations in different sections. EQ and multi-band harmonic saturation can be helpful. A big part of kicks and 808s are the length of the decay too.Timing your decays can help tremendously with the groove and prevent low-end tails from smearing the groove. Does the drum groove need tightening, or maybe stretched out a bit?

Wow, Just got the word that George Clinton and Bootsy Collins are redoing "One Nation Under A Groove" for Kamala Harris (P-Funk) and if you're too young to know, ask somebody older what that means :-)