Sam Friske

Music Marketing Specialist. Prev UMG, Concord. Mgmt @rae_isla
We built a video game for a song. Play "miles and miles" 👇

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

Why music NFTs?

In 2016 I found a song, "Riot" by @JonWaltz. It became my anthem and I followed his career since

In 2022 I bought his mNFT.

Last week I got to meet Jon and share what his music has meant to me.

We met thru my buying his mNFT. As a fan, what more could I want?

[Z @BrianZisook]

“There is an opportunity for labels to invest more in Chicago, but we must build the infrastructure ourselves.”

I spoke with @ChrisClassick about Classicks Never Die, his new company dedicated to giving Chicago artists the industry support they’ve been missing. 🧵⬇️

[Z @BrianZisook]

The smart ones do. EMPIRE hired SAK PASE as VP of A&R. He was the guiding force behind Shaboozey’s GRAMMY-nominated “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” LVRN hired Bryan-Michael Cox as SVP A&R. He works with all their developing acts.

[Mike E @heymike]

Here's 13 things I'm thinking about for the music industry as we kick off 2025:

In no particular order...

1) A world without TikTok. The looming potential TikTok ban will continue to dominate the conversation over the next 2 weeks and if it actually takes effect, it will no doubt rattle the world and the entertainment industry with it.

The platform is such a huge part of how artists are being discovered today and one of the most high impact marketing levers that exists. A ban would change the landscape overnight as folks everywhere adjust their strategies (myself included).

2) The tug of war between majors & indie. One of the biggest moments in the music industry last year was a buzzer beater - in mid December it was announced that Virgin Music was acquiring Downtown Music.

In an effort to keep up with the developing indie sector, will more large independent companies be acquired by majors this year?

Will a Tunecore, Stem, or Distrokid ever be acquired by a major?

3) Artist development makes a (small) resurgence. There’s been a small sentiment amongst those in the industry that artist development and quality is making a return. It’s a process that’s going to take years but it’s one that the music landscape is desperately in need of.

Higher quality music, artistry, branding, etc across the board.

4) Who’s going to make the next Spotify Wrapped? Spotify has had such a chokehold on these end of year campaigns it feels like every other platform is just copying their format. Who’s going to shake things up and introduce something innovative? In my opinion, YouTube has a massive opportunity to do something groundbreaking.

So much time, attention, resource, and money are invested into artist visuals, music videos, and content - if YouTube can figure out a way to share new data + insights on those investments, it could have a game changing impact.

For example, I’d love to see…

Which fans watched more than 1 video on your channel?

Which fan has spent the most watch time on your channel?

Which video had the biggest premiere?

With so much of social media consumption being visual, if YouTube can create a video asset that provides analytics or information it could be an innovative approach to these year end lists.

5) More artists investing in D2C. With more artists, especially independent artists, looking for additional sources of revenue outside of streaming, more and more artists will turn to direct to consumer and sell products to increase their earning power.

6) EVEN continues to cement its place in the industry. After being around for a few years as a tiered D2C platform, EVEN leveled up in Q4 of 2024 by powering J. Cole’s Inevitable audio series and live stream of his Madison Square Garden 2014 Forest Hills Drive anniversary show.

The platform seems to be evolving from traditional D2C to now hosting podcasts and live stream capabilities and seems to have lots in store for this year.

7) All eyes on Kendrick Lamar. With Kendrick posed to play this year’s Super Bowl and coming off the heels of his GNX album, many think the “real album” will be dropping around the SB performance. It’ll be interesting to see how Kendrick capitalizes on the moment and what he has in store for sports’ biggest night.

8) Fixing the fragmentation of the industry. I’ve had a few awesome conversations recently with folks building exciting startups looking to fix how fragmented workflow is in the music industry. From project management tools to organizational resources, there’s a dedicated effort to streamline what is a disorganized and fragmented process for so many artists and their teams.

I’m fascinated to see if anyone can crack the code and build something that becomes a major adoption.

9) The use of AI. AI will inevitably continue to develop and become integrated but the question is at what pace? More and more AI content creation platforms are emerging to help repurpose and create short form content.

Will actual AI agents finally be introduced and start to significantly affect workflow?

10) The future of DSP editorial. What will the balance become of DSP hand curated editorial vs AI editorial? Will DSPs reinvent their editorial process to keep up with the fast landscape of how artists are breaking?

11) The future of Shaboozey. Shaboozey had a record breaking year in 2024 and if he continues building momentum and keeps his fast on the gas, he has a shot at becoming a bonafide star this year.

12) Innovation from layoffs. With so many layoffs having occurred across the industry in 2024, I’m optimistic and hopeful that innovation will continue to arise. I’m excited to see what happens this year from those who transitioned after layoffs to starting their own companies and trying to solve the industry’s problems.

13) Building around superfandom. Superfans became one of the buzziest words of 2024 and it’ll be interesting to see how artists approach engaging with their top fans in 2025. With so much data at our fingertips, it’s become easier and easier to identify who our top fans are.

What are you thinking about for 2025?

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@heymike As always, another great tweet! Love to see that you’ve also noticed the small but mighty rise in artist development, it’s definitely something I’ve noticed is getting much more attention the past 6 months and excited to see how that continues to grow in 2025

[Mike E @heymike]

Most people won’t tell you this (but Z will because he’s a great, genuine dude) but playlisting does not have the same impact that it once did for building true genuine fans

[Rae Isla, a traveling bard 🧳 @rae_isla]

Are you curious what it looks like to be an independent musician releasing music on the blockchain through NFTs?

I made a visual timeline of my web3 journey that started in 2022... 🏜️

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@heymike Send!

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@heymike Would love to connect!

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@Kayvanmd New @rae_isla! https://t.co/MACPnK9lSD

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@BrianZisook @jeandawsn Chaos Now is one of my favorite albums, just pressed play on this one and already obsessed

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@aboveandbelowco @AbelowRob Will do!

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@for3stpunk Gahhh I mean I do kind of get it, I feel like it would be so hard to make it as good as the book

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@AbelowRob I’ll keep you posted as we continue the build!

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@BrianZisook Love this! We’re blessed to have you in the space fr 🙏🏼

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

#nowplaying Jesus Was a Woman (From the Island) by Rae Isla via @audiomack https://t.co/i00HMkybv6

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

@yaycourtney This!! Experienced it constantly as a steaming manager at labels, so now I’m building a software to help combat problems like this 😈

[Sam Friske @SammersETH]

Honestly everyone should jump on this

[Steph Guerrero @steph_guerrero]

A few folks have asked for my Playlist Pitch Template… who would like to have it and does not know how to collect the pass?

[Graham Barnes @CountryBellesUK]

Country Belles Sat 27th July
My artist of the week is @rae_isla