Spurred from a ongoing convrisation of "Is spam is good/ bad" and the impact it has on the community, I had someone comment about the topic of "building audiotool rep" or "clout"
Can we all agree... wow, that's actually such a dumb concept
Theres no revenue being put into the pocket of artists, little to no outside cross platform attention from users; There is nothing to gain from "clout" on this website other then having your name and track plastered on the charts for 7 days before you are replaced by someone else. The absolute most you can say in regards to "what you get from audiotool clout" is name recognition within the site. But when you log off, no one knows who you are. At all.
Listeners don't transfer like they do on SoundCloud. The most valid argument you could make is that someone adds you on discord (and thats because there's an audiotool server). I understand the importance of making friends within the site and building collaborations from users- but thats not "clout" thats just being a decent human being. And even to SOME extent, people still milk collaborations as a form of "audiotool clout" (EX: "I made song with [Insert user] therefore, I deserve to make a track with you)
This post is less of a "why do we do the things we do" but more of a "HEY BUDDY WAKE UP PALL, ANYONE HOME?!?" There are countless artist I see here entirely swept under the rug with SO much potential and it absolutely kills me. A distrokid account costs maybe $20? And if your not a fan of their practices, SoundCloud, Amuse, Tunecore, and hundreds of other competitors push music to ALL streaming platforms so you can get PAID for the music you make. It can only benefit you- even if you have 20 monthly listeners on spotify thats money going into your pocket at the end of the day.
"But I'm not in it for the money" well good news buddy, most of us aren't or we wouldn't be musicians! Distributing your music allows other users to find your work and listen on the go. It helps you build a stable audience and potentially get your name out there if you want it. It helps people recognize your work and take you seriously, it connects fans to artists- there are SO MANY BENIFITS!!
All this to say, posting on audiotool for "clout" rather than posting your music EVERYWHERE only serves to harm the users of this site. I've had talks with people about distribution before and some people feel uncomfy with that concept- and I understand why. But serving your well crafted music to a non-existent audience is like pouring hours of work rightttt into the dump. Hot take? Audiotool clout is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of.
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I agree with putting yourself out there, just don't lose sight of what you're making art for. Cause it's fun and you express yourself. If there's any other goal you are following, it won't make you happy and you probably need to stop and consider other pursuits.
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And, no matter where you make music and publish it, build yourself a reputation. Build a world around yourself and your music. Be creative and promote those ideas in addition to your music. Just be genuine about it.
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2 things I need to say to this: no you will likely not get many listeners from distribution. The 3 cents you will make from Spotify (and likely any other platform) even if you are the most popular person here will not be worth the amount of money you pay for distrokid/other services. Plus, Spotify is about as terrible of a business as it can be for artists. I refuse to support that.
Secondly, in our current world, streaming platforms are so oversaturated that even if someone finds you, they will likely hardly care. Look for several closely knit music communities first imho (discord or whatever). Most listens you can expect on streaming will come from your fans on AT either way.