Every idea below includes the first slide, the full slide sequence, and a caption starter. Swipe each preview to read the slides.
1. Six weeks before a singleEducational
First slide
“Six weeks before a single drops: the actual schedule”
1/6 Six weeks before a single drops: the actual schedule
Swipe → 2/6 Week 6: master delivered, artwork finished, metadata checked twice.
3/6 Week 5: upload to the distributor. The pitch needs that lead time.
4/6 Week 4: pitch in Spotify for Artists. One track, one paragraph.
5/6 Week 2: pre-save live, press sent, first clip out.
6/6 Week 0: release, then post every day for four days.
Caption starter
The unglamorous scaffolding behind a release. Miss the four-week upload and you lose the editorial pitch entirely, which is the free part.
Why it works: It gives other musicians a reason to save the post while showing fans the professionalism behind the record.
Make this carousel 2. Writing an editorial pitchEducational
First slide
“How to write a Spotify pitch that actually gets read”
1/6 How to write a Spotify pitch that actually gets read
Swipe → 2/6 Submit at least seven days before release. Four weeks is better.
3/6 Genre, mood, instruments, and the city you're from. Be literal.
4/6 Say who it sits next to. Two artists, not ten.
5/6 Say what's happening around it: a tour, a sync, a feature.
6/6 One pitch per release. Choose the track you'd play a stranger.
Caption starter
The pitch box is small and most people waste it on adjectives. Say what it sounds like, who it sits next to, and what else is happening around it.
Why it works: Practical platform advice earns saves from peers and shows fans you take the work seriously.
Make this carousel 3. What bought streams doMyth-busting
First slide
“What buying playlist placements does to your account”
1/6 What buying playlist placements does to your account
Swipe → 2/6 Bot streams have no saves, no follows and a huge skip rate.
3/6 The platform reads that as: nobody likes this.
4/6 Your reach drops for the next release, not just this one.
5/6 Some services will get the track removed entirely.
6/6 There's no shortcut that doesn't cost you the next record.
Caption starter
Every artist gets these emails. Before you reply, understand what a bought stream looks like in your data and what it teaches the algorithm about you.
Why it works: Warning peers about a common scam builds authority and reaches the exact audience that shares industry posts.
Make this carousel 4. The same bar, four timesBehind the scenes
First slide
“The same bar, four times, eleven months apart”
1/6 The same bar, four times, eleven months apart
Swipe → 2/6 One: a phone voice memo in a parking lot. Two chords, wrong key.
3/6 Two: the demo. Drum machine, one vocal take, no bridge.
4/6 Three: the band version. Faster, and worse. We kept the tempo.
5/6 Four: the master. Same melody as the parking lot, note for note.
6/6 Everything else changed. The idea never did.
Caption starter
Four versions of eight seconds of music. The first one is embarrassing and it's still the reason the song exists.
Why it works: Process content creates ownership in listeners, who then treat the finished release as something they watched being made.
Make this carousel 5. Writing for the mute buttonEducational
First slide
“Instagram plays your song with the sound off”
1/6 Instagram plays your song with the sound off
Swipe → 2/6 Most feed video starts muted. Most people never unmute.
3/6 So the first two seconds have to work as a picture.
4/6 Put one line of lyric on screen. Big. Readable at a glance.
5/6 Caption everything. Deaf and distracted audiences want the same thing.
6/6 Then the sound becomes a reward, not a requirement.
Caption starter
The hardest thing about being a musician here is that the platform is visual first. Write for the mute button and the volume takes care of itself.
Why it works: It reframes the platform's biggest obstacle as a solvable craft problem, which is useful to every musician who reads it.
Make this carousel 6. What a t-shirt leaves youEducational
First slide
“What a $25 t-shirt actually leaves you”
1/6 What a $25 t-shirt actually leaves you
Swipe → 2/6 Blank shirt and print: $9 to $12, depending on the run.
3/6 Venue merch cut: often 10 to 20% at ticketed shows.
4/6 Shipping and packing online: about $5, plus your time.
5/6 Left over: $7 to $10. Roughly two thousand streams' worth.
6/6 Which is why the shirt matters more than the playlist.
Caption starter
Not a complaint, just the arithmetic. One shirt is worth about two thousand streams, which is why we'd rather you bought one at the show.
Why it works: Transparent economics convert passive listeners into buyers by showing exactly where their money lands.
Make this carousel 7. What a promoter wantsFAQ
First slide
“What a promoter actually wants in your email”
1/6 What a promoter actually wants in your email
Swipe → 2/6 Subject line: band name, city, and the month you want.
3/6 One paragraph. Who you are, who you sound like, where you've played.
4/6 One link. A live video, not a folder of demos.
5/6 Your draw in their city, honestly. Twenty is fine. Say twenty.
6/6 Nobody books a band that overstates its numbers twice.
Caption starter
Promoters delete long emails. Say who you are, what you sound like, and how many people you can genuinely bring to their room.
Why it works: It documents the unwritten etiquette of a closed process, which is the kind of post musicians send to each other.
Make this carousel 8. How the show sold outSocial proof
First slide
“The show sold out. It wasn't the algorithm.”
1/6 The show sold out. It wasn't the algorithm.
Swipe → 2/6 180 capacity. Sold out eleven days before.
3/6 Mailing list: 640 people. They bought 96 tickets.
4/6 Instagram: 14,000 followers. They bought 31.
5/6 The rest came from the two support bands' own crowds.
6/6 Build the list. Pick the right supports. That's the trick.
Caption starter
Sharing the actual numbers because nobody does. A mailing list of 640 outsold an Instagram following of 14,000 by three to one.
Why it works: Publishing real conversion numbers is rare, highly shareable, and reframes what a follower is actually worth.
Make this carousel 9. One line, eleven monthsPersonal brand
First slide
“One line, and the eleven months behind it”
1/6 One line, and the eleven months behind it
Swipe → 2/6 "I still take the long way past your street."
3/6 It was originally about a job I hated, not a person.
4/6 The second verse gave that away, so the second verse went.
5/6 Now it's the line people sing back loudest.
6/6 Songs get truer when you stop explaining them.
Caption starter
The story behind the line people ask about most. It wasn't about what you think it was about, and that turns out to be fine.
Why it works: Lyric explanations give the sound-off audience something to read and turn casual listeners into people with a stake in the song.
Make this carousel 10. Nine hours for forty-five minutesBehind the scenes
First slide
“Doors at 7:30. We got there at 3pm.”
1/6 Doors at 7:30. We got there at 3pm.
Swipe → 2/6 3pm load in. Two flights of stairs, carried by hand. Again.
3/6 4pm line check, then the headliner soundchecks properly.
4/6 5:15 our turn. Twenty minutes if we're quick.
5/6 6pm food, and the only sitting down of the day.
6/6 7:30 doors. Forty-five minutes of the actual job.
Caption starter
The gig is forty-five minutes. The day is nine hours. Come early and watch the support bands, they've been there just as long.
Why it works: It builds empathy that converts directly into early arrivals and support-band ticket sales.
Make this carousel 11. Vinyl lead timesEducational
First slide
“Order vinyl nine months before you plan to release it”
1/6 Order vinyl nine months before you plan to release it
Swipe → 2/6 Pressing plants quote 16 to 30 weeks, and quotes slip.
3/6 Test pressings add three weeks, and you must listen to them.
4/6 Artwork and print run to a different, earlier deadline.
5/6 Then shipping, then storage, because 300 records is heavy.
6/6 Book the plant before you finish mixing. Genuinely.
Caption starter
The most common reason a record's release date moves. Book pressing capacity before the record is finished, not after.
Why it works: It answers a logistical question every independent artist gets wrong once, which makes it endlessly saveable.
Make this carousel 12. Festival applications close earlySeasonal
First slide
“Festival applications close months before you'd guess”
1/6 Festival applications close months before you'd guess
Swipe → 2/6 Most summer festivals build their bills between November and February.
3/6 Smaller stages are often booked by a curator, not a form.
4/6 Apply anyway, then find the curator and email them separately.
5/6 Have a live video from this year. Not one from 2021.
6/6 Apply for twenty. Expect two. That's a good year.
Caption starter
If you want a summer festival slot, the work happens in winter. Get a current live video filmed before applications open.
Why it works: It arrives ahead of a seasonal deadline musicians reliably miss, which makes it useful rather than inspirational.
Make this carousel 13. Do you need a labelMyth-busting
First slide
“You don't need a label. You might need a distributor.”
1/6 You don't need a label. You might need a distributor.
Swipe → 2/6 A distributor puts you on the platforms. About $25 a year.
3/6 A label funds and markets, and takes a share of what comes back.
4/6 Can't say what you want a label to pay for? You don't.
5/6 Most labels want to see an audience before they build one.
6/6 Build the audience. Then decide who deserves a share of it.
Caption starter
The question I get asked most by other musicians. Work out what you'd want a label to actually do before you spend a year chasing one.
Why it works: Contrarian, practical career advice attracts peers whose shares expand the reach of the music itself.
Make this carousel 14. How a set list gets builtEducational
First slide
“How a 45-minute set list actually gets built”
1/6 How a 45-minute set list actually gets built
Swipe → 2/6 Open with the one they already know. Not the new one.
3/6 Three songs before you speak. Earn the room first.
4/6 Put the slow one at five. Never at two.
5/6 Group the keys and tunings, or the changeovers kill it.
6/6 Close with the one they'll sing walking out.
Caption starter
The set list gets rewritten in the van about an hour before every show. This is the shape we start from and why it rarely changes.
Why it works: Set list craft is something fans have never considered and other musicians argue about, so it gets read and shared twice over.
Make this carousel 15. Nine dates, three nearly goneOffers & promos
First slide
“Nine dates. Three of them are nearly gone.”
1/6 Nine dates. Three of them are nearly gone.
Swipe → 2/6 Pittsburgh: fewer than 20 left. Smallest room on the run.
3/6 Denver and Austin: about half sold.
4/6 Everywhere else: plenty, and it's a better night when it's full.
5/6 Every ticket bought from the venue puts more in our pocket.
6/6 Full list and links in the comments.
Caption starter
Tour update. If you're coming to Pittsburgh, book this week. It's the smallest room on the run and it's going fastest.
Why it works: Ranking dates by scarcity gives each city a specific reason to act rather than a generic reminder.
Make this carousel 16. Pick the singleEngagement
First slide
“Two tracks. One single. Twenty seconds each.”
1/6 Two tracks. One single. Twenty seconds each.
Swipe → 2/6 A: faster, guitars, the one we already play live.
3/6 B: slower, piano, the one the band argues about.
4/6 Our manager has an opinion. So do we. They differ.
5/6 You've got twenty seconds of each. Say A or B.
6/6 Whichever wins is out in March.
Caption starter
Genuinely deadlocked on this. Listen to both and tell me A or B, because we're choosing the single next week.
Why it works: It gives listeners a stake in a release before it exists, so they promote their own choice on release day.
Make this carousel 17. The mailing list argumentEducational
First slide
“2,000 emails beats 20,000 followers. Here's why.”
1/6 2,000 emails beats 20,000 followers. Here's why.
Swipe → 2/6 An email arrives. A post has to be shown to someone first.
3/6 Open rates on a small music list run 30 to 50%.
4/6 Instagram shows a post to a fraction of your followers.
5/6 You own the list. You rent the followers.
6/6 Sign up at the merch table, or the link in the comments.
Caption starter
The least exciting thing you can do for an artist you like is join their mailing list. It's also by far the most useful.
Why it works: It converts platform followers into an owned audience, which is the highest-value action a fan can take.
Make this carousel 18. The voice memo folderBehind the scenes
First slide
“The voice memo is 14 seconds long and out of tune”
1/6 The voice memo is 14 seconds long and out of tune
Swipe → 2/6 Recorded at 1am in a kitchen, on a phone, half asleep.
3/6 It became the chorus of the song we open with now.
4/6 There are 340 memos in that folder. Most are unusable.
5/6 Four became songs. That's a completely normal hit rate.
6/6 Record everything. Judge later. Never judge at 1am.
Caption starter
The origin of a song most people assume was written in a studio. Fourteen seconds, a kitchen, and a phone with no storage left.
Why it works: Showing the low-fidelity beginning of a polished song makes the artist feel reachable and the catalog feel earned.
Make this carousel First slide
“The gear, the honest version, and the cheap version”
1/6 The gear, the honest version, and the cheap version
Swipe → 2/6 Live: one guitar, one pedal I actually use, a borrowed amp.
3/6 The pedalboard photo has four things I never switch on.
4/6 Recording: an interface, one microphone, a comforter on a rack.
5/6 Everything on the last record was tracked in that room.
6/6 Nobody has ever noticed. Nobody ever will.
Caption starter
Asked constantly, so here it is with the marketing removed. The room matters more than the microphone and the song matters more than both.
Why it works: Demystifying gear reaches the large audience of amateur musicians who follow artists for exactly this content.
Make this carousel 20. Why your song sounds quieterEducational
First slide
“Why your song sounds quieter than the one before it”
1/6 Why your song sounds quieter than the one before it
Swipe → 2/6 Streaming platforms normalize everything to a target loudness.
3/6 So a track squashed flat gets turned down anyway.
4/6 You lose the dynamics and gain nothing in volume.
5/6 Master for the song, not for the playlist comparison.
6/6 It's the one place where loud genuinely stopped winning.
Caption starter
The loudness war ended when platforms started normalizing playback. If your mastering engineer is still crushing everything, ask them why.
Why it works: A technical explanation that saves peers from a common mistake earns the saves and shares that widen your reach.
Make this carousel 21. A line from track nineSocial proof
First slide
“Someone got a line from the second verse tattooed”
1/6 Someone got a line from the second verse tattooed
Swipe → 2/6 A song we nearly cut from the record. Track nine.
3/6 She sent a photo and a paragraph about why.
4/6 It's about her brother. It was never about mine.
5/6 That's what happens when you stop explaining a song.
6/6 Shared with her permission, and with her blessing.
Caption starter
Shared with permission. Songs stop being yours the moment you release them, and that is the entire point of releasing them.
Why it works: A listener's own story is more persuasive than any review and signals that the music means something to real people.
Make this carousel 22. First take, last takeBefore & after
First slide
“The first take and the last take, back to back”
1/6 The first take and the last take, back to back
Swipe → 2/6 Take one: too fast, wrong key, drums we later removed entirely.
3/6 We spent three weeks making it bigger. Then took it all out.
4/6 The released version has fewer instruments than the demo.
5/6 Same tempo as take one. We went round in a circle.
6/6 Sometimes the arrangement is just a way of finding the song.
Caption starter
Two versions of the same song eighteen months apart. The finished one has less on it, which is usually how this goes.
Why it works: A direct comparison makes the craft audible to listeners who assume records arrive fully formed.
Make this carousel 23. What a support slot buysEducational
First slide
“A support slot costs money. Here's what it buys.”
1/6 A support slot costs money. Here's what it buys.
Swipe → 2/6 Some tours charge for the slot. Many pay very little.
3/6 Gas, a van, four people fed, a place to sleep.
4/6 You'll play to a room that didn't come for you. Half will listen.
5/6 What it buys: their audience, a promoter's trust, a live video.
6/6 Take the right one. Turn down two for every one you take.
Caption starter
The support slot economics nobody publishes. Work out what a tour costs you before you say yes to it.
Why it works: Frank career economics attract peers and give fans a reason to buy merch at exactly the shows that need it.
Make this carousel 24. Reading your year-end statsSeasonal
First slide
“Your streaming year in numbers, and what to do with it”
1/6 Your streaming year in numbers, and what to do with it
Swipe → 2/6 Everyone posts their listener count in December. Fine, do that.
3/6 Then look at the cities. That's your tour routing, free.
4/6 Look at save rate, not stream count. Saves predict the next release.
5/6 Look at where listeners found you. Do more of that one thing.
6/6 Then thank the people who actually turned up.
Caption starter
End-of-year stats are a routing map if you read past the headline number. Check your top cities before you book anything next year.
Why it works: It turns a seasonal ritual everyone takes part in into something practical, which lifts it above the noise.
Make this carousel 25. Streaming pays nothing, honestlyMyth-busting
First slide
“"Streaming pays nothing" — the honest version”
1/6 "Streaming pays nothing" — the honest version
Swipe → 2/6 A stream pays a fraction of a cent. That part is true.
3/6 A thousand streams is roughly the price of a coffee.
4/6 But streams aren't the product. They're the shop window.
5/6 Tickets, records, shirts and sync are where a living comes from.
6/6 Stream it, then come to the show. Both matter, differently.
Caption starter
Not a guilt post. Streaming is how people find music and it was never going to pay rent. The show and the record are the part that does.
Why it works: Explaining the economics without resentment makes the ask for a ticket or a record feel reasonable rather than aggrieved.
Make this carousel 26. Why a pre-save mattersOffers & promos
First slide
“A pre-save is worth more on day one than day ten”
1/6 A pre-save is worth more on day one than day ten
Swipe → 2/6 Pre-saves land in your library the moment it releases.
3/6 That's a spike of saves and plays in the first hours.
4/6 Which is exactly what the algorithm looks at first.
5/6 One tap now does more than ten plays next month.
6/6 Link's in the comments. Takes about four seconds.
Caption starter
If you're going to listen anyway, pre-saving costs four seconds and does more for the release than anything else you could do.
Why it works: It explains why a small action matters, which converts far better than simply asking for the pre-save.
Make this carousel 27. Singles or an albumFAQ
First slide
“Singles or an album? Depends what you already have.”
1/6 Singles or an album? Depends what you already have.
Swipe → 2/6 No audience yet: singles. Every release is another chance.
3/6 Four to six weeks apart, so each gets its own push.
4/6 An audience already: an album gives them something to live with.
5/6 Albums get press. Singles get playlists. Different doors.
6/6 Most people should do both, in that order.
Caption starter
The question every artist asks at the wrong time. Singles build an audience, albums reward one. Work out which you're doing first.
Why it works: Strategic advice with a clear rule of thumb gets saved by peers and shows fans there is a plan behind the releases.
Make this carousel 28. The year I nearly stoppedPersonal brand
First slide
“One year I sold a guitar to pay a phone bill”
1/6 One year I sold a guitar to pay a phone bill
Swipe → 2/6 Eleven people at a show in a city I'd driven four hours to.
3/6 I stopped writing for seven months. Told nobody.
4/6 What restarted it: one person who emailed about an old song.
5/6 Not a label. Not a playlist. One email.
6/6 If you've ever sent one of those, that's what they do.
Caption starter
The part of this that doesn't go on the poster. If an artist's work has meant something to you, tell them. It lands harder than you'd think.
Why it works: Honest vulnerability produces the deepest engagement of any post type and directly encourages the behavior that sustains an artist.
Make this carousel 29. How a supervisor finds a songEducational
First slide
“How a music supervisor actually finds a song”
1/6 How a music supervisor actually finds a song
Swipe → 2/6 They search a library by mood, tempo and lyric theme.
3/6 So your metadata matters more than your biography does.
4/6 Have instrumental and clean versions ready. Always.
5/6 Own your masters, or know who to ask in one email.
6/6 One sync can pay more than a year of streaming.
Caption starter
Sync is the most realistic route to a meaningful payment for an independent artist. Have your instrumentals, stems and clearances ready before anyone asks.
Why it works: It points at a revenue stream most artists ignore and demonstrates professional preparedness to industry followers.
Make this carousel 30. Sunday, sixty-one ordersBehind the scenes
First slide
“Sunday: 61 orders, one kitchen table, four hours”
1/6 Sunday: 61 orders, one kitchen table, four hours
Swipe → 2/6 Every record signed, because it's quicker than not offering.
3/6 Every mailer gets a handwritten note. Every one.
4/6 Two get sent to the wrong address. There are always two.
5/6 Post office line: 35 minutes, holding a very heavy box.
6/6 This is what buying direct actually looks like.
Caption starter
No warehouse and no fulfillment company. If you ordered this week, it went in the mail today with a note inside it.
Why it works: Showing the physical labor behind a direct order makes buying from the artist feel materially different from buying anywhere else.
Make this carousel