Bypass: Music Industry News for Independent Artists

Wednesday edition - 4 min read

SoundCloud’s Latest Update = Free Reach (If You’re Smart)

What’s Up

Like everybody else, SoundCloud got social. New feeds show what your friends like and what’s trending nearby, with daily mixes (Liked by Your Crew, Hot for You) and a community Trending Trackwall.

So What

I mean, sure - these are listener features. But you can game them. Early likes, reposts, and comments can push your track into Liked by Your Crew, Hot for You, and the Trending Trackwall. Feels like they’re trying to bring back the SoundCloud era.

Now What

Use your email list. Ask fans to like and comment early, and set up a small circle to do the same. That early engagement is what triggers the new feeds.

[Full story at TechCrunch]

Meet Splice INSTRUMENT, the New LABS

What's Up

Spitfire’s LABS has a new mailing address: Splice INSTRUMENT. Same great sounds, shinier interface, and a few hundred free presets to get started. It runs on Mac, PC, and a mild anxiety about paywalls.

So What

It’s hard not to flinch when a free tool joins a company that’s all about subscriptions, but credit where credit’s due - Splice didn’t ruin it. If you were using LABS, the same sounds live inside INSTRUMENT, with a full catalog of 1,200+ sounds available for $12.99 per month (also included in Creator/Creator+).

Now What

Install INSTRUMENT now. If it beats your stock sounds, keep it in rotation and consider the $12.99 tier later. Bonus: new (free) instruments land monthly; download them once and they’re yours.

[Full story at Music Ally]

How Often to Post on TikTok… Without Burning Out

What's Up

Turns out you don’t need to live on TikTok. Buffer looked at over 11M+ TikToks from 150k accounts and found a sweet spot for posting content: all you need to do is post 2–5 times per week and you’ll see ~17% more views per post than once a week.

So What

Quality + consistency beats spam, and the “more, more, more” thing barely moves the needle past a certain point. Make better stuff a few times a week and skip the grind entirely.

Now What

Get a 2–5 posts/week rhythm going. Batch record when you can, schedule, and track saves/comments (not just views). Consistency is key, but the right kind is what gets you seen.

[Full story at Music Ally]

While You Were Making Music...

🎤 Universal’s Lucian Grainge says no to AI voice cloning [finally, a major label with boundaries]

🎬 Netflix + Spotify team up on video podcasts [the crossover nobody asked for but might watch anyway]

💶 Ireland makes basic income for artists permanent [imagine getting paid just to create - wild concept, I know]

Today's edition by Jordan F.

For indies who ship music, not excuses.