The Only Thing AI Can't Steal From Musicians

Let me tell you about one of the worst songs I thought I'd ever heard.

In 2025, walking through Tokyo, I was listening to a pop editorial playlist when that song came on: "Gnarly" by KATSEYE.

The lyrics were absurd. The sound design was weird. The structure made no sense. I thought it was a joke.

Spoiler alert: it is a joke. The song parodies modern pop music.

But that's not my point. I hated this song. It made me hate pop music.

One month later, I was in Seoul, the capital of K-Pop, with music everywhere and dancers on every corner. The first song I heard was "APT." The second was "Gangnam Style" (they love their clichés). And the third? You guessed it, "Gnarly."

That horrible song was blasting on Seoul's main streets. I stopped to watch a dance group perform it, and then it hit me.

My foot started moving. My body felt the rhythm. My eyes locked onto the choreography. The song was never meant to exist alone. It was made to be danced to, and with the movement, it suddenly worked.

Later, googling in my hotel room, I found out it was written as a parody. It's a catchy, brilliant parody, and they nailed it.

Why this story matters for your music

AI has changed the game. Anyone can make music now, more songs than ever get uploaded to Spotify every day, and your production quality matters less than ever.

What you do with your music matters more than ever. Music without context goes nowhere fast. So how do you give yours a chance?

Step 1: Tell your story everywhere

Every song has a story, even "Gnarly." Make sure people know yours.

• Film yourself explaining the story behind each song, and pin it to your profile. If you're uncomfortable on camera, make a carousel instead.
• Upload your lyrics and what they mean to Genius, so when someone googles your song, they find your story.
• Spotify announced SongDNA, a section for the stories and people behind a song, next to the credits. When it shows up for your music, use it, and please write it yourself, without AI.

Step 2: Connect your music to something visual

Have you watched KPop Demon Hunters? It's a Netflix movie about a K-Pop group topping the Billboard charts, and then its soundtrack went on to top the charts outside the movie too.

Music and visuals together make something memorable.

• Are you a good dancer? Dance to your songs.
• Are you a good actor? Act out your lyrics.
• Are you funny? Make it funny.

You have something AI doesn't. Use it or lose it.

Step 3: Work on your visibility

Music that nobody hears can't find fans. So:

• Get on quality playlists, and stay away from bot ones.
• Run targeted ads to specific audiences.
• Create content with viral potential.

Most people who find you won't care. But a small percentage will check your profile, see your story, watch your content and become fans. That's the whole point, right?

My free playlist guide covers the playlist part. And if you want to learn the ads part, I recorded my whole system as a course called Label Level Ads.

Your music needs you

Sometimes good music works without marketing. In 2020, Dua Lipa's album made me buy concert tickets without knowing any backstory. I just loved the music.

But Dua has millions behind her production. And I bet she doesn't need my newsletter.

Here's the brutal truth. Most people can't tell AI music from human-made music anymore. So what's the point of making music yourself?

You are the point. Your story, your movement and your vision are the point.

Give your music meaning beyond the sound. Make it undeniably human.

A content idea to try: the text carousel with a song

Toward the end of 2025, something weird happened on Instagram. Carousels started outperforming reels, and basic carousels with text on photos were getting millions of views.

I saw a band post a 3-slide carousel with simple photos and text that went hook, introduction, call to action, with their song playing in the background.

How to make one:

• Find 3 to 5 photos from your music journey, like studio sessions, shows or selfies with bandmates. They don't need to be perfect.
• Slide 1 is the hook: "Too bad nobody listens to indie rock anymore, so you'll probably scroll past this."
• The next slides introduce you: "Hey, I'm Sarah, I've been making music in my bedroom for 3 years."
• The last slide is the call to action: "My new song 'Midnight' is out now, link in bio."
• Add the text in Canva with a bold, readable font and high-contrast colors.
• The most important step: add your song as background audio when you post. That pushes your carousel into the Reels feed.

Why it works so well:

• With music added, Instagram shows your carousel in the Reels feed, where it faces less competition than video.
• Opening with "nobody listens to X anymore" or "you'll probably skip this" is reverse psychology, and people want to prove you wrong.
• People control the pace of a carousel, so they spend more time on each slide, which helps your reach.
• Raw photos with honest text feel less promotional than polished video, so people trust it more and check out your music.