Why I Spent $2,000 on a Song I Didn't Even Like (And How to Know When to Let Go)

A few years ago, I made a song I thought was going to be the one.

I paid a top-tier vocalist. I got it mixed and mastered by someone expensive. I ran $500 worth of ads to promote it, and I pitched it to dozens of playlists. All in, that song cost me around $2,000.

I was doing everything I could to get that song heard. But when I listen back now... the song is trash.

The lyrics were good, and the vocals were great. The problem was the production. After all the money I'd spent, it was still poor. The melodies were repetitive, the mixing was weak, and deep down I knew it wasn't my best.

So why did I keep throwing money at it?

The sunk cost trap

It's called escalation of commitment. Your past investment tricks you into investing more (it's very common with gamblers).

You tell yourself, "Well, I've already spent so much... might as well try to make it work."

You can also call it the sunk cost fallacy. You keep pushing forward because you feel guilty walking away, even when it isn't the smart move.

How to stop wasting time and money on the wrong songs

1. Ask the hard question.

"If I hadn't spent a cent on this yet, would I still choose to promote it today?" If the answer is no, you probably already know it's time to let it go.

2. Don't confuse polish with potential.

A song that sounds expensive won't automatically connect with your audience. A raw demo that your audience connects with emotionally will beat a well-mixed song every time.

3. Let the audience vote.

Instead of putting money into ads right away, share a teaser or a preview. If nobody cares, that's valuable information.

You can also send the song to playlist curators as soon as it's finished and ask for their opinion. That's what my Song Submission is for: I listen to your song and send you personal feedback, and if it fits, it goes on one of my playlists.

4. Save your budget for your best songs.

You only need one great release to change your career. Don't burn your momentum on something you don't believe in. You can still release your less polished songs as part of an EP or an album.

Spending more doesn't make a song better

That one bad song taught me more than any successful release.

Now I test everything, I let go when it's time, and I remind myself that spending more doesn't make something better.

If you're stuck with a release you don't even love anymore, this is your permission to stop forcing it and move forward.

A content idea to try: "I want to attract..."

How much time should you spend on your content if you want it to go viral? 5 minutes? 5 hours?

On YouTube, polished and heavily edited videos usually get the most exposure. On Instagram and TikTok, even the lowest-effort videos can go viral. And yet a lot of musicians are still stuck thinking, "I need my feed to look professional! I need to spend 20 hours a week on content!"

This format keeps going viral, with millions of views and thousands of new followers. It's a 6-second B-roll loop with a long, emotional text covering the screen. The goal is to keep people watching while you attract a specific audience that connects with your message.

How to make one:

• Have some B-roll ready. Take an hour to film yourself doing simple things, like making music, writing lyrics or recording vocals. This short clip is your background.
• Decide who your very specific audience is (this might be based on your last song), and write a message that speaks directly to them. For example: "I want to attract the lonely people. Those who work 9 to 5 and come home to an empty apartment. The ones with so much love to give, but no one to give it to. Let's follow each other."
• Put that text on screen, centered and readable, without fully covering your B-roll. Use a trending sound or your own song in the background.

It works because people stay to read a long, relatable message, and it pushes them to comment, which is another strong signal for the algorithm. Let's do the math. It takes 15 seconds to read the text and maybe another 15 to comment. That's a high watch time for a 6-second video, and watch time is a key factor in going viral.

It also has something crucial, which is relatability. When you open with "I want to attract ____," you speak straight to your audience's identity, and when people feel seen, they stop scrolling.