Audiomack ARTIST GUIDE
Artists 101
What makes a song a hit?
A hit song is made up of a variety of elements, from the sound to the quotability of the lyrics, to the timing of the release. There is no surefire formula to create a hit, so chasing a hit is inadvisable. Make sure your songs are authentic to your sound and your artist story. Remember that a hit requires fans and—if you have one—proper planning and execution to turn it into sustained success.
“Hits are challenging to describe, hard to make, and impossible to deny. Hits can unlock an audience, helping you get exposure and gain both followers and fans. However, it’s difficult to make them happen, so instead, concentrate on providing quality content and building ways to capture fans. A hit can drive lots of listeners to you, but instead of spending all of your energy trying to make one happen, prepare for the moment so you don’t miss out on an opportunity that may arise.”
—Mark Tavern, Music Industry Educator
“With TikTok, it’s getting harder and harder to identify, but when it comes down to it, it’s the first five or 10 seconds. You just feel it. You wanna sing it—especially if after the first take you already know the chorus. No one goes into the studio thinking, ‘Let’s write a hit today,’ and most often the hit comes from the most random places.”
—Samuel Cohen, Director of Artist Marketing, TenThousand Projects
“It’s a mixture of things. It’s the song, the lyrics, the musicality, but it’s also the timing and the fan response. There’s no way to make a song a hit without the fans. The best way to find out if a song is a hit is to release it to the fans and let them decide.”
—MeLisa Heath, Artist Manager
“A hit translates best when it feels authentic to the artist. There’s a difference between a record that would sound great on a number of artists, and one that sounds like only that artist can do it, because it relates so closely to their life. It’s really a gut feeling, to me. All the hit records I’ve had, with the exception of one, I knew the first time I heard it, because it’s all I wanted to hear. Can you smoke to it? Can you drive to it? Can you party to it? Those are all situational playlist factors—the more settings you can listen to something, that lets you know how playable the record is.”
—Adam Small, A&R, Saweetie
