By Mike Glendinning

When I wanted my music heard, I had to record it on tapes and hand them out. The band would go into a recording studio, spend about $300 for about four songs, and then I would go to my mom’s house, dub a bunch of tapes, and hustle them out on the streets, at shows, anywhere I could.

After a year of this online behavior, I started gaining traction. People started to know who I was. I'd talk to someone, and they would say,
“Glendinning, I’ve heard that name before.”

Then one day Facebook came out.

We went from a friendly guy named Tom who sent everyone on the platform good morning messages on Myspace to a rumored eccentric narcissistic prick named Mark Zuckerberg running Facebook.

When FB took off, Myspace became obsolete.

Along with the new platform came the new norm. Now you would get a warning if you sent a cut and paste to too many DMs. You could only send so many friend requests a day. I remember a guy calling Myspace a marketer’s wet dream. Now shit was micro-managed.
Shit, I haven’t even gotten to the algorithms…

When Facebook popped up, YouTube was starting up. It wasn’t the monster it is now. With the right kind of thinking and a lot of elbow grease, you could actually do pretty good. You could get new people to your channel by leaving videos connected to theirs.

The first big viral monster I ever saw was a song called Chocolate Rain. I forgot the dude’s name. It was a guy singing a song he wrote. Nothing flashy at all, but what was so interesting was that not only was it the first viral thing I noticed — people were already doing parodies of it.

Within a day, people were adding fart noises to the song on their page.
Even Darth Vader took a few minutes of his time in Cloud City to do his version of the song.

Although I still worked with what we had, there was one huge setback that took a good two years to see: links to the landing page to sell music.

A company called CD Baby was selling my physical CDs online. The problem was that I couldn’t leave a clickable link. You had to type the address in an email or a post.

Fun marketing fact:
You will lose sales if you make it too hard to get to an online store.
Or if you have a podcast and people have to “click this,” “join that,” or do the goddamn hokey pokey just to get in — you will lose followers.

That’s just 20-something years of marketing experience.
What the f#ck would I know?

Finally, we got links.

And thanks to DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) and the low cost of computers, the fact that anyone can get their filthy little paws on digital distribution — everything is saturated.

The same people who were glad that the record labels and their all-mighty A&R guys didn’t have the world by the balls anymore were now starting to second-guess their logic.

But wait, there’s more!
TikTok magically shortened an entire generation’s attention span to one second.

A few weeks ago, my friends and I told my kid that we listened to something called a concept album. He was given an assignment to listen to Dark Side Of The Moon all the way through with headphones on.

He’d rather clean the cat box.

I know I missed a bunch of shit.
But this is my experience of digital music in a nutshell.

This is my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Something’s  been on my mind lately, especially as I get older: the profound importance of valuing your time. In our 20s and 30s, we might have more flexibility to accommodate others, but as life progresses, time becomes an increasingly finite and precious resource. When someone hesitates or gives a lukewarm "let me think about it," particularly as we mature, it often translates to a "no," or at least should be treated as such.
This isn't just about creative collaborations; it applies to all aspects of life. Our time is too valuable to spend with people who treat us as an afterthought or make us feel like a Plan B. Life is fleeting, and I've learned that worrying about what those who don't value you think is a waste of energy. If you consistently treat me poorly and I keep showing up, perhaps that says more about my past self than my present one. I firmly believe that how people treat others is often a reflection of how they treat themselves. It's often shocking to witness the level of self-absorption and projection in some individuals.
On a more positive note, building high self-esteem is crucial for recognizing your worth and protecting your time. Here are a few suggestions:
 * Practice Self-Compassion: Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a friend.
 * Identify and Challenge Negative Thoughts: Become aware of your inner critic and question its validity. Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations.
 * Set Realistic Goals and Celebrate Achievements: Break down larger goals into smaller, achievable steps and acknowledge your progress along the way.
 * Focus on Your Strengths: Identify your talents and abilities and find ways to use them regularly.
 * Set Healthy Boundaries: Learn to say no to requests that drain your energy or don't align with your priorities.
 * Practice Self-Care: Prioritize activities that nourish your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
 * Surround Yourself with Supportive People: Cultivate relationships with individuals who uplift and value you.
Thank you for being a part of this community. Your support allows me to continue creating and sharing.