Author name: Cylus

Meta says let the AI drive your ads. I watched its invite-only Agency Summit and checked that against what actually gets artists streams.

I turned down a perpetual masters deal. What a record label actually offers in 2026, what going independent cost me, and what to check before you sign.

I spent $1,116 across five real Meta ad campaigns for my own music. Here’s the actual cost-per-stream data, what worked, what didn’t, and an honest answer on whether it’s worth it.

An honest, non-marketplace answer on ghost producer dependency: is it cheating, what it costs, the Suno problem, and how to actually stop.

Visual tools like FabFilter Pro-Q4 aren’t cheating, they’re a shortcut to ears you haven’t trained yet. Here’s when mixing with your eyes actually helps.

Eight years into learning music production, here’s what I wish someone had told me at 20. No tutorial fluff, just what moves the needle.

A real, numbers-first account of an 80% Spotify monthly listener drop: what actually caused it, what a paid growth agency taught me, and what I’m testing now.

Everyone gives the same textbook answer for mentor vs. coach. Here is what 3 years coaching producers, and 10 years producing my own music, taught me instead.

Two years at 300 views per video, then 1.4 million views in 90 days. The honest system behind finding your niche as a music producer and staying motivated when nobody is watching.

A clean mix won’t save a forgettable song. Here’s how a music production mentor improves your songwriting, starting with the one principle that fixes most weak tracks.