The Algorithym Made Me Do It: Song in Space Goes Social

What happens when a seasoned creative who's spent decades in traditional marketing dives headfirst into the bewildering world of social media algorithms? Join Chris McHale on this raw, unfiltered journey as he documents the creation of "Song in Space" – an epic space opera for kids being developed with a global team of passionate creators.

The digital landscape has transformed how creative content comes to life. Gone are the days when you needed strategy teams, account executives, creative directors, and producers to launch successful campaigns. Today's creative battlefield is fought with memes, trending audio, and algorithmic strategy. For Chris – a self-described introvert who'd rather walk a cold winter beach than attend a party – this transition has been equal parts hilarious, frustrating, and occasionally soul-crushing.

But beneath this digital transformation lies something revolutionary: creators now have the power to build original IP without traditional gatekeepers. Inspired by how video game companies cultivate communities, Chris and his team are attempting to create something truly independent – owned by its creators and supported directly by its audience. As Chris puts it, "Artists are willing to die on ownership." It's about reclaiming creative control in a world that has historically demanded artists surrender their work to corporate interests.

Subscribe to follow this bold, messy, honest journey from concept to creation. Whether they succeed gloriously or fail spectacularly, you'll witness every step of building a creative universe from the ground up. Ready to join the adventure? Visit StudioGGio, sign up to become an Audionaut, and become part of a community where creative independence isn't just a hashtag – it's the mission.

Thanks for listening.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, love.
I'm Rita, british, digital anddeeply suspicious of hashtags.
Welcome to Creativity GGG, theshow where big ideas, bold
stories and sonic mischiefcollide at light speed.
At the helm, the one and onlyChris McHale, sonic, humanist
and sworn enemy of dull audio.
Today, we do the unthinkable welaunch a social media campaign.

(00:23):
Chris has won awards, shapedculture, made ads with actual
helicopters and now he'slearning to post on Instagram
without crying.
It's bold, it's messy, it'sslightly humiliating.
And we're recording the wholething, because why suffer
privately when you can livestream it?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Welcome to Creativity , to Gigi and I'm going to be
journaling the production thatwe are about to do Song in the
Space.
The first big step is a livestream we're going to do on

(01:27):
September 16th maybe hopefully.
And I'm talking about what Iwould call the unthinkable.
You know we're going to launcha social media campaign.
Look, I have been in themarketing game for decades.
I ran these global campaignsand you know we moved culture

(01:56):
and we racked up awards.
Back then you needed strategyinstinct, account executives,
creative directors, artdirectors, copywriters,
producers, assistant producers.
You needed everybody.
And when you got it going, youneeded a train, a train going

(02:20):
through America All aboardAmtrak.
Now you need memes all aboardAmtrak.
Now you need memes, trendingaudio and an unholy alliance
with the algorithms.
Yeah, I mean, this is howdesperate I got.

(02:42):
I'm reaching out to Mr Beastand I'm saying teach me, teach
me about the algorithms, man,yeah, you know what I mean, okay
.
So anyway, everything I learned, I had to tear it all down.
I had to break it down.

(03:03):
I had to put my guitar down andpick up my pencil and go back
to school and unlearn the gospel.
Just unlearn the gospelaccording to madmen and learn
something new Relearn the gospelaccording to TikTok.
I gotta tell you and sometimesmost times it's hilarious to

(03:24):
TikTok.
Get with some bullying, I gottatell you, and sometimes, most
times are hilarious and reallyfucking frustrating, to be
honest with you Occasionallysoul-crushing, and, if I'm
honest, I don't believe in anyof it really.
Even when I was in advertisingI don't believe in it Not really
.
I mean, it's not really whatI'm about, but you know, you do

(03:46):
what you gotta do.
Something pulled me into thesocial trenches.
It's when I was working invideo games.
I got this whole idea going inmy mind.
You know, wow, the way theseguys build community.
It fascinated me.
I mean, it was the foundationof these games was people, fans,

(04:12):
loyalists, a loyal communitythat would then buy little
swords and shields and magicpowers Pretty amazing.
So I started, you know, Ithought, I thought, you know, I
got this wild idea okay, it justpopped in my head and I thought
you know what?

(04:35):
you can build original IP fromscratch without a network, a
gatekeeper or a boardroom ortrips to LA.
You can do without all If youbuild a loyal community, an
actual base, a crew, fans.

(04:58):
And the more I thought about it, the more I loved it, because
it gives the power back to thecreators.
We get to own our own work, andthat's equal parts terrifying

(05:22):
and thrilling.
Art's terrifying and thrilling.
Terrifying because there'snowhere to hide, and thrilling
because begging strangers to buyyour passion is a form of
spiritual torture.
We've all endured it.
I mean artists hate it.

(05:42):
We always have, always, alwayshave hated it.
I don't know any artist thatendured it.
I mean artists hate it.
We always have, always, alwayshave hated it.
I don't know any artist thatlikes it.
Just ask Taylor Swift.
I mean she recorded her entirecatalog to get her art back.
Can you imagine?
I mean talk about impressed.

(06:03):
That's the hill.
Artists are willing to die onownership.
That's what it's all about.
You want to own the song youwrote.
I don't think I can describe it, but I can tell you this it's
true.
It's true, that's the hill.

(06:24):
We're all willing to die onownership, ownership.
So that's what this is about.
I am producing Song in Space.
I've got a great team, a globalteam.
We want to own our work, butthe permission to own our work
is actually doesn't come fromthe corporate overlords, it

(06:47):
comes from you, the people.
So I'm gonna document thisprocess and maybe, somewhere on
the line, I'll convince you totake part in it.
It's a leap.
Then.
We're building a campaign, asocial media campaign, and we're

(07:07):
making the assets and we'regoing to share it all with you.
Every bit of it.
It's bold, it's messy, but it'shonest.
It's ours, man, it's ourspeople, it's ours.

(07:37):
And to make sure nobody getslost in the algorithmic void,
I'm going to publish this log.
I don't know how many I'm goingto do, but every time we reach
another step, I'm going to putone of these out there.
So subscribe and you'll be ableto follow this whole process.
We're recording the wholejourney, whether we pass or

(07:58):
whether we fail, because eitherway, it's going to be epic.
I mean, I worked in opera.
I did 25 operas, so epic is inmy blood, and Song in Space is
an epic space opera for kids.
It's a lot of fun.
I think it's going to be funand I want to share it with you.

(08:18):
We want to share it with youBecause this is a whole full
team.
It ain't just me.
Now, full disclosure I am not asocial person.
I am not a social person.
I am not a social person.
Parties are painful for me.
I'm happy in my studio.

(08:38):
I started playing guitar becauseI was so shy.
I'd rather just get up on stageand play than stand in and
dance with girls, oh my god.
So you give me a long walk on acold winter beach and I am
happy.
I love it.
I love it.
We live on a cold winter beachand it am happy.
I love it.
I love it.
We live on a cold winter beachand it is fantastic in the
winter.
But you know, it's a new world,a strange, glowing world Full

(09:03):
of possibilities, and we arefollowing this direction to the
end.
We're going to get funky withit.
Yeah, all right.
So join us, sign up for theaudio drama Song in Space.
Become an Audionaut.
Go to StudioGGio and you canclick in the top left-hand

(09:29):
corner, go to the landing pageand sign up.
Join us, become an Audionaut.
You'll get a badge.
Maybe you'll get an enamel pen.
We'll just have to see.
We're going to be rocking,rocking in.

(09:51):
Let's have a countdown.
Ready, three, two, one.
Blast off Song in space.
Hashtag creative independence.
Hashtag true music cannot becoded.

(10:14):
This band rocks.

Speaker 1 (10:23):
Well, that was either the beginning of a glorious
media empire or the digitalequivalent of yelling into a
void.
Either way, thank you forlistening.
Now float on over tostudiogggio and sign up to
become an Audionaut.
You'll receive updates, sonicgoodies and maybe, just maybe, a
coupon for Cosmic Ice Cream myfavorite flavor, vanilla.

(10:45):
Just kidding Quantum CrunchToodles.
Keep your ears open and youralgorithms friendly.
Want Rita to narrate a TikToknext, or explain SEO like it's
an alien language.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
I'm ready.