Fifty Thousand Streams? Cool. One Real Fan? Priceless

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Welcome to this week's Blonde Intelligence, I am you host Ms. Roni, and I always seek to give you exquisite cranial repertoire. One fan showed up at five o’clock on a Thursday for Indie Artist, Kwe the Artist—and that was enough to spark one of the most meaningful shows of the tour. We dive into the real mechanics of indie growth, where honesty beats hype and small rooms become training grounds for skill, trust, and repeatable momentum. The story starts with a free city-to-city run and a candid recap that didn’t hide the turnout. That transparency pulled more listeners into the music and turned an awkward moment into organic discovery.

We break down why thin crowds can be a gift. With fewer distractions, you can test arrangements, tighten transitions, and read the room with precision. You hear the breath between lines, feel the groove shift, and adjust on the fly. Those one-to-one moments create fans who buy albums twice, tell friends, and come back. We contrast artists who deliver regardless of headcount with those who walk when the numbers aren’t “big enough,” and how that choice echoes in ticket sales, reputation, and word of mouth. The takeaway is clear: connection compounds.

You’ll also hear practical strategies for designing shows that convert—framing every set with a clean call to action, capturing contacts, gifting surprise value, and measuring the right signals beyond vanity metrics. We talk timing, venue friction, and the myth of the “magic number” that supposedly unlocks opportunity. Instead, we focus on stacking small wins: ten merch buys, ten saves, ten shares. Those are signs of demand, and they add up fast when you keep your promise to the people who show.

If you’re building from the ground up, this is a reminder to play the room you have and serve the moment you’re in. Subscribe, share this with an indie artist who needs the nudge, and leave a review with your own “tiny crowd, big impact” story—we’ll shout out our favorites next week. Follow @BlondeIntelligence

#IndieArtist #KweTheArtist #BlondeIntelligence #MusicGrowth #LiveMusic #IndieMusic #SmallCrowdBigImpact #ArtistDevelopment #MusicConnection #TransparentGrowth #MusicCommunity #SupportIndieArtists #ViralPodcast #CreativeMomentum #EngageYourAudience #MusicianSuccess #ShowDesign #FanEngagement #MerchSales #BuildingCommunity

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Learn about the indie artist from the indie
artists.

SPEAKER_03 (00:06):
I'm Shannon Keene.
I'm an artist.

SPEAKER_00 (00:09):
My name is Lauren, as you already said.
I am a singer-songwriter.

SPEAKER_03 (00:13):
So I'm all femmes.
I originally come from theCaribbean, St.
Vincent, the Grenadines.

SPEAKER_02 (00:17):
My name is Brian Ducev.
I'm an East Coast Canadianrocker.
And then I found myself in LasVegas, where I'm at currently,
for dancing for Circle Du Soleilwith my own solos.

SPEAKER_00 (00:31):
I also learned from music industry professions.

SPEAKER_03 (00:33):
I'm a music producer.
I've been producingprofessionally for about 14
years.
I have uh worked with a couplepeople in the industry.
Uh Gregmy nominated, Trev Rich,Misha from 702.

SPEAKER_02 (00:46):
After I got my deal with Universal Music, after the
Alicia Keys and Gunner Record,and many other that I've done,
and then Alicia Keys was thenumber one adult RB song of the
year.

SPEAKER_00 (00:58):
I asked the question.

SPEAKER_02 (01:01):
That's a great question.

SPEAKER_00 (01:02):
Yeah, that's a good question.

SPEAKER_02 (01:05):
Ooh, uh, that is a good question.
Wow.
I love all these questions.
These are great.
Like most of the questions thatI get are like, you know, tell
me about Justin Bieber.

SPEAKER_00 (01:16):
Indie Artist Music Hustle is for the indie artists,
their fans, industryprofessionals, and the music
lover.
Subscribe on YouTube, Facebook,or the podcast on Apple,
Spotify, Pandora, or BlondeIntelligence Facebook page.
Don't forget to add me to yourplaylist.
Bye.

SPEAKER_03 (01:37):
It's been really fun, especially hoping someone
across the pond.
Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
Welcome to Blonde Intelligence.
I'm your host, Miss Ronnie, andI always seek to give you
exquisite cranial repertoire.
This week I am going to talkabout a subject that was sparked
by a short that I saw onYouTube.
An artist by the name, and Ihope I'm saying his name

(02:08):
correctly, by the name of Quithe Artist.
It's KWE, Kui the Artist.
And the short was talking abouta show that he did within his
tour.
He was doing a tour, a freetour, where he would go to

(02:29):
different cities to perform forfree to organically grow his fan
base.
And he was saying that Charlotteshould have been, I think it was
Charlotte.
I know it was North Carolina.
I can't say Charlotte for sure.
Um was his 11th um biggest fanbase.

(02:50):
So he was expecting a certainnumber of people to come out,
but he did have some barriersagainst him.
It was that it was a Thursday,it was at 5 o'clock, um, and it
was something else, but it wasduring a time where let's just

(03:12):
say if you got off at 5 o'clock,let's say you had children or
whatever, and you don't get achance to hit the night light
for a happy hour or whatever,but he felt that that was a
barrier, and he felt kind ofdisheartened about the turnout.
His turnout was only one person,and he said he had to think

(03:36):
about that because that oneperson was a guy who had bought
his album two times.
So this guy showed that he wasreally a fan of Queen the Artist
by buying his fans, and and whatreally caught my attention is he
he was like, I'm gonna keep itreal with you.

(03:56):
He said, I could um dress thisup for social media.
He's like, but I'm gonna keep itreal.
And that's when he told aboutthat he was doing a discovery
tour and that he had a hard timefinding a place to perform, and
that when he did, you know, heannounced it or whatever, but he

(04:17):
only had one person to show upat first.
Now, towards the end, he saidmore people showed up, and it
was one of the best shows thathe ever had, and that he felt
like he gained, you know, someorganic fan base.
And by him showing that short,you know, that made me go check

(04:38):
out his music, and his music isreally good.
I don't want to put a genre onhis music, and I haven't heard a
whole lot of it because heobviously has music if one
person bought two of his albums,so I would say that it was like

(04:58):
a cross between it has a hip-hopfoundation with a touch of
reggae and a touch of Africanhip-hop, I would say, fused
together.
How would performers feel aboutshowing up to their show and
only have one fan there?

(05:20):
Performing for only one personas an independent artist can be
a profoundly significantexperience.
For a true fan, this scenariotransformed the typical concert
dynamic into an intimateconnection between artist and
listener.
It underscores the essence ofwhat being a true fan means.

(05:42):
A deep appreciation for theartist's work, regardless of the
scale of the performance.
When an independent artist stepson the stage, they can carry the
weight of their hard work,creativity, and passion.
Performing for a single fanmight seem disheartening to
some, but for the dedicatedsupporter, it's a unique

(06:03):
opportunity.
This one-on-one interactionallows for a deeper engagement.
The artists can share personalstories behind the music,
creating a narrative thatresonates on a more profound
level.
Then in a crowded venue, thisintimate setting can foster a
sense of belonging where the fanfeels seen, heard, and valued.

(06:27):
Now, I want artists to alsothink about independent artists
performing at birthday parties,community events, um, little no,
I'm not gonna say little, butfundraising events, um just

(06:50):
because and I feel like althoughit's not on a grand scale
because the magic numbers50,000, you need 50,000 on
social media, you need 50,000listeners on Spotify in order
for major or biggeropportunities to come along, I

(07:15):
would say.
And 50,000 is the magic number,if you can believe me or not,
but I think that performing atsm performing where there's
smaller crowds still has valuetowards your fan base.
Such a performance can lead toan unforgettable experience for
both parties.

(07:36):
For the artist, it's a chance toreceive immediate and genuine
feedback, allowing them torefine their craft.
For the fan, it becomes acherished memory, a story that
they can tell others about atime when they had a private
concert.
This interaction reinforcesloyalty.
The fan is likely to have theirexperience with others expanding

(08:00):
the artist's reach organically.
In a world of independentartistry, where every connection
counts, performing for one truefan can be a powerful testament
to the artist's dedication.
This experience transcendstraditional metrics of success.

(08:20):
So even if you just gain ten newfans were ten people who buy
your merchandise or ten peoplewho go and download your album.
That is the success, even thoughit's not that 50,000.
As 50 Cent said, and um, was itget rich and die trying?

(08:42):
He was like, I take pennies,nickels, and dimes, because it
all adds up to be a dollar.
So this highlights that it's notabout the number of attendees,
but the quality of theconnection made.
In essence, an independentartist, true fan-based, thrives
on these intimate moments asthey cultivate a community built

(09:04):
on shared passion and personalconnection.
Now, I remember I went to aconcert one time, and I believe
I know it was um Jaheem, umJagged Edge, and I think it was
Zap from Roger and Zap.

(09:25):
And Jaheem came out andperformed and killed it.
And I think I went to see him inseveral more shows after that,
simply because of the fact thatthe crowd was not big, and the
barriers in that particular showwas it had been raining, it was

(09:49):
cold, it was an outside show,and a lot of people who said
they were coming didn't comesimply because of the weather.
So it was a nice crowd, it waskind of scattered, scattered,
but Jaheem came out andperformed anyway, and gave a

(10:09):
great show.
And Jagged Edge decided that thecrowd was not big enough for
Jagged Edge to come out, andthey did not come and perform,
and I never bought a ticketagain to go see any show that
had Jagged Edge on there.
Now, that right there, being ona ticket, expecting a bigger

(10:33):
crowd, it happens to the best ofus, it has happened to me, but
it did not take away from what Iwas trying to do when I didn't
have as big a crowd as Ithought.
And you know, sometimes peoplesay that they support you and

(10:54):
they don't.
And it shows in the actions, thewords never mean anything.
And I take Queen, the artist'sexperience and that he wanted to
tell the truth about it, andeven in the end, the the the
crowd wasn't the biggest, but itwas one of his better shows.

(11:16):
And I think about even when Iused to go to the club, I like
to dance.
So when I went to the club, Ilike for the DJ to play good
music, and I like for to have mesome room that I can be able to
dance the way that I like todance.
And when the club was toopacked, I didn't have such a
great time.

(11:37):
Now I know that having a big fanof a big crowd at a live show
can put you on a natural high.
And some people say they go intotheir alter egos and they do
things that they didn't do inpractice, and it turned out
great.
But sometimes you have I wouldeven look at how Drake is

(12:02):
comparing his crowd to thekindred to kindred crowd.
And I think that he shouldn't dothat because even in trying
times, because this would be atrying time for him, you still
got people that's standing withyou.
Give your best to them.
And they might not want to jumparound, they might want to rock

(12:24):
from side to side, and you needto read the room.
And if your fan base is there tosupport you, give them what they
want.
And use that as a chance to tellthem how much you thank them and
show them because words meannothing.
But that's all that I have foryou this week.

(12:45):
Remember, you can catch BlondeIntelligence.
You can still look up IndieArtist Music Hustle with Blunt
Intelligence, but my tag is atblunt intelligence on all
podcasting platforms.
Um, please go and subscribe andfollow on Spotify, on Pandora,
on iHeart, on Apple, on allthose places.

(13:08):
Um, the podcast is always onYouTube, whether I do a visual
show or not.
But you can subscribe on YouTubeand you can get your merch and
some personalized merch uh orderon my website at www.blon dash

(13:28):
intelligence.com.
You can also find the servicesthat I provide to independent
music artists there.
So um that's all I have for youthis week, and I'll see you next
week.
Bye.

SPEAKER_01 (13:42):
Hey girl, let me tell you about this podcast.
Girl, everybody has a podcastthese days.
But this one interviews new andinteresting indie artists.
It's called Indie Artist MusicHustle with Blonde Intelligence.
Really?
Where can I find it?
It's on all podcastingplatforms, streams live on
social media and onrpentradio.com.

(14:03):
What'd you say it was calledagain?
It's called Indie Artist MusicHustle with Blonde Intelligence.
Girl, I'm gonna have to checkher out.
Give it a check, girl.