Today's guest is Lucidious, a hip-hop artist originally from Virginia now living in Los Angeles. I’ve covered him in the book and on the website quite a bit. He has an interesting story from the business perspective. He has over 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify without any official playlist inclusion, label, or manager. This translates to more than $20,000 per month from streaming revenue.I brought him onto the show so we could go deeper into his story. We talk about digital marketing and all aspects of his business. We talk about his family. We discuss mental health because a lot of his fans connect with him on a deep level due to their own struggles with mental health. This was a very enriching and inspiring conversation for me to have, and I think you’ll get a lot out of this as well.Ari's Take Academy: Streaming & Instagram Growth with Lucidious (use code NMB for 10% off): https://aristakeacademy.teachable.com/p/streaming-instagram-growth---Quick links:4:10 - About Lucidious11:39 - What inspired Lucidious to write lyrics? What was the beginning of the journey like? 17:50 - When did Lucidious begin rapping?25:48 - How much say Lucidious has in his productions because of his diverse musical tastes34:46 - What are the marketplaces artists can purchase cleared tracks? 38:03 - Was Lucidious' first album officially released or just through SoundCloud? How the Lucidious name came to be54:15 - Gaining popularity through video ad campaigns1:02:00 - When does Lucidious decide to point the ad campaigns directly to Spotify?1:04:50 - Messages that Lucidious receives and how he helps those who are struggling1:15:40 - Where Lucidious draws the line when responding to fans1:21:47 - Advice for artists who are receiving dark messages from fans - and how to emotionally protect themselves1:28:47 - Lucidious heading out on his first headline tour1:42:48 - How Lucidious defines making it in the new music business---Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://www.aristake.comInstagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/ariherstand/Instagram (Ari's Take): https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/ariherstandTwitter (Ari's Take): https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Connect with Lucidious:Website: https://www.lucidiousmusic.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0S8NV7XoWi7arXWSRqI3dS?si=JOwNzVHkT_2m1xkGZsx1LQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA0jmO32RNZBXHXvb34yBrgSoundCloud: Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.