Aug 10, 2023 · 1h 18m · my-first-million
Connor Price’s Viral Formula to Get +650M Spotify Streams (#484)
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Independent hip-hop artist Connor Price and his manager-wife Brianna reveal how they combined direct-response marketing, short-form video skits, and 100% catalog ownership to generate hundreds of millions of streams and build a multi-million-dollar independent music enterprise.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The hosts hold 47% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 4.1 Guest teaching 5.5 Guest disagreement 1.3 The hosts pushing back 1.3
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:05 Brianna playfully calls out Sam's intense office visit
Brianna candidly pushes back on Sam's retelling of their first meeting, recalling how he aggressively questioned employees and made her entire team nervous.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 41:25 Shaan rejects the $50 million catalog valuationShaan refuses Brianna's $50M exit target, insisting that given their growth trajectory and digital ownership, they must set their sights on $500M.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 0:00 Brianna demystifies streaming revenue marginsBrianna corrects the widespread industry myth that streaming does not pay, breaking down their $4,000 per million stream rate and explaining how 100% master ownership generates massive cash flow.
The host holds their own ▶ 54:10 Shaan articulates the new media leverage thesisShaan demonstrates deep industry knowledge by comparing Joe Rogan's low-overhead media empire to Jimmy Fallon's legacy production to prove why Connor and Brianna's independent strategy wins.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Math Behind Independent Music Streaming Revenue | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | Brianna opens by educating the audience and hosts on the real math of independent streaming, explaining that owning your masters makes streaming highly lucrative at scale. Shaan responds with unreserved praise, comparing Connor and Brianna's TikTok mastery to top digital creators like MrBeast. | |
| Deconstructing the Viral Skit Formula and Acting Roots | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Shaan deconstructs the structural advantages of Connor's multi-character skit intros over conventional music promotion. Connor and Brianna agree and detail how Connor's background as a child actor merged with vertical video formats during pandemic shutdowns. | |
| From E-Commerce Dog Ramps to Music Marketing | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Sam shares the comedic backstory of meeting Connor moving boxes at Alpha Paw while Brianna ran growth marketing. Brianna explains how direct-response e-commerce storytelling principles for dog ramps directly translated into hooking listeners for independent music. | |
| The Genesis and Mechanics of 'Spin the Globe' | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | Brianna and Connor break down the viral mechanics of the 'Spin the Globe' series and explain their retention-engineered songwriting workflow. They reveal that verses and beat drops are written specifically around 3-to-5-second visual pacing intervals. | |
| Financial Milestones and Running a Family Enterprise | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | The guests discuss hitting six-figure monthly streaming revenues while operating as a tight-knit family unit. Shaan shares an anecdote about family business ventures, while Brianna describes maintaining professional boundaries and resolving sibling friction to protect the workflow. | |
| Sponsor Message: HubSpot CRM Platform | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | Brianna and Connor outline their seven distinct revenue streams, highlighting YouTube Shorts monetization over TikTok due to pinned links and algorithmic comment filtering. Connor also clarifies the financial mechanics separating master royalties from publishing rights. | |
| Redefining Touring Strategy and Long-Term Catalog Value | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | Brianna and Connor explain why traditional touring is low-margin and deprioritized in favor of catalog accumulation. Shaan challenges their $50 million catalog exit valuation goal, forcefully arguing that their digital leverage warrants a $500 million target instead. | |
| Developing Original Characters and Future Television Projects | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | Shaan offers critical feedback that Connor's full-length YouTube videos feel less captivating than his fast-paced TikToks. Brianna clarifies that short-form is for top-of-funnel reach while long-form serves existing audience retention and pitches future TV concepts. | |
| Content Creation Workflows and Rejecting Major Record Labels | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Brianna explains their rule of only producing content that drives streams to full completed tracks, as well as their refusal to sign with major labels. Shaan delivers a deep comparison between Joe Rogan and Jimmy Fallon to validate their lean, independent media model. | |
| Independent Blueprints, Viral Traps, and Adjacent Ventures | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | Connor discusses mentorship from independent rapper Russ, while Brianna highlights the trap of viral TikTok audio clips where listeners fail to attach the sound to the artist's personal brand. | |
| Overcoming Failure, Fear of Judgment, and Parenting Lessons | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | The conversation shifts to early career self-doubt, Brianna's homeschooling background fostering creativity, and reflections on newborn parenting. The hosts and guests engage in friendly banter comparing artist personas before closing on actionable life lessons. |
Statements from this episode (20)
Connor Price: Brianna Price creates the ideas behind his viral videos
“Yeah, no, as far as the marketing stuff goes, that's all Brianna. Which is why it's so fun to be able to do this conversation with her. Cause we do everything together. But so, so many of my ideas that have gone viral are her ideas.”
Connor Price: Music promotion on TikTok requires entertainment skits before selling
“The whole goal with these videos is to not make it seem like you're selling someone, especially on TikTok. The moment you feel like someone's like, hey, check out my song, you're gonna swipe away. So you have to provide entertainment first, and we have found t…”
Connor Price's 'Spin the Globe' video hit 144M cross-platform views
“That, that, that first video that we did where we landed on Zambia and found this Zambian artist, that, that video has seventy two million views on TikTok and seventy two million views on YouTube Shorts.”
Price: Song 'Spinin' crossed 100M Spotify streams in under nine months
“That's the song that now has over a hundred million streams on Spotify in less than nine months.”
Brianna Price: 1M Spotify streams generates $4,000 on average
“It's roughly, there's a lot of variables, but on average, a million streams is around 4000 dollars USD. On Spotify.”
Connor Price averages 60M monthly Spotify streams across his catalog
“And we're averaging like, sixty million streams a month right now. Across our catalog.”
Brianna Price: 'Spin the Globe' drove their first six-figure month
“And I remember that pop moment got us our first six figure month.”
Brianna Price: Connor Price was YouTube's most subscribed artist in November
“YouTube emailed us, and they're like, you were the most subscribed to artist in November. Of all artists on YouTube.”
Connor Price gained 800,000 YouTube subscribers in one month via Shorts
“I got 800,000 subscribers in one month, just from posting every day for a full month, all my popular videos, including the globe stuff.”
Connor Price: TikTok suppresses comments mentioning Spotify or link in bio
“TikTok at this point, too, even, if you try to write the word link in bio or even Spotify, they'll hide the comment. And we've tested this. I've written that, I've posted that comment under my own video, logged into a different account to go there, and the com…”
Brianna Price: Connor Price negotiates high-six-figure brand sponsorship deals
“Recently, like the last couple, you can negotiate like six figures, high six figures. Depending on the ask, I'm sure we could get even higher, but like in our current state, current followers, it's like six figure deals.”
Connor Price broke even on his European opening tour
“We opened on the European tour, and I had a chart of the money. I'm pretty sure we just broke even on that one. Just because you have to like rent a bus, you have to pay a tour manager, you have to pay for everyone's travel, your DJ, merch, like the list is en…”
Brianna Price targets selling music catalog for $50M in 3-4 years
“Fifty million. At what age? Three or four years from now.”
Brianna Price: TikTok acquires new listeners while YouTube monetizes existing audience
“On TikTok, our goal is to reach new listeners, and YouTube is more to nurture the listeners we already have and to nurture the platform because it does pay well. So more views on YouTube is more money in our pocket from the AdSense and stuff like that. But yea…”
Connor Price skips pre-saves and only promotes music post-release
“That's another part of our rollout is, is we don't promote the song until it's out. Some people promote the song months in advance. They do pre-save campaigns, stuff like that.”
Connor Price refused deals from every major record label
“And we've talked to every major label. It's not like I, Our friend Nick said that he's like, we're independent by choice, not by default. Cause you'll see in the comments like, why hasn't anyone signed this kid yet? Someone signed Connor. And I'm like, they've…”
Russ privately advised Connor Price to stay independent to make millions
“He wrote like, unsolicited advice, stay independent, you'll be making M's like clockwork, and I'm like, that's all I needed to hear.”
Brianna Price: Skit videos build stronger brand equity than viral sounds
“That's actually something we've clocked and we've wanted to be careful of because sometimes people have their song go viral, the sound, but people don't connect that sound to the artist. So there were a couple like viral sounds. If you asked me who the artist …”
Connor Price: Copyright-free music generates more long-term value than DMCA claims
“I created a playlist on Spotify under my channel that's called, like, DMCA Safe Copyright Free, where it's all of my songs that are copyright free... Because I don't do YouTube ID. I think the long-term value of having creators use your music is way more than,…”
Brianna Price plans to launch a newsletter and sell home studio kits
“I want to do Home Studio, because I want to build a newsletter for independent artists, And then also then turn that into a potential. We sell like home studio kits where everyone's like, what mic do you use? I'm like, just buy Connor's kit. It comes with a mi…”