What’s up Too Lost fam! Here are some highlights in today’s newsletter: an innovative Soundcloud update💡, the highest paying DSP for artists 💰 and an artist who almost became a professional soccer player 🤔

Get ready for a new era of music innovation in 2024 as SoundCloud introduces integrations that allow artists to directly upload songs created with assistive AI tools. In collaboration with music tech companies Fadr, Soundful, and Voice-Swap, SoundCloud has streamlined the process for artists. For transparency, SoundCloud labels songs created with AI and has also implemented measures to prevent AI abuse by blocking AI bots.

The mission behind this feature is to support artists in exploring their creativity and simplifying their lives. SoundCloud has intentionally selected these music tech companies to provide artists with new tools for music creation. As a reminder, Too Lost artists can deliver their music directly to SoundCloud from our Uploader - for availability, monetization and content protection.

SoundCloud is an integrated partner in our Greenlist and Blocklist tools that grant you more control over your music catalog. Too Lost users can also monitor their music’s usage on SoundCloud with our Usage Discovery tool. 💫

Last Chance at $20,000 👑

^{With the race for the best song heating up and a $20,000 prize on the line, the deadline to submit your song to Collab for the Crown is less than a week away. Good news – you no longer need 100 votes to qualify as a finalist! Our team will be carefully listening to all submissions. If you believe your song has what it takes, make sure to submit before February 4th. Check the submission steps here.}

Did you know that Peloton is one of the highest-paying DSPs on Too Lost? 🚲

Why does a fitness company pay musicians more than popular streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music? 🤔

Here’s a very brief music licensing 101: Think of Peloton as a radio station. Just like a live radio station, Peloton has to pay out live performance royalties. However, Peloton also pairs all of the music with videos, which requires sync licensing. One-third of Peloton’s revenue goes toward paying for music. This may sound crazy, but music licensing is quite expensive! The best part - Too Lost makes your music available for use on Peloton and collects all of these royalties for you!

So what does all of this mean for independent artists? For every stream on Peloton, the artist receives about 3 cents. To put it into perspective, that’s 10x what artists make from Spotify streams. Unlike a typical workout class, tens of thousands of Peloton users can be in a class at once…see where we’re going with this? Having your music on Peloton is an absolute game changer. We’re proud to be integrated with a company that values music and supports independent artists. Can you even imagine a Peloton class without the incredible music? To have your music pitched directly to Peloton, make sure to submit via the Too Lost Priority Pitch Portal.

Artist of the Week: Aaron Taos 🌄

Aaron Taos is proof that it’s never too late to change directions. Taos never thought he’d be a musician — growing up, his dream was always to become a professional soccer player. It wasn’t until high school when he discovered bands that are still some of his favorites to this day, like The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys. Feeling inspired, he started a rock band with a few of his friends and they performed around his hometown in Connecticut. Taos didn’t think of the band as anything more than a hobby, and he went on to play soccer at Vassar College. He would stay up late into the night, teaching himself how to produce his own music using the school’s equipment. Eventually, Taos took a leap of faith and decided to pursue his music. 🚀

In 2015, Taos moved to Brooklyn and released his first EP, GUITS. The vintage indie-rock feel to the EP is similar to The Strokes. 🎸 One year and many impressive singles later, Taos released his sophomore album, “Birthday Boy,” which holds the popular track “Control.” Taos wrote “Control” in the summer of 2018 while he was living in his parents’ home in the suburbs. The song is about the monotony of his life at the time, and how he would escape his reality. Taos’ clever humor, groovy guitar riffs, and effortless nonchalance create his distinctive sound. Lyrics like “Staring at my screen till my mind goes blank” and lines about watching Game of Thrones in bed until 2 AM felt more relatable than ever during quarantine. Although the song had already been out for a year, “Control” went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms in 2019. The song now has over 15 million Spotify streams. 🔥

While Aaron Taos sometimes draws influence from artists like Tame Impala, incorporating electronic elements and a catchy, cool vibe, his recent release “juniper,” leans more toward a folk-rock sound. Continuing to showcase his artistic versatility, Taos recently dropped an indie-folk love song. Stream Aaron Taos’ latest single, “jessica” here: https://too.fm/47an2ag

Office Hours 2/5 ✍️

New Artist Interviews ✨

^{Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of independent artist Cydnee with a C in the latest episode of Too Lost Conversations. Cydnee shares her musical journey, passion for K-pop, and insights into the challenges faced by female artists in the industry. She discusses her latest EP, “Confessions of a Fangirl” featuring a unique blend of drum and bass that defines Cydnee’s captivating sounds.} 🎤🌟