'A million streams is just a vanity metric now'

Artistes must build communities grounded in authenticity rather than algorithm-chasing, say music executives

- Haneen Dajani

Wyclef Jean, Chief Creative Officer of Openwav; and Jaeson Ma, CEO and Co-founder of Openwav; join moderator Tomás Mier, music journalist at Rolling Stone; during the Explore by Instagram session titled 'Own your audience and rewrite the rules' at the Bridge Summit on Tuesday.

(RAHUL GAJJAR / KHALEEJ TIMES)

Going viral won't sustain a music career, speakers at the Bridge Summit warned, emphasising that long-term consistency, a clear artistic “superpower”, and fan retention matter more than chasing quick hits.

At the Bridge Summit on Tuesday, three veteran music executives dismantled one of the industry’s myths: that hitting a million streams is a sign of success. In reality, they said, the number has become a distraction and often a trap. Producer Julian Bunetta, artiste manager Gordan Dillard and Ten2 Media co-founder George Karalexis told emerging artistes that the fixation on metrics has warped priorities and created a culture where virality is mistaken for career momentum.

“The idea of hitting a stream number is becoming more of a vanity metric than an actual, tangible success metric,” Karalexis said.