The Attention Recession and What Musicians Must Do Next

There used to be a line to get in.

Now there's a crowd with megaphones shouting over each other — and you’re one of them.

We’re living through what we might call an attention recession. Not because people aren't paying attention, but because they're paying with exhaustion. The price of attention has skyrocketed. Not in dollars. In emotional labor.

And that means provocation is the new discount code. Loud is the new clever. Outrage is the new authenticity.

But here’s the kicker:

If everyone is using attention tricks, then attention itself stops meaning anything.

It’s a race to the bottom — and the winner is the one who burns out last.

So what does a real musician do now?

1. Be a Mirror, Not a Billboard

Your job isn't to provoke. It's to resonate.

People are tired. Not just of noise — but of the sense that they’re being played. Every time you manufacture controversy, you're teaching your fans to trust you a little less.

Instead of hijacking attention, reflect something true. Not for the algorithm — but for the human on the other side of the screen.

2. Trade Hype for Intimacy

Forget “going viral.” That’s yesterday’s vanity metric.

The future is smaller, slower, more sincere. In an attention recession, the most valuable currency is connection.

Make things that whisper instead of scream. Not because you're afraid, but because you're brave enough not to need the crowd's roar.

3. Create for Tribes, Not Traffic

You don’t need the whole internet. You need your people.

Not passive followers, but active believers. People who show up not because they were baited, but because they belong.

If you build for them — if you write for their heartbreak, their joy, their longing — then they'll carry your message further than any PR stunt ever could.

4. Earn Participation, Don’t Manufacture It

Manipulated engagement is extraction. Real engagement is a gift.

Ask yourself: Does this campaign help my fans discover something about me — or about themselves?

If it’s just about keeping you in the feed, it’s already forgettable.

5. Make the Work the Signal

In a sea of side-shows, the main act is radical.

Write the best song you’ve ever written. Record a performance that stuns. Tell a story only you could tell. That’s not naive — that’s the edge now.

The cultural moment is overstuffed with spectacle. What cuts through isn’t louder noise. It’s clear intention.

You don’t have to play the game of synthetic discourse.

You can opt out of the noise, not by disappearing — but by becoming unmistakable.

Don’t chase the spotlight. Light your own fire

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