**Guest post written by Scott Helmer, a touring singer-songwriter whose music blends rock and pop with heartfelt storytelling and powerful vocals. He has opened for Heart, Eddie Money, 3 Doors Down, Jeff Bridges, and Eric Burdon & The Animals. A Guinness World Records title holder, he has performed over 1,000 shows and helped raise millions for good causes.

 

"I’ve removed all of my music from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and every other major streaming platform. I’ve also deleted my YouTube channel and all social media accounts.

No more chasing algorithms. No more playing a rigged game where real artists are buried by bots and manufactured content. No more relying on tech giants to reach people who already want to hear from me.

From now on, everything I create—music, videos, tour dates, photos, and merch—lives only at my website: scotthelmer.com. I’ve gone 100 percent direct-to-fan.

This isn’t a nostalgic throwback or an impulsive protest. It’s a deliberate decision to take back control, stay true to my values, and rebuild something real.
+Is Social Media Failing Your Music Promotion?

What’s Broken

Streaming and social platforms were never built for artists. They profit from our work, pay almost nothing for it, then charge us to promote content they bury. Spotify sees more than 100,000 new tracks uploaded every day, many created by bots or faceless production teams.

All of these platforms want you to create, record, and release music—pay to do it, and then pay again to promote it. Meanwhile, they flood their ecosystems with AI-generated noise at a scale no human could ever match, burying the very artists who built the platform in the first place. And we’re supposed to be okay with this? Just keep taking the abuse?

There’s a deeper ethical line, too. Spotify’s founder invested $700 million in a company that develops AI-powered military targeting systems. That’s not where I want my music to live.

Music is human. It should not be controlled by algorithms, artificial content, or executives who see songs as data.
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What I’m Doing Instead

I’m not stepping away from music—I’m stepping toward something better.

My entire body of work now lives at my website, where fans can preorder new music, purchase high-quality digital downloads and physical albums, watch videos, get the latest news, check tour dates, view behind-the-scenes photos, and shop merch launching soon.

I’m rebuilding my email list to stay in touch directly. No middlemen. No filters. Just real connection.

I’m booking a national tour for 2025–2026, open to any venue that values original live music. My focus is doing as much as possible in the real world—not on screens or inside content feeds. I’ve performed over 1,000 shows nationwide at events of all sizes. Playing my own songs in front of a live audience is what it’s all about.

I’m working with venues through guarantees, affordable rentals, or co-promoted partnerships. I want to build events that last, not one-offs that vanish into the scroll.

I’m selling physical product—CDs, vinyl, and merch—at shows and online. It may be simple, but fans still appreciate something tangible and real.

I’m building a repeatable touring circuit so I can return to each market once or twice a year and grow a true, local fanbase.
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I’m meeting fans face-to-face after every show. Not to sell, but to connect.

I’m working hard to secure coverage for each tour stop through radio, podcasts, local newspapers, and outlets that still reach real communities.

And I’m writing and recording new music—not for playlists or engagement metrics, but because it matters.

What started as a way to share my songs became a one-sided loop. You feed the machine, it buries your work, and calls it exposure. I had to break that.

Standing for Something

This isn’t the first time I’ve gone against the current.

In the end, I’m glad I stood by what I believed.

Sometimes music is the only way I can speak the truth—especially when it’s uncomfortable. That’s what art is supposed to do. Not just reflect the good times, but challenge what needs to be challenged.

Looking Ahead

I know this isn’t the easy road. Search engines favor the same platforms I’ve walked away from. Independent websites are being quietly pushed to the margins. AI-generated content is being indexed and promoted while human work gets harder to find.

But staying in a broken system guarantees failure.

At least by building something real, I have a foundation that’s mine.
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And once I’m fully focused and operating inside this direct-to-fan model, I know new ideas and unseen opportunities will start to show up. That’s how these things always work.

If enough artists, venues, and the small businesses that benefit from local live music made the same shift—reinvesting in direct relationships instead of digital dependencies—the grip of big tech and corporate platforms would begin to crack.

We don’t need their system if we build our own.

One last thing. Since the pandemic, people’s habits have changed. Many no longer go out, listen to live original music, or socialize like they once did. That’s a real shift. But it’s a conversation for another time.

For now, I’m focused on creating honest music, connecting face-to-face, and doing things the way I believe they should be done.

If this helps someone else think differently, great. If not, that’s okay too. I’m not waiting for permission, and I’m not waiting for someone else to fix what’s broken." Learn more about Scott at scotthelmer.com.

 

 

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