Pigeons & Planes Presents: 6 Ways New Artists Can Break in 2017

When we teamed up with industry insiders to share essential advice for every new artist, they gave us specific tips like building a team you trust, knowing your brand, and practicing live performance. But sometimes the path to success is a little less predictable. With all the new ways to break into the music industry, artists are now finding fame in unlikely places. Algorithms, playlists, the right retweet—they can all help new artists break in 2017.

To break down the numbers, we've partnered once again with the music discovery site indify to track how unique events impacted new artist's followings in different ways.

"I just graduated / I ain't got no obligations." The opening lines of Khalid's "Let's Go" are optimism personified, and he had good reason to be looking up. "Let's Go" followed on the heels of his hit "Location," which had been blessed with consecutive appearances on Kylie Jenner's daily story. His follows responded accordingly.  

It's impossible to replicate hearing a song for the first time. The reaction only happens once, and you need cameras to capture the real thing. They were rolling when Pharrell visited a music class at NYU last year. A student named Maggie Rogers played the music legend her electronically charged indie folk, and "Alaska" took off from there. 

The song stands on its own, but the video of their respective reactions is what spiked on Facebook. Maggie's quizzical, nervous glances try to gauge Pharrell's reaction. The music legend is flabbergasted, but you can't tell which way he'll swing until he exhales a grateful "Wow." A studio version of the song dropped in June. Maggie Rogers now has a follow-up single and video in the bag, and her music career is off to an explosive start. 

Look, I don't understand algorithms. Code that can create a playlist is classified as magic in my eyes, and it injects a haphazard energy into music discovery on places like SoundCloud.

You have to be ready if the lightning should strike, as it did with Rory Fresco. Fortunately, Rory Fresco is an entrepreneur. When SoundCloud's algorithm decided "Lowkey" was the most reasonable song to follow Kanye West's "Real Friends," the 18-year-old from Kansas City accumulated over 150,000 plays in 24 hours. But Fresco wasn't content to be an overnight sensation—three months later, he announced a deal with Epic Records. We haven't heard the last of Rory Fresco.

6LACK is one of our brightest new stars—the Atlanta singer/producer burst onto the scene earlier this year with his mournful, druggy FREE 6LACK album. 6LACK's single "PRBLMS" led the way, premiered by Zane Lowe on Beats 1. He was named Apple Music New Artist of the Week shortly thereafter, and was featured on a number of playlist and prominent Snapchat accounts.

He had the formidable Love Rennaissance team behind him, and 2016's big break started with Apple Music exec Carl Chery, who had received the song some days before the Beats 1 premiere. He seeded it to Lowe, and promoted it in various Apple playlists in the following weeks. 

“I was thinking about this the other day,” Chery told DJ Booth. “We often talk about being ‘on the pulse.’ But it’s different now; I’m getting to a point where I’m so far ahead of things that I’m actually able to shift them. Instead of reacting to what’s happening, I have a hand in shaping what’s happening.” 

Rich Chigga is an internet icon. He's graduated from microwaving bread to Ghostface features, and with 88Rising at his back, the Indonesian teenager could go far. It started with this video—88Rising gathered a wide range of rappers (21 Savage, Desiigner, and Jazz Cartier are three of many) and played them Rich Chigga's "Dat Stick" video.

The highly polished finished product exposed Chigga to a massive audience he wouldn't have reached otherwise, and he is turning it into a musical career. Provided he gets clearance to do so—when we asked Rich Chigga when he was coming to the U.S., he said, "When these assholes at the embassy let me get my visa." Fingers crossed. 

Panda panda panda panda panda panda. Desiigner's hit single was already picking up steam when Kanye West picked it up, but its inclusion on The Life of Pablo took the Brooklyn rapper from internet meme to global recognition.

The idea of "discovering" an unknown gained favor amongst rap's elite in recent years. Remember Joe Fox, the London street performer all over A$AP Rocky's At.Long.Last.A$AP? Or the trail of promises better known as Drake's cosigns? Music discovery is in abundance these days, and when a major artist hears an unknown they like, it's easier than ever to put them on. Or just sample their song.