There’s more than one way to ‘make it’ in music

Indianapolis musician Bayem has released more than 25 songs since 2020, and his work has been licensed for use in an episode of “The Kardashians” and a Hulu original film.

But he has yet to perform his music live for an audience.

The North Central High School alum didn’t need to play gigs in bars to rack up 1 million Spotify streams for his song “Thrill” and 800,000 for “Pressure,” the tune heard during 2022’s “Kardashians” season finale.

That’s not been a typical route to success for musical artists.

Owen Thomas, creative director for Absorb, the Fountain Square-based recording company that releases Bayem’s work, said music careers traditionally have been built through live performances. And he would know. Thomas crisscrossed the United States playing shows during his time as vocalist and songwriter in the Elms, an Indiana rock band that released an album on major label Universal South in 2006.

But in 2024, it’s possible to be discovered by placing your songs on a streaming service or sending your voice into the world of TikTok. And that type of career-building isn’t a fluke, Thomas said.

“There is no opportunity that has come his way where his music hasn’t gone out and done the heavy lifting,” Thomas said of Bayem. “We’ll put out records, and then you wake up one day and people are interested. It starts small, with niche blogs and things like that. Then it grows, and ultimately your awareness within the industry becomes more obvious and consistent.”

For electronic pop artist Bayem, whose singular artist name rhymes with “try him,” the time for his live debut has arrived.

On April 5 and 12, he will headline shows at the Lo-Fi Lounge on the second floor of Fountain Square’s Murphy Arts Center. Absorb is billing the performances as a residency, and the idea is for audiences and tastemakers to be introduced to Bayem through shows that have been meticulously planned and rehearsed.

“We’ve done the due diligence of putting the music out, and we’ve done the due diligence of really being detail-oriented in the rehearsals,” Bayem said. “Now it’s, ‘Just get out there and fully embody the songs.’ I will go with the vibe of what everyone’s going with. Just be present. That’s what I’m looking to do.”

Bayem’s step toward growing his career arrives as three fellow Indiana artists are finding success after connecting with some of the biggest names in the music industry:

◗ Maeta, an R&B singer from Zionsville, is signed to Roc Nation, a label founded by Jay-Z. Maeta reached No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s adult R&B airplay chart on March 30 with her song “Through the Night.”

◗ October London, an R&B singer from South Bend, is signed to Death Row Records, a label presently owned by Snoop Dogg. London reached No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s adult R&B airplay chart last August with his song “Back to Your Place.”

◗ Kittii Red, an Indianapolis-based rapper, recently signed to BluRoc Records, a label founded by Damon Dash—who co-founded Roc-a-Fella Records with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke in 1994. A Kittii Red single titled “Birthday Song” was released on March 18.

Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Dash are still major figures in the music industry, but it’s an industry radically different from the one in which they made their 1990s breakthroughs.

Streaming stats

Streaming accounted for 67% of global recorded music revenue in 2023, according to a March report published by stock analysis company Stocklytics. Streaming income exceeded $19 billion, and paid subscriptions surpassed 500 million worldwide for the first time.

In October, Billboard magazine published a royalty calculator for music available via streaming at Spotify and Apple Music. According to the calculator, Spotify pays $3,925 to sound-recording owners for every 1 million streams, and Apple Music pays $6,593 to sound-recording owners for every 1 million streams.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of songs debut on Spotify every day.

Do independent artists such as Bayem have a realistic chance to break through?

Thomas, who runs Absorb with producer Jared Sparkman, said the answer is a refreshing “yes.”

“After working with a lot of record companies, streaming revenue is far less cryptic to me than a record deal ever was,” the former Elms singer said. “The complexity of recouping on a record deal is really something that no 20-year-old kid from Indiana can comprehend. They sit there and say, ‘We spent this amount of money on your band, and here’s how you recoup it for every dollar that comes in.’”

In contrast to a major label, Absorb doesn’t have the resources to provide $250,000 recoupable advances for artists to live on for a few years, Thomas said.

“What we can do is be super transparent about the revenue that comes in from streaming,” he said.

In the case of Bayem and Absorb’s other artist, pop-rock singer Frank (the singular artist name of former Forstory vocalist Sydney Frank), the recording company and the musicians split generated revenue 50-50.

Revenue includes syncs, which is the licensing of songs for film, TV, commercials and video games. Thomas said his goal is for Absorb’s streaming and sync revenues to grow tenfold year over year.

It helps, Thomas said, that streaming money can be perpetual.

“We want to get to the point where Bayem can rest knowing there’s a catalog of music working hard for him every day,” Thomas said.

In 2011, Indianapolis music marketer James Dishroom helped rapper Dro Man and producer Swiff tha Gift make a homegrown hit of dance-themed song “Jiggalate.”

The song continues to pay dividends 13 years later, Dishroom said.

“If a song works for you, you’re going to make money forever,” he said.

Local resources

Dishroom’s music industry experience includes work as an artist manager and his role as co-founder of radio promotion company Stop Beefin Radio.

DJs nationwide received Kittii Red single “Birthday Song” last month, thanks to an email blast from Stop Beefin.

Dishroom said Kittii Red’s affiliation with Dash, who learned of the rapper through WZRL-FM 98.3 personality DJ Watts, is historic for Indianapolis.

“We’ve never had a national influencer come to Indianapolis and take an artist who’s really near and dear to the scene because she came up through it,” Dishroom said. “It’s embracing what we have here and saying, ‘The rest of the world needs to see this.’”

Acknowledging that mainstream success is rare, Dishroom said he advises artists to cultivate meaningful connections with their fans.

“The key is to develop that cult fan base, or one-by-one fans,” he said. “You’re no longer trying to get a million people. You want to get one fan a day. A fan is somebody that, when you drop your T-shirt, they’re going to be the first person to buy it. When you share something on social media, they’re going to be the first person to hit the ‘share’ button.”

Drummer Richard “Sleepy” Floyd opened the Inspire Music Collective, a not-for-profit at downtown’s Union Campus, 525 S. Meridian St., in December. He described Inspire as a “one-stop shop for everything creative.”

Floyd, known for his work in hip-hop group Native Sun and bygone electronic trio Cosby Sweater, leads sessions for young Inspire clients who want to learn more about music production and how to find live dates that pay.

Although he’s an advocate for traditional road work as a way to build a career, Floyd said online marketing has opened a new world for musicians.

“The accessibility of the technology is off the charts,” Floyd said. “You can use your personal Facebook profile to run ads and boost posts. That gives you the pulse right at your fingertips without you even having to put your pants on, let alone pile your band into a rental van.”

Showtime

Absorb founder Thomas said he wanted to work with Bayem after listening to “Solitude,” the singer’s debut EP released in 2020.

“I could tell pretty instantly upon listening to it that there was a gift for writing in a way that seemed a little bit more instinctive and a little bit more matured than maybe I typically hear,” Thomas said. “I think I’m a ‘songs guy’ first. If I listen to something and hear a sense of melodic development that makes me think of Ray Davies or Paul McCartney, I go, ‘Hmm.’”

The plan for Bayem to release a wealth of music before making his live debut worked. He created industry buzz but lacked a track record of playing shows. Thomas said a booking agency suggested the residency as a way to make Bayem’s first performances special.

“We have always hoped that our artists could really focus on being artists and not working musicians,” Thomas said. “The whole concept is to go play live when they have a catalog of music that they’re proud of. They can go out and do a full set as opposed to going out there and playing one or two originals and supplementing the set with seven covers. You can get acclimated to the idea that familiarity is what audiences want. We believe that excellence is what audiences want.”

Admission to Bayem’s April 5 performance is free as part of First Friday festivities at the Murphy. Admission to the April 12 show is $10. Taylor Blythe will appear as the supporting act on April 5, followed by Frank as the supporting act on April 12.

Thomas said the performances represent a gamble of sorts.

“The first time Bayem plays a show, it will be in front of a full room,” Thomas said. “When I started, three of my friends and my mom were there. You kind of warm up to the performance cycle and warm up to the performance atmosphere by doing it a lot. We had this theory that as Bayem matures as a person and as an artist, with an adequate amount of material he believes in and adequate rehearsal, he will be totally ready for this.”

Bayem said he can draw motivation from shows he’s attended.

“I think the big thing for me was just seeing the performer super into it,” he said. “The song was there, and they were living inside it. It inspired me to want to do the same.”•