Upcoming Programming Changes: Going Smaller to Go Bigger

What you can expect from this newsletter as of March 1, 2025.

In this post, I share some upcoming programming adjustments coming to this newsletter as of March 1, 2025. These changes will position me and my content to best cater to your interests, as dictated by subscriber metrics and conversations with some regular readers.

But, before I start, I want to thank all of you—yes, YOU!—for your continued support in growing this newsletter. Reading your reactions and anecdotes in the comments has become one of the highlights of my week. Whether you’re describing what it was like hearing your favorite album for the first time or a concert that changed your life, I’m blessed to count you as part of this community.

In short, here’s what’s coming: February 28 will be the last entry in my ongoing Fun Song Friday series that publishes on the eponymous day. I’ve gone back and forth on this decision for several months. I kept it going primarily because I enjoyed revisiting some of my favorite songs from the past 75 years. However, for as much fun as it’s been, the Friday posts were starting to feel like the ones wearing out their welcome.

I’ve been writing for a digital publication in some capacity since I was 17 years old, and since then, my inclination has been to publish, publish, publish. Feed the beast, without exception, partly because that benefited the growth of said publications. The more you produced, the better off you were. For nearly 20 years, I’ve operated with the mindset of content being a volume business. When I was a music blogger full-time, the standard used to be upwards of 15 short-form articles a day. Pure insanity.

Nothing else has mattered until recently.

The truth is, with AI-generated schmutz penetrating every niche and every platform where writing talent persists and flourishes, quality means more than quantity. It always has, to a degree, but the rules of the game are changing, and now it means more than ever. As a marketer by trade, I see it more and more off of Substack, too. It’s better for everyone, including algorithmic visibility, to publish fewer, meatier pieces per month than slimmer posts a few times a week.

So that’s one reason why I’m waving goodbye to Fun Song Fridays—to prioritize more in-depth reviews and countdown pieces. The other major reason also has to do with time. My time. I’ll be slowing production on this platform slightly to free up bandwidth for non-newsletter projects I have in the works, including (finally) starting in on a novel-length project that’s been on the back burner for a long time. I’m excited to get started on the latter in earnest. Incredibly so. When I have updates to share in that regard, you all will be the first to know.

All of these decisions also mean I won’t be restarting any paid tier for this newsletter. Honestly, I’ve toyed with doing so for a while, but I ultimately decided against it for two reasons. One, it’s not my main source of income, and as it stands now, I’d never come close to replicating or surpassing that number here. It’s fun to think about, but I don’t think it’s realistic. At least not at this time. Two, it’s never been my goal to wring every last dollar out of whatever subscriber base I build and I still don’t feel comfortable doing that. It doesn’t mean I undervalue my work on Substack—far from it—but I’ve crunched the numbers. I’ve projected out and know what I can reasonably earn for the next 1-3 years. For what that figure is, I’d rather keep this space free and open for everyone while also allowing myself the time and space to grow my writing brand in other ways.

To close, here’s a rundown of what you, the reader, will get as of March 1:

• An album review post every Monday. Those are by far and away my most popular articles and I will keep them coming in the same vein for the foreseeable future.

• One in-depth essay every Wednesday. These will range from list-based countdowns to guest posts to more personal explorations of my relationship with the music business and the resulting consumer experience today. I’m excited to write more about the latter two topics. I’ll also throw in an extra album review every now and then.

• Extra article updates once a month. I will start fleshing out and updating existing posts more regularly, too. I’ve built up a decent inventory of topics and album reviews that I want to polish for readers who may have missed them the first time. Also, pro tip: It’s also way better for SEO to update your old stuff than constantly trying to rank with new stuff.

Again, thank you to everyone who’s helped me bring this newsletter this far. I hope to have you around for the next chapter of what promises to be an exciting, incredibly fulfilling journey down all sorts of musical rabbit holes.

Cheers!

M