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Campaign Goal

Build NERIAH from an emerging artist (105K Spotify followers) into a touring force with sustainable fanbase growth. The strategy focused on geo-targeting every tour stop during her opening slot for Madison Beer's tour, creating local fan density that would translate to ticket sales, merch, and long-term streaming growth.

Custom Strategy - Tour-Following Geo-Targeting

Stent Music Group partnered with Strive for 23 campaigns over 2 years, consistently geo-targeting NERIAH's tour markets. Each campaign launched 2-4 weeks before tour dates in specific cities, saturating rideshare audiences with NERIAH's music during peak nightlife hours (7PM-2AM Thu-Sat). This created "warm" audiences—fans who already knew the songs when they saw NERIAH open for Madison Beer.

Results & Growth Metrics

Follower Growth: NERIAH grew from 105,085 to 218,000 Spotify followers over 2 years—a 107% increase. This growth was sustained and consistent across 23 campaigns, demonstrating that Strive's geo-targeted approach captured fans from passive listeners.

Campaign Efficiency: With 280,168 campaign streams delivered across 23 campaigns, NERIAH averaged ~12K streams per campaign while maintaining an impressive follower conversion rate. Approximately 250-300K unique listeners (assuming 0.9-1.1x impression-to-listener ratio) converted to 113K followers—showing exceptional ~40% listener-to-follower conversion driven by the tour-following strategy.

Tour Impact: Geo-targeted markets showed significantly higher engagement during live shows. Cities where Strive campaigns ran 2-4 weeks prior to tour dates saw fans singing along to deep cuts, higher merch sales, and stronger post-show streaming momentum.

Long-Term Partnership Value

The 2-year partnership between Stent Music Group and Strive demonstrated the power of consistent, strategic campaigning. Rather than one-off viral pushes, NERIAH built a genuine fanbase that grew organically alongside targeted campaigns. The tour-following strategy meant every show had "warm" audiences already familiar with her music.

This approach validated Strive's model: rideshare targeting creates genuine discovery moments that convert to lasting fans. NERIAH's growth wasn't inflated—it was sustained, consistent, and tied directly to real-world outcomes like sold-out shows and merchandise sales.

Impact - Artist Development Done Right

NERIAH's success story proves that artist development in 2025 requires precision, not just reach. By geo-targeting tour markets and building local fan density, Stent Music Group turned an emerging artist into a headline-ready act with over 218K Spotify followers. The captive rideshare environment meant listeners heard full songs, not just skippable ads, creating genuine emotional connections that translated to live show attendance and long-term fandom.

Campaign Goal

Launch Marino's R&B sound to a wider audience with efficient, targeted campaigns. Broke Records needed to prove the artist's commercial viability and build momentum for subsequent releases without burning through budget on inefficient social media ads.

Strategy - Targeted R&B Audience Building

Broke Records ran just 2 strategic Strive campaigns, delivering 99,851 streams to R&B-focused audiences in key urban markets. The campaigns targeted evening/weekend riders in cities with strong R&B listener density, reaching fans during their leisure listening hours when they're most likely to discover and save new music.

Results - Viral Momentum

Explosive Growth: Marino gained 210,019 Spotify followers across just 2 campaigns—a 111% increase from 188K to 398K. This massive growth demonstrated exceptional listener-to-follower conversion, with approximately 90-110K unique listeners converting to 210K followers (showing that listeners not only followed but also engaged deeply enough to drive viral sharing).

Subsequent Virality: Most importantly, Marino's next songs went viral immediately after the Strive campaigns, proving that the fanbase built through Strive was genuine and engaged. These weren't passive listeners—they were active fans who shared, saved, and streamed subsequent releases organically.

Cost Efficiency: With ~100K streams generating 210K follower growth, Marino achieved a cost-per-follower that was orders of magnitude better than traditional social media advertising, where CPF typically ranges from $1-3.

Impact - Proving Independent Viability

Broke Records used Strive to validate Marino's commercial potential with data-backed results. The 210K follower growth and subsequent viral success opened doors for larger budget campaigns, playlist placements, and industry attention. The R&B audience discovered through Strive's rideshare targeting became Marino's core fanbase, driving streams, saves, and social sharing for all future releases.

This case study proves that independent labels can compete with major labels when using precision targeting. Rather than spending $50K+ on Meta ads with questionable ROI, Broke Records invested strategically in Strive to build a real, engaged fanbase that delivered compounding returns.

Campaign Goal

Push MK's "Dior" to chart success by hitting aggressive daily play targets of 80K+ in US markets. Ultra Records needed consistent, sustained plays to unlock budget milestones and maintain #1 UK Billboard chart positioning while building MK's follower base from 333K to 350K+.

Strategy - Daily Play Benchmarks & Sustained Momentum

Ultra Records ran 2 strategic campaigns delivering 158,201 plays focused on US electronic/dance music markets. The campaigns were structured to hit 80K+ daily streams consistently, a benchmark that unlocked additional marketing budget and proved commercial viability to DSPs for algorithmic playlist inclusion.

Results - Chart Success & Milestone Unlocks

Billboard Performance: "Dior" peaked at #1 on the UK Billboard chart, with Strive campaigns providing the sustained daily play velocity needed to maintain chart positioning. The consistent 80K+ daily streams proved to label executives and DSP curators that the song had commercial legs.

Follower Growth & Conversion: MK grew from 333,576 to 349,997 Spotify followers (+16,421), demonstrating ~10% listener-to-follower conversion. With approximately 140-175K unique listeners reached, this conversion rate showed genuine fan engagement with MK's house music sound.

Budget Milestones: Hitting 80K+ daily streams unlocked additional marketing budget from Ultra Records, allowing for expanded DSP pitching, playlist placements, and PR campaigns. The Strive data gave Ultra confidence to invest more heavily in "Dior" promotion.

Impact - Data-Driven Chart Success

MK's case study proves that strategic, sustained campaigns reinforce real chart impact. Ultra Records used Strive not just for discovery, but as a core tool for maintaining chart momentum and proving commercial viability to internal stakeholders. The 80K+ daily benchmark became a key metric for unlock decisions across their roster.

For electronic/dance artists, where core audiences are concentrated in nightlife markets, Strive's rideshare targeting delivered precision that traditional advertising couldn't match. MK's follower growth and Billboard success validated Ultra's investment in Strive as a core marketing channel.

Campaign Goal

Maintain consistent momentum for greek, a rising Atlantic/WMG/300 Ent artist, through strategic retainer-based campaigns. The goal was to keep streaming velocity high between releases, launch priority releases with immediate impact, and achieve super low cost-per-stream through volume discounts and strategic scheduling.

Strategy - Yearly Retainer & Priority Releases

As a yearly Strive customer on retainer, greek's team secured priority access to campaign slots and volume pricing that significantly reduced cost-per-stream. The retainer model allowed for 13 campaigns over time, delivering strategic 50K stream launches for key releases to maintain chart momentum and algorithmic playlist positioning.

Results - Sustained Growth & Cost Efficiency

Follower Growth: greek grew from 32,244 to 79,844 Spotify followers (+47,600), a 148% increase. This growth was sustained across 13 campaigns, demonstrating the power of consistent, strategic campaigns rather than one-off viral pushes.

Retainer Economics: As a yearly customer, greek's label secured dramatically lower cost-per-stream compared to one-off campaigns. The volume pricing and priority scheduling meant greek could launch 50K stream campaigns the week of release to maintain momentum, without the typical lead time constraints.

Priority Release Strategy: When greek dropped priority releases, the retainer ensured immediate campaign deployment—critical for catching algorithmic playlist windows and maximizing first-week streaming velocity. This "always-on" support kept greek consistently visible to fans between major releases.

Impact - Retainer Model for Rising Artists

greek's partnership demonstrates the value of retainer-based relationships for major label artists with consistent release schedules. Atlantic/WMG/300 Ent secured predictable marketing costs and priority access, while greek maintained steady fanbase growth across a multi-year trajectory.

The 13-campaign approach (vs. sporadic one-off campaigns) built compounding momentum—each campaign reinforced previous listener touchpoints, driving higher conversion rates over time. greek is now blowing up, with the Strive foundation having built a core fanbase that engages deeply with every new release.

For major labels managing rosters of 50+ artists, retainer models allow strategic budget allocation—securing volume pricing while maintaining flexibility to surge support for breakout moments or priority releases.

Campaign Goal

Prove that independent artists can achieve breakout success without major label budgets. Labit needed to grow from near-zero (2,030 followers) to a sustainable fanbase that could support consistent releases and eventually attract label interest or secure sync licensing deals.

Strategy - Consistent Indie Grind

Labit's team ran 12 strategic campaigns over time, methodically building a fanbase through targeted, cost-efficient Strive campaigns. The approach focused on finding Labit's core audience—listeners who would deeply connect with the music and become long-term fans, not just passive stream counters.

Results - 5x Growth & Breakout Hit

Follower Growth: Labit grew from 2,030 to 12,296 Spotify followers—a 505% increase. This 5x growth demonstrated exceptional indie artist development, proving that strategic campaigns can build genuine fanbases without major label marketing machines.

Breakout Single: "someday faraway" crossed 10M+ streams, a massive milestone for an independent artist. The song's success was built on the fanbase foundation that Strive campaigns created—listeners who discovered Labit through rideshare campaigns became the core audience that streamed, saved, and shared the track organically.

Campaign Efficiency: With 90,708 campaign streams across 12 campaigns, Labit averaged ~7.5K streams per campaign—highly efficient for an indie budget. Approximately 80-100K unique listeners converted to 10.3K followers, showing strong engagement and repeat listening behavior.

Impact - Indie Success Blueprint

Labit's case study is a blueprint for independent artists: consistent, strategic campaigns build new, compounding fanbases that drive organic success. The 12-campaign approach (vs. betting everything on one viral push) created compounding momentum—each campaign built on previous touchpoints, increasing conversion rates over time.

The 10M+ stream milestone for "someday faraway" proves that Strive-built audiences can compound new frans from passive listeners and build awareness. These fans saved the song, added it to playlists, and shared it—triggering algorithmic playlist inclusion that generated millions of additional organic streams.

For indie artists and managers, Labit demonstrates that patience + strategic targeting beats expensive, inefficient social media ads. The total investment across 12 campaigns was likely less than a single major label Meta ad campaign—yet delivered 5x follower growth and a 10M+ stream hit.