What’s interesting from today’s Tool Time Show and Tell call was how it eventually got to paper. Like notebooks, planners, wall calendars. We talked about how the brain reacts different to writing with a pencil, in a different way than just typing.

It’s not just a pencil, it’s a tool. For centuries we wrote, physically, and there were tools involved, that we used with our hands.

You can have music playing all day on your computer, but with vinyl and CDs you need to physically interact with them.

There is no infinite scroll with physical objects. No endless playlist.

I can add 100 things to my todo app, but there’s only so many things I can write on a legal pad.

​This Escape Pod Zoom call is for those just getting started! Maybe you’re not looking to turn this into a six figure business, you just want to make work and find your people along the way.

​We’ll probably talk about:

• ​Where you people might be (especially outside of social media)
• ​Small, chill ways that let people know what you do
• ​How to find like-minded folks for easy-going collaborations
• ​Small ways to stay visible without burning yourself out
• ​How to keep it going without burning out

​And hey, old-schoolers – you’ve already done this, so please come and share your experience and wisdom, too. This is gonna be a good time.

Monday, Sep 28 at 9:00 AM EDT → https://luma.com/4bswy3zo
Thursday, Oct 1 at 2:00 PM → https://luma.com/ud9em9yw

If you’re not on social media, it might be hard to keep up with the latest music. And if you don’t use the big streaming services (maybe you’ve ditched Spotify), it’s even harder to know about new releases.

Now, I’ve been neck deep in music since the mid 90s. I started a music blog in 2001, and was the founding editor of Noise Creep at AOL Music back in 2008. I work for a record label and music publicist these days, too. But for me I don’t follow one source, or any sort of news outlets for new music, but rather a combination of the following:

1. Follow music writers, instead of the big music outlets. Back in the early days of Twitter my friend followed the NY Mets beat writers instead of the actual NY Mets account. Following the people listening, writing, living and breathing the thing everyday – those are the people you want to connect with. Gabbie writes New Bands for Old Heads. Kevin Alexander writes On Repeat Records.
2. Listen to the radio. Joi runs The Radio Room. Find radio stations around the world with Radio Garden. I discovered this French radio station called FIP from a virtual co-working call awhile back. Look up some local college radio stations in your area – most have live streams from their websites.
3. Tons of DJ sets on NTS, Rinse.fm, Boiler Room, SoundCloud (their Daily Drops playlists are great), and HOR Berlin (there are a million like these).
4. Go to Bandcamp – see that scrolling list of releases? Click on one and hit play, I dare you. Then start diving into some of the genres via the Discover page, which is how I found the release below. You can also try Subvert.

Streaming platforms lured us with having everything all in one place. Resist the big tech lock-in and entrust a little bit of magic for your music discovery.

Social Media Escape Club isn’t a step by step guide to 10x your revenue without posting reels, it’s a journey with other creative individuals who want to feel better about how they spend their time.

Everything I write and share is from conversations and experiences with real life people making their escape in their own way.

1. People are ditching Goodreads in creative ways, both analog and digital.
2. Nicole Kelner made the Unplug OS app, which “locks your distracting apps… the only way to unlock them is to plug in your phone.”
3. Tracy Stewart left Google Workspace for Infomaniak. I started using cDox (thanks, Bagel) in place of Google Docs and Sheets for my own projects.
4. I’ll be talking with Michael Gilbride on Tues, Sept 22 at 3pm EDT to talk about how musicians can break away from social media platforms and stop playing games with Spotify. Register here via Luma to get a reminder, or just be on Substack at that time.
5. How do you find stuff without being on social media? Deanna Seymour made a bulletin board of upcoming events with people in her orbit. Imagine if we all shared all the cool things our friends are doing?
6. Bookmark this one: Obscure & niche digital resources I use for inspiration, case studies, mood-board building and more from Maria Izvestkina.

Just the fact that we have to ask “is this real?” 10 times a day is a major indicator that things have changed a bit over the years, and also everything costing 40% more than it did 12 minutes ago.

The world is different, folks. You’re doing the best you can.

Do I miss opportunities because I’m not on social media? Probably.

But I miss opportunities when I don’t go to the book event on a Tuesday night, or grab lunch at a small establishment after a run.

I’m not at a coffee shop in Brooklyn right now, I didn’t see a band last night in Nashville, I’m not meeting a friend at their office in LA tomorrow. I don’t have billboards, a podcast, a book, or an active YouTube channel.

As Ryan Holiday writes in “The Discipline Required To Create The Life You Want,”

“When an opportunity comes along or I’m faced with a decision, I ask myself: Will this get me closer to that ideal or further away? Will it give me more of the days I actually want to have, or fewer of them?”

All these social media platforms are an opportunity, just like going to a networking event, or being a guest on a podcast. Each has their own risk and reward.

But if we remove the time and energy required for these opportunities (the things we’re told we should do), we’re left with our work.

I got that Ryan Holiday link from Mario Fraioli’s Morning Shakeout newsletter. Mario coaches athletes, has sent a newsletter every week for over 10 years, and posts an occasional podcast.

“I’ve been approached about helping to build out coaching collectives, gotten offers to partner with more brands and events, and been given plenty of unsolicited advice about how to expand my coaching business or make the morning shakeout bigger than just a newsletter and occasional podcast. I say thanks but no thanks to every single one of these inquiries because the tradeoffs just aren’t worth it to me. Bigger isn’t always better, and oftentimes more is just more. I’m not a rich man by any stretch, but I have the discipline to say no, because I know that what I have is enough.”

Saying no to most opportunities is hard, but it leaves you the opportunity to make better work.

Some people are buying CDs in 2026 and taking photos on film cameras that were made in the 80s. Some people are setting up tiny video rental libraries.

Some people are setting up static websites, making zines, and starting their own publishing companies.

Not everyone is going down this path, but some people are. You’re not trying to reach everybody, so the work you’re doing and the tools you’re using don’t need to look like what everyone else is using.

If you’ve set up an account on Shopify and ran away in terror, you’re not alone.

I don’t wanna build segments, or drip campaigns.

If you’ve tried to “go live” or make vertical content for social media platforms, you know the feeling of “this isn’t for me,” and that’s okay.

It’s a big world out there, and you don’t need everyone, you just need some people.

The esteemed Amelia Hruby Phd. joined us again for our Thursday Escape Pod Zoom call (see upcoming calls here), and it was a delight.

To prep for such events I like to see what my guests have been up to, but how do you find out about someone when they don’t have social media? Well, you check out their website, of course!

Sure, I don’t know what Amelia had for breakfast, or which TV show she was watching (things we usually see on social media), but I got to see the highlights. The big stuff. The main messages.

How many times have we see awards and accolades plastered on someone’s social media feed, but zero mention of such accomplishments on their own website? I was delighted to see that Amelia’s Off the Grid podcast has been downloaded 250,000 times (she told us on the call it just passed 300,000)!

Remember, a website is yours. You control the branding and the vibe and the layout. You don’t need to fit yourself into platforms that limit your reach in order to let everyone know what you’re doing, and how you’re doing it.

Give the right people (the creative director, the podcast host, the community facilitators on a Zoom call, the potential client or new fan) what they need when they finally get to your website.