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Music Therapy with Shiawassee
Shiawassee is a singer and songwriter from Ypsilanti and a proud Family 734 member using music as a path toward healing, honesty, and real community connection.For her, music has never just been about performing. It’s been a way to process life. A way to deal with mental health, trauma, and everything that comes with it. Writing became her outlet. Her way to release and breathe.
SwagRight Toni
May 42 min read
Ann Arbor's Own Prol’e is Back Like He Never Left
In every local music scene, there are artists who don’t just participate, they help shape the culture. For the Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County Hip Hop scene, Prol’e is one of those artists. Born Tony Thompson, Prol’e’s journey in music started early. Born in Detroit with a strong musical background in his family, stepping into music wasn’t a question, it was a calling.
SwagRight Toni
May 22 min read
Wendy Day is Back with FREE GAME for independent music artists
There are certain names in the music business that don’t always show up in headlines, but if you’ve spent any real time trying to understand how this industry actually works, you run into them sooner or later. For a lot of independent artists who took the time to study instead of just chase moments, Wendy Day is one of those names. For what’s being built with The Family 734, she’s not just a reference point. She’s part of the foundation.
SwagRight Toni
Apr 203 min read
The Big Fam Festival Wants You
Every now and then, an opportunity comes around that isn’t just about performing. It’s about stepping into a different kind of environment. A different kind of energy. A place where the lines between artist, fan, and creator start to blur a little. That’s what the Big Fam Music & Arts Festival is building. Set for September 25–27 in Brooklyn, Michigan, Big Fam isn’t just another festival. It’s being built as a community first experience, where the people attending aren’t just
SwagRight Toni
Apr 173 min read
You Don’t Need the Press to Show Up If You Show Out
Every artist wants press coverage, you plan the event, promote it, bring people out, create a moment and then you hope a journalist or blog is there to capture it. But most of the time, they’re not. Not because your event wasn’t worth covering. But because media doesn’t move the same way artists do. They’re on deadlines, limited staff, and competing priorities. If they miss your event, they usually miss the story altogether, Unless you give it to them.
SwagRight Toni
Apr 133 min read
This Is Your Moment DJs, Hot 107.5 Just Opened the Door
There comes a point for every DJ where the question stops being “Can I rock a crowd?” and becomes “Where can this take me next?”
For DJs coming out of the 734, that next step has always been clear... Detroit.
It’s the proving ground. The city where DJs don’t just play records, they break them. Where the right set in the right room can shift your entire trajectory. And while the distance between Ann Arbor, Ypsi, and Detroit is short, the leap into that market can feel a lot
SwagRight Toni
Apr 103 min read
Ypsilanti's J DUB Is Moving Like an Artist With Something to Prove
There’s something about artists from Ypsilanti that just feels different. Maybe it’s the environment, or the way creativity gets built authentically between real life responsibilities instead of inside perfect aesthetic driven studio sessions. To me it’s just that the stories tend to run deeper. J DUB feels like one of those artists.The first thing you notice isn’t even the music. It’s the presence. The kind of stage energy that makes people stop what they’re doing and pay at
SwagRight Toni
Apr 83 min read
Why Every Artist in the 734 Should Be Using Genius Right Now
There’s a quiet moment every artist knows. You're in the studio, the lights are low, the beat is breathing, and you’re staring at a line you know is going to hit somebody right in the chest. Maybe it came from something you’ve lived. Maybe it came from a place you don’t talk about. You lay it down. You move on. But later, out in the world, someone hears that line and wants to know why. What it meant. What it felt like. That’s the moment Genius was built for.
SwagRight Toni
Apr 64 min read
The Real Playbook: How Independent Artists Can Land a Single on the Billboard Charts in 2026
For years, “charting on Billboard” felt like a major-label fantasy. But in 2026, the formula is clearer than ever. It’s not about mystique. It’s about measurable consumption, technical setup, and concentrated momentum inside one seven-day window.
If you understand how the numbers are calculated, you can design a campaign that gives your single a legitimate shot.
SwagRight Toni
Mar 303 min read
Shiggins: Ann Arbor Storyteller
The Family 734 Radio Run Contest is all about discovering artists who bring something real to the stage. Among the finalists is Shiggins, an Ann Arbor artist whose music is rooted in storytelling, emotion, and authenticity. While some artists chase trends, Shiggins has carved out a lane built on substance. With just three years into making music, he’s already developed a style that stands out in the 734 scene.
SwagRight Toni
Mar 242 min read
OKTAELER: Unfiltered Ypsilanti Energy
The Family 734 Radio Run Contest is built to highlight artists from Washtenaw County who are ready to step forward with records that can move a crowd and make an impact. One of the finalists stepping onto the stage is OKTAELER, also known as TaeTaeGoinCrazy, representing Ypsilanti with a sound that refuses to fit neatly into one box. For OKTAELER, music has been a part of life for nearly two decades.
SwagRight Toni
Mar 233 min read
The Number Spotify Doesn’t Show You But Quietly Decides Your Future
Every independent artist eventually asks the same question: why do some songs suddenly start spreading across Spotify while others stall out after the first wave of streams?
For years, the answer has felt frustratingly vague. Spotify’s recommendation engine is famously opaque, and the platform rarely explains exactly why one song gets pushed into discovery playlists while another fades quietly into the catalog.
SwagRight Toni
Mar 234 min read
Direct to Fan: How SMS Marketing Is Changing Music Promotion
Independent musicians have long faced challenges in getting their music heard. Social media platforms, email campaigns, and streaming algorithms often feel like moving targets, making it difficult to build a consistent connection with fans. Yet, one tool has quietly emerged as a powerful way to reach listeners directly: text message marketing. Unlike other channels, SMS feels personal and immediate, creating a unique opportunity for artists to engage their audience in a meani
SwagRight Toni
Mar 25 min read
How to Do a SWOT Analysis for Your Music and Build Smarter Promotion Strategies
For decades, artists have been told that success comes down to talent, timing, and a little luck. What’s discussed far less often is strategy, especially the kind rooted in honest self-assessment. In 2026, independent artists operate in an environment that looks more like a startup economy than a traditional music industry. Thousands of songs are released every day. Platforms reward consistency. Attention is fragmented. Promotion is no longer optional, and guessing is expensi
SwagRight Toni
Feb 233 min read
Are Music Videos Still Worth It in the Age of Short-Form Content?
For more than two decades, the music video functioned as a cultural event. It was the moment an artist arrived, the visual stamp that turned a song into something larger than sound. Then the internet fragmented music, attention spans collapsed, and short-form video rewired how people discover music. Today, the question isn’t whether music videos are dead.
SwagRight Toni
Feb 164 min read
🔥 FLAME OR SHAME – The Live Music Review Where Your Song Faces the Fire
In an era where songs can rack up streams without ever touching a dance floor, the real test still happens in the rooms with the DJs. On February 16, 2026 at 8PM, one of Detroit’s most trusted club DJs is bringing that room online.
Flame or Shame is the latest live music review hosted by DJ Sussex Smooth, a Detroit DJ known for breaking records in clubs and parties across the city. If a record moves in his sets, it usually moves elsewhere in the city too.
SwagRight Toni
Feb 162 min read
Ready for a Bigger Stage? This Festival Is Calling for Artists
Every so often, an opportunity crosses the desk that’s worth flagging immediately.
Submissions are now open for the 24th Annual Music Is Art Festival, taking place Saturday, September 12th at Buffalo’s Outer Harbor and Terminal B. After reviewing the details, this is one we’ve intentionally selected for Family 734 artist members to consider.
Why? Because not every festival aligns with developing independent artists. This one does.
SwagRight Toni
Feb 152 min read
Learning From Virgil Abloh: A Better Way for Artists to Think About Merch
Merch is often the quiet frustration in an independent artist’s career. The music might be connecting, the shows might be growing, and the audience might be real, yet the merch still feels off. Not bad enough to scrap entirely, but not strong enough to feel essential. When that happens, it’s easy to blame design skills, budget, or access. More often than not, though, the issue runs deeper. It’s not a production problem. It’s a reference problem.
Most artist merch fails becau
SwagRight Toni
Feb 113 min read
Standing Out in a Sea of Submissions: The Art of the Playlist Pitch
Playlists are one of the most powerful discovery tools in modern music, but getting placed is not about blasting links or chasing follower counts. It’s about how you present yourself, how you frame your music, and how you build trust over time.
Every day, more than 60,000 songs are uploaded to streaming platforms. Playlist curators are overwhelmed. Your job is not to convince them you exist. Your job is to give them a reason to care enough to click play.
SwagRight Toni
Feb 94 min read
Big Sean’s Detroit Artist Incubator Is the Blueprint We’re Watching
Detroit just offered a glimpse of what long-term investment in music culture can look like.
This week, Usher and Big Sean announced a $1 million investment toward a new entertainment incubator in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan. The new space officially opened on Feb. 3 inside Michigan Central.
SwagRight Toni
Feb 62 min read
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