W. Zachary Taylor: Why Followers Matter Less Than Engagement in Music Today
Music industry veteran W. Zachary Taylor says the biggest shift in artist success isn’t just streaming, it’s what happens when followers stop mattering and engagement becomes everything. If you care about building a real music career in the age of AI, this conversation will change how you think about fan bases, visibility, and what actually drives revenue.
Taylor brings decades of experience across music production, publishing, artist development, and education to this conversation from the Michigan Music Econ Summit in Grand Rapids. He shares how growing up in Michigan and spending formative years around some of music’s most iconic hometowns shaped his path from running a traditional music store to becoming department chair of entertainment and music business at Full Sail University.
You'll discover:
Why the industry may be moving from follower counts to true audience interest and engagement
How super fans are defined by more than support online, and why spending still matters
Why today’s artists can’t disappear for a year between albums the way they once did
What streaming, MP3 piracy, and AI are doing to music revenue and discovery
How artists can use AI as a tool without replacing the human creativity that makes music valuable