EDM artist Arc North - "I don’t want to just make songs, I want to make someone’s favourite song"

Interview

EDM artist Arc North – “I don’t want to just make songs, I want to make someone’s favourite song”

By Madeleine AmosMarch 24, 202214 mins read

Image Credit: Arc North

We interviewed EDM producer Arc North about getting on Spotify playlists, promoting music on TikTok, and the freedom of independent record label contracts.

Swedish EDM producer Oscar Christiansson, better known as the artist Arc North, was brought up in Stockholm. Known both for his floorfiller dance music tracks and chill house vibe, he’s clocking 300 million streams and 2.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Arc North has released huge original tracks like “Meant To Be,” alongside massively popular cover songs and remixes. He’s found success in many forms, including catching the eye of Spotify tastemakers, securing places on prestigious playlists like MINT alongside the likes of Marshmello.

On Twitch, too, he has been the face of the Soundtrack on Twitch Vox Pop playlist; elsewhere, his music has been used by influencers including Logan Paul.

Despite his air of Scandi-cool, he’s unpretentious, passionate about collaborating with other artists, and hugely appreciates his fans.

At 24 years old, Arc North has worked with different independent labels over his career to great success, showing the full power of the indie record label. It’s also proof that releasing music through a digital music distributor like RouteNote opens up the whole world to artists without the need for a major record deal.

What does Arc North consider his most exciting achievements so far? We caught up with him to ask about the rewards of signing to indie labels, what drives him to write songs, and what 2022 has in store.

How important do you think getting music on streaming services is for an artist wanting to release music in 2022?

Arc North: Having your music available on every streaming platform in 2022 is the key to becoming a successful artist. You no longer discover new music on the radio but rather from hearing it online and adding a certain song or artist to your playlist.

And getting on the right playlist can be the thing that sends your music up into the stratosphere! Do you ever target playlists, or produce a track thinking about what playlist it could end up on?

It’s always appreciated when my music gets added to the right playlist, but it’s never something I consider when making my next piece.

I make music that resonates with a particular feeling. I don’t want to just make songs, I want to make someone’s favourite song.

The modern age of indie music distribution means releasing music is open to all talented artists with a passion for making music. What’s the best thing about not being signed to a major label – and is there anything you wish you’d known before starting out as a producer?

More often than not indie labels do their thing a lot better than the majors, there’s really not any reason to be with a major unless you’re an established superstar with millions of fans.

One of the things I wish I’d learned sooner though is the value of signing with the right indie label – since all indie labels are not created equally.

You’re massive on TikTok – over half a million followers! I’m interested to know how you come up with ideas of what to post. Some people say TikTok’s going to be bigger than YouTube. Do you think it’s here to stay, and what do you think makes it so appealing to fans – and artists like yourself?

I believe we’re entering an entirely new era of music and social media, the attention span is getting shorter and people are becoming really adept at creating captivating content. TikTok is not going away tomorrow or the day after that, nor is the style of content it promotes.

I believe the reason I have been successful on the platform is that I’ve accepted that fact and actually poured my heart and soul into creating the best content I can. In return, I’ve received appreciation and support beyond what I’d ever imagined.

However, I’m currently barely scratching the surface of what’s possible and there are some big plans in the pipeline.

We’ve been thinking about the different ways an artist can measure success. It’s easy to get hung up on streaming numbers and social media stats and compare yourself to other artists. Have you got any advice for artists to avoid being overwhelmed?

I often go the extra step to stay away from social media and numbers, having a phone that is completely disconnected from the internet.

The best way to approach it in my opinion is as a metric of what new cool thing can I create by achieving certain milestones, visualising the journey, not the goal.

Some of your biggest tracks are covers, classics transformed into dancefloor bangers. How do you choose which songs to cover?

I’ve done quite a few covers now and there’s really no system to which I decide to do them, I usually select songs that have had an impact on my musical upbringing and impacted me in some meaningful way.

Then having an idea for where to take the song is always a big plus, I have a few covers that are stranded halfway through as I didn’t know how to properly finish them.