Don't chase trends 📈

Your dose of music discovery from Pigeons and Planes has landed. Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Next Wave. This week, we're announcing the [third single]( from our compilation album See You Next Year. We're also answering your burning questions about how we decide who to cover and how we organize our music. [Subscribe to the Newsletter](   Terry Presume - "Loner" [Terry Presume’s]( energy is infectious. He floated through the day of [See You Next Year]( video and photo shoots in New York radiating positive energy and bringing people together with his warmth and sense of humor. His music does the same thing, and we’ve known Terry is a special artist since our introduction to his sound in 2021 with “Did Me Wrong.” He hasn’t missed a beat since then, and we’re excited for you to hear his See You Next Year single “Loner” this week. “Loner” is an introvert’s anthem with a message wrapped up in bouncy production from CAPI and Mike Dean. “[I realized] that I am alone at times and it’s not by choice,” [Terry told us]( about how this song came to life. “I realized that I’m sometimes self-sabotaging areas in my life. I expressed my struggles with things I shouldn't be doing. It’s hard breaking away from the things that you love—your vices. But we put forth the effort to do so, and that’s what matters. I just want to congratulate people who put forth the effort.” [Click here]( to presave “Loner” on all platforms. [Pre-save the entire album]( and get familiar with all the artists on [See You Next Year]( here.   Dear Pigeons is our advice column. We put out asks on social media for questions from the readers, and we'll do our best to give advice, guidance, ramblings, and recommendations based on our own experiences.   Dear Pigeons, Since P&P focuses on music discovery, how do you choose which artists to keep covering after they blow up and become mainstream popular? Do artists ever "outgrow" P&P? - Anonymous via Discord This is something the whole team instinctively makes decisions on as we choose where to commit our time, energy, and resources on a daily basis. But it's not something we've discussed in-depth for a while. Personally, I don't want to have the mindset that artists can "outgrow" P&P—at the core of the mission is highlighting great music, and we aim to be as open-minded as possible while doing that regardless of how big (or small) the artist, who their team is, what genre, or where they're from. Presenting different types of artists alongside each other can provide an easy access point to discover something new. Maybe a Kendrick Lamar post caught your eye and in the brief moments we have your attention, you'll discover the story of the artist whose debut single was sampled [for key moments across Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers](. We aim to put a wide variety of artists in conversation, whether that's simply on a playlist, on social media, on a show lineup, or [literally in conversation](. It's all in the name—there's space for the pigeons (small, scrappy, independent artists), the planes (sleek machines with major power), and everyone in between. Plus, P&P telling you about a mainstream star doesn't move the needle for them or have the same kind of impact that us covering a much smaller artist can. With so many blogs biting the dust, the media landscape constantly in flux, and quick hit social media posts dominating the conversation, the ecosystem for storytelling around new artists feels almost non-existent. Artists often tell us that it feels as if nobody pays attention until you have a viral moment on TikTok or the right cosign, and we hope to be an antidote to that. With a small team and limited resources, we can't be everywhere and hear everything—something I've got better at accepting over the years—so we're focusing more on lasting impact instead of fleeting moments. Maybe we could grow a bigger social following if we covered more big stars and leaned in to dramatic news stories, but that won't be remembered in a week, let alone years down the line. We hope that projects like releasing a compilation album, putting on shows, and fostering a community around discovery and education add up to make a positive difference, at least in our little corner of the music world. - [Alex Gardner]( Director of Strategy & Operations, Pigeons & Planes   Dear Pigeons, In an ever-growing market, how do you try to stay ahead of the current trends? - @iamdanielrobles on Instagram We don't even think about it like that. Half of the trends you see online are probably part of a marketing campaign or a corporate agenda, and when something is really catching on and becoming culturally significant, you'll feel it happening if you're looking in the right places. For Pigeons & Planes, we're focused on what we do best. We're constantly listening to new things, talking with other music-obsessed people, and connecting with new artists. So we pick up on some emerging styles, scenes, and sounds early, but we're not concerned with trying to stay ahead of it all. Some things are going to blow up and we'll miss it, and that's alright. Maybe it wasn't for us. One thing that can help is staying open-minded. Try new things, and don't be afraid to dig in when you find something you like. Whether it's a new social media platform or a style of music you don't normally listen to, give it a shot. Sometimes just doing that consistently will keep you ahead of the curve, and if not, at least you'll have some fun experimenting. - [Jacob Moore](twitter.com/confusionisdead), Founder/GM, Pigeons and Planes   Dear Pigeons, How do your team organize their Spotify? - @coop.mealdeal via Instagram Hi Coop, Playlists are my favorite form of self expression. I have over 70, created over the course of the last 5 years. Some are organized by genre or mood, and some are organized according to a specific phase of my life. Then I have some playlists inspired by movies I like, and others dedicated to the discographies of my favorite artists. Of course, there are those that soundtrack specific activities, like working out, going on walks, or laying on my bed and dissociating. I keep track of all the new music I like with a monthly playlist, where I add new songs on a daily basis and delete the ones that have been on the playlist for over 30 days. The songs that I love also get added to a playlist of current favorites that gets played into the ground until I get so sick of it I have to make a new one. The cycle repeats. Speaking of playlists, I would be remiss not to plug our P&P Personal Playlists, where each member of the team ([me]( [Jacob]( and [Alex]( created a playlist of new favorites, classics, and deep cuts. Give them a listen—we put a lot of work (10 minutes and a few Slack messages) into them. - [Maddy Quach]( Founder/GM, Pigeons and Planes   [Complex on Instagram]( [Complex on Facebook]( [Complex on Twitter]( [Complex on YouTube]( © Complex Media, Inc. 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