Tag: music technology and creativity

  • Publicity by Jody Whitesides Sets the Tone for a Powerful 2026

    Publicity by Jody Whitesides Sets the Tone for a Powerful 2026

    Some years teach you what matters. Others put it into practice.

    2025 was the former. 2026 is going to be the latter.

    Last year had its highs, big ones. And it had its lows, the kind that test whether you’re actually committed or just playing around. But the thing about hard years is they force clarity. They strip away what doesn’t work and leave you with what does.

    And what works is this: direct connection. No middlemen. No algorithms deciding who sees what. Just the music, the people who care about it, and a straight line between the two.

    That’s what 2026 is built on.

    The first song of the year is Publicity, a track about what it takes to get noticed. Fame. Attention. The endless noise machine that churns out good news, bad news, fake news, all in service of keeping you looking.

    I wrote the lyric “good news, bad news, it’s all fake news” years ago. At the time it felt sharp. Now? It feels like prophecy.

    We’re living in a moment where the line between reality and performance has all but disappeared. Where outrage is currency. Where the loudest voice wins, regardless of whether it’s saying anything true.

    Publicity doesn’t pretend to have answers. It just observes the machine and asks: Is this really what we’re doing? Is this what it takes?

    If you’ve ever felt exhausted by the constant churn of headlines, hot takes, and manufactured drama, this song is for you. It’s not angry. It’s not preachy. It’s just clear-eyed about the game we’re all playing, whether we signed up for it or not.

    Publicity cover art

    Musically, it hits with the kind of energy that refuses to sit still. Driving rhythm. Sharp edges. A vocal delivery that doesn’t ask for your attention, it demands it. Fitting, given the subject matter.

    And here’s the thing: you’re not getting the watered-down streaming version. You’re getting the full studio-quality mix and master. The way it was meant to be heard.

    That’s part of the shift happening this year.

    In 2025, I rebuilt the infrastructure. Redesigned the website. Brought the email list under personal control so there’s no third party sifting through your information. Added fan levels so the people who show up get more access, more connection, more reasons to stay.

    It was painful. Frustrating. The kind of work that doesn’t show up in a flashy Instagram post but matters more than almost anything else.

    Because the goal isn’t just to release music. It’s to create a space where the music actually reaches the people who care about it, without a dozen layers of gatekeepers in the way.

    Last year also brought something I’d been chasing for a long time: releasing new music every single week. It’s a massive undertaking. Some weeks it felt impossible. But I’m finally in the rhythm of it, and 2026 will see more of the same.

    New releases. Every week. All year.

    Some of those releases are being built into Dolby Atmos versions, immersive, layered, the kind of experience that brings back the feeling of when music first felt special. When you’d put on headphones and get lost in it.

    That giddiness is still there. You just have to build for it.

    The animated covers are part of that too. Right now, only Apple Music supports them natively, but you can see all the animations here on the site. They’re worth it. Each one is designed to match the mood of the song, not just slap a generic visual on top of it.

    Not everything went smoothly. There were setbacks. Technical frustrations. Moments where it felt like one step forward, two steps back. But for every setback, there were three steps forward. And with just a few puzzle pieces left to lock into place, I’m excited about what’s coming.

    I’m not going to sugarcoat it: 2025 had its share of external noise. The clown show in the White House. The never-ending news cycle that makes it impossible to tune out. I’m not here to get political, but I will say this, it’s exhausting. And Publicity taps into that exhaustion without letting it turn into cynicism.

    What I want for 2026 is simple: more connection. Not through social media. Not through platforms that decide what you see based on what keeps you scrolling.

    Just you and me. The music. The stories behind it. The reasons it matters.

    That’s what all the work in 2025 was for. To make 2026 a year where the music shines, and the connection between us is real.

    I’m telling you, 2026 is going to be bright.

    More to come.