Digital Growth Strategist — Independent Music Label (170K YouTube + Streaming Launch)

We've built the engine. We're looking for someone to help us drive it — and to tell us what we're missing. MoneyTreeMusic (MTM) is an independent hip-hop label and multimedia company. We produce original music and cinematic music videos — real records, not commentary or reposts of other people's work. Where we are: 170,000 YouTube subscribers, 11.4M lifetime views A full-time editor producing videos, shorts, and compilations A content coordinator handling uploads, scheduling, and the shorts pipeline A founder/producer making the music and driving creative 30+ pieces of content shipped every month, consistently A proven breakout format — original remixes built around legendary artists, with our top performers hitting 4–5× our channel average. 4 Artists currently signed to label so tons or original material. Most creators hire growth help and then can't execute the plan. We're the opposite: we have the output, the catalog, and the team. What we want is a strategist who can point it more precisely — and expand where we're pointing it. The scope: roughly 2/3 YouTube, 1/3 everything else YouTube is our staple. It's where the audience is and where most of your time will go: Channel analytics + strategy — you read the data and tell us where the leverage is Packaging as a system — titles, thumbnails, descriptions, tags, chapters Traffic architecture — playlists, end screens, cards, the Shorts→long-form funnel Community + engagement — comments, Community tab, turning viewers into regulars Collaboration outreach — we've researched a target list of peer channels (100K–350K, same niche) But we know YouTube isn't the whole picture — and this is where it gets interesting. We're at the very beginning on streaming, and we want to do it right: Spotify + DSP strategy — release planning, playlist pitching, Spotify for Artists, pre-saves, Canvas, editorial and algorithmic playlist paths. We're essentially at zero here and about to launch. Apple Music, Amazon, Tidal, and the rest of the distribution stack Short-form social — Instagram Reels and TikTok, particularly around getting our sound used in other people's content SoundCloud / Audiomack and wherever else hip-hop discovery actually happens Sync licensing — our catalog is original instrumental and vocal work; we suspect there's opportunity here and don't know how to pursue it Email / fan CRM / community — we have an audience and no direct line to them And here's the honest part: we don't know what we don't know. If you've grown independent artists or labels and you're looking at this thinking "they should also be doing X" — that's exactly the person we want. We're not looking for someone to execute a fixed list. We want someone who brings the map. What you'd own Priority #1 through January: the watch-hours push. YouTube raises Partner Program entry from 4,000 to 8,000 watch hours on Feb 1, 2027 — existing members are grandfathered. We intend to qualify under the current bar before that door closes. Your first mandate is architecting that: long-form strategy, livestream programming, playlist/session design — every legitimate lever that grows valid public watch hours. This is a defined mission with a hard deadline and full team support behind it. The growth strategy across every channel — you set priorities, we resource them A weekly scorecard against KPIs we agree on together. We care about real numbers: home-feed reach, suggested traffic, subscriber conversion, watch time, streaming growth, playlist adds. Not vanity metrics. Testing discipline — hypothesize, test, measure, iterate. Not guessing. Telling us what we're missing. Genuinely part of the job. Who you'd work with Founder / producer — makes the music, final creative call, deeply involved and data-literate Content coordinator — uploads, scheduling, shorts (fully trained; you'd set her priorities) Video editor — videos, shorts, compilations on a monthly contract You'd be the strategy layer on top of a team that already delivers. What we're looking for Demonstrable growth experience in music — artists, labels, or music channels. Please include specific before/after numbers and who you did it for. Real fluency in YouTube analytics — traffic sources, retention, CTR, browse vs. suggested vs. search Working knowledge of the streaming/DSP world — how playlisting actually works, release strategy, what moves the needle on Spotify in 2026 vs. what's a waste of money A clear point of view on how the platforms connect — how a YouTube audience becomes streaming listeners, and vice versa Clear written English and a weekly reporting habit you actually keep Self-directed. We'll give you full access and the goals. You bring the plan. Nice to have: Hip-hop specifically (Content ID, sample/rights realities, the culture) VidIQ or TubeBuddy (we run VidIQ), Spotify for Artists, Meta/TikTok ads Sync licensing experience Thumbnail/design ability, or a designer you already work with Details Start: ~10 hrs/week for the first 60 days, scaling if it's working for both of us Term: Long-term. We want a partner, not a project. Rate: Hourly, commensurate with experience — tell us yours Performance upside: open to bonuses tied to KPIs we agree on. Propose something. Remote, async-friendly. We're US Eastern.