Art Got Crushed By Analytics (Almost)
It's the beginning of 2025, and I am reflecting on how to make my way through another chain of dreams and challenges. To avoid the weight of my neverending thoughts, I find myself watching "I am Tim" - the Avicii documentary. And then, in the blur of the screen, baang, his words hit hard:
"Artists are creators, those people who create shit. And then, they are thrown into an environment, in an industry chasing how many views you have, how many comments. It's become impossible to stay away from. You can't have a single meeting with someone without mentioning 60 times different statistics and why this is better than that."
I felt this in my bones. I know the pain so well. When I was producing films, I watched beautiful stories get reduced to viewer metrics and focus group scores. I battled daily between those who were paying and selling, hence constantly staring at metrics, and the artists pouring their souls into each frame of the real story. Now, working in technology, I face the same tension. Though by now, we all know that "code is poetry," the industry mercilessly tries to reduce it to numbers.
The Numbers Game
The creative world has never been more measurable. Social media turned art into analytics, each creation instantly quantified, ranked, and scored. Blockchain and Web3 promised creative liberation but instead introduced new metrics - token values, trading volumes, digital scarcity scores. Each platform, each medium now comes with its own scorecard, its own version of success.
We've created an ecosystem where every creative act is instantly measured, every artistic expression immediately valued, every work of passion rapidly converted into data points. The tools for creation have never been more accessible, but neither has the pressure to perform been more intense. Like Avicii, we're all running after some idea of success defined by numbers, not by heart.
Cognitive Dissonance
Psychologists have long studied the impact of external rewards on intrinsic motivation - what they call the "overjustification effect." When we overlay metrics onto creative work, we fundamentally alter our relationship with the creative process. The brain shifts from intrinsic reward pathways to external validation seeking, essentially rewiring our creative impulses.
This cognitive dissonance manifests in our daily work. As a marketer, I understand the power of metrics as signposts of connection. As a creator, I know how these same metrics can hijack the creative process, triggering what psychologists call "performance anxiety" - where the fear of evaluation impairs our ability to perform naturally.
Beyond Statistics
Look at history's lessons: The Velvet Underground sold barely any albums but inspired generations of musicians. Van Gogh sold one painting in his lifetime, yet his vision changed how we see the world. Linux started as a hobby project dismissed by the tech establishment, now it powers most of the internet. Emily Dickinson published hardly anything while alive, but her words still resonate today.
These aren't just heartwarming stories of delayed recognition - they're evidence that true impact can't be captured in real-time metrics. Innovation, whether in art, music, technology, or any other field, emerges from a space where metrics don't exist. It comes from that pure moment of creation, when the artist and their work are one.
True Marketing
Marketing isn't the villain here. At its best, it's a bridge connecting work with the people who need it. The problem isn't measurement - it's mistaking the measurement for the meaning. Marketing should amplify truth, not shape it. Connect, not control.
The real power of marketing lies not in driving metrics but in building bridges - helping genuine work find its genuine audience. It's about asking "How can we help the right people find this?" instead of "How can we make this find more people?"
The Way Forward
I've learned to compartmentalize: When I create, I create. When I market, I market. The two moments must stay separate. Pure creation needs space without metrics peeking over its shoulder. Let the analytics wait - they'll still be there when the work is ready.
The analytics can't capture the sweating hands before hitting 'publish'. They don't register the doubt, the fear, the exhilaration of creation. There's no algorithm for measuring the moment when art transcends its creator and takes on a life of its own.
What moves people isn't perfection but authenticity. What changes culture isn't numbers but vision. In this metrics-driven world, no creator stands alone. We're all in this together, sharing our struggles, celebrating our victories, and lighting the way for those who will follow.
Avicii said it best: "I was running after some idea of happiness that wasn't my own.”
Because ultimately, what endures isn't the metrics - it's the raw power of human creativity and the connections it builds between us. That's what matters. That's what makes the world.
This is The Reluctant Marketer. A series on how we fight to keep story alive in a world that speaks money. About how sometimes the best way to stay true is to master what we once despised and use it for our long game. How to never forget why.
Welcome to my confessions.
Your path might be different. Share your story of dreams, detours, and discoveries. Every reluctant professional journey adds another chapter to this ongoing story of purpose and perseverance.