By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Highly regarded as an industry leader in both the social media and branding spaces as someone who works with content creators and influencers specifically, is is safe to say Luke Lintz’s strategy has indeed paid off.
A quick glance at the entrepreneur’s Instagram page – where he has 1.1 million followers – will show what appears to be a lavish lifestyle, complete with flashy clothes, comfortable jet rides and pictures with music stars and celebrities alike, but according to Lintz, when you run a business, there is no “off” switch to decompress yourself. You’re only as relevant as your latest idea.
As both the owner of HighKey Agency and co-owner of HighKey Enterprises LLC, he has had a direct hand in the revolution of social media marketing and has worked with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Kevin Hart, among others.
The Music Bugle had the chance to talk with Lintz about TikTok’s influence on the music industry, “red flags” people should avoid on social media, how one can grow their own brand and more.
Music Bugle – Given how songs from a few years back like The Weeknd’s “Die For You” or even decades ago like Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)” have gone viral thanks to apps like TikTok, do you think this “shakes up” the music industry in the right way?
Luke Lintz – The aspect of so many songs on TikTok going viral completely shakes up the music industry. There are lots of artists that are creating TikTok songs as a primary focus of becoming a trending TikTok song with the beat and the vocals before it’s published. We are seeing TikTok’s ability to blow up songs overnight change some artists lives. This is completely changing the music industry because you have artists and labels bringing up TikTok as the focal point during the production of the music and then also as a main marketing tactic for distribution.
Music Bugle – In your eyes, what makes a successful business?
Luke Lintz – A successful business is one that is self-sustainable for a greater than a 12-month horizon and is on an rising trajectory. What this means is the teams and the leadership is in place to run the business and able to increase the value of the business year over year without the owners being involved. This means that a successful business doesn’t just need a high level fulfillment team, but also an entire sales department.
Music Bugle – Given how easy it is for someone to fall into the trap of “comparison disappointments,” would you say social media helps or hurts someone more?
Luke Lintz – Comparison disappointments is so easy for the general public and business owners to fall into. We live in a very voyeuristic society with social media, where it’s inevitable for everyone to slip into a comparison with others. I notice myself, that I compare myself with others as well, but I actually use it as motivation with my very competitive spirit.
Music Bugle – Who are you listening to right now, music-wise?
Luke Lintz – I mainly listen to hip hop and reggaeton. Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Bad Bunny are some of my favorites.
Music Bugle – What’s a quote that motivates you to keep going?
Luke Lintz – “Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow,” by Mahatma Gandhi.
Music Bugle – Fast forward five years from now. Where do you see TikTok and its influence on the music industry?
Luke Lintz – In three years, I see TikTok and it’s affiliated websites, being the main focal point of the music industry in terms of marketing and planning music releases fully around a TikTok content marketing strategy. In five-plus years, I really see that social media will become decentralized for more transparency and to give creatures ownership back in their profiles and the content they create.
Music Bugle – For anybody looking to grow their own brand via social media, what’s some advice you would give?
Luke Lintz – Focus on short form content and the majority of your marketing strategy in 2023 on TikTok. Figure out the type of content that you want to create and then follow a bunch of influencers or businesses in your industry on TikTok and start liking a bunch of viral videos of content you think you could create. Eventually, your home page on TikTok will populate with only viral content in your industry and all you have to do is re-create that content with your own creative spin. Then, once you post those TikTok videos, you can re-post them on YouTube shorts and FB/IG reels. This is the perfect marketing strategy that anyone can implement.
Music Bugle – What’s a movie that you could watch over and over and never get tired of?
Luke Lintz – “Step Brothers”! By far, the best movie in existence for some good comedy. I also really liked “The Wolf Of Wall Street.”
Music Bugle – What has been the biggest “red flag” you’ve noticed people use TikTok and similar apps for?
Luke Lintz – The biggest red flag is that I see used being on social media platforms for the only reason of consuming content and a distraction from real life. This is a major red flag because I thoroughly believe that you should always be creating more than you consume.
Music Bugle – Based on 2022’s trends on social media, what do you see gaining popularity in 2023?
Luke Lintz – I see decentralized social media gaining traction in 2023 with all the uncertainty of social media that happened in 2022 – Twitter taken over from Elon Musk and potentially removed from the App Store and then with the most recent bill of TikTok potentially being banned in the USA, I believe users and creators are going to start looking for alternatives with more certainty.
