Independent Artists Phillip Good and John Stella Drop New Track "Simon Says" and Lands on Apple Music's Top 100

Independent Artists Phillip Good and John Stella Drop New Track “Simon Says” and Lands on Apple Music’s Top 100

Call it fate, a coincidence or pure luck, the collaboration between Phillip Good and John Stella on their new track “Simon Says” was the magic that made the song something special.

But in reality, the pieces of the puzzle for independent artists are hardly based on good luck. Of the 100,000 songs that are uploaded to streaming services every day by the mainstream heavy hitters like Beyoncé as well as the independent artists taking the leap and uploading their first song, being able to stand out enough to chart #88 on Apple Music’s Top 100 in any of the genres is a feat that should be celebrated.

Phillip Good and John Stella have musical tastes across the spectrum, from country to hip-hop to pop. Phillip just started into music about two years ago, accelerated by a bunch of viral TikToks that sparked his new passion, leaving the world of sales to go full time into the new career. Relocation across state lines, networking and finding a crew in Fort Myers, FL was only the start to the grind, and he is determined to keep going strong.

phillip photo Independent Artists Phillip Good and John Stella Drop New Track "Simon Says" and Lands on Apple Music's Top 100 — Phillip Good

John Stella’s musical talents came much earlier in his life, learning to play the guitar and other instruments that set a strong foundation for the complexity that often comes with the territory of producing music. John was able to transfer the musicianship into learning how to produce on his own, making the process of laying down a new track much more streamlined for everyone.

Stella photo Independent Artists Phillip Good and John Stella Drop New Track "Simon Says" and Lands on Apple Music's Top 100 — John Stella

It wasn’t as much about luck as it was about hitting the streets and meeting people in person; that old-school type marketing and promo that was popular back before social media when there were artists handing out mixtapes in hope of gaining momentum to build a fan base that will grab the attention of record labels.

“Let’s just go out and just let’s just try to like manhandle people and just make them download [the song], right there, and I’m gonna give them $1. And worst case scenario, we get 200 people. We don’t hit iTunes, but we get 200 people that are going to be listening to our music now,” Phillip said.

“It’s so easy in this music industry to think that you should be handed everything just because you’re doing this and you’re doing that. But now you got to put yourself out there”, John said. “It takes a long time to be comfortable in your own skin you know, and especially in music. I’m so proud with where I came from but I wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for my friends and my family.”

As Phillip Good and John Stella forge ahead with more collaborations and individual projects set for release this year, the skills that they are learning from each other, from their peers, from their campaigns, and from their new fans are allowing them to refine their brands and grow them with passion, pride and positivity knowing that they have nowhere to go but up.

Check out the track here! Listen to “Simon Says”

See the interview with Phillip Good and John Stella on YouTube here or listen to the podcast version here