NONPOINT's ELIAS SORIANO: 'The World Of Delivery And Consumption Is Changing Exponentially'

In a new interview with "The Logan Show", NONPOINT frontman Elias Soriano talked about how aspiring artists use the popular social media app TikTok to boost their careers in ways previous musicians never could, often landing hit songs without ever playing a single live gig. Elias said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's what artists missed these days, that they're not allowing themselves to have because they're trying to move at the same speed as consumption, and you can't — you can't push your brand… You can. Go right ahead. Go right ahead. I changed my words. Go for it. But be patient with yourself. It's not gonna happen overnight. What's gonna happen is you're going to get discovered, and then you're gonna have to build a fan base. And then that fan base will come out and see you. Just because you get a million fans on TikTok doesn't mean a million people are gonna come out to see. So you need what I call trust. You need trust. You need what the industry calls brand trust. So I need to trust that when I go see this person that they're gonna give me every bit of feeling and every bit of performance that I caught in that TikTok clip, or was it edited real well or was it — all these things that you have to eventually gain from a consumer. You can't assume just by the popularity of one little thing that then they're gonna pack houses.

"If you're a sitting talent that's written an amazing song and it goes viral on TikTok and you've already honed your craft to the point where you can jump on stage in front of 20 people and blow them away next time, by the time you get to show 10, after all the videos happening, you might be at a hundred people. And then next tour, it might be better. You have to grow the way humans grow. Just because the media and the tech moves that fast doesn't mean hearts and commitment moves that same speed."

He continued: "So I just say to those people that are using what is the best discovery to date — TikTok and getting placed in movies and Netflix and all of these platforms that are now turning new artists, independent artists, cover songs and people like Kate Bush turning a song from 1985 and putting a billion streams behind it because it's in 'Stranger Things' — the world of delivery and consumption is changing and it's changing exponentially. So if you want to compete with the feed and the traffic and the tech, you have to get mindful and educated on it and then start to take risks and chances with your brand and your model in ways that feel comfortable with you. And that's what we've done. That's where I can see where we've gained success where a lot of people are, like, 'Man, your guys' social media game is crazy. The show is stepped up. We love the outfits. We love the new production. What are you guys doing different?' You just said it — all that shit that you just listed is exactly what we're doing different. We put our efforts into places where before we didn't see the efforts there. So we decided to pull dollars away from things that were weighing us down and pumping it into areas that we felt were going to help cause a ruckus. And we're causing a ruckus."

This past July, NONPOINT released a new single, "A Million Watts", via the band's independent label 361 Degrees Records. The track, which was produced by Chris Collier, who has previously worked with KORN and WHITESNAKE, among other bands, is the third single from NONPOINT's upcoming "Heartless" EP, due out on November 17. The EP will be available digitally and as a limited-edition cassette along with a NONPOINT-branded cassette player.

More than two years ago, NONPOINT launched 361 Degrees Records and filmed the process, along with documenting the making of new music, in a docu-series titled "A Path To Independence" that can be seen on the band's YouTube and official web site.

In December 2021, NONPOINT released its latest EP, "Ruthless". This followed their independent label plan of delivering music to their fans through more frequent releases and videos from the band.

NONPOINT's songs "Bullet With A Name", "Alive And Kicking", "In The Air Tonight", "Circles", "Your Signs", "Everybody Down" and many others have been featured in trailers, hit movies, television, iconic video games, as well as broadcasts from NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WWF.

NONPOINT has toured with major acts like DISTURBED, PAPA ROACH, MUDVAYNE and SEVENDUST, to name a few. They have also been featured on the main stages and support stages of iconic festivals like Soundwave, Rock Am Park, Rock Am Ring, Ozzfest, Rock On The Range, Welcome To Rockville and many more.

Last month, NONPOINT announced "The Million Watts Tour 2023" with (HED) P.E., SUMO CYCO and VRSTY. The 11-date trek will kick off on December 1 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and conclude on December 15 in Flint, Michigan.