‘I Don’t Know Exactly why I Have so Many Listeners in India’: German Musician Jan Metternich

Given he is only 19, Jan Metternich is quite talented in terms of his musicianship. The independent artist, originally from Germany, studied music management and worked extensively in marketing and advertising for some major record labels, which may be entirely the reason he markets his own music even as he creates it. Metternich has collaborated with musicians like Yung Bans and StaySolidRocky after releasing a number of hit singles. “I have a lot to come this year. I’m really excited about many of these projects,” he remarks while discussing details of his music, creative process, future plans and more in the edited excerpts below.

The story of your life and your tryst with music…

When I was six years old, I had my first real contact with music. I started to play the guitar and tried to learn songs by Metallica and AC/DC. I always wanted to write my own songs, so I practiced for many years to write and produce original songs. In the meantime, I uploaded song cover videos on YouTube for five years. I started when I was only 12 years old by recording the video on my dad’s old mobile phone. I also tried to cut and shoot [my] first music video when I was 12. I wouldn’t say it was good, but I always tried my best. Sometimes I tried to record myself playing piano even though I never played the piano. So, I just practiced this one part of the song for days so that I could finally record it. A few years later I also taught myself to use Garage Band and had my first experience with engineering myself. Till that point, I only learned everything by watching YouTube videos and using my knowledge of music theory.

The YouTube videos didn’t get much attention, but it was a good way to practice performing online and to deal with criticism and hate.

In 2018, I started trying to understand the algorithms of social media and Spotify in particular.  2019 was finally the first time I was happy with an original song and released my first single at 16 years of age.

Your primary musical influences and the factors that led you to pursue music professionally…

My first big musical influence was Ed Sheeran’s first two albums, “+” and “x.” He and his musical performance inspired me a lot. I just loved the way he performed his songs only with his guitar and a loop machine. I tried the same thing and learned to play almost every one of his songs. In 2016, I went to my first Ed Sheeran concert, and at that point, I knew I wanted to be an artist and perform my songs in front of as many people as he did sometimes.

My biggest motivation since I started taking music seriously is Juice Wrld. I discovered him when he released his first song produced by Nick Mira, who is one of the best producers of all time in my opinion. His process of writing songs is just so inspiring. He freestyled most of his multi-platinum songs and finished the melody, recording and lyrics in less than one hour. Even though he sadly died in 2019, he still has one of the biggest fan bases in the rap game.

In an age where technology is employed to collate creativity, how are you reinventing music?

I just make music the way I feel at the moment of creation. How it turns out is always hard to tell. I try to combine pop and rap and write melodic songs that can appeal to a wide audience. I try to make music that even my parents might like, but which rap fans will also like.

My process of writing a song is often similar. I usually pick a beat first. Then I record a few freestyles that take over the beat to find a melody. Usually, the first try is the best. So, I never try to find a melody without recording it because I often can’t remember the first melody that comes to mind. After I find a good melody, I write a text for it because the text I freestyle does not always make sense. Sometimes I just leave certain parts of the freestyle.

If I don’t find a good beat or am just in the mood to create something completely new, I pick my guitar and try to start from scratch.

I’ve learned that your second-highest audience is in India. Any reasons, in your opinion?

I don’t know exactly why I have so many listeners in India; I can only suspect.

Since I released my song “Dead End” in 2021, India was always in my top 10 of where most of my listeners are from. The song was featured in many Indian newspapers and playlists. Over the next two years, my Indian listeners grew more and more. That could be a reason, but I still think it was a bit of luck. I always try to promote all over the world, so I didn’t focus specifically on India. The support from India is just insane. I get so many messages on social media from Indian people and I really appreciate the support.

For independent artists to attract audiences, promoting their music is just as crucial as creating it. How do you go about doing that?

Yes, that is true, and I do a lot to promote my music. I never had anyone but myself promote my music. I only use my own knowledge, which I have acquired over the years by trying everything possible and learning through numerous failures.

When I release a new song, I spend weeks promoting it in every possible way before it is out. First, I post videos on Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. I also submit my song to hundreds of writers, playlist curators and people in the music industry. When the song is released, I run ads all over social media to get people to listen to my song. This is expensive, but it helps a lot. To expand my knowledge about the music industry and gain insights, I am studying music management.

How do you intend to expand your body of work in the years to come?

My team is really small now and I also want to keep it like that. The people I work most with are Simon [@prodbyfeelthisshit] and Tobi [@tobivrbr]. Simon produced most of the songs of the past year and we have a lot of songs together dropping in the future. Tobi brought most of my visuals to life and produces most of my music videos. My first 10 songs were completely produced, mixed and mastered by myself. For the other tracks, I worked with a few producers and other artists.

In the future, I want to release more solo singles. It is always really inspiring to work with other artists, but I think I have to focus more on myself in the future. My biggest goal is to become better at live performances. Last year, I had my first live show and it worked out quite well. This year, I’ll continue to practice it at a few guest shows. My biggest dream is to go on tour next year, but it is quite difficult because my listeners are spread all over the world. If my music keeps growing like this, I hope to tour Asia someday.

Tell us about your forthcoming initiatives. Anything you’re especially excited about?

I have a lot to come this year. I’m really excited about many of these projects. The project I’m working on with Tobi at the moment is a collaboration with my favorite soccer club. It’s the biggest soccer club in my hometown and one of the biggest in Germany: Borussia Mönchengladbach. I’m going to shoot a music video in their stadium for my upcoming song, which I think could be the best song I have ever written. I’m so excited about the feedback and the release, which will probably be in April.