"Did Anything I Do Creatively Matter?"
Let’s be real: if you’re a creative person—especially someone making music—you’ve probably asked yourself this question more than once. It’s the kind of thing that pops into your head late at night, uninvited. And honestly, in today’s endless sea of content, it’s hard not to wonder if your work is just a drop in the ocean. But instead of diving too deep into existential waters, let’s look at this from another angle. Maybe the question isn’t whether your work mattered in some grand, universal way but whether you can find evidence that it reached somewhere—or someone. And that’s what the Outreach project is all about.
Finding Meaning in the Numbers
The Outreach dashboard is a way to visualize global creative reach and individual artistic journeys by integrating multiple dimensions of activity and impact. It tracks:
the number of albums released via labels (Nova Beat Estate and Motivational Music in my case), sorted by country;
international collaborations, including albums, and podcasts;
compilation tracks (both solo and collaborative contributions);
geolocated points with artist cards for collaborators or peers who have opted to be included;
visits to specific cities that shaped the creative process (photos, field recordings);
emotional tones, using sentiment analysis of blog posts to reflect the highs and lows of the journey.
All this data comes together in a global outreach score. This score is calculated by combining several metrics: albums released on labels (by country), collaborations (e.g., if a three-way collaboration involved artists from two other countries, both are counted), and compilation tracks (both solo contributions and collaborations). While this might seem like mixing apples and oranges, the approach is rooted in the reality of how creative work is experienced and valued.
Albums, tracks, and collaborations are all integral parts of an artist’s journey, and they represent distinct but interconnected ways of contributing to a global creative network. Albums showcase a sustained effort and often reflect a body of work, while tracks—especially those included in compilations—highlight individual contributions to collective projects. Collaborations, meanwhile, embody the spirit of working across borders and cultures, adding depth to the creative narrative. By including all these elements in a single score, the dashboard aims to provide a holistic view of outreach, acknowledging that each activity brings its own form of impact. Tracks can lead to albums, albums often involve collaborations, and collaborations are the threads that weave a global network. The equal weighting of categories reflects the idea that every contribution—whether an album, a single track, or a collaborative effort—adds value to the overall story. And, the categories are manually entered and carefully kept distinct.
Also, there’s something incredibly satisfying about watching the interplay between artist locations, outreach, and your actual travel. These connections form visual patterns, showing how different regions may have contributed to your growth, and how those places, moments, and people are woven together in the bigger picture of your creative evolution. And, on top of that, the sentiment analysis shows that on average the journey has been positive and inspiring!
Keeping It Simple (and Respectful)
Now, you might wonder, “Why not show the geographical clustering of artists more directly?” That’s a fair point. Collaborations are a cornerstone of this project, but let’s be honest—they’re not always smooth sailing. Sometimes, things fall apart for reasons beyond anyone’s control. To avoid complications, only artists who want to be included are shown on the map. It’s a passive, opt-in approach that respects boundaries.
You might notice there’s no timeline here—just all-time data. That’s a deliberate choice. Back when the project was still called INTENT Insights (INTIS), there was a temporal aspect to the map. But as interest waned after its initial peak in 2023, I scaled it back to something more manageable. After all, this is a personal hobby project, a reflective tool that is meant to be simple.
Why It Matters
Here’s the heart of it: this project started as a way to remind myself that my efforts weren’t wasted. Even from a small flat in eastern Sweden, my music and collaborations made their way across the globe. That’s a comforting thought—proof that those late nights and bursts of inspiration amounted to something.
Over time, Outreach has evolved into a tool others can use too. It’s open-source, so anyone can input their data and see their own creative map. By placing artists and cities in the spotlight, the project highlights the interconnectedness of creative work. It’s a meaningful way to see how art can ripple outward, often in unexpected ways.
A Little Invitation
If we’ve ever worked together and you’d like to be featured on the map, let me know! I’d be happy to add your artist card. On the flip side, country outreach scores are baked into the design and can’t be opted out of—but they’re more about celebrating collective effort than anything else.
At the end of the day, the Outreach project is a reminder that creativity matters, even if it’s not always obvious how. It’s about finding the small but meaningful ways your work connects with the world—and taking pride in the fact that it happened at all.
