Selah Vie’s Unique, Global-First Approach to Artist Growth

In today’s global music ecosystem, success is increasingly defined by global impact. For independent artists and labels, breaking through internationally has traditionally been an exercise in herding cats. But Kaleena Arbuco, founder of Selah Vie International, believes that the industry is approaching this from an outdated perspective. “Artists no longer need massive budgets or major label support to reach overseas fans—what they need is insight, precision, and a culturally intelligent strategy,” Arbuco tells Digital Music News.

This article was created in collaboration with DMN partner Selah Vie International.

Selah Vie International operates as a boutique agency with a global-first mindset. It provides localized marketing, territory-specific press and radio promotion, DSP-pitching, global data analysis, and transparent weekly reporting. A global marketing solution for both developing and established artists such as Jessie J, Akon, Will Smith and Aloe Blacc, the agency’s foundation rests on the principle that artists succeed faster when they focus on where they’re already being heard, not just on established revenue markets like the US, UK, Canada, or Australia.

Arbuco spoke with Digital Music News to explain how she tailors her approach to artists who work with her. “We look at backend API data and analytics to see where in the world artists already have organic reach and develop a plan based on those markets,” Arbuco states. One example she provides is that if an artist’s data shows a 200% month-over-month increase in Spotify monthly listeners in Sweden and a rising social media following in Norway, Selah Vie will work with the artist to direct early promotional spend to the Nordics, rather than focusing on the hyper-competitive UK market.

This laser precision-led method makes Selah Vie’s services financially efficient and globally effective. A single campaign across the Nordics targeting Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland costs around €5,500 ($5,935 USD)—a fraction of what comparable activity would cost to target the UK or GSA markets. Arbuco says even smaller campaigns across markets such as Poland or Turkey, which might only cost €650 ($700 USD), can act as springboards into the broader European market.

Selah Vie’s execution relies on a suite of third-party analytics platforms to measure streaming trends, radio airplay, DSP playlist history, Shazam activity, and short-form video engagement. “We also do A/B testing in our digital advertising across multiple assets so we can see early on what is performing best rather than wasting the budget,” Arbuco tells Digital Music News. Targeted strategies like this mean an artist’s budget for promotion is more impactful—directed at locations where fans can be organically grown into super fans.

Selah Vie’s portfolio highlights what happens when data meets understanding of culture. The agency led international market development across select markets for gamma. on the MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng and Shenseea track “Shake It To The Max (FLY) – Remix” which reached #36 on the Canadian Billboard Top 40 Airplay Chart and went Platinum in India and France and Gold in the UK and New Zealand. The track was among Spotify’s top five global songs of the summer and reached TikTok’s #11 global song of the year and has amassed over 212M views on YouTube in just a short nine months, something Arbuco attributes, in large part, to her teams’ collective efforts in global strategy and execution.

Additionally, the agency was instrumental in the global rollout for Adam Port, Stryv, and Keinemusik’s “Move (ft. Orso & Malachiii)” which earned over one billion streams, 90% of which originated outside the US. The track went Diamond in France and Greece (the only track released in 2024 to boast this certification in the market) and Platinum across multiple territories, including the UK, Belgium, Italy and Spain.

Whether through unforgettable cultural moments as we saw earlier this year when Selah Vie partnered with SLANG Records to organize the highest-ever livestreamed DJ AG performance with Will Smith in King’s Cross, London or spearheading the global campaign for music mogul Akon’s 2024 single “Akon’s Beautiful Day” which saw nearly 7 million user-generated creates on TikTok and reached #1 on the platform’s Top Music Chart and #2 on its Viral 50 Chart globally, Selah Vie works with independent artists, labels and distributors to bring meaningful connection with fans in a bespoke way.

The Future of Global Music Strategy?

Kaleena Arbuco, earning her stripes through roles at Def Jam and BMG, is the driving force behind Selah Vie’s hybrid approach. She combines her major-label depth of experience with boutique agency agility. Her global partners tailor influencer briefs in local languages, often utilizing TikTok’s Sound On campaigns. This helps the agency lean into themes local audiences actually care about, whether that’s heartbreak in Brazil’s Sertanejo scene or youthful rebellion in Southeast Asia.

In an era where virality transcends borders overnight, Selah Vie International stands out as one of the few agencies utilizing a major label approach globally for indie artists. As the lines between territories blur faster every year, Arbuco sees opportunity in cultural nuances—building careers that can create meaningful connection with fans in regions with just a spark of organic growth.

By identifying where organic fans are already listening and crafting locally resonant strategies, Selah Vie helps artists transform casual listeners into passionate super fans. Those audiences tend to convert more meaningfully for artists and labels, driving purchases of merchandise, tour tickets, and physical releases—all revenue streams that far outperform streaming platform royalties. Selah Vie’s approach to music marketing in 2026 is where smart money lands—proving that when a campaign is truly tailored for the artist, global success naturally follows.

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