Social media has
become one of the main platforms for marketing and advertisement for many
companies. However, companies aren’t the only ones who benefit from marketing
through social media. It has also become an extremely valuable tactic for
musicians as well. An article from, “Rural Information & Communication
Technology and Electric-Vehicle Technology” by Ashraf El Gamal explains, “Social
media giants Facebook and Twitter not only serve as a useful tool for hopeful
musicians to connect with fans, but their enormous network also creates the
opportunity to develop “buzz” around a new artist or, even more effective, have
a song or video spread virally”(El Gamal). Social media has provided musicians
with a platform to connect with their fans on a more personal level while also
promoting themselves the more they post.
Social media has
provided a new and interactive platform that is unlike anything we have had
which has provided a wider range of fans for all kinds of artists. In an
article in ‘The Guardian’, Alexandra Topping explains, "In the past, there
were just a few gatekeepers to music, and you had a powerful network of labels,
A&R men, radio and TV executives and magazines who decided what you should
be listening to. Now, it's so much easier to find out what your friends are
listening to or what other people who like the same music on the other side of
the world are recommending” (Topping). The collaboration of musicians and
social media in the way that we can see what others are listening, not only
helps start a conversation between you and your Facebook friend; but also can
widen the musician’s fan base. The interactive nature of social media also helps
the fans feel as though they are now on a personal level with their favorite
artist.
An article in
the Rolling Stones states, “The
company revealed that music remains the most tweeted-about subject on the
140-character service, an impressive feat considering Twitter boasts nearly 500
million tweets a day” (Kreps). Music is always relevant on Twitter, which are
just more effortless publicity and promotion for all musicians. Recently, Twitter even brought in the
“Twitter Music” which allows you to find new music based on which musicians you
are already following on Twitter. This kind of partnership is huge for artists
because it’s doing their marketing for them, and not only for the most popular
artists.
Twitter also
teamed up with Billboard to create the Billboard Twitter
Real-Time Charts. The real-time charts rank the top songs shared in the U.S,
which is updated constantly and they measure it by the acceleration over the
past hour. In an article from Billboard written by William
Gruger, he says, “Consistent placement in
the high rankings of the real-time chart can help artists gain placement on the
two weekly versions of the real-time charts, which will be found in print each
week in Billboard magazine” (Gruger). These charts provide the data that give
musicians and their labels an insight to the direct response from the fans,
which is exactly the feedback they need to have success in the business.
Of course, we
cannot discuss musicians and social media without talking about YouTube. Those
trying to get their name in the music industry can use it to promote your own
music by uploading their own videos. There have been a few artists recently
that have found success with this, for example, we all known Justin Bieber was
found on YouTube. Now he his the second most followed celebrity on Twitter and
of course has had more success than he could have ever imagined from just
uploading his videos to YouTube.
YouTube is now
providing new sources for musicians to connect with their fans and understand
their audience. On March 16, 2015, just 6 days ago, YouTube brought in “YouTube
Artists” which is, “a
website featuring videos and promotional tools to help musicians identify
and grow their audience” (Reader). This makes it extremely easy for the
musicians and their label to get an idea of how they can move forward to gain
the most success with their followers. As if it wasn’t easy enough for them
already, YouTube has also been working on a tool called “Find Your Fans.” This
new tool will tell them where they have the most fans according to their
followers so they can plan their tours around those areas. I think this is
going to be major for musicians, it almost guarantees selling out a concert
venue because they already know roughly how many people they can count on to
buy tickets.
Social Media has provided a
successful, effortless marketing tactic for many, but especially so for
musicians. The self-promotion that the site provides has proven to be extremely
successful for many musicians.
Work Cited
Edmondson,
Jessica. "How Social Media and Streaming Have Influenced the Music
Industry." Socialnomics. N.p., 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
El Gamal,
Ashraf. "The Evolution of the Music Industry in the Post-Internet Era.”
Rural Information & Communication Technology and Electric-Vehicle
Technology (rICT & ICeV-T). (2012).
Gruger, William.
"Billboard Twitter Real-Time Charts Go Live." Billboard.
N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Kamps, Garrett. "How
Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard. 16 Dec. 2014. Web.
Kreps, Daniel. "Katy
Perry, Beyonce, Pharrell Lead Twitter's Year in Music Charts Read More:
Http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/katy-perry-beyonce-pharrell-lead-twitters-year-in-music-charts-20141211#ixzz3V857lE00
Follow Us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook." Rolling
Stone. N.p., 11 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
"Music and Social Media:
Where Fans Meet Artists." Telegraph.co.uk. Apr 09
2013. ProQuest.Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Reader, Ruth. "YouTube for Artists Launches
to Help Musicians Grow Their audience." VentureBeat.
N.p., 16 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Topping,
Alexandra. "Twitter Power: How Social Networking Is Revolutionising the
Music Business." The Guardian. N.p., 5 Sept. 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
Kayla posted a very informative video about the statistics and power of social media. I like how she was able to link the power of social media to how important it is for musicians to use it in their daily lives in order to help brand themselves. Without social media, some musicians would not be as popular as they are today. There was one statistic in the video that put into perspective how large a Facebook audience is in comparison to large countries. “Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears have more Twitter followers than the entire populations of Sweden, Israel, Switzerland, Norway, and Panama.” Those numbers show how powerful the world of Twitter can be for one person. It reminded me of One Direction’s fast success. Before the young boy band even became successful, their fan base was so large all over the world, just based on them being on the British Talent show The X-Factor. According to AdAge, a campaign ran at the beginning of their career in order to increase fan engagement and get the word out there about this new young and talented boy band. “Over 50 days, the campaign almost doubled traffic to One Direction's website. It attracted 200,000 participants who completed 20 separate challenges, created 12 Twitter trends and racked up more than 2.5 million YouTube views. The idea was not to be overtly commercial but to engage fans and make them feel like part of the campaign” (Hall, AdAge). This strategy boosted their fan base and ratings on their first album because they had so many followers who wanted to see what song/concert they would perform next. From that moment on, the group has been extremely successful, and has grossed more than 6 and ½ more revenue than previous years and than artists such as Justin Timberlake. (Morgan, New York Post) Today, a musician’s success has everything to do with a loyal fan base, and a loyal fan base has everything to do with social media.
ReplyDeleteAlthough social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube are essential to a musicians fan base and success, the rapid age of mobile advancements and usage is also a huge contributor to musician’s success. According to Billboard, now that phones, iPads, and other devices allow streaming, fans are now able to engage with their favorite artists during award shows and concerts. Streaming is integral for artists to be able to engage with their fans beyond just supplying music for them to listen to. “Streaming has brought fans access to any song, any time, anywhere. As users listen, they can receive a steady stream of free content -- photos, tweets, videos -- from their favorite stars in real time” (Kamps, Billboard). Like I mentioned before about One Direction, the advanced social media platforms also allow musicians to be discovered, whether it is twitter or YouTube, these are all ways in which fans can not only discover, but also spread and share an artist's talents to help their name grow. Take Justin Beiber for example, although he does not have the best reputation today, Usher had actually discovered him on YouTube as a young boy playing with instruments and singing and decided to sign him and help jump start his career. Without YouTube, his career may have never been possible.
Without the advancement in technology and different social media platforms, musicians would have a much harder time either getting discovered, launching albums and concert dates, and advertising/branding themselves in general.
Works Cited
Hall, Emma. "U.K. Boy Band One Direction Rises Via Social Media."Advertising Age. N.p., 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
Kamps, Garrett. "How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard. 16 Dec. 2014. Web.
Morgan, Richard. "One Direction Rakes In Year’s Highest Grossing Concert Tour." New York Post. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
I completely agree that the music industry has been changed dramatically in the past decade or so due to the use of social media. In most cases, it is basically free advertising for these musicians to promote their music on social media. Not only are the bands promoting but it is also an engaging way for fans to promote their favorite bands and music as well. I believe that the use of social media has made new songs and bands become popular quicker. The new YouTube Artist website that has become active is interesting and hopefully will help promote the music industry even more. Music is something that will never fade. Of course genres and styles of music will fade, but I do not believe music in general will ever, considering it has been around for centuries. I also believe that mobile technology has also played a large role of the music industry. Nielsen agrees in Getting Appy: How Artists Use Music Apps to Engage Fans stating, “As mobile devices become more sophisticated and consumers become more tech savvy, there is a clear impact on music consumption and therefore the music industry” (Nielsen). There are so many apps and programs that now can direct users to new music and new bands, better than ever before. It is, and always has been popular to look at what your friends are listening to. Many of these apps have this ability and can suggest music on top of that. I believe that from here, the possibilities are endless. According to How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014, “From U2 invading iTunes libraries to Jaden Smith releasing his new record as an app, 2014 was highlighted by wild growth and experimentation in mobile promotion and distribution” (Kamps). This proves that people are just jumping into the concepts of mobile use in the music industry, and from there is so much to be done. With Twitter’s new Twitter Music section, this is something new but not surprising. Hearing the stats on how many tweets are about music compared to other things is astonishing. I think that this new section will be extremely helpful for promoting new artists. Speaking of new artists, I would like to bring up Justin Bieber. He was really the first really big artist to get big on of the Internet. Since then, Bieber has had some personal struggles. Not to bash Justin Beiber, but I think because it was so easy for him to become an instant celebrity. He doesn’t appreciate his success as much as others might who had to work up the ropes for their successes. I am not saying this is the case with all online celebrities, but it is definitely a prime example as to what could happen. People including Kamps argue that the working with mobile for musicians is going to lead to so many possibilities, but possible chaos. I can definitely agree with this. There is so much potential, but as long as musicians are making money, it doesn’t really matter to the consumers.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
"Getting Appy: How Artists Use Music Apps to Engage Fans." Nielsen.com 21 Nov. 2013. Web.
Kamps, Garrett. "How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard. 16 Dec. 2014. Web.
Kirsten James
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that social media/ the use of apps has started to play a very large role in the music industry. Not only is it easier for fans to access the music of their favorite artist but also I agree with Kayla in that “fans feel as though they are now on a personal level with their favorite artist.” I think both of these aspects are equally important.
Firstly, YouTube is a major platform for the public to use to access free music. Personally, it’s the first place I look to listen to new music because on other sites (like Pandora for example) you can’t choose what song you listen to. Also, you can view music videos on YouTube first before having to wait to see it on television like the past. I can remember having to watch shows like TLC to wait for the premiere of a music video, but now you can easily watch it from your computer once the video is released. Additionally, like Kayla also mentioned, artists can use YouTube to get noticed and try to get records deals just like Justin Bieber did. An example of this is a star from the TV show Empire has her own YouTube account with not only music that is featured on the show, but her own original music as well. Without this kind of outlet for the fans to hear her songs, her chances of gaining so much popularity wouldn’t be as high. While the music from the show is available on iTunes, it’s becoming less and less common that people are willing to pay for their music. So I think it’s very smart for these artists to take advantage of this platform and hope that their talents bring them enough recognition.
“Additionally, the maturation of social tools has helped artists attract and engage fans like never before, whether that’s Shawn Mendes and his 3.4 million Vine followers, Lindsey Stirling’s 5.7 million YouTube subscribers or the queen of all (social) media, Taylor Swift, whose canny use of Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr helped drive the massive demand for 1989” (Kamps). When I think of artists using social media to its full potential for their music, Beyoncé is someone who comes to mind. Her brilliant idea to spontaneously drop a surprise album turned out to be her best selling album yet and the word spread through social media. Beyoncé created a promotional video for the album and soon it spread through Instagram like wild fire. Additionally, all anyone had to do was login to Twitter to read about all of the excitement that happened that night. Without any prior promotion, Beyoncé managed to break the Internet with an album just by the crazy buzz it created on social media.
Social media also helps fans feel close to the artists because they are all on the same platform. Fans can comment, like, and share different things that artists posts, and sometimes, although rarely, the artist will comment to their fans. But I think even small posts saying things like Beyoncé asking her fans, “How is your day going, beyhive?” will generate thousands of comments even if she isn’t writing back because fans will think she’s talking directly to them. Twitter is a different outlet, in which it is much more common for celebrities to respond and tweet/ retweet their fans.
Mobile devices and social media apps have impacted the music in a major way. “As mobile devices become more sophisticated and consumers become more tech savvy, there is a clear impact on music consumption and therefore the music industry” (Getting Appy).
Works Cited
Kamps, Garrett. "How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard. 16 Dec. 2014. Web.
"Getting Appy: How Artists Use Music Apps to Engage Fans." Nielsen.com 21 Nov. 2013. Web.
Colten Lucas
ReplyDeleteI agree, I believe that social media is one of the best ways that can musicians can promote their names and music in a simple and economical way. One of the most important things for an aspiring artist is gaining popularity. Social media enables them to share audio and visual content in order to develop a fan base. Even if their music does not fit everyone’s interest, these artists still are able to gain recognition in order to further their careers.
Research supports the notion that social media has completely changed the landscape for the music industry. According to Billboard, “the maturation of social tools has helped artists attract and engage fans like never before, whether that’s Shawn Mendes and his 3.4 million Vine followers, Lindsey Stirling’s 5.7 million YouTube subscribers or the queen of all (social) media, Taylor Swift, whose canny use of Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr helped drive the massive demand for 1989” (Kamps). Fan bases are very important connections for music artists because they are able to spread the word about either a well known artist or a newly emerging one. The more that people are able to believe in an artist or become a fan of the artist’s music, the greater the chance that the artist is going to be noticed outside of just that fan base.
Viewers on social media are even able to see and connect with their favorite artist on a more personal level, which heightens the relationship between that user and the artist. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide various ways to share content for that specific artist that you have liked or followed. This is significant not only because it makes content easy to access, but because if you have accessed content for an artist before, sites will know this and notify you when new content for that artist is available. This sustains the relationship between the user and the artist.
As a fan of many rappers, I have a few that I have “liked” on my social media platform Facebook. If I am scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed and see a certain video that has been shared by one of the artists I have liked, I will most likely click on it and check out what they have posted. I do this even if I did not plan on checking my liked artist out. Artists also have a distinctive way of separating their relationships to fans that use social media from fans that do not. Fans on social media are able to see a different view or hear something that is considered special on social media platforms because artists either post or present it to attract fans and give their fan base something to maintain their support. A recent study by MTV discusses these ways that “social media has dismantled barriers between artist and fans and uncovered a ‘zero-distancing’ effect, or the collapsing distance between artist and audience” (Hillhouse).
Overall, I agree with your post. Social media can be a very important tool for musicians to attract to fans and develop their careers.
Works Cited
Hillhouse, Allison. "MTV's 'Music to the M Power.'" Blog. Viacom. 5 June 2013. Web.
Kamps, Garrett. "How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard.
16 Dec. 2014. Web.
Megan Maher
ReplyDeleteSocial media is definitely needed for anyone trying to break out into any industry, regardless if it’s music, television, or film. But social media definitely helps the music industry the most because it allows wannabe artists, up-and-coming artists, or stars that have been in the business for years connect to anyone in the world and showcase their talent. The reason for this is perfectly described in Pollstar’s 2014 Year End Business Analysis, “Music has never been more popular or important than it is in today’s world where many people carry connections to their entire music collection in their pocket” (2014). Before the age of technology, musicians had to rely on someone from the music industry catching them in the act, whereas today there are so many devices that can capture music; create music, or music videos just like Beyoncé did with her 7/11 video, which was shot on a phone (Kamps 2014).
Social media also makes it cheaper for fans to get music with streaming services like Spotify or Pandora. “The conundrum is that while the public’s consumption of music has never been greater, the ability of artists to monetize that demand has been in steep decline” (Pollstar 2014). Taylor Swift is one of the artists that realized that and pulled all of her music from Spotify because, "Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for" (Knopper 2014). But a lot of artists are making up for this by creating their own apps. According to an article from Nielson.com, “Mobile listening continues to evolve along with the technology, and we’ve found that streamers are eager for apps and mobile sites. People who listen to on-demand streaming are 44% more likely to download apps on their tablets than the average Internet user” (2013).
Personally, I think that even though there are a lot of ways to listen to music for free, it makes people want to go see their favorite artists in person. Concerts I feel are where the big bucks come from. In 2014, “the Top 100 World-wide Tours grossed $4.24 billion…” (Pollstar 2014). Even though Pollstar says that was millions of dollars less than the previous year, billions of dollars in revenue from concerts just goes to show how much money they make (Pollstar 2014). So even if fans are streaming music for free, artists can probably still make millions of dollars by doing concerts and tours around the world.
To get back to social media, artists can attract more fans by posting not just about their music, but their lives as well. According to a survey done by MTV, “Today, there’s an expectation for direct interaction between fans and musicians. Millennials crave intimate glimpses into the mundane daily activities of their favorite celebrities” (Hillhouse 2013). Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, and One Direction are probably the best example of this because they have so many followers that love to follow their every move. Without social media and the millennial fan base a lot of these artists might not have as big of a career as they have today. It also helps new artists create fan bases because pretty much every social media has video sharing capabilities, which helps showcase the talent of these new artists. I also think that because of this, there are so many people who want to be in the music industry that it has become that much harder to make it, so they need all the help they can get from social media.
Works Cited
Hillhouse, A. (2013, June 5). STUDY: MTV’s ‘Music to the M Power’. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
Kamps, G. (2014, December 16). How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014. Billboard.
Knopper, S. (2014, November 3). Taylor Swift Abruptly Pulls Entire Catalog From Spotify.Rolling Stone.
Nielson.com. GETTING APPY: HOW ARTISTS USE MUSIC APPS TO ENGAGE FANS. (2013, November 21). Retrieved March 24, 2015.
Pollstar 2014 Year End Business Analysis. (2014). Pollstar.