Going into 2019, the music industry continues to be intensely competitive. More music is being streamed for free or at a low-cost and every day, thousands of podcasts, online radio shows and songs are uploaded to the internet.
For music fans, access to great albums has never been easier. Listeners now have more choice than ever to stream audio using a range of ‘all-you-can-eat’ services such as Spotify, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.
Due to the increased connectivity of the internet and rise in content distribution options for musicians, there has been a shift in the industry from large record conglomerates, to smaller, independent record labels.
WHAT HAS ENABLED THIS FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE? SOCIAL MEDIA AND MASS MUSIC STREAMING PLATFORMS.
Social Media platforms have given musicians more control over the distribution of their music and through the use of services such as Bandcamp, many artists now have the option to bypass the industry conventions completely.
This phenomenon of small-scale indie publishing and the increased bargaining power for music listeners has ultimately led to a saturated and highly competitive environment for music artists.
In today’s digital music environment, the threat of substitution is high. Artists must not only compete with other contemporary musicians but also with the recorded archives of popular bands such as The Beatles, Michael Jackson or Adele, whose complete back catalogues are easily available to stream online for free.
Furthermore, due to the rise in digital music production software such as FL Studio or Ableton music creation is now more accessible than it ever has been before. Because of this, there are now millions of artists, which ultimately leads to more variety and choice listeners.
Not only has the sales of musical equipment risen again to new all-time highs, but retro formats of music storage such as vinyl and even cassettes have begun to make a comeback.
We recently published an article detailing some of our favourite examples of music marketing. The fact is, however, that none of the mentioned methods would have been possible without the creative use of social media.
“TRIBES” ENABLE ARTISTS TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS WITHOUT MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS.
Seth Godin wrote a book and did a TED talk (for more great talks, check out our top 10) on the idea of tribes, a social unit from the distant past of human society, and how this mentality is being revived.
Seth of course, explains the concept in a much better way than we can, but the general idea is that “ordinary” people can influence a smaller and more niche set of followers.
Social media has played a massive role in rekindling this tribal group mindset. Artists in all industries no longer need to appeal to millions of people to succeed and make their mark. Instead, a group of even a few hundred loyal followers can enable the artist in question to pursue their dreams.
The results of this drastic change are phenomenal. Instead of artists having to adhere to certain genre’s or change themselves to appeal to more people, they can remain true to their essence and create whatever they want (well, within reason!).
What’s more, this fundamental change has been aided by platforms such as Patreon, a website where fans can pledge a monthly amount of money to their favourite artists.
We’ve written an article on What is Patreon, and what it means for content creators. Well worth reading if you want to learn how the platform came about.
Considering all of that, there has never been a better time to be an independent musician. It means that artists, regardless of genre, can focus on the part that matters most – the music.
It doesn’t just benefit the musicians though. Listeners now have more choice than ever before and the various and previously mentioned mass music streaming platforms have empowered them with the ability to discover content that they otherwise would have missed!
TIPS FOR MUSICIANS TO SUCCEED ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS:
FACEBOOK
Keep an active, on brand profile showcasing your latest releases
Create a list of relevant groups to post your content in – update this list at least once a month
Harness the power of Facebook Livestream to transform your local gig to a global event
TWITTER
Create a list of relevant hashtags to post your content in for example #140bmp, #UKMusic or #Acoustic. Update this list as frequently as you can for best results
Use a social scheduling tool such as Buffer to create a playlist of your music which will be automatically posted to your followers as well as new audiences with the utilisation of targeted and relevant hashtags
Create interesting behind-the-scenes content to share with your following – for example, if you are planning to release new music soon, you can tease your audience with short videos taken from the studio
popular influencers on Instagram who can promote your brand to new audiences
SNAPCHAT
Create a Snapchat Geofilter to support your live shows and encourage social sharing
Like Instagram, promote upcoming music by sharing small pieces from the studio with your following
SOUNDCLOUD
Upload tracks that listeners can download for free
Harness the power of tags to enhance your reach
Syndicate your content across the rest of your social network profiles
Embed your content on your website page or blog and encourage others in your community to do so too
Add the SoundCloud icon, along with the rest of your social icons to the footer of your website
Harness the power of ‘Artists Union’ to get free replays and follows when users download your content
TIPS TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC ONLINE:
Give your music away for free to capture leads on Bandcamp or your own channels
Put your music up for streaming on Youtube, Spotify, and iTunes
Provide your music stems online for free and encourage other artists to remix your tracks
Consider licensing your music for advertising
The music industry is constantly evolving and social media has proven to be a major influence in that during the last decade. No doubt, the various strategies that musicians can utilise to stay relevant will keep changing again and again.
If you’re an artist, a big piece of advice that we can offer you is to stay on your toes and don’t neglect any of the social media platforms due to your personal opinion of them. If your audience there, then you should be taking advantage of that!
Finally, if you found this article to be helpful, we’d really appreciate you sharing it with your audience! Thanks for reading!
Going into 2019, the music industry continues to be intensely competitive. More music is being streamed for free or at a low-cost and every day, thousands of podcasts, online radio shows and songs are uploaded to the internet.
For music fans, access to great albums has never been easier. Listeners now have more choice than ever to stream audio using a range of ‘all-you-can-eat’ services such as Spotify, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.
Due to the increased connectivity of the internet and rise in content distribution options for musicians, there has been a shift in the industry from large record conglomerates, to smaller, independent record labels.
WHAT HAS ENABLED THIS FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE? SOCIAL MEDIA AND MASS MUSIC STREAMING PLATFORMS.
Social Media platforms have given musicians more control over the distribution of their music and through the use of services such as Bandcamp, many artists now have the option to bypass the industry conventions completely.
This phenomenon of small-scale indie publishing and the increased bargaining power for music listeners has ultimately led to a saturated and highly competitive environment for music artists.
In today’s digital music environment, the threat of substitution is high. Artists must not only compete with other contemporary musicians but also with the recorded archives of popular bands such as The Beatles, Michael Jackson or Adele, whose complete back catalogues are easily available to stream online for free.
Furthermore, due to the rise in digital music production software such as FL Studio or Ableton music creation is now more accessible than it ever has been before. Because of this, there are now millions of artists, which ultimately leads to more variety and choice listeners.
Not only has the sales of musical equipment risen again to new all-time highs, but retro formats of music storage such as vinyl and even cassettes have begun to make a comeback.
We recently published an article detailing some of our favourite examples of music marketing. The fact is, however, that none of the mentioned methods would have been possible without the creative use of social media.
“TRIBES” ENABLE ARTISTS TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS WITHOUT MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS.
Seth Godin wrote a book and did a TED talk (for more great talks, check out our top 10) on the idea of tribes, a social unit from the distant past of human society, and how this mentality is being revived.
Seth of course, explains the concept in a much better way than we can, but the general idea is that “ordinary” people can influence a smaller and more niche set of followers.
Social media has played a massive role in rekindling this tribal group mindset. Artists in all industries no longer need to appeal to millions of people to succeed and make their mark. Instead, a group of even a few hundred loyal followers can enable the artist in question to pursue their dreams.
The results of this drastic change are phenomenal. Instead of artists having to adhere to certain genre’s or change themselves to appeal to more people, they can remain true to their essence and create whatever they want (well, within reason!).
What’s more, this fundamental change has been aided by platforms such as Patreon, a website where fans can pledge a monthly amount of money to their favourite artists.
We’ve written an article on What is Patreon, and what it means for content creators. Well worth reading if you want to learn how the platform came about.
Considering all of that, there has never been a better time to be an independent musician. It means that artists, regardless of genre, can focus on the part that matters most – the music.
It doesn’t just benefit the musicians though. Listeners now have more choice than ever before and the various and previously mentioned mass music streaming platforms have empowered them with the ability to discover content that they otherwise would have missed!
TIPS FOR MUSICIANS TO SUCCEED ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS:
FACEBOOK
Keep an active, on brand profile showcasing your latest releases
Create a list of relevant groups to post your content in – update this list at least once a month
Harness the power of Facebook Livestream to transform your local gig to a global event
TWITTER
Create a list of relevant hashtags to post your content in for example #140bmp, #UKMusic or #Acoustic. Update this list as frequently as you can for best results
Use a social scheduling tool such as Buffer to create a playlist of your music which will be automatically posted to your followers as well as new audiences with the utilisation of targeted and relevant hashtags
Create interesting behind-the-scenes content to share with your following – for example, if you are planning to release new music soon, you can tease your audience with short videos taken from the studio
popular influencers on Instagram who can promote your brand to new audiences
SNAPCHAT
Create a Snapchat Geofilter to support your live shows and encourage social sharing
Like Instagram, promote upcoming music by sharing small pieces from the studio with your following
SOUNDCLOUD
Upload tracks that listeners can download for free
Harness the power of tags to enhance your reach
Syndicate your content across the rest of your social network profiles
Embed your content on your website page or blog and encourage others in your community to do so too
Add the SoundCloud icon, along with the rest of your social icons to the footer of your website
Harness the power of ‘Artists Union’ to get free replays and follows when users download your content
TIPS TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC ONLINE:
Give your music away for free to capture leads on Bandcamp or your own channels
Put your music up for streaming on Youtube, Spotify, and iTunes
Provide your music stems online for free and encourage other artists to remix your tracks
Consider licensing your music for advertising
The music industry is constantly evolving and social media has proven to be a major influence in that during the last decade. No doubt, the various strategies that musicians can utilise to stay relevant will keep changing again and again.
If you’re an artist, a big piece of advice that we can offer you is to stay on your toes and don’t neglect any of the social media platforms due to your personal opinion of them. If your audience there, then you should be taking advantage of that!
Finally, if you found this article to be helpful, we’d really appreciate you sharing it with your audience! Thanks for reading!
