What does it take for an artist to be successful in the music industry today? What are some of the different ways that artists have promoted themselves and their work? How much of a role does social media play in an artist’s success? And do artists still need the backing of a major record label in order to succeed? Limit: 10 responses
Katie Mone
ReplyDeleteToday’s music industry looks very different than it did 20 years ago, and even just a decade ago. Generational changes are to be expected, but the music culture of this generation is probably even more unique than it’s ever been. Social media has played and continues to play a tremendous role in the success of musicians and rising new artists. Additionally, the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic also presented a new set of challenges for the industry. Living in an increasingly digital world, artists have had to find innovative ways to succeed.
TikTok has been the holy grail when it comes to musical success. The platform, originally known as Musical.ly, truly blew up in 2020–prime pandemic time–after its rebrand to TikTok in 2018. When everyone was stuck at home with way too much time on their hands, TikTok was their saving grace. We were making silly 15-second videos to songs that, little did we know, would soon become sensations.
Artists like Doja Cat are living proof that TikTok can boost musical careers phenomenally. Doja’s “Say So” was one of the most trending songs on the app for months in 2019 into 2020, complete with its own dance. This social buzz sparked a ton of interest, helping the song to rise up the charts in musical popularity. “Songs that trend on TikTok often end up charting on the Billboard 100 or Spotify Viral 50. And 67% of the app's users are more likely to seek out songs on music- streaming services after hearing them on TikTok” (Whateley). Now, numerous artists have their own TikTok accounts and often use them to promote their own music or others’, proving social media to be instrumental in determining their success, and that they don’t necessarily need a record label behind them to get noticed.
While the global pandemic alluded to social media’s prominence in helping the music industry, it also caused many hardships. The outbreak of COVID shut down the world, and this included all live music events. As large gatherings continued to be prohibited throughout 2020 and into 2021 with new variants, there was no hope in sight for concerts to start again. The music industry took a huge hit from this as the demand for entertainment was skyrocketing in a time of fear and confusion. To feed this demand, “thousands of musicians, from small-time performers to stars like Chris Martin and John Legend, gave intimate home concerts” (Henderson). This gave many people a sense of relief and comfort.
DeleteBut even as the virus has lessened, we are still seeing a high rate of “no-shows” at in-person concerts. Whether they’re feeling unsafe, not getting refunds, not being able to resell their tickets, or just totally forgetting they even bought tickets, many people are not showing up to concerts. “People are increasingly choosing to not go. And that’s frightening, because what’s going to bring them back? It’s not clear. If people get in their heads the idea that they’re not safe, you could lose a lot of customers, forever potentially” (Shah). This lack of concert-goers not only greatly hurt the artists, but also the venues. Evidently, it’s going to take a bit of time to get back to normal and for the industry to recover from this hard hit.
It is clear that the demand for digital holds true in the music industry. Artists have been hit hard by unprecedented COVID-19 events, but that doesn’t mean they cannot still succeed. Social media has consistently proven to be a redeeming feature in a world of uncertainty, be it the music industry or just in general.
Works Cited
Henderson, Marisa. “How Covid-19 Exposed Music Industry Fault Lines and What Can Be Done.” UNCTAD, 28 Sept. 2021, https://unctad.org/news/how-covid-19-exposed-music-industry-fault-lines-and-what-can-be-done.
Shah, Neil. “Major Music Acts Are Seeing 20% No-Show Rates at Concerts.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 16 Dec. 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/major-music-acts-are-seeing-20-no-show-rates-at-concerts-11639663201.
Whateley, Dan. “How Tiktok Is Changing the Music Industry.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 Jan. 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans.
The music industry is forever changed since social media, specifically Tik Tok, has taken off. Over the course of the past two years, discovering music for both fans and record labels has looked quite different and Tik Tok is definitely the reason behind it. According to Senior VP Kristin Bender, Universal Music Group has signed a deal with Tik Tok and has “leaned into the platform” because of how big of an impact the platform has had on the music industry. Because Tik Tok has given so many people a platform to share content, having a “viral” video has become the goal for all users. This is particularly important for people who have aspiring music careers. Having a song become a viral sound on Tik Tok has now become a gold standard in the music industry and has started to replace the times where artists would hope a label would take a chance on them. Nowadays, the success of artists relies heavily on the fans. According to MCR data, “67% of the app's users are more likely to seek out songs on music- streaming services after hearing them on TikTok” (Whateley, 2022). Interestingly enough, the correlation between songs trending on Tik Tok and songs that are climbing the Billboard charts has grown tremendously over the past few years as well.
ReplyDeleteTik Tok is not only a way for music to become popular but is also a way for artists to promote their upcoming music for free. Using sound bites of new songs to prepare for a release has become a popular way for people in the music industry to boost their songs to the top of the charts. Aside from artists promoting their own music online, record labels and artists have also begun to start paying influencers to jump start the popularity of a song through their platform. According to Whateley, “song promo deals between music marketers and influencers have also become an important source of income for TikTok creators” (Whateley, 2022). This shift in the music industry has become a mutually beneficial and lucrative business between content creators and big names in the industry. There are also connections between music streaming services and TikTok. According to Bloomberg, Spotify views the platform as a “funnel” and a way for Spotify to gain new users from TikTok as people begin listening on TikTok and finish on Spotify (Shaw, 2021).
At this point, I don’t think artists need backing from a major record label to begin with because there are other routes that can be taken to gain leverage in the industry. However, I do think that a record label is necessary for an artist to remain successful long term. According to an article from HipHop Unwrapped, “75% of the money (music revenue) comes from streaming” and that this is “devastating to record labels as they make drastically less money off of streaming” (Karpel, 2021). With this, as the business becomes less lucrative and as artists can make it on their own, artists will likely continue to choose a route that involves no commitment to a label. Some artists who have done it alone have had quick success but have ended up as “one hit wonders” without the proper management.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Karpel, H. H. U. (2021, March 10). Why we need to leave record labels behind in 2020. Hip Hop Unrapped. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://hiphopunrapped.com/articles-hiphop-rap-socialissues/why-we-need-to-leave-record-labels-behind-in-2020
Shaw, L. (n.d.). Spotify has a Gen Z Problem. Or is it an opportunity? Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok
Whateley, D. (2022, January 3). How Tiktok is changing the music industry. Business Insider. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7
ReplyDeleteAbigail Rica
To be successful in the music industry today, it seems like you need to have a relatable song or have catchy lyrics. Using social media to get your name out there. It seems like TikTok and Instagram Reels are a way to get noticed. For example Walker Hayes came out with a song called “Fancy Like”. According to Time, “ While the Alabaman singer-songwriter has been grinding in Nashville’s country music industry for a decade and a half, Walker Hayes became a recognizable name across the country this year for “Fancy Like”, which celebrates low-budget country fun. Users posted videos of themselves dancing to the song on flatbed trucks, around campfires and in Applebee;s parking lots. Applebee;s even paid tribute to the song by putting its Oreo Cookie Shake back on its medu. “Fancy Like” is now a fully- fledged country music behemoth: it's been number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for all but three week since July 24, and it's still sitting atop the chart now”. (Chow) This shows that a song can even bring back limited edition food items on a menu. There is even a trendy dance that went viral on TIkTok. I feel like a huge factor of an artist's success is the power of social media, if your video goes trending, your life will forever change. If it's from getting a record label or to have your name on the top charts. In addition Business Insider states, “The industry’s attention on TikTok isn’t unfounded. Songs that trend on TikTok often end up charting on the Billboard 100 or Spotify Viral 50. And 67% of the app’s users are more likely to seek out songs on music- streaming services after hearing them on TikTok, according to a November study conducted for TikTok by the music- analytics company MRC Data”. (Whateley) I don’t think in today’s society you need a major record label in order to succeed, I think you need fans who are loyal and believe in you. Another reason you could become successful is if you have a relatable story that many can relate to. For example Olivia Rodrigo has made quite the name for herself. From TikTok to music to now a documentary. The documentary will have stories and an inside look on her life. According to Billboard,“ The title is a reference to the track that started it all, but also reflective of the documentary’s format. According to the press release, Rodrigo will take viewers on a road trip from Salt Lake City, to Los Angeles while recounting how she made her Grammy-nominated debut record, sharing how she felt navigating her life at the time. The film will also include the pop star’s personal stories, behind-the-scences and never-before-seen footage both in and out of the studio, as well as intimate interviews”. (Dailey) Social media is changing the music world. It also is shaping the way artists can become successful.
Work cited
Chow, A. R. (2021, December 21). The breakout musical stars of TikTok in 2021. Time. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://time.com/6130707/tiktok-music-2021/
Dailey, H. (2022, February 18). Olivia Rodrigo announces intimate documentary detailing creation of 'sour': Watch the teaser. Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/olivia-rodrigo-sour-documentary-film-announcement-1235032929/
Whateley, D. (2022, January 3). How Tiktok is changing the music industry. Business Insider. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans
An artist's success in the music industry is not only reliant on their talent, but also on how the media and public perceive their image. Image is everything in this industry and social media has given artists the opportunity to build their fan base like never before. By utilizing apps like Tik Tok to promote an artist’s music, the music will gain more traction because you can put a face to a song you like. Dan Whateley discusses in his article, “How Tik Tok is Changing The Music Industry”, that songs can rise up organically on the app through different trends and marketers can hire influencers to try to make the song take off. I have a unique perspective on this topic through my internship which focuses on promoting upcoming Gen Z artists through social media marketing. My team is responsible for launching artist Jena Rose, an independent artist that works exclusively with our company. By posting over one hundred videos across proxy accounts daily using her song “Checkmate”, she has gained thousands of followers and has gotten a lot of attention on her personal accounts. By initiating the hype around her music and image, she now has gained fans and followers organically, proving that our social media marketing tactics are successful. Although Tik Tok is the main platform Gen Z finds music from, local radio stations play a big role in launching an artist career. According to an article by The College of Contemporary Music, “local radio stations need new music in rotation…This might involve cold emailing or cold calling, but reaching more listeners can be worth time spent.” My team spends hours tweeting and requesting different radio stations to play her song, and our efforts have been successful. Jena has now made top 5 on station “Most Requested Live”, along with artists like Doja Cat, an artist that also used Tik Tok to break her music career. As I’ve stated, Jena is an independent artist and with all her success, it shows that you no longer need the backing of a major record label to make it in the industry.
ReplyDeleteI can’t emphasize enough how popular and influential Tik Tok has become to Gen Z, and major streaming companies, specially spotify agree and have been affected because of it. Executives at Spotify are worried that the youngest generation of listeners isn’t using its product enough, especially chief executive Daniel Hek. Gen Z does not listen to podcasts and the radio as frequently as millennials, and spotify reported disappointing user growth in the second quarter. This decline was assumed to be a result of the pandemic, but this has now made forecasting difficult (Shaw). Although major media companies are in competition with Tik Tok, the app has also helped Spotify by drawing users in to listen to a full version of a trending song that users heard on Tik Tok.
DeleteMoreover, Tik Tok is beloved by Gen Z and the rise of the app has ultimately affected the workings of the music industry. Artists no longer require the backing of a major record label to get their name out there and gain a fan base. Social media marketing tactics have shown to be a very successful way to promote an artist’s image and music and I believe the music industry will continue to evolve to reach its desired market as new music friendly platforms become popular.
Whateley, Dan. “How Tiktok Is Changing the Music Industry.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 Jan. 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans.
“How to Promote Music in 2021: Musician's Institute.” Musicians Institute Hollywood, 6 Apr. 2021, https://www.mi.edu/in-the-know/promote-music-2021/.
Shaw, Lucas. “Potify Has a Gen Z Problem. Or Is It an Opportunity?” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-19/spotify-has-a-gen-z-problem-here-s-how-it-s-learning-from-tiktok.
Olivia Kettell 1/2
ReplyDeleteThe music industry has long struggled with how to compromise between listeners and artists alike ever since listening went digital. Initially, the advent of music streaming services was widely welcomed and appreciated to combat piracy, until artists realized what they would be compensated for each stream of their music. The breakdown for each dollar earned by Spotify is reportedly 58.5 cents to whoever owns the song’s recording, typically the record label; 29.38 cents simply kept by Spotify; 6.12 cents to the owner of the publishing rights, usually the artist; and 6 cents to mechanical rights, sometimes the artist. However, the payout per stream amounts to around half a cent for artists on Spotify, and around one cent on Apple Music (Andrews). For smaller artists, half a cent for each listen of their song is simply not enough to get by on.
Another newer component of the digital music world has been online promotion. TikTok has become a "go-to platform for discovering new music,” according to Insider’s Dan Whateley. There is really no telling what kinds of songs could gain popularity on the app – sometimes older songs regain popularity organically and other times new music is promoted. Music marketers have become seriously invested in how to increase visibility and popularity of songs and artists on the platform, typically by making deals with influencers to use certain songs or participate in trends. Marketers have found that the best strategy is to target small influencers because anyone has a chance of their video going viral on the app. This way, larger influencers will partake in the trend too, obtaining widespread promotion for free.
Music promotion through TikTok is truly worthwhile – songs that gain popularity on the app typically enter Billboard or Spotify charts due to their popularity. Users who discover a song on the app are also incredibly likely to search it up on their own. TikTok itself has a music division that decides which songs to promote through sound recommendations or video popularity (Whateley). However, an artist does not need thoughtful marketing to gain popularity. Anyone can upload videos and sounds, and anyone can go viral. Because of this, smaller artists can see huge success through TikTok without a major label or team behind them (Tariemi).
Olivia Kettell 2/2
DeleteAnother service that is beneficial to smaller or independent artists is Bandcamp. This platform attempts to promote artists and compensate them fairly – here artists can post their own music to reach new fans and also host an online store, all while being paid a fair share of the profits. For many years, the platform was highly appreciated by small artists and allowed them to connect with and succeed from their fans. The company was recently bought by Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite (Spangler). Bandcamp’s creator believes that this partnership is exciting for the platform and can help it expand in terms of design, applications, merchandising, vinyl, and livestreaming. However, smaller artists are upset with this decision, expressing their worries that the site will no longer be as much of an independent platform. Tencent Music Entertainment Group, a Chinese multinational media firm, owns 40% of Epic Games and 10% of Universal Music Group, the largest label in the world. Artists are worried about Bandcamp’s potential ties in the future to Spotify and other large music companies (Roberts).
Overall, today there are many ways for almost anyone in the music industry to gain popularity and obtain new fans. Social media is now a huge player in gaining exposure for artists and their music. However, there still seem to be issues with compensation for artists in the streaming age.
Works Cited
Andrews, Travis M. “Spotify Backlash Offers Rare Insight into Reeling Music Industry - and Struggles of Working Musicians.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/02/14/spotify-young-rogan-music-industry/.
Roberts, Randall. “What Does Bandcamp's Sale to Epic Games Mean for Independent Music?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2022, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2022-03-03/bandcamp-epic-games-sale-independent-music.
Spangler, Todd. “Epic Games Acquires Bandcamp as 'Fortnite' Maker Expands into Music.” Variety, Variety, 7 Mar. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/epic-games-acquires-bandcamp-1235194180/.
Tariemi, Oreoritse. “5 Tips to Help Your Music Go Viral on TikTok.” The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News, 11 Feb. 2022, https://guardian.ng/life/5-tips-to-help-your-music-go-viral-on-tiktok/.
Whateley, Dan. “How Tiktok Is Changing the Music Industry.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 Jan. 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans.
Kaitlyn Reilly
ReplyDeletePart 1
The traditional route to fame in the entertainment industry has drastically changed over the past couple of years due to the way we utilize social media. Specifically when it comes to achieving success in the music industry. Since the pandemic halted in-person concerts and performances, artists took to posting content from their homes behind a camera for a digital audience. Fans not only can stream their favorite songs but interact and get a closer look at the artist's life through their phone screen.
One app, in particular, that has transformed the music industry is TikTok. Whether you are a starting out music artist or have been in the game for a while, TikTok has revolutionized music marketing techniques. "Songs that trend on TikTok often end up charting on the Billboard 100 or Spotify Viral 50 ... 67% of the app's users are more likely to seek out songs on music- streaming services after hearing them on TikTok” (Whateley). What's so profound about TikTok's grip on the music industry is the app's viral trends. Not only does TikTok make new artists go viral, but it also brings back music that was released decades ago. It is fascinating to see new generations interact with hit songs from the past.
There are now several other outlets artists can go to promote themselves and their new music. Besides TikTok, there are several other online social media resources. Many artists release their content on YouTube and SoundCloud. While simultaneously promoting themselves on other social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. Being said, social media plays a big role in musicians' success in this digital age.
Social media is a primary tool for promotion whether that be through an agency or self-representation. Since new artists typically don’t have much disposable income to spend on marketing, social media is a free, user-friendly way for an artist to get their name out there. Some other unique ways artists promote themselves are organizing live streams and meeting like-minded artists (McIntyre). Since the industry is very relationship-centered, it is vital to create friendships with not only other musicians but promoters, booking people, venue owners, publicists, DJs, and Journalists (McIntyre). A positive about living in the twenty-first century is that this can all be done using social media.
Kaitlyn Reilly
ReplyDeletePart 2
As the industry transitions to social media marketing with music, artists are beginning to break away from the traditional business pattern that typically defines their success in the world of entertainment. Signing with a major record label isn't the make or break anymore to an artist's success. Through apps like TikTok, music has the opportunity to go viral without the help of industry professionals. This can be done just by luck or through influencer techniques. Record labels can now promote music on apps like TikTok by paying influencers to use their sounds. The size of the influencer isn't always important. Sometimes TikTok creators who have a niche audience have stronger success with music marketing techniques (Whateley).
Currently, I believe that record label deals still hold some importance in the industry but I think over the next couple of years, more artists will enter their rise to fame in a more organic manner. This past year, Brent Faiyaz, a Grammy-nominated artist who self releases music from his label Lost Kids, had one of his songs “Gravity” hit 108.6 million on-demand streams in 2021 (Billboard). This shows that a record label deal is not always the way to achieve success.
Billboard (2021, December 30). MRC Year-End Report U.S. 2021. MRC Data Reports. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from
https://mrcdatareports.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MRC_YEAREND_2021_US_FNL.pdf
McIntyre, Hugh (2021, October 27). Music Marketing Strategies for Artists. CareersinMusic. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.careersinmusic.com/music-marketing/
Whateley, Dan (2022, January 3). How TikTok is changing the music industry. Business Insider. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans
Blog 4
ReplyDeleteJulianna Kessel
In today’s day in age, a music artist's popularity is not solely reliant on talent. In fact, I believe talent only has a small part to do with how popular they are within society. I know of so many “underground”, or not incredibly famous artists who have so much more musical talent than the artists considered mainstream today. What matters now is image more than anything. Musical fame now means prioritizing media. It means choosing certain blogs, influencers, authors, and media apps to go after to get an artist that organic press to kickstart, or help a musical career along. Before I move on, I want to mention the paradox we live in with the ever-so-popular genre of music, rap/trap music. The way society has become obsessed with rap culture is like we, as a whole, fetishize that life- the drugs, gangs, weapons, mental health, poor treatment of a black person in America, etc. This is incredibly odd because it is real-life societal oppression these rappers/ the people they represent live through on a daily basis. What I’m trying to say is that rap automatically has a leg up in the music industry today, and the paradox fuels the popularity of the genre. In my opinion, some of the people considered “the best” in rap are not the most talented, but rather have the image society is looking for. Obviously there are incredibly talented rappers, but it’s not always talent that gets you far today in the music industry.
The thing helping to fuel the A-list music industry is social media apps, with an emphasis on Tik Tok. According to Dan Wheetly, author for Business Insider, “Tik Tok is an essential promotional tool for music artists and record labels.” The reason why Tik Tok is so important is for a few reasons: absolutely any music can become the next big trend, any account has the potential to have a viral video (with whatever music/song you’re trying to promote), huge and micro TIk Tok influencers can be paid to promote, and lastly songs that trend on Tik Tok do incredibly well on Billboard’s top 100 (Whateley, 2022).
Part 2
DeleteYou see musical trends on Tik Tok from any era, any artist, and any level of fame. For example, Fleetwood Mac’s song “Dreams” resurfaced and hit Billboards Top 10 (Garvey, 2020). A regular man by the name of Nathan Apodaca posted a video of himself skateboarding down the road with a bottle of Ocean Spray in his hand, and “Dreams” playing in the background. What followed the trend is why Tik Tok is such an important promotional tool. His video and the song became a huge viral trend on Tik Tok. The song reached 16.1 million streams in the week ending October 15, 2020 (about two weeks after posting), according to Billboard (Garvey, 2020). Ocean Spray responded to the video. Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks (original creators of the song) posted their own versions of the video. And lastly, TIk Tok capitalized on the trend by creating a commercial that ran during the MLB playoff games, including the original video and the song, of course. It is mind blowing because all of this happened from a regular guy posting a video of him skateboarding. That’s what is so wild about Tik Tok is that a trend can start from anyone, with any song, and gain any amount of publicity- this is just one case.
An artist who does a good job of promoting himself on the app is Charlie Puth. Charlie Puth is an already known singer, songwriter, and producer. He is known on Tik Tok for creating his own sounds/intros. His base is already large, and his Tik Tok presence/image makes it easy for him to promote his own stuff.
Another success story is with Miss Olivia Rodrigo. She first made her appearance in the spotlight on the Disney+ High School Musical Show, and is now releasing her own documentary about the creation of her debut album “SOUR” (Dailey, 2022). After releasing her song “Driver’s License”, her song became a huge hit on Tik Tok for many months. She gained popularity and admiration by so many because of 1. Her song became a Tik Tok music trend, 2. Her “innocent” teen girl image, and 3. Her intelligence (to sign to a record label that gives her ownership of her masters recordings). Olivia Rodrigo, as well as all music trends on Tik Tok should become a case study. Tik Tok has truly changed the game for music.
References:
Dailey, H. (2022, February 18). Olivia Rodrigo announces intimate documentary detailing creation of 'sour': Watch the teaser. Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/olivia-rodrigo-sour-documentary-film-announcement-1235032929/
Garvey, M. (2020, October 22). Fleetwood Mac's 'dreams' returns to the charts. CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/entertainment/fleetwood-mac-dreams-charts-trnd/index.html
Whateley, D. (2022, January 3). How Tiktok is changing the music industry. Business Insider. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans
Jody Gallinger
ReplyDeleteThe music industry is constantly changing. There are always new artists producing new sounds for everyone to listen to. Everyone defines success differently, and each artists measures their own success in different ways. Many popular artists had songs and albums in the top 10 selling and streaming in the U.S. such as, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X, and so many more (Caulfield). Everyone knows these artists’ names because of the amount of success they have had. Many of their songs and albums have been the most played or streamed song and album of 2021. Many of these artists have fans that adore them and their music and will sell out their concerts. Both bring them in a lot of money as well. Popular artists like this can define success by simple things like this. However, for more underground artists it can be hard to define success by just looking at money. Many artists that start creating music are not doing it to become super famous, they are doing it because they love it (McGuire). Success can always be redefined. Feeling proud of the music that you create and knowing other people will relate to it can have the same feeling of success as fame and money (McGuire).
There are many ways that an artist can promote their music whether that be social media or working with different brands. It’s no doubt that everyone has been obsessed with Taylor Swift this year as she has been rerecording her new albums, giving everyone that nostalgia feeling. Lots of her music promotion was through social media since she has such a large fan base. But she also has partnerships with Peloton and Starbucks, which further helped her music promotion (Greenburg). Blake Shelton is a very popular country music singer. He has been known for his partnership with the TV show, The Voice. He has been a part of the show for 10 years now. This has helped promote his music and branch out his fan base even more (Greenburg). The controversial artist had everyone talking this year with his new album release and when he legally changed his name from “Kanye West” to “Ye”. When he created his footwear brand “Yeezy” it took the fashion world by storm and has been helping promote his music career ever since (Greenburg). In 2021 Bruce Springsteen collaborated with Barack Obama to create a podcast and book where they have open conversations about many things such as music and fatherhood. Many found this very interesting and different from what other artists were doing, which helped promote his music career (Greenburg).
Pt. 2
DeleteTikTok has taken the world by storm in the past few years. The music featured on the app has gone viral, helping artists songs get more recognition. Songs that trend on Tik Tok usually end up charting on the Billboard 100 or Spotify Viral 50. This is because 67% of users are more likely to seek out songs on streaming services after hearing them on TikTok (Whateley). Many music labels are able to bring artists into the spotlight by promoting their music on TikTok. And many music labels monitor the app to find new up and coming artists (Whateley). Music marketers are also able to pay TikTok influencers to promote songs to help artists (Whateley).
As record labels have been the best way to get your music career to takeoff, in recent years we have seen otherwise. So many artists have become popular on social media, especially TikTok and have made a name for themselves. Many popular artists such as Lil Nasx, Billie Eilish, Pop Smoke, and many more have risen to the top through social media. All those artists have had songs or albums on the top 10 charts. Record labels can help, but today social media plays a big role in the music industry.
Works Cited:
Caulfield, Keith. “Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' Is Most-Streamed Song of 2021 in U.S., Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' Is MRC Data's Top Album.” Billboard, Penske Media Corporation , 6 Jan. 2022, https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/dua-lipa-morgan-wallen-us-2021-mrc-data-1235016079/#recipient_hashed=62dfc0b27ad1de67d64a0c44fb55f17fe8a7cd610e9d3f50edf2cced899812f7.
Greenburg, Zack O'Malley. “Nine of the 10 Highest-Paid Musicians of 2021 Were Men.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2022, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/highest-paid-musicians-2021-bruce-springsteen-jay-z-taylor-swift-1281654/.
McGuire, Patrick, et al. “What Does ‘Success’ in Music Mean Right Now?” Soundfly, Soundfly , 17 Jan. 2022, https://flypaper.soundfly.com/hustle/what-does-success-in-music-mean-right-now/.
Whateley, Dan. “How Tiktok Is Changing the Music Industry.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 Jan. 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7#:~:text=TikTok%20is%20an%20essential%20promotional,generated%20posts%20from%20their%20fans.
While getting music out to the masses has become increasingly easier for artists since the development of TikTok, an artist has to go above and beyond in order to stay successful in the music industry. For an artist to be successful in the music industry today, they need to interact with their audience more than ever before. Because we keep getting introduced to new forms of social media such as TikTok, fans are expecting more interaction from their favorite artists and there is no excuse for musicians to not be interacting on their platforms. Outside of social media, some musicians are going above and beyond to interact with their fans and show how much they appreciate them. During the peak of COVID, Olivia Rodrigo held a “one-time, invite-only event that was exclusive to Rodrigo’s top listeners,” (Weng). The event was a car wash sponsored by Spotify and a collaboration with Sour Patch Kids to promote her new album, “Sour.” In addition to this, Rodrigo hosted a “Sour Prom” in which she invited some of her most dedicated fans to dress up in prom attire and dance along with her to her album. The event was also filmed for those who were unable to break COVID guidelines. Most recently, Rodrigo announced an intimate documentary which will be released on Disney Plus and “will feature new arrangements of multi-platinum tracks such as ‘Good 4 U’ and ‘Deja Vu,’ and 11 live performances that will include guest artists such as Jacob Collier, Blu DeTiger and Towa Bird,” (Dailey). Because artists such as Olivia are going to such extents to bring this interactive content to her listeners, it creates a standard for other artists to do the same for their audiences. Social media plays a huge role in an artist becoming known because they are able to reach larger audiences than they have ever been able to in the past. TikTok, especially, has created new opportunities for artists because we are now seeing not only people looking to make it big in the music industry release music, but we are also seeing users who write music as a hobby, collaborations between artists/fans, and different ways that people interpret music such as sign language interpreters signing songs for their followers. TikTok has also been great for music labels that are looking to sign new talent. Jesse Callahan, founder of the marketing firm, Montford Agency, stated, “Music marketing on TikTok is huge… It’s a big way that labels have brought artists into the spotlight the last couple of years. It’s also a big way that creators have made a lot of money,” (Whateley). This begs the question of whether or not artists need to be signed to a label in order to succeed in the music industry.
ReplyDeleteTikTok has proved that artists do not need to have a spot at a record company to make it big. Once an artist meets the qualifications, they are able to upload their own music to streaming services such as Spotify or BandCamp. For some artists, they are happy enough just to have a following on social media and will continue to post their content on those platforms. In addition to this, once you have a certain amount of followers on TikTok and have a certain amount of content/views, you are able to apply for the Creator Fund and you will be able to make a profit off of just posting TikTok videos rather than committing to being signed to a record label. Social media has and will continue to create new opportunities for musicians and will give everyday people the chance to have their music heard across the world.
DeleteSources:
BU Marketing Club. “How Olivia Rodrigo's ‘Sour’ Epitomized Authentic, Creative Music Marketing.” BU Marketing Club, BU Marketing Club, 19 Oct. 2021, https://www.bumarketingclub.com/blog/2021/10/18/how-olivia-rodrigos-sour-epitomized-authentic-creative-music-marketing.
Dailey, Hannah. “Olivia Rodrigo Announces Intimate Documentary Detailing Creation of 'Sour': Watch the Teaser.” Billboard, 18 Feb. 2022, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/olivia-rodrigo-sour-documentary-film-announcement-1235032929/.
Whateley, Dan. “How Tiktok Is Changing the Music Industry.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 Jan. 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7.
Kyra Moos
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In order for an artist to be successful in the music industry today, they must be creative. With social media on the rise throughout the past few years, musicians must find new and innovative ways to market their music to listeners. Social media acts as a tool to help musicians tell stories (Whateley, 2022). One example of an artist that utilized social media to successfully market their album is Olivia Rodrigo. The social media platform, TikTok plays a key role in the success of today’s popular music. Whateley explains how songs that trend within the TikTok platform, often chart on the Billboard Top 100 (2022). The relationship between TikTok and today’s top-charting songs is so directly aligned that musicians are now actively utilizing creative public relations and marketing techniques to gain TikTok popularity.
As Olivia Rodrigo released music from her show, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, TikTok’s highly personalized algorithm pushed Rodrigo’s songs to users everywhere. Olivia Rodrigo benefitted from TikTok’s algorithm before it was even fully understood. I remember a time when it was virtually impossible to spend more than five minutes on TikTok without hearing Rodrigo’s songs. TikTok allows users to create their own videos to popular songs which helps in spreading the popularity of songs. Rodgrio also utilized other social media platforms, such as Instagram to promote her album. However, the sense of community on TikTok due to their personalized algorithm, proved to most effectively help drive the success of her songs (Smith, 2021).
Kyra Moos
DeletePart 2
In order to be most successful, artists must have the right to their own music. For example, both Kayne West and Taylor Swift own the rights to the music they sing and are placed on the top ten list of music earners (Greenburg, 2022). Taylor Swift has been featured in media recently for the re-recording of her previously released hit albums. Taylor is rereleasing her albums due to the fact that producer, Scooter Braun, held the rights to her music and made money off their success. As a young female in the music industry, Taylor felt she was bullied by Braun and his wealth is thanks to her (Davies, 2021). In order to prove a message to Braun and the rest of the music industry, Taylor took the time to rerecord and rerelease all of her previous albums. Across social media, Taylor’s fans helped her to make her money back by promoting the use of her new songs labeled as “Taylor’s version”. Taylor Swift brings awareness to important issues within the music industry such as gender disparity and producers taking advantage of younger musicians. Taylor advocated for more artist control over their own songs with the release of her own versions of her albums.
Works Cited
Davies, R. (2021, November 12). Here's why Taylor Swift is re-recording her albums and how to watch all too well short film. The Scotsman. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/taylor-swift-why-is-taylor-swift-re-recording-her-albums-and-how-to-watch-all-too-well-short-film-starring-sadie-sink-and-dylan-obrien-3455540
Greenburg, Z. O. M. (2022, January 14). Nine of the 10 highest-paid musicians of 2021 were men. Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/highest-paid-musicians-2021-bruce-springsteen-jay-z-taylor-swift-1281654/
Smith, G. (2021, January 28). Olivia Rodrigo is proof of TikTok's power over the music industry. Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.dexerto.com/opinion/olivia-rodrigo-is-proof-of-tiktoks-power-over-the-music-industry-1503454/
Whateley, D. (2022, January 3). How Tiktok is changing the music industry. Business Insider. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-is-changing-the-music-industry-marketing-discovery-2021-7