The music industry is an ever-evolving landscape, and artists are constantly on the hunt for the most effective way to "make it." In the past few years, social media has proven to be an invaluable tool in helping artists, especially new ones, achieve success.
With the rise of viral social media apps like TikTok, music streaming services, and music placements, the playing field has changed drastically over the past few years. It is now easier than ever for artists to build a fan base and create a buzz around their music.
Today, viral artists are becoming more and more common on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, with some even getting a good footing after going viral. But can artists, new or established, still "make it" in the music industry with the help of social media?
In this blog post, we'll explore how "making it" in the music industry has evolved, the best practical tips and tricks to help you make the most of your music career through social media, and how we can help you with your career.
How "Making It" in the Music Industry Has Evolved
The music industry has always been a competitive and challenging landscape. While there were always traditional pathways to "make it," such as signing to a major label, touring, and radio airplay, the landscape has evolved drastically in recent years. The rise of the digital era and the emergence of Social Media platforms has opened up a myriad of opportunities for artists to promote their music and build their brands in a cost-effective way.
The traditional pathway of artist development and music promotion relied heavily on expensive marketing tactics and promotional campaigns, as well as endorsements from industry tastemakers. This often meant that only the most privileged could make it in the industry, leaving a lot of talented artists without a chance. However, this has changed significantly in recent years due to the power of social media. Nowadays, anyone with an internet connection can create their own profile, upload content and reach out to potential fans without any gatekeepers.
The Changing Landscape of the Music Industry
The music industry is in a state of flux, with old models being replaced by new ones and traditional methods of artist development being supplemented by new technology. The power of social media has revolutionized the way musicians connect with their fans and promote their music. Social media has become a powerful tool for music promotion, with the ability to reach audiences all over the world.
As digital music streaming services have grown in popularity, royalties have become more difficult to obtain, requiring artists to look for alternative sources of income. Many artists are now turning to social media marketing to promote their music and reach their target audience. This can involve creating a comprehensive social media strategy that utilizes different platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. However, this approach is not all rosy, as platforms such as TikTok have been in tussles with labels that want more revenue sharing.
At the same time, viral music has become an increasingly popular way to build a following. Songs can gain traction quickly and organically online due to the interconnectedness of social media networks, and artists can capitalize on this phenomenon. However, success through virality can be unpredictable, so it's important to ensure you have a long-term plan. There's no telling whether your next project will go viral. Organic posting on TikTok, however, has been reported to account for 63.8% of TikTok viral songs, though there are reports of a "heating" button that can make anyone go viral.
To stay competitive in the music industry today, artists need to be savvy when it comes to their social media strategies. They should look at their options carefully, whether they're trying to earn royalties or relying on viral music to build their audience. By adapting to the changing landscape, musicians can take advantage of the new opportunities available to them.
Tips for Using Social Media to Your Advantage
Recently, social media has become a powerful tool for music marketing and promotion. Artists and labels are increasingly looking to leverage the power of social media to promote their music, create a buzz, and develop their fan base. Here are some tips for using social media to your advantage:
Join an active platform
Joining platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and metaverse platforms will make a huge difference when it comes to your social media marketing strategy. Being able to interact and engage with fans is one of the most important factors, so being active on social media can open up many opportunities for artist development and music promotion. However, how do you determine which platform you need to be most active on? Some are better than others, while all have an array of different or similar audiences, while others, like TikTok, have the most watch time per user.
Develop an engaging artist brand
Creating an engaging artist brand is essential for building and maintaining relationships with your audience. This involves creating a consistent visual identity across your social platforms, engaging with your followers, and actively sharing content related to your music. Doing this helps build a brand image around your music and grow a fan base that resonates with it. This is a critical step in developing a working social media strategy.
Social media marketing
There are a number of ways to take advantage of the over 4 billion active social media users through marketing. You can either choose to join and market yourself either with free organic posts and earned advertising or paid advertising. With paid advertising, there are several music promotion services that you can use to increase your reach on social media. These services help you target potential fans who would be interested in your music, as well as increase visibility on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Monitor your social media activity
Regularly monitoring your social media activity is essential for understanding what content resonates with your audience and getting feedback on your music. This helps you gain valuable insights into what type of content your audience likes and doesn't like and how you can improve your approach.
Teasers
The key to success on social media is creating content that resonates with your audience and encourages them to share it with their friends. This can involve creating short clips of live performances, remixes of popular songs, or other creative content that's entertaining and captivating. Such strategies may be useful before you release your full song on a streaming platform. TikTok is good at making music go viral. A case example is the recent Sam Smith and Kim Petras' "Unholy," which went viral on the platform a month before its official release.
Build relationships with influencers
We cannot deny the importance of influencers in promoting music on social media platforms like TikTok. Reaching out to influential figures and industry professionals can help raise awareness for your music, attract new fans, and grow your audience. To be honest, paying top influencers on platforms like TikTok can be expensive, with some like Charli D'Amelio charging around $40,000 per post, but working with micro- and non-influencer accounts would have about the same effect or more on a worthy project.
By utilizing these tips and investing in artist development through social media, you can start to build a successful career in the music industry. Though the road may be long and difficult, with the right approach, you can still make it in the music industry with social media.
What the Future Holds
The future of the music industry and how artists can "make it" is an ever-evolving conversation and one that has become increasingly complex as technology, and social media have changed the way we listen to, promote, and consume music. It's clear that traditional marketing and promotion channels are no longer the only avenues for success in the music industry.
Social media offers powerful tools for artists to get their music heard by a wide audience in a short time span. In particular, a well-planned social media strategy can help with artist development, increase fan engagement, and drive more traffic to streaming platforms. When done properly, social media can also be used to create and amplify content that will reach more people in more places than ever before. As such, it is essential for any artist looking to build their presence and make a name for themselves in the music industry.
Viral music campaigns, digital influencers, and fan-driven streaming are just a few of the key aspects of the music industry's future. As more platforms and technologies become available, it's important for artists to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and opportunities. Being proactive and utilizing these new channels effectively will be essential to making it in this ever-changing music industry.
Ultimately, it's important to remember that success in the music industry is not necessarily about fame or money but rather about creating something of lasting value. With the right approach and dedication, there is no limit to what an artist can achieve. By taking advantage of all the resources available in today's world of music marketing and promotion, you can make sure your music reaches a global audience and make a lasting impact on the world and on your wallet.
How Reprtoir Can Help
Social media has become an integral part of the music industry and artist development, providing artists with more avenues than ever before to promote their music and reach new audiences. And as with most projects, the earlier, the better. Joining TikTok or the metaverse now is pure genius, whether your publisher is in on it or not. Not only will you have access to a broad audience to market your craft and build a fan base, but you will also be opening up to new unlimited potential revenue streams.
Once you have a footing inside social media or are trying to make it, partnering with reputable experts in the industry like Reprtoir is the next step. Over the years, Reprtoir has built a reputation of reliability for our partnering labels and artists, offering cutting-edge solutions to the professional management of music on social media.
We offer a suite of solutions, including Catalog Management, Music Sharing, and Royalty Accounting, which help music labels and artists optimize tasks such as storage, sync, auto-tagging, and copyright management and manage tasks such as copy royalty splits. Book a demo now or contact us for further consultation.
