Marketing is probably the most important tool for all businesses today. The music industry is no different.
We’re living in times when attention span is very limited, and there’s very little time to capture someone’s attention. Everyone is aiming to become the next big star, and everyone is competing for a similar audience.
Having a strong marketing team can be more important than having the best song out there. More often than not, it’s (unfortunately) more important to think about marketing when creating a song.
In the past, marketing was something that used to be reserved for marketing experts. But now, the power of marketing has shifted to the hands of the artists. That’s both a positive and a negative at the same time. Obviously, it’s positive that artists have this power in their hands. At the same time, that is the negative as well. The duty of good marketing can be on the artist’s shoulders if they decide so, and it better not be a blunder. The music industry today doesn’t forgive.
The Importance of Omnipresence
A few decades ago, bands had only a handful of platforms available to them. TV was probably the ultimate measure of success. Today, not so much. Depending on the audience, social media platforms and live shows are much better measures of success than your music being played on TV. In fact, that was backed by research, stating that chart positions and radio airplay are not things most musicians should worry about. How crazy is it that we live in a world that has made all previous measures of success for musicians obsolete?
As the number of new artists entering the already oversaturated market keeps rising, so does the percentage of independent artists. Today, that number would be around 95%. There are only 2% of those who have ever been signed by a record company. For those artists, it’s important to reach the right audience and connect with their listeners. That, in return, would result in a sustainable career in most cases. The new perspective and understanding of success is rather more long-term oriented, and does not depend on attaining a stardom in a more traditional sense.
Just as companies have recognised the importance of having a strong brand presence in order to drive higher traffic to their websites, and higher conversions, this new generation of musicians has also understood this need, with the ultimate aim of reaching their entire fanbase. It is well-known that various fanbase segments are present on different platforms. Some fans may focus mainly on Instagram, while others prefer Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Artists are able to widen their reach and engage with the fans on all of these platforms, where each one has unique features and content formats that can be used to the artist’s advantage. Every platform has its trends and viral moments. Being active on more than one platform enables the artists to be responsive to trending and emerging trends, and stay flexible. For example, a trend on TikTok can become a trend on Instagram or Twitter almost instantaneously, and an artist’s active participation on each of those platforms allows him to surf through different waves of audience.
Knowing the Audience as Knowing the Music
Sure, most artists will say they know their music. But do they really? Music is not just about songs. It’s also about who is the audience, what messages is the song sending, and how will the audience interpret that. Different platforms react differently. The importance of being present on more than one platform is even more evident here, as artists are able to reduce their reliance on a single source of traffic and income. For instance, social media platforms may modify their algorithms, decline in popularity, or even shut down. Artists can protect themselves by extending their online presence and remain effective regardless of the changes in the digital environment. Lastly, different levels of interaction with fans are possible on different platforms. Twitter is likely to be used for personal interaction, where artists can make more formal announcements. Instagram is there for visualisation, and TikTok for creativity. Such multi-platform engagement lets artists acquire different forms of feedback, which is especially important for small, independent artists who are just finding their way in the world of music.