Music Business: Fostering the Artist-Fan Relationship in the Digital World
Once upon a time, rock stars were, well, rock stars: untouchable demi-gods who came down from their lofty positions to play concerts and grant interviews for us regular mortals to experience. And while that’s still mostly true today, Taylor Swift and Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips) now comment on fans’ Instagram pictures and Taylor writes Tumblr Blogs. Why have they lowered themselves to the level of common social media user? Because they have to.
Due to the ease of “music grazing” on platforms like Spotify, Pandora and Youtube, fans have become less invested in the artists who create the songs they enjoy. Hundreds of songs by hundreds of artists are added to a playlist by the average user. As a result, artists must do more to grab a fan’s attention and get them to listen to more of their work. This can be exhausting for an artist, which is why the industry of social media “ghost writers” exists. These people post professionally for multiple artists on social media platforms, each post taking on the voice of the artist it’s posted for. They do it so well, that people would never be able to tell whether that was Katy Perry tweeting or her social media ghost writer.
So, if it’s important for household name artists to be connecting with their fans on digital platforms, how important is it for lesser known artists to be connecting with their fans on this platform? Very. Max Cooper, London based electronic music producer, recently connected with new fans using what many would consider the”old-fashioned” way, using his website and mailing list to get fans to sign up and receive a series of exclusive “Quotient” tracks and remixes. By doing this he formed a deeper relationship with his fans. Every time Max sent a piece of content and told the story behind it, the fan feels much more involved, much more connected.
The problem with all of this is that many artists are introverted, creative-types who have pursued music instead of social relationships. That’s where a manager or a social media ghost writer (officially known as a Social Media or Content Manager) comes in. Many younger people pursuing a career in Music Business are helping artists with their digital content and usually at an accessible price. While many independent artists and bands run on a very small budget, but it’s worth them setting aside a little bit of money to pay for the exposure. If you’re naturally good at posting on social media and writing about music then becoming a content manager for one or several bands might be a great job for you. As you foster the connection between the artists and their fans their career will grow, and so will yours.
