In today’s digital age, social media consumes nearly every
aspect of our lives; we use it to share moments, keep in touch, learn or
discover new things, and much more. It is nearly impossible to find someone who
does not have an account with at least one social network. As a result, our
generation has now been given access to not just the lives of our friends and
family, but also the lives of the famous and talented. Twitter, more
specifically, has been extremely successful in bringing together musicians and
their biggest fans. Being active on this social network is proving to be an
essential marketing and promotional tool for these artists; it allows them to
interact with their audience while also gaining new fans and making sales.
According to Viacom, "Millennial music fans demand
not just a VIP pass, but full-on access to their favorite celebrities, artists
and entertainment experiences” (Hillhouse). Fans expect these artists to be on
social media constantly and connecting with them in the process. Twitter, which
has already surpassed 241 million monthly active users, allows musicians to
talk to their fans, share content, and give users a glimpse into their lives
with photos and videos (Protalinski). In fact, “Eight of the ten most followed
Twitter accounts are musicians, with teen favourites Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga
and Katy Perry claiming the top three spots, each boasting over 35m followers”
(Bauer). The Guardian also found that, when they broadened the scope to the 100
most followed accounts, half of them were still musicians (Bauer).
Twitter has even added “Twitter Music” which allows users to
discover new music based on the musicians they follow. The more musicians you
follow, the more accurate Twitter’s music suggestions for you will be (Schroeder).
Therefore, users are even more encouraged to engage with their favorite artists
via the social network. This could potentially draw in more music fans to
Twitter and make it a music hotspot.
While it is not yet clear whether or not Twitter Music will
be successful, the social network still enables artists to market and promote
themselves to millions in other ways. The Black Keys, for example, just
advertised the release of their eighth album by making the announcement on
Twitter. With only 608 thousand followers, the Keys made the genius decision to
have the famous Mike Tyson tweet it from his account instead. Tyson has 4.5
million followers. By announcing their album on his account, the Keys not only
introduced the music industry to a new marketing strategy, but they also
exposed several more million people to their music which should help them sell
more records (Payne).
It is clear that people are turning to Twitter to both
discuss music and interact with the musicians themselves. This is not always
positive or in good taste, however. There have been several instances where
stars have gotten into Twitter wars or used the social network to bash each
other. For example, Miley Cyrus recently lashed out at Katy Perry after they
shared a kiss at one of Miley’s concerts. Perry claimed in a TV interview that
the kiss was too much because “God knows where that tongue has been”
(Lipshutz). Cyrus responded by tweeting a photo of the interview with the
caption “Girl if ur worried abt where tongues have been good thing ur ex boo is
ur EX BOO cause we ALL know where THAT [tongue emoji] been” (Lipshutz). Nasty
comments are frequently made by music fans as well, so much so that Jimmy
Kimmel Live featured a special music edition of “Mean Tweets.” In the Kimmel
skit, famous musicians such as Pharrell Williams, John Mayer, and Selena Gomez,
read and react to tweets from their biggest haters.
Regardless of this hate, Twitter is definitely getting
listeners talking and making it easier for artists to reach their audiences,
especially for the smaller and less popular musicians who might not find
success with traditional media options. In this day and age, social media
triumphs over radio, TV, and print in terms of engaging the modern music fan.
Social networks and apps simply reach a larger portion of the public than any
other media platform. As technology continues to advance and everything moves
online, I believe we will see more and more businesses, professionals,
celebrities, and artists using social media as a tool to market themselves and
their products. For musicians specifically, social networks like Twitter will
grow to be the best way for them to market themselves and engage with their
audiences simultaneously.
Works cited:
Bauer, David. "The 100 Most Popular Musicians on
Twitter." The Guardian. Guardian
News and Media, 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/apr/19/twitter-music-app-100-most-followed-musicians>.
Hillhouse, Allison. "MTV's 'Music to the M
Power.'" Blog.Viacom 5 June 2013. Web.
Lipshutz, Jason. "Miley Cyrus Lashes Out At Katy Perry
on Twitter." Billboard. N.p., 6
Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5930137/miley-cyrus-lashes-out-at-katy-perry-on-twitter>.
"Mean Tweets - Music Edition." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu5Oo23G67w>.
"Music and Social Media: Where Fans Meet Artists."
Telegraph.co.uk. Apr 09 2013. ProQuest.
Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Payne, Chris. "Black Keys Announce New Album 'Turn
Blue' Via Mike Tyson's Twitter." Billboard. N.p., 21 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5944798/black-keys-announce-new-album-turn-blue-via-mike-tysons-twitter>.
Protalinski, Emil. "Twitter Passes 241 Million Monthly
Active Users." TNW. N.p., 5 Feb.
2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
<http://thenextweb.com/twitter/2014/02/05/twitter-passes-million-monthly-active-users-x-million-mobile-users/#!AWGo0>.
Schroeder, Stan. "Why Twitter Music Is Good News for
Artists." Mashable. N.p., 18 Apr.
2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
<http://mashable.com/2013/04/18/twitter-music-artists/>.
According to “Radio By The Numbers,” more than 240 million Americans listen to the radio every week. Even more, 92% of millennials listen to the radio, and people listen to the radio for approximately 2.5 hours per day (Radio By The Numbers). Music is popular across all age groups, but with so many millennials listening to music, I think it is important to cater to the needs of this demographic. For example, Pandora is a great way for listeners to learn about new artists and hear new songs. Also, this demographic has a huge prevalence on social media. Many people of this age group have a Twitter, and use this social media site to follow their favorite musicians.
ReplyDeleteI think that Twitter is a great way for musicians to interact with fans. People love feeling that they have a connection with their favorite musician, and are getting a sneak peek into their personal lives. I know that I follow a lot of musicians on Twitter, and I usually learn about the latest news through this platform. Many musicians announce album release dates on Twitter, or announce their plans for a tour. Following musicians on Twitter also provides extra perks, and followers can interact at a deeper level. I think Twitter is a great way for musicians to keep fans interested, and to gain new fans.
I have never heard of “Twitter Music” before, but I think it sounds like a great concept. With people already engaging with their favorite artists on Twitter, this is a great way for new artists to get their name out there, and provides for great promotion. According to “Getting Appy: How Artists Use Music Apps to Engage Fans,” the entertainment industry is always looking for new ways to stay in touch with fans and provide a more personal experience. “In a digital world where the entire entertainment industry is scrambling to engage with fans, the music app is coming to the rescue” (Nielsen). Lady Gaga provided an app to fans that was a huge success. “An app like Lady Gaga’s, for example, not only gives her Little Monsters access to interesting content, but it keeps the artist on the forefront of her fans’ minds” (Nielsen). This app helped increase sales of her album Artpop, and many of the songs became fan favorites.
“Music app revenues on iOS and Android grew by 77% in 2013, with Pandora topping the chart as the highest earning music app in the world” (Music Week). This statistic shows that people want more of an inside look into the lives of their favorite musicians. People love staying up to date with the latest news, and always having the latest information. People love music, and I think it is great that there are apps that allow fans to have more of an experience when listening to music by their favorite musicians.
I definitely agree that more people will utilize Twitter to reach a larger audience. Many companies and small businesses have Twitter accounts that help spread the word about who they are and what they do. Twitter is a great marketing tool, and after seeing the success that many musicians have had with the site, I definitely think that Twitter will expand and become a stronger platform with more functions.
Works Cited:
"Getting Appy: How Artists Use Music Apps To Engage Fans." Nielsen. 21 Nov 2013: n. page. Print.
Jones, Rhian. "Music app revenues up 77% in 2013, Pandora highest earner- report." Music Week. 31 Jan 2014: n. page. Print.
"Radio Delivers." Radio By The Numbers 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar 2014.
Jeanie this was an interesting read and what really caught my attention was how you said 8/10 of the top people on twitter with the most followers were musicians. The reason being was because it surprised me just how popular music is now-a-days. I would have thought that famous actors or actresses would top these lists but it just goes to show where music is at in terms of its popularity.
ReplyDelete“According to analytics firm App Annie, which measured revenues from Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play (including in-app purchases), music is now the third biggest app category for revenues, just behind games and social networking” (Jones). In this quote you can see how much revenue music apps are creating. It is currently the third most behind games and social networking apps. With your post being about music using social networking sites I could see why the two of them go hand in hand. The amount of possible revenue between the two is enormous and by branching together it will only increase in my opinion. With famous musicians trying to get more people to hear their music, social networking sites are a great way to gain listeners. Specifically twitter because it allows the fans to follow their favorite musicians and see what their up to on a day to day basis. It also lets them keep up to date with upcoming song or record releases by these musicians.
“Earlier this year at SXSW, we reported that artists and labels can amp up their revenue streams by offering fans access to exclusive content. And apps are a great way to do that—as well as boost overall engagement. An app like Lady Gaga’s, for example, not only gives her Little Monsters access to interesting content, but it keeps the artist on the forefront of her fans’ minds. Gaga’s album app allows fans to listen to the Artpop album (if you’ve already purchased it), create animated gifs, access song lyrics, see a countdown for additional content, and play around with a number of other nifty features. Artpop sold over 250,000 units in the first week, and two singles have become quick faves: fans have downloaded “Applause” more than 1.7 million times to date, and recent single “Do What U Want” is building momentum, having been downloaded 230,000 times to date. We have also seen very active streaming with “Applause” over 46 million streams to date and “Do What U Want” at 48 million streams to date” (Nielsen). In this quote it made me realize the amount of different things musicians can do with their music on apps. Nielsen mentions that Lady Gaga allows here fans (Little Monsters) to not only listen to her music but to create animated gifs, access song lyrics, as well as many other features that they can dabble with. I could see a rise in these types of apps coming because of the success that Lady Gaga has had with hers.
I myself have followed musicians that I enjoy listening to primarily for record release dates. Keeping up to date with when a record I’m looking forward to is about to drop is something unique when the artists themselves are the ones tweeting about. Sometimes they will post clips or previews to some of their songs which makes me more interested. Ultimately I think that musicians can really generate an enormous profit through the use of social media. Twitter is the perfect fit for it and I won’t be surprised when Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber create their own apps if they haven’t already.
“Music app revenues up 77% in 2013, Pandora highest earner – report.” Jones. 31 Jan 2014: n. page. Print.
"Getting Appy: How Artists Use Music Apps To Engage Fans." Nielsen. 21 Nov 2013: n. page. Print.
Jeanie
ReplyDeleteThe points that you made within your post were interesting and I have never personally heard of twitter music before now. On the other hand, I am not surprised that Twitter is the leader within the media world, especially when it comes to musicians connecting with their fans. As stated within the study “ MTV’s music to the M power” which discusses the millennial generation it states that “ Artist as friends, today, there’s no exception for direct interaction between fans and musicians. Millennia’s crave intimate daily activities of their favorite celebrities” (Hillhouse 2013). As well as directly talks about Twitter in that what our generation as millennial’s expects from our connection with artists within the social world is that it “offers a blow-by-blow feed and highlights interactions”(Hillhouse 2013). Like stated in our original post, today is the day and age where everyone is connected somehow to the media world whether it be to connect with interpersonal groups such as friends and families. Or on the other hand to connect with celebrities that we have no personal interaction with or to have both types of connections.
Unfortunately I just read an article that stated in regards to the existing concept of Twitter music that “It wasn’t that #Music was a bad idea—music fans are obviously on Twitter, and many even discover artists through the service—it was just an unnecessary one. So when Twitter announced last week that #Music is being removed from the iTunes App Store and will cease working as an app on April 18, it was met with a collective, “Wait, was that still a thing?”(Watercutter 2014). Maybe it was not interesting to the users or maybe it was not promoted well enough and instead just started appearing and not enough people had exposure to the concept but it seems as though this is the first media flop that Twitter has experienced. In a way they should be applauded in regards that they have managed to keep a squeaky clean reputation for having some many users and popularity. Also stated within this article was that in regards to the industry and the massive challenges that music apps face is that “But the death of #Music could also be an indicator of something larger. Even the established services like Spotify have yet to make a profit” (Wattercutter 2014). The challenge that the music providing apps and internet services face have recently been addressed more and more in that the industry has a lot to adapt to. Services such as Spotify and Pandora are losing profit of not making any profit at all. As stated within the “ Pandora and Spotify rake in the money and often send it off in royalties” that “ Pandora, which went public last summer, has never had a profitable year and in its most recently reported quarter lost $20 million on $81 million in revenue. Spotify’s accounts for the last year, show that it lost $57 million in 2011, despite an increase in revenue to $236 million” ( Sisario 2012).
Works cited:
1. Hillhouse, Allison. "MTV's 'Music to the M Power.'" Blog.Viacom 5 June 2013. Web.
2. Sisario, Ben. “Pandora and Spotify Rake in the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties.” Media Decoder (New York Times blog) 24 Aug. 2012. Web.
3. Wattercutter, Angela. "Twitter #Music Died Because No One Even Knew It Existed." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 23 Mar. 0014. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .