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? And do artists still need the backing of a major record label in order to succeed? Limit: 6 responses
Artists have opportunities now more than ever to get their music seen by the world. With the ability to promote tracks on social media, getting a tune stuck in a user’s head is easy. Getting it trending may be a little more tricky, but one platform has shown insane growth for music: TikTok.
ReplyDeleteThe impact of TikTok on the music industry shows that artists have found a new and successful way to promote their music. There are three great examples to showcase this phenomenon.
Curtis Waters’ chat with Billboard showed some insight into how impactful TikTok has been for him, and his rise to fame demonstrates how artists don’t necessarily need to be signed to a label to be successful. He even said, “I realized I don’t need a label. This is going to be huge on his own.” (Cirisano). While I didn’t recognize the song based on the title or his name, I ran to TikTok to see if I knew it. Sure enough, the clip that went viral on TikTok was all too familiar to me. However, my lack of knowledge about Curtis Waters’ specifically may show that while it’s easier to go viral on TikTok, becoming known is a whole different battle of its own.
But one artist who had no previous claim to fame was able to break out and become a star. Lil Nas X’s song “Old Town Road” first went viral on TikTok, only to become “the longest-running No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 62-year history” (Unterberger). Like Waters, who was also struggling before his song “Stunnin’” went viral, Lil Nas X was having problems of his own. According to Business Insider, he “decided to drop out of college in the summer of 2018 after just a year at Georgia University. He crashed at his sister’s house while he pursued a music career” (Leskin). Now, thanks to the popularity of “Old Town Road”, Lil Nas X has gone on to create more successful songs such as
“Panini”, “Holiday”, and “Rodeo”. He has also developed a strong public image, specifically as an openly gay, black man who isn’t afraid to express his more feminine side.
These are just two examples of artists who were able to find their beginnings on TikTok. And at the time, neither were signed to a label.
However, there are two sides to TikTok’s impact on the music industry. Just recently, Kid Cudi expressed his distaste for his song being used as a trend, saying he wasn’t flattered by how it was being used. There is also public debate about how overused a song can be on TikTok, effectively ruining the enjoyment that may come out of it. But overall, it gives more visibility for small and big artists alike.
Cirisano, Tatiana. "From TikTok To Handmade Merch, Independent Artists Talk Staying
Afloat In the Pandemic." Billboard 14 Nov. 2020.
Leskin, Paige. “The Life and Rise of Lil Nas X, the 'Old Town Road' Singer Who Went Viral on
TikTok and Just Won His First 2 Grammys.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 27 Jan. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/lil-nas-x-old-town-road-tiktok-life-rise-bio-2019-8.
Unterberger, Andrew. "How TikTok Became Gen Z's MTV." Billboard 19 Dec. 2020.
Alyssa Murhy - Part 1
ReplyDeleteThere are three key ingredients to becoming a successful artist in the music industry: money, connections, and luck. This is an unfortunate truth.
With the on-demand streaming model of music distribution on the rise, artist interest and potential for newfound success has declined. Artists’ primary source of income are the royalties they make from their music, but royalty payment rates are extremely low. Artists earn “about $0.012 per song stream on Apple Music or $0.003 per song stream on Spotify” (Corcoran).
Based on this data, it is clear that artists have a difficult time finding success today without the backing of a label. A label will fund the production, promotions, and distribution of an artist’s music, while independent artists are left to do this alone. With little income from their streaming numbers, this is nearly impossible.
Tatiana Cirisano notes that “The majority of independent artists earn under $10,000 a year from music” (Cirisano). Due to this, artists have to find other ways to earn money outside of music. This limits the time and effort they can put into their craft, lowering their potential for success. Along with this, the low income numbers make it nearly impossible for artists to work in music in general, because it becomes difficult to fund quality artistry and obtain proper equipment.
This issue has been so heavily discussed recently, that Soundcloud has even taken to finding a solution. Soundcloud has been in the process of pitching/testing new business models, one of which includes “a new payment model that would allow you to pay your favorite musicians directly” (Trutschel). They understand the troubles with underfunding artists, and are experimenting with taking this large industry-wide issue into their own hands.
Alyssa Murphy - Part 2
ReplyDeleteUntil this issue can be formally tackled, independent artists have to go through other routes to fund their artistry. They make a large amount of their income through creating/selling merchandise and touring; however, these channels aren’t too successful when the only people utilizing them are people from the artist’s direct fanbase, which often starts incredibly small, and struggles to grow without the promotional reach that a major label has. Even with TikTok’s reach for independent artists and their music, one has to be extremely strategic and lucky for their sound to land and go viral.
The growth and power of major record labels has made it extremely difficult for artists to find success independently, and the structure of major labels themselves makes it difficult for independent artists to eventually reach them. Having a networking type of connection to a record label, or possessing the funds to support yourself through an independent music career up until you get lucky enough to reach the right talent scout/label are the most surefire ways to be successful in music today.
Even so, once an artist reaches the level of being signed to a label, it is difficult to define what “successful” even means. Labels are making nearly $1 million per hour from streaming revenue, yet the money is unevenly distributed. Naturally, some of the money goes into funding an artist’s commercial success -- this is the purpose of a label. However, a large sum of the money tends to be hoarded and distributed to higher-level management (Corcoran). So, yes, an artist can be commercially “successful” and sign a record deal with a label, but this does not mean they are as financially successful as they should be, which can eventually stifle their creativity and is a major ethical industry issue. Being successful in music is both difficult to achieve and difficult to sustain.
Works Cited:
DeleteBonifacic, I. "SoundCloud May Let Fans Support Artists Directly." Engadget 5 Feb. 2021,
https://www.engadget.com/soundcloud-direct-payment-report-220258764.html
Cirisano, Tatiana. "From TikTok To Handmade Merch, Independent Artists Talk Staying Afloat In the Pandemic." Billboard 14 Nov. 2020,
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9483133/tiktok-handmade-merch-independent-artists-pandemic-strategies-revenue/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_term=daily_digest
Corcoran, Nina. “Major Labels Make $1 Million an Hour off Streaming.” Consequence of Sound, 26 Feb. 2020, consequenceofsound.net/2020/02/major-labels-million-streaming-profits/.
Doug Cahn
ReplyDeleteWhat makes a musician successful? That is a question that everyone in the music industry asks. To me, it's a mix of multiple things such as downloads on streaming services, views on YouTube, merch and ticket sales, and radio play. To be successful in the music industry, people need to hear your music, and if it isn't properly circulated, there is no way you will grow as a musician. Most musicians also have a target demographic, and they don't try to get people interested in their music that doesn't care. Still, the people who do care and do like their music will tell their piers, enabling their popularity to grow and help them become more successful. Another big part of music today is social media and properly optimizing it in growing your brand. A great recent example of this is Olivia Rodrigo with her new song Drivers License, which gained massive fame due to Tik Tok. In a Wall Street Journal article, they talk about how much attention the song gained "According to Billboard, it was streamed 76.1 million times and sold 38,000 downloads in the U.S. in its first week of release. On January 11, it set Spotify's record for most streams in a day (for a non-holiday song) with over 15.17 million global streams. It beat that handily with 17.01 million streams the following day." (Tanzer) The proper usage of social media is now vital to the growth of a musician. Another big way for a musician to gain success is to continue practicing and getting better. When you gain an audience, people will want to hear new music, so continued practice will only make things better. A quote from proaudioland.com says, "The success of a musician lies in his daily practice. Successful musicians make practicing a vital thing like breathing and eating. Passion for music is not enough to achieve a career in music, practicing every day is what helps one to grow and improvise in music. By practicing daily, a musician rises above others." (Proaudio) A big positive from social media's growth is that people don't need to be signed by a major music label to gain success and fame. With social media rapidly growing, people can hear an unknown's music and help them grow. The driving force in this is Tik Tok, and how huge it is becoming is allowing musicians to grow at an insane rate. A great example is Lil Nas X and Old Town Road "One of the app's earliest and biggest success stories is Lil Nas X, whose "Old Town Road" first went viral as the soundtrack to a TikTok meme before eventually becoming the longest-running No. 1 in the Hot 100's 62-year history." (Unterberger) All in all, the music industry is in an amazing place, and you could see a lot of people gain success in music today.
Tanzer, Myles. “Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Became the World's Biggest Song Via TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 21 Jan. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409.
“Common Characteristics Of Successful Musicians: ProAudioLand Musician News.” ProAudioLand, proaudioland.com/news/common-traits-successful-musicians/#:~:text=Successful%20musicians%20practice%20a%20lot%2C%20day%20and%20night.&text=The%20success%20of%20a%20musician,grow%20and%20improvise%20in%20music.
UNTERBERGER, andrew. “How TikTok Became Gen Z’s MTV.” WWW.BILLBOARD.COM.
I have a lot to say about this topic since music is a big part of my life and hopefully the industry I will be working in, in the future. What it takes for an artist to be successful is their hard work and determination to get to where they want to be. That also means not giving up when things get hard and having the will to start over when all fails. We hear about so many artists that didn’t make it into the music industry until years after trial and error. There are many ways for artists to promote their work, and its only gotten easier with the social media platforms developed in the recent years. You can become a famous artist in the blink of an eye by just putting your music out on the internet and you can do it for FREE. Platforms like Spotify, Soundcloud, and now TikTok are the apps that help artists promote their work and make a name for themselves. According to an article from Billboard, “TikTok has become a breeding ground for unexpected hits from chart newcomers, from oddball pop songs like BENEE’s “Supalonely” to nontraditional rap tracks like Sada Baby’s electro-fied “Whole Lotta Choppas” (Unterberger). This goes to show that the internet has been a major key for the underrated artists. Another example is the artist Doja Cat, she was making music way back when, but it wasn’t until TikTok came out that her songs became popular hits. In an article on Insider, Tenbarge says “Her song ‘Candy’ was released in 2016, on her "Purrr!" EP, but it gained enough TikTok fame in 2019 that it charted at #86 on the Billboard 200 in December.” This is a great example with Doja Cat because now most of her music takes up the TikTok “for you page” because of viral dances people created and linked to her songs.
ReplyDeleteI think TikTok is by far biggest gateway into the music industry at the moment. So many people use it, from children to young adults to elders, it has become one of the top social media platforms. I also feel that the pandemic has had a huge impact on the app’s success because it’s a great way to pass time, which a lot of people needed during lockdown. The most recent hit sensation that happened overnight was Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’ song, I have never heard a song played so many times. It was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, “According to Billboard, it was streamed 76.1 million times and sold 38,000 downloads in the U.S. in its first week of release” (Tanzer).
I believe this can prove that artists don’t need to be signed to a major record label in order to succeed. Platforms can help you gain success and then can possibly get you a major record label deal. But it is not necessary to be a great artist. My last reason for believing this is because I am currently interning at a company called “Sonicbids”, which is located in Brooklyn. What this company does is help musicians/bands get gigs and also help live music venues (bars, theaters, cafes, etc.) get musicians. I have come across musicians with small followings all the way from Arkansas (a very random place) and I have also come across musicians with a big following from California. No, these people are not going to be the next Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift but they love what they do. I have talked to some that travel and play gigs all around the U.S. and I have talked to people that play a ton of local venues. I could go on, but I think it proves the point that you can be happy and be a successful artist without the huge record deal. Success is mostly determined in the eyes of its beholder.
ReplyDeleteTanzer, Myles. “Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Became the World's Biggest Song Via TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 21 Jan. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409.
Unterberger, Andrew. "How TikTok Became Gen Z's MTV." Billboard 19 Dec. 2020.
Tenbarge, Kat. Doja Cat Harnessed VIRAL Moments to REACH No. 1 on Billboard, but Her Online Past Has Also Resulted in Controversial Moments for the 'Say So' Singer. 26 May 2020, www.insider.com/doja-cat-songs-bio-famous-tiktok-dance-say-so-2020-3.
Rachel Feliciano
ReplyDeleteDr. Burns
MSS-495
March 16, 2021
Music Blog 5
Question 3 (1/2)
There tends to be a lot of pressure when it comes to an artist who is arising to fame. But, how did they make it that far?
For an artist to reach success their music usually is to receive a lot of attention, which leads them to need professional support from a team that can assist their rise of fame to continue successfully putting out music. According to an article from Forbes, there are six steps when it comes to musicians breaking into the music industry. The six steps consist of “1. Master your craft, 2. Decide your message, 3. Record, Record, Record, 4. Market and promote yourself, 5. Network to build a team, and 6. Believe in yourself” (Fox, 2019). These steps were created by Walter Tucker, the President and Founder of a three-year-old start-up company called LiveThe.Biz, aimed at “mentoring, empowering, and educating musicians in urban communities.” This organization has already become one of the “fastest-growing music education platforms for indie artists, college students, and aspiring executives, with over 12,000 professional members”, which only will benefit artists and professionals within the music industry. LiveThe.Biz has hosted sold-out music education panels in the top music cities (NYC, LA, Atlanta, and Nashville), those feature minority executives from major record labels, streaming companies, and music television networks. The educational panel had led members to have found jobs at entertainment companies while even securing deals with record companies as well. This company is a great way for artists to get their foot in the door when it comes to accessing fame in “Hollywood”. The overall goal for the company is to create a connection between artists, executives, and entertainment brands, which can be the major helping hand for an artist who is looking to reach success in the music industry.
Artists are successful once their work reaches a large amount of listens and approvals. For an artist to reach a large amount of listens and approvals they need to share their work in a way where people will be able to access it, and also share it with others. In an article by Billboard, Curtis Waters an independent artist talks about staying relevant during the pandemic. It is hard enough for artists to promote themselves and their work from a marketing standpoint, but now that the national pandemic has hit it is much harder and forces artists to think of different ways to share their work and selves with the rest of the world. Curtis Waters's way of sharing himself and his work with the world would be by creating a TikTok account that is filled with promoting his new single. The account consisted of clever digital marketing and unexpected timing of posts after Waters studied online music marketing from tutorials. After consistently posting, it took two weeks for Waters’s song to take off which then led to major-label offers. Artists need to think of different ways to promote their work, but most recently the main way for an artist to promote their work is through social media, specifically TikTok. TikTok gives the artist the ability to share whatever content they would want while also being able to put it on users’ “For You Page”, which will allow more people to view their content and give them the ability to like it and share it with others.
Music Blog 5
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3 (2/2)
Another TikTok example when it comes to artists promoting themselves would be Olivia Rodrigo’s hit Drivers License. In an article from the Wall Street Journal, Tanzer talks about how Olivia Rodrigo’s song Drivers License became the biggest hit in the world overnight. Olivia got a lot of attention on social media after posting a clip of her song. Which led her to then go to the studio with producer Daniel Nigro to record the song and later record a music video for the song. This all happened so fast for Olivia due to a large amount of popularity and attention the song got. Social media is the biggest way for an artist to promote themselves and their music, it gives viewers a different lens into their life making their very own social media accounts have more of a personal feel. Although Olivia Rodrigo already had a large following and was known for her acting in a Disney+ series, this song went viral for the music not the following of Olivia. This shows how much power a social media platform like TikTok can have in the music industry for just about anyone who is looking to share their work. Yet to continue making music the right way by generating an income from it, there needs to be professional help. The professional help is what can benefit artists into creating a following or some kind of fanbase for their work. Many artists are pushed to sign with a major record label to continue their fame and success, otherwise, most tend to stay as one-hit wonders.
Sharing your music and getting attention comes with a lot of stress and responsibility, especially when it turns into a success. To continue making that success there needs to be some kind of organized help to put the artist on the right track of having a bright future. Major record labels are key to make an artist stay successful and put out content for a lot of people to enjoy.
Work Cited
Cirisano, Tatiana. "From TikTok To Handmade Merch, Independent Artists Talk Staying Afloat In the Pandemic." Billboard 14 Nov. 2020,
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9483133/tiktok-handmade-merch-independent-artists-pandemic-strategies-revenue/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_term=daily_digest
Fox, MeiMei. “How To Make It In The Music Industry.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 Feb. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/02/13/how-to-make-it-in-the-music-industry/?sh=1b7b0eea1a65.
Tanzer, Myles. "Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’ Became the World’s Biggest Song Via TikTok." Wall Street Journal 21 Jan. 2021,
https://www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409
Adam Tollin
ReplyDeleteMedia Trends Blog 5
Nowadays, a lot of successful artists within the music industry are constantly releasing new music that the general public appears to like consistently. Usually, an artist has to have one really great song that makes it to the top of the charts for a few days to get really noticed. Sometimes an artist that is already successful will take upcoming artists under their wing to promote them and make them better. However, if you’ve simply got what it takes, you can do everything yourself, and get to the top.
I happen to have a few friends who are trying to insert themselves into the music industry. Honestly, at this point, they have inserted themselves into the industry. They’ve acquired small fan bases and have their work featured on different social media accounts. They upload their music to SoundCloud for free, and if it gets good feedback, they’ll master the song and put it on Apple Music and Spotify.
According to an article on Wall Street Journal, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” became the world’s biggest song because of TikTok. It was the number one song on Billboard’s Hot 100 which artists can only dream about (Tanzer). This app has made numerous up and coming artists instantly blow up. Some songs will be lucky enough to have a trend attached to them, giving it even more attention.
One of my many musical friends, Ryan Leahan, is an up-and-coming artist from Philadelphia, and makes amazing music. He posted his debut album to Spotify and Apple Music back in 2017, and since then has started to make a name for himself. I’m mentioning him specifically because he made a song called “My Little”, and it got huge because of TikTok. Four years later, “My Little” has over 10 million views on Spotify, and Ryan is going to be a star.
Once again, my friends have proven that you do not necessarily need the backing of a record label to succeed. My other friends, Tyler, Elroy, and Spence have all received multiple offers from record labels for either one or more of their songs. They keep refusing because they think they can make more money on their own. Tyler explained to me once how if you can make it on your own, do it, because the record label will take control of everything, and you’ll make less money as an artist. Also, according to an article on Engadget, SoundCloud might start letting fans support artists by directly paying them. You’d be able to tip your favorite artists, making it more like the company Bandcamp. Currently, SoundCloud is free for listeners, but costs money for the artists. With the pandemic, artists can’t get out and promote themselves, so paying for a SoundCloud account while making no money could end up hurting SonudCloud. So, they chose to be proactive, and consider direct support from fans to artists.
Works Cited
Cirisano, Tatiana. “From TikTok To Handmade Merch, Independent Artists Talk Staying Afloat In the Pandemic.” Billboard, 20 Nov. 2020, www.billboard.com/articles/business/9483133/tiktok-handmade-merch-independent-artists-pandemic-strategies-revenue/.
Tanzer, Myles. “Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Became the World's Biggest Song Via TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 21 Jan. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409.
Bonifacic, Igor. “SoundCloud May Let Fans Support Artists Directly.” Engadget, 5 Feb. 2021, www.engadget.com/soundcloud-direct-payment-report-220258764.html.