2023 Music Strategies: What Do Artists Need to Focus On For Community Building?
I checked in with 5 artist development experts and asked them all the same question:
"With how quickly the landscape is changing, what do artists need to focus on for engaged community building in 2023?
How do you differentiate between IRL and digital?"
Here's their answers:
1) Naji Grampus - VP of Streaming & Strategy, Sony Orchard
"With a constantly shifting landscape it’s more important than ever to identify where your fans live and double down. If you’re seeing traction on Tik Tok, Twitch, Twitter, IG, go where your fans are.
We’re in a digital world so that’s super important but nothing can replace IRL experiences.
It builds a real connection, shows, activations, and more solidify the artist to fan relationship."
2) Kayvan Daragheh - Director of A&R, GENIUS & Founder, Kayvan’s House
"Artists need to focus on building genuine CONNECTION with their audience through more than the music. They need to learn how to nurture both their online and IRL audiences.
Finding ways to activate both is the key. I think this is achieved through a mixture of engaging content that shows who the artist IS and experiential moments that feel intimate and exclusive - exclusivity of events is something Web3 space has a good model and is a really great way to bring the digital audience outside, the feeling of intimacy at these events is important.
The real challenge artists face is figuring out how to streamline their communities/aggregate them into one place and on a personal level get comfortable with sharing more of themselves with the audience. The days of being an anonymous artist are over, people want to know the artist and go on the journey with them not be sold an image."
3) Jacob Moore - Founder, Pigeons & Planes & Co-founder, No Matter
"The thing I'd like to see more artists focus on in 2023 is connecting with and catering to the ACTIVE fans. Social media data and streaming numbers can be deceiving, and it's easier than ever to go viral and rack up millions of streams on a song.
I see too many artists aiming for those stats instead of considering the fans who are actually going to come to shows, buy merch, and tell their friends about a new song.
As far as IRL vs. digital, connections can be so much more powerful when they happen IRL. A face-to-face encounter with a fan or great concert experience has so much more value than a like on a social post. But I believe artists can nurture that kind of community online too, and it's a result of things like consistent quality, great storytelling, and visual context.
Artists can form those relationships by being thoughtful about the way they move online, whether it's intimate Discord chats, responding to DMs, or treating their online presence creatively instead of just clamoring for attention."
4) Erik Abel - Partner/ Booking Agent, Adler Music Group
"Engagement starts with consistency. Because of the nature of social media algorithms, artists should be posting content multiple times per day.
I know many detest this advice, but it’s important to take advantage of any avenue which allows you to reach potential new fans for free - e.g. Tiktok, Reels, Shorts, etc.
If you're not going to utilize social media, think about what you are doing to create visibility and ensure people are hearing your music.
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Create content which evokes a specific emotion, making the viewer more likely to share the material.
And when people comment and share your material, make sure to engage and show your appreciation.
Once you’ve built an engaged following online, it's important to gain direct access to your fanbase.
Guide fans to a landing page, where you incentivize them to input their email and/or phone number in exchange for something of value, such as a free exclusive song, video, or unique experience.
Even with the rise of virtual concerts, the metaverse, and the ability to watch countless performances from the comfort of your bedroom, we have yet to create a viable alternative for the energy experienced at a live concert.
It will always be essential to tour and allow your community to hear, see, and even meet you in person.
You may not need to tour as extensively as past generations, but touring can be one of your most reliable streams of income, and live performances have the ability to transform a casual fan into a lifelong superfan".
5) Drew de Leon - Co-Founder & Chief Community Officer, The Digilogue
"In a saturated music landscape with 100K songs uploaded to DSPs everyday, artists are faced with a huge challenge to break through.
That's why it's important for artists to not focus on growing followers but on fan building.
As an artist, managing your community is important at all levels.
Whether you're early in your artist career or a seasoned one, it's all about consistency and maintaining a personal relationship. It's easy to say but harder to do everyday.
As a solo artist with no team, the basics of engagement are as simple as responding to fan comments, reposting fan content, and creating an IG group chat for your exclusive content. Find your consistency.
If it can't be daily, find a schedule that makes sense for you like every other day. It can be every Monday and Wednesday, just be consistent.
As you scale as an artist & your fans grow, you can take that IG group & start building out a newsletter or Discord.
You'll have to tap in with your team to manage this, it will be difficult to manage on your own. This keeps your super fans engaged on a scheduled basis without the daily commitment of updates. (cont'd)
There's nothing like an IRL event because it creates special moments for the artist and their fans.
For example, an artist programming a private show only promoted on their IG group chat and newsletter gives an incentive to subscribe.
There's a symbiotic relationship between online and off-line conversations with fans, it's about funneling the fandom between the two.
To my point earlier, you have to be consistent."
President @ Vocana | Where Independent Music Thrives
1yHere's the problem: Artists create Superfans, and Artists aren't given the necessary data from the DSPs, Social Media, Merch Companies, and the like to create and curate those Superfans. Transparent data on individual fans with access to their contact information will boost the Superfan Economy so the Artist can hyper-target those that engage and buy the most. That's why we are building Vocana, so the Artist gets the email, snail, phone, and more of all their fans.
Digital Media Arts and Communications Student at the University of Saint Thomas | Passionate about Creating Impactful Experiences | Strong Work Ethic and Attention to Detail
1yThank you for sharing their insight!
Love this!!! It marches in synch with my own initiatives... even before I became independent myself (leaving Universal to work with George Duke on his 3 independent records for his BPM label), the potential for an independent development organization started to crystallize into: www.virtuosomusic.biz/mclean.html I'm relaunching a new way to present artists in the best light for inauguration and evolution into a local, national and international entity. Solid work Bro!
Graphic Designer at El Nacional - Illustrator | Venezuelan Entertainment Business | Social Media Management
1yHey guys! This article was really interesting to read, and got several conclusions but I have one question: How necessary it is to have an email list and a website nowadays? Is it something that works only for artists with an already consolided fan base and are recognized or does it work for starting artists without a consolided fan base as well? I have this question because, as a gen z that loves music and has always being a fan, I don't actually review much the inside of some emails, and i never see promotion emails and don't look on google for my favorite singer website even though it's a super recognized artist. I'll love to read your answers!! It got me super interested and I truly believe if these professionals mentioned it coulple times it's an eye catching fact to be aware of.
Studio Engineer/artist Development at IXOmusic
2yExcellent advice thank you for sharing!