Introduction
The main focus of this research is the use of social media, especially by the people that consume music. There is a relation in how the two relate, and they have an audience. Music is discovered mainly by the use of social media. This has led to the artist advertising it online and an increase in the audience for this musician on social media. There have been platforms that have increased, with music stream platforms being cheap and even becoming free.
However, there is a different review on the use of social media according to an article published by the Guardian. The Guardian has published the negative side effects of social media in the advertisement and the sharing of music. This is contrary to what Forbes has shown. The two will be compared, and a conclusion will be obtained.
With such progression, it is therefore important to research the involved audience. Social media has affected the scene in four phases. The phases include access to content, a sense of affinity, participation, interaction, and social identity. This study is therefore important for a different group of people. The first set is the artists’ managers, as they have to find a way to get to the audience. The second set is the artists. They have to ensure that they create a following and continue advertising.
The audience is also dependent on social media to know what is happening in the music scene. The fans that are mainly affected are those that want to keep up. The media houses should also get involved as this is where they get their information from. The advertising team has to ensure that they understand social media algorithms. They need to know the difference between advertisements on social media and the media houses. They also need to understand the target audience and how to ensure that the advert gets to them.
Literature review
For this research, the main focus will be on articles that focus on the effect of social media advertisement. Different sources share different views on the music industry. The major one used for this research is Forbes. Forbes has given a major review on what billboard music is doing in collaboration with Facebook and other social media platforms to access audiences. The audience gives reviews, and from this, they can give feedback and rate the musicians involved in the making of the music. Billboard and other major streaming sites such as Spotify use the information provided by social media platforms to get the required feedback and hence know what to recommend to a given group of people.
According to the article published by Forbes, social media comes with different advantages to the music industry. Digital marketing has transformed the music industry. The majority of people use social media daily. This advantage means that the music is more visible to a given audience. Social media allows engagement with the brand, the musician, and the management. The reviews have given online have been known to affect the radio play on most music as media houses also keep up with what the audience wants.
The audience can interact with the artist and other fans by using social media. People who share the same music tastes have a chance to talk to each other and develop a way to make the music have more airplay. From the reshares on diffrer=nt social media platforms, more people get to discover the music, which can create a trend. Using social media also means that the music can be accessed globally. Since social media platforms are accessible globally and free in all countries, more people will get access.
The advertisement does not need as much money compared to the media houses. Creating social media accounts and handles is free, and this means that all the musician or brand has to create a following and ensure that the fans help in the re-sharing of the music links. With a single post, people can access the advertisement, even those who do not follow the brand and depending on what they have released, and they will attract the fans who share the same music taste.
Using streaming sites, musicians can know what the audience thinks of their music. the audience gives their reviews, and hence they understand what is needed from them the next time they have to release the music. the musicians use these reviews also to know where their music stands with the audience.
Disadvantages of social media use in the music industry
The use of social media platform is free and is accessible at all times. However, Forbes reported that most the musicians and brands do not have the time to ensure that their posts are making waves on social media. This means that they have to hire an agency or freelancers to manage their social media. This can be an extra cost and is also expensive. Hiring social media can be more expensive than using media houses. The musician has to weigh the cost and the returns they expect to get from the music. They also have to consider that social media is the major way to share the music in this era and hence have to decide if they are willing to pay the extra cost.
Social media marketing may be free, but it is also time-consuming. Interactions online mean that the musician has to answer the comments, make the posts, read the reviews, and develop the perfect way to make the advertisement. This means that their accounts have to be managed regularly and have people monitoring them all day and night. This is where the extra cost comes from.
Social media does not only give a platform for music marketing but other businesses too. It is from this effect that it becomes distracting. There are ads that pop up, and they are mainly business-oriented. The musician has to compete with the other items that are using the platform for marketing, and from this, they will get to reach more people.
Sharing of music on social media has also given room for copyright and music being pirated. This has been a major concern even before using social media, but this has worsened with the introduction of social media. Different bodies have been developed to help counter this, but they have not had any success and are still in the process of ensuring that they can counter the effect of copyright. Musicians report the loss of music from this copyright issue, and with social media, they cannot access the people responsible for the copyright.
Conclusion
Social media has been used for various functions, and music marketing is one of the major ones. People have found ways to advertise the music, seeing the music scene become global. Music has found a way to defy the boundaries, and by using social media, this has been pushed further. There are different as social media has made this possible like making it accessible at any time, creating a platform for interaction with the musicians, and creating the reviews based on what the people have reported on the topic. Therefore, it is important that the members of the industry use this to their advantage and study how to manage how they advertise their content. They also need to ensure that they do so on platforms and sites that are trusted to prevent the negative effect of using social media if they have to upload music.
From the research on the different sources, Forbes is more convincing as they have highlighted the different ways the marketing has taken place. They also name the platforms used and how they have worked hand in hand to get the results. It has ensured that it is up to date. It is from this comparison that the article by Forbes is preferable. The audience will understand the music scene and know the effects of the use of social media. Forbes has to ensure that they also focus on the disadvantages of using social media to give the article a balance of both sides. By involving the disadvantages the review will be complete and it will share on both sides of social media marketing.
References
Järvekülg, Madis, and Patrik Wikström. “The emergence of promotional gatekeeping and converged local music professionals on social media.” Convergence (2021): 13548565211032376.
Chen, Yunxi, and Weng Si Clara Lei. “Behavioral study of social media followers of a music event: a case study of a Chinese music festival.” Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights (2021).
Edlom, Jessica. “The Engagement Imperative: Experiences of Communication Practitioners’ Brand Work in the Music Industry.” Media and Communication 10.1 (2022): 66-76.
Forbes, Melissa. “Learning to Make a Difference: Value Creation in Social Learning Spaces.” (2021): 1035719X211038767.
Marone, Vittorio, and Ruben C. Rodriguez. ““What’s so awesome with YouTube”: Learning music with social media celebrities.” Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies 9.4 (2019): e201928.
Llopis-Amorós, Maria-Pilar, et al. “Social media communications and festival brand equity: Millennials vs Centennials.” Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 40 (2019): 134-144.
write