As technology advancements continue to take place, the music industry continues to shift from talent driven towards marketing driven. How good music is to someone’s ear is beginning to rely on how it sounds rather than the authentic voice of the musician. So, with the additions of auto tune along with better producing sounds anyone can make music sound good with the right production. As long as the musicians producer is good the music is going to be good.
This change in music today has shifted the selling point of music to be more about the marketing of the musician rather than their actual music. Marketing is very important in the music industry, but has only recently grown exponentially. With the addition of the internet and social media, people care more about other people’s lives and stories. This is where the marketing becomes very important. If an artist wants to be successful today they have to be setup up for it early on. The artists need to have a story to go along with their content such as born from a certain area, raised a certain way, participated in specific activities, etc. All in all, as long as the story the artist is trying to tell can grab the attention of all of the listeners out there, the music will just sell by itself. For example: Tekashi 6ix9ine is a new rapper who has already taken the music industry by storm. He claims he is the “king of New York” all the time. Tekashi’s music isn’t the best, but definitely not the worst. He still ends up selling a lot of records and continues to topple the music industry with his rainbow themed story. Many pay attention to him due to the way he looks, talks, sounds, and acts. He claims he was raised up in a gang in Brooklyn, talks like a gangster, looks like a rainbow skittle, and sounds completely different than any other artist before. He is a walking story and many people want to continue to watch his story unfold everyday he is alive. He is a walking marketing campaign and his music is just part of his content that gives him a reason to be on stage and perform. He could put out a clothing line, his own car business, his own real estate firm, etc. no matter what he is the selling point in every discussion.
Whether many agree or disagree with the changes in the music industry, they still cannot deny the fact that music is more about the stories being told rather than the music being made. Marketing is the main selling point and lucky for the marketing teams, social media now exists and is more popular than ever before.
BoweryJE22
I definitely think for artists, story telling through social media is more important than other. Differentiating themselves from other artists and helping fans feel like they have the inside scoop to their daily lives is the best way to sell yourself as an artist.
I find this rather annoying personally. I am a musician myself so I really take note in the actual talent of the musician and their musicianship. I find it interesting that the society doesn’t really care what the music is as long as other people say that its cool. This really drives me away from mainstream music even if it is good due to the high marketing and money put into it and the fame of the artists.