Social Media A Growing Concern For Aussie Artists | theMusic.com.au
The second ever GYRO current survey identified the main roadblocks currently facing Australian artists.
The GYROstream team doubled the survey size from the first intake last year and collected responses from over 300 artists from Australia and New Zealand. Contestants were asked how they distribute and promote their music in the digital and social media-led era, the biggest challenges, and how viable a music career is for emerging independent artists.
The ubiquity of social media, marketing and promotional potential, and its dominance in how people discover new content, raises concerns among the people surveyed. In 2022, the results found that the most important aspects of promoting new releases are getting on playlists and gaining social media engagement.
Instagram is the most used social media platform, with the exceptional success that TikTok has with stream numbers appearing in people’s replies. Viral videos on TikTok are primarily generated through consistent use of the app with organic content, while paid, promotional, or influencer-driven content rarely breaks through, as one study by Cinq Music Group reported.
Meanwhile, artists have cited exposure as the main obstacle to finding success in the music industry. More worryingly; However, 30% of respondents said that income was a barrier to pursuing a career in music.
View GYROstream infographic from the survey below.
In a The music article written by Tyler Jenke earlier this year on the rise of digital burnout, American musician Halsey took to TikTok to explain that the release of their latest song had been halted by their record label, claiming that “a viral moment on TikTok” was needed to accompany (and thereby promote) its arrival.
“Basically, I have a song that I like that I want to release as soon as possible,” Halsey explained to fans. “But my record company won’t let me.”
“My record label says I can’t release it unless they can fake a viral moment on tiktok,” the You asked for this singer added. “Everything is marketing. I just want to release music, man. And I deserve better tbh.”
Of course, Australian artists are not immune to this kind of pressure either. Recently, Melbourne has alt-rock stalwarts Car Ace returned to the group and shared their first new single since 2005 following their reformation four years earlier. Having emerged in the era where the traditional press circle was the standard method of marketing, the group found a need to ensure a regular presence on platforms such as Facebook.
“Unfortunately or fortunately, we didn’t stay in touch with audiences when we finished in 2005, and then to release music almost 20 years later is no easy task,” explains drummer Damo Costin. “We just recently stepped back and had to remind fans of the journey we’ve all been on together as artists and fans.”
Fellow Victorian rockers Kingswood also felt the need to shift their marketing to various social media platforms, although in their early days it almost felt like the writing was on the wall that the digital age would be the one in which they rooted their career.
“I remember we burned CDs of our demos to give out at our very first shows,” recalls singer Fergus Linacre. “And the way we got people to shows in Melbourne was through word of mouth. Without radio play, there wasn’t really a way to reach a larger audience. Myspace was long dead, and Facebook was starting to make an impact.
“The good thing was that if you posted on Facebook, it actually went out to all your followers. Now you have to pay to reach your own people.”
