It’s clear to see that in 2017, the music industry continues to be intensely competitive. More music is being streamed for free or at a low-cost and everyday, thousands of podcasts, online radio shows and songs are uploaded to the internet.

In 2016 alone, for every minute of the day, around 38,052 hours of music was listened to on Spotify. Over the course of the year, this totals up to over 20 billion hours of music being listened on Spotify alone.

For music fans, access to great albums has never been easier. Listeners now have more choice than ever to stream audio using a range of ‘all-you-can-eat’ services such as Spotify, Bandcamp & SoundCloud.

Due to the increased connectivity of the internet and rise in content distribution options for musicians, there has been a shift in the industry from large mainstream record conglomerates, to smaller, independent record labels.

What has enabled this fundamental change? Social Media and Mass Music Streaming Platforms.

Social Media platforms have given musicians more control over the distribution of their music and through the use of services such as Bandcamp, many artists now have the option to bypass the industry conventions completely.

This phenomenon of small-scale indie publishing and the increased bargaining power for music listeners has ultimately led to a saturated and highly competitive environment for music artists.

In today’s digital music environment, the threat of substitution is high. Artists must not only compete with other contemporary musicians but also with the recorded archives of popular bands such as The Beatles, Michael Jackson or Adele, whose complete back catalogues are easily available to stream online for free.

Tips for Musicians to Succeed Across Social Media Channels

Facebook

• Keep an active, on brand profile showcasing your latest releases
• Create a list of relevant groups to post your content in – update this list at least once a month
• Harness the power of Facebook Livestream to transform your local gig to a global event

Twitter

• Create a list of relevant hashtags to post your content in for example #140bmp, #UKMusic or #Acoustic. Update this list as frequently as you can for best results
• Use a social scheduling tool such as Buffer to create a playlist of your music which will be automatically posted to your followers as well as new audiences with the utilisation of targeted and relevant hashtags
• Read our guide on how to increase your Twitter following

Instagram

• Create interesting behind-the-scenes content to share with your following – for example, if you are planning to release new music soon, you can tease your audience with short videos taken from the studio
• popular influencers on Instagram who can promote your brand to new audiences

Snapchat

• Create a Snapchat Geofilter to support your live shows and encourage social sharing
• Like Instagram, promote upcoming music by sharing small pieces from the studio with your following

Soundcloud

• Upload tracks that listeners can download for free
• Harness the power of tags to enhance your reach
• Syndicate your content across the rest of your social network profiles
• Embed your content on your website page or blog and encourage others in your community to do so too
• Add the SoundCloud icon, along with the rest of your social icons to the footer of your website
• Harness the power of ‘Artists Union’ to get free replays and follows when users download your content