Post 2: The role of the internet in the music industry

In this digital age, using the internet as an artist is vital for success. Social media is key to reaching out to your fanbase and keeping them interested, and also for developing your own brand. A website is also key as acts as interactive content for your audience to use, and also for them to keep updated on any news surrounding you. An example of an artist that uses the internet in this way is Khalid. Khalid uses his website as a platform to sell his music through clickable links, and also to promote his own tour dates. The website also includes links to Khalid's social media pages, including Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. This digital convergence maintains his audience share as users of the website would use these links and consume the content on Khalid's social media pages. This also grows his audience, which in turns would result in an increase in music sales. Khalid's Instagram features posts are more focused on him as an artist instead of his music, which helps to create his own brand, differentiating himself from the large competition in the music industry. Khalid's Twitter page further

Khalid replying to a fan message

highlights this, where his personality is centre stage. This is achieved through him interacting with fans and posting relatable content. However, it is also important for an artist to promote their work through social media in order to increase their own viewing figures and also to increase buzz for any new music they may be releasing in the future. I researched into Kanye West's Twitter page, where there are multiple posts about his new album 'Jesus Is King'
which he released on the 25th of October. Two posts were made before the

Kanye West linking his
shop

Kanye West posts before
the album release

album release, one announcing the Title of the album and the release date on the 20th of October, and the other on the day of release showing the tracklist, and stating that it was coming out at midnight. This created huge anticipation for the release, with the first post gaining nearly half a million likes. This would have had a large impact on the streams and sales of the album after it was released due to the huge audience reach of his Twitter account, with 30 million followers. However, even after the album was released, he sent out 4 more posts concerning the album, one of which linking to his store page featuring new and exclusive merch themed around his album. This drives users back to his website, allowing it to act as a central hub, increasing his own sales. All of this has influenced my initial ideas as I have included social media links in my website flat plans, along with tour dates including buttons to buy tickets, and social media integration through an Instagram and Twitter feed. I have also planned out Instagram posts that highlight myself as a creator through behind the scene content and fan giveaways, which act as interactive content. Furthermore, I have also planned out a Facebook and a Twitter page for my artist, which would allow him to have a greater audience reach, thus engaging more people, leading to a greater deal of music sales. Examples of Twitter content I had planned out included relatable posts for my followers, and also promotion of my music and my store.