Music video directors
Role of labels & platforms
Considering obvious trends of conglomerate labels prioritizing profit over creativity, major companies in the industry usually have major ownership over the artist production, branding identity, or even distribution. Though this might limit artistry, their products will usually be very properly invested in: high budget production, global distribution, 360° marketing campaigns. All of these processes might follow a certain formula, helping the products they earn huge profit as they are able to target mass audience.
Major labels
Independent labels usually allow more creative freedom to their artists, however, that also means they have limited budget on projects, and the distribution & marketing plans have to be very unique but budget-friendly to target a niche audience group as they are usually not qualified for mass audience. Nonetheless, the current trend of shifting everything to digital platforms can help independent labels’ products gain popularity, especially if their product goes viral on social media platforms with strong algorithm systems like TikTok.
Independent labels
How artists use social media
As technology develops at an incredible speed, social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have become the dominant medium for artists to promote their projects and engage with their audiences. Taking K-pop girl group Red Velvet as an example, the content posted on an artist’s social media accounts would usually include:
Like Red Velvet answering questions about their album concepts or choreography, artists address questions about topics like creative decisions, personal experiences, and future projects from the audience in Q&A sessions.
Q&A sessions
Many artists hold live stream sessions to have instant interaction with their fans. They can just sit and talk to fans, sing, or celebrate special events like project releases. Red Velvet also frequently uses VLive (Korean live streaming platform) to engage with their fans, making the fans feel connected to their idols on a personal level.
Livestream
Behind-the-scenes footage usually gives fans a better glimpse into the artist’s life as a normal person instead of an artist on stage. For example, Red Velvet posts a lot of dance practice and reaction videos, showing the personal side of the group.
Behind-the-scenes
To push fan-generated content, many artists create social media challenges (especially on TikTok and Instagram) to encourage viewers to participate in the trend, help improving engagement between artists and fans. This method of engagement became more popular due to the COVID–19 pandemic, and an example of it is Red Velvet’s COSMIC dance challenge. Not only posting the videos of the members dancing to set the trend, Red Velvet also reposted other videos from fans participating to motivate more participants.
Trends
Branding Consistency
​Dangerous Woman - A Cappella Live
​Dangerous Woman CD Package
Comparing Ariana’s music video with her digipak and social media, we can see that the overall color palette the aesthetic of them they are black they are silver reinnforcing maturity. For iconography, her signature look for this era is still the high ponytail but there's also the new bunny mask which can be seen in the album cover, the live performances, and also the merchandise, helping the products branding more cohesive. The same font is also use among her products emphasizing on the balance of sophistication and sultriness.
Branding consistency, which includes the consistent use of branding elements across the artist and their products (font, color scheme, message, etc.) leads to the success of the song. A prominent example of sucessful branding is Ariana Grande and her products in her Dangerous Woman era.
These branding decisions helped Dangerous Woman successful as they gave Ariana a more mature, empowered identity comparing to her previous youthful persona. The overall aesthetic of the products perfectly match Ariana's songs such as Into You, Side to Side, and Dangerous woman, making them more connected to each other as different tracks in the same album, attracting a lot of audiences and resulting in the billions of streams on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify.
​Dangerous Woman tour Instagram page
Fan engaging strategies
Artists can engage with fans in both direct forms, like offline fan meetings or concerts, and indirect forms, like common interactions on online platforms (which are more accessible). Some examples of content shared with fans are behind-the-scenes, livestreams, Q&As, and life update posts. These types of content will help the audience connect with artists on a personal level since they are also getting to know the artist as a normal person as well. For example, Radiohead is arguably one of the artists/bands that have their engagement strategies applicable to both pop and indie-rock music genres as they combine tackling mainstream media with maintaining their artistry.
Online platform interaction
Despite not being as active as other pop artists, Radiohead kept their platforms (Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Band website) professional for official content like project announcements or behind-the-scenes and had other creative methods to approach their fans. For example, the band is also particularly famous for their unusual way of teasing their comebacks: in 2016, Radiohead erased all of their social media content before releasing A Moon Shaped Pool, hinting to fans that the new Radiohead is coming. Though risky, this method works for Radiohead and artists with strong fanbases – Taylor Swift also cleared her Instagram for her album Reputation, and the campaign was a major success.
User-generated content (UGC)
Having the advantage of a strong fan community, Radiohead can easily get their products spread to a wider audience with fan-generated content. Encouraging the artistry in their fans, Radiohead have released track cuts for fans to remix, cover, or make fan art and animations, fostering a fan community that is deeply connected to their artist.
Exclusive products
To maximize profits uniquely, Radiohead usually releases multiple editions of their albums. For example, the exclusive editions of the album OKNOTOK feature Radiohead’s unreleased songs. Additionally, the band also breaks traditional methods of product engagement several times with their digital art exhibition Kid A Mnesia, which allows fans to explore a 3D world of the album. Radiohead also went viral with their decision to offer their fans the digital album In Rainbows at any price, including free. Even though this prevented them from maximizing profits, this strengthened their fans’ loyalty, and the album still peaked at #1 on Billboard charts, becoming a massive commercial success.
