From Instagram Likes To Record Label: How Computer-Mediated Communication Contributes To Musical Artist’s Careers

1. From Instagram Likes To
Record Label:
How Computer-Mediated
Communication Contributes To
Musical Artist’s Careers
Maria Naylon

2. Introduction
- In today’s digital age, priorities are shifting for musicians pursuing mainstream artist
careers. As social media becomes increasingly more prominent, there are thousands of
social media influencers in almost every imaginable genre.
- Influencers are individuals who are extremely exposed in the digital world of social
networks. These are people who have a significant influence on public decisions
regarding the products they buy, the services they use and the initiatives they are
supporting. They represent how brands can connect with their target groups through a
voice those potential users of products or services trust (Zeljko, Jakovic, & Strugar 2018).

3. Introduction
- Pressure for an outstanding social media persona paired with incredible engagement has
turned into a necessity for aspiring artists.
- Now, record labels are looking for musical artists that fit the whole package, which is
starting to include bringing along a trustworthy fan base. However, with a strong social
media presence many artists are ditching record labels altogether, releasing their music
independently.
- Building a strong community of social media support is now a crucial step in an artist’s
career.

4. Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore the role of social media when
impacting a music artist's career of success or failure.

5. History of Online Music Communities
- Since 1999, the Internet has drastically altered the production, distribution, and
consumption of music (Molteni & Ordanini, 2003).
- In the past, the notion of a music community, a group of people brought together by their
shared allegiance to a particular band, artist or musical genre, has tended to be associated
with a local and physical geographical area (Gay, 1995; Kibby, 2000). However, with
music becoming more globally available, the communication potential of the Internet has
swayed what factors constitute a musical community.

6. History of Online Music Communities
- The Oh Boy Records is an early example of one of the first successful online music
communities for an artist. In 1996, the independent record company created an Internet
chat page for one of its major artists, John Prine (Kibby, 2000).
- This became a prominent place where fans would meet online to share information with
one another and interact with Prine. This fan community that was established would
otherwise have been impossible given the geographic dispersion of Prine’s fans.

7. History of Online Music Communities
- Underground music file sharing communities are online social spaces where
individuals interact and communicate.
- Often accessed through a website, these communities facilitate the sharing of
mostly unauthorized digital content such as music, as well as communications
between members (Beekhuzen, J., Hellens, L., and Nielsen, S., 2011).
- Due to the illegal nature, a strong trust existed among members of these virtual
networks and communities.

8. Literature Review
- Suhr (2011) mentions that during this time on social networking sites, artists not only
have a platform to share performances, but also he or she has the capacity to build a
successful career.
- Activities related to production, promotion, consumption and live performance could
occur directly on the virtual world (Suhr, 2011).
- According to Suhr, the music industry is undoubtedly threatened by the rising power of
social networking sites.
- The likelihood of exposure on mainstream media can increase when unknown artists gain
popularity by being their own agents and promoters.

9. Literature Review - Bhad Bhabie
- There have been many cases of musicians gaining immense amounts of popularity
seemingly overnight after having a Tweet, Instagram or Tik Tok go viral.
- Danielle Brigeoli whose stage name is Bhad Bhabie is a fantastic example of this.
Briegoli, who was only 13-years-old at the time, initially gained media attention for
appearing as a reckless teenager on the Dr. Phil show.
- According to an article by the New York Times, not long after Bhad Bhabie went viral
she was signed with a reputable manager who promised to make her into a star.

10. Literature Review - Bhad Bhabie
- Her unapologetic and outrageous behavior was shocking to many. However, her
management encouraged Brigeoli to be herself online, without constraints, regardless of
what was considered to be age-appropriate or in her best interest.
- According to the BBC, Bhad Bhabie is now the youngest female artist to make the
Billboard Hot 100. After a short amount of time, she has already amassed over 16 million
followers on her Instagram.

11. Literature Review - Loren Gray
- Tik Tok has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms.
- Loren Gray started posting videos of herself lip-syncing to popular songs on the
video-sharing app. After a few years, Gray has accumulated over 30 million followers on
the platform.
- Gray refers to her fans as her “Angel Squad”.
- Recently, Gray decided to pursue a career in music and signed to Virgin Records.

12. Literature Review
- Morris (2014) examined fans as workers. The decline in dominance of traditional ways of
marketing and selling music has sparked an explosion of new business models. There is a
clear distinction between artist and fan on social media platforms.
- Morris suggests that sharing music and connecting with fans are by no means
compulsory, but because almost anyone can have an Instagram page or Twitter account,
many artists in popular music genres must have one by necessity.

13. Literature Review
- Social media makes celebrities and micro-celebrities seem more accessible than they are
in any other forms.
- Without even having to travel outside of their homes, fans can feel connected and keep up
to date with their favorite musicians from their devices.
- Fans have higher expectations now about receiving a response from those they are in
contact with.

14. Literature Review
- Morris makes an interesting observation that fans are now taking on duties that publicists,
graphic designers and producers are paid to do.
- For example, English singer-songwriter Imogen Heap’s fans and followers were
compensated to participate in contests involving the creation of her album, in various
different forms.
- Contest winners won merchandise, tickets and so on. For competitions that included
graphic design artwork, winners were paid with contract work!
- Morris theorised that people are not paying solely for the objects; they are also paying for
the meanings they associate with the object. Fans want to feel a personal connection with
the music and merchandise they are purchasing.

15. Literature Review
- Patryk Galuskza (2014) discussed the different roles that a fan can play. From sponsors,
co-creators of value, stockholders, investors and filters.
- Galuszka describes a new economy of fandom as a condition in which empowered fan
communities use the democratizing potential of new social media to communicate and
cooperate with artists, without the mediation of a traditional recording industry.
- Fan clubs, which are now also known as fandoms, are a form of a fan community and
have been present in society as early as the mid-1930s (Galuszka, 2014).
- This new economy of fandom is possible because artists can communicate directly with
their fans utilizing online tools.

16. Literature Review
- An online community is defined as an aggregation of people in cyberspace who share the
same interests by using electronic means (Shen, Huang, Chu, & Liao, 2010). Members in
online communities with high engagement are likely to help other members and
participate in activities with other members.
- Many members develop social ties to one another (Hickman & Ward, 2007). For
members to have loyalty to their community, they must have close relationships with
other members as well as achievement from group work.

17. Literature Review
- In a study conducted on the impact of online community engagement on community
loyalty and social well-being, surveys were conducted with members of 20 online fan
communities of celebrities (Han, J., Jun, M., Kim, M., 2019).
- The study found that online community engagement could enhance community
member’s social wellbeing through collective efficacy. The authors found that online
communities build strong community loyalty by emphasizing the importance of collective
group-based projects.

18. Literature Review
- The desire to have a popular fan base is so sought after by artists that many artists have
begun purchasing followers likes, plays and comments.
- This is done to appeal to outsiders including fans and record companies.
- This is because the artists want to appear that they already have developed a community
across their platforms. However, this method is not a sensible approach. If there are few
real followers, there won’t be many real streams or downloads.
- All generated followers are capable of is putting up a false front to attract attention.

19. Literature Review - Lady Gaga
- Lady Gaga is an amazing example of an artist with an incredibly loyal fan base.
- Gaga emphasizes her oddities to provide shelter, support and solidarity to her fans that
call themselves “Little Monsters”. By giving Gaga’s fan base a name, she is also
providing them with a sense of identity.
- In a study conducted with Little Monsters, it was found that Little Monsters believe
themselves to be more engaged than lesser-invested Lady Gaga fans (Click, M., Lee, H.,
Holladay, H., 2013). These fans differentiate themselves from other fans based on the
intensity of their investments.

20. Research Questions
RQ1: How does online-mediated communication impact a musical artists career?
RQ2: How do online fandoms of musical artists communicate and how do artists communicate
with their fandoms?
RQ3: What are the characteristics and regimes of a strong social media community?
RQ4: How might the music industry change for artists and their communities in a few years
from now?

21. Interpretation
- The massive role social media plays for fandoms is undeniable.
- Without social media fans would not be able to connect with other fans in such
instantaneous ways.
- Social media has allowed fans to feel closer to the musicians they admire and has given
musicians an easy way to keep fans updated.
- The close-nit communities of fans some artists have without doubt is a major driving
force that can push their career to the next level.

22. Interpretation
- With so many influencers who have accrued large numbers of followers on social media,
I believe that musicians are no longer competing with just other musicians but instead
with influencers of all interests.
- Looking back at two previous examples I discussed, both artists Bhad Bhabie and Loren
Gray did not start off as musicians until they built a popular enough platform to pursue
music with major industry support.
- Having a strong supportive online fan base definitely helped both these artists pursue
music careers. Both women have thousands of fan pages and a diehard community of
supporters.

23. Interpretation
- A sense of belonging and participation to the group is a contributing factor.
- On Twitter, I constantly see accounts tweeting at Ariana Grande, “please notice me!”
Grande will sometimes even interact with fans by asking her 62 million followers how
their day is. It’s not uncommon to see Grande’s fans put dates in their Twitter biography
of the day she “noticed them” by liking a response or tweeting something back to them.
There is a very clear sense of identity and closeness among her fandom. Some of her top
fan accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers and members communicate
through online group chatting.
- Having a close online artist to fan relationship on social media has definitely become a
successful mechanism.

24. Limitations & Future Research
- There were many limitations I experienced when conducting my research.
- There is very limited information available on current fan communities and how they
communicate.
- Social media is constantly changing and even more so in the last few years. It would be
incredibly useful to find a study conducted on the internal side of different fandoms from
the last five years.

25. Limitations & Future Research
- I couldn’t find any information about major streaming sites such as Spotify and Apple
Music. Both of these platforms have become major resources for artists and fans in the
last few years.
- Although these sites may not be considered a form of social media, Spotify has the
potential for fans to follow their favorite artists for alerts as well as create and share
playlists with friends.

26. Limitations & Future Research
- There are many factors to consider when studying how social media impacts an artist’s
career and these factors vary by platform.
- For instance, one thing I did not divulge into that I believe would be beneficial for future
research is algorithms.
- Algorithms play an important role in structuring our online experiences (Beer, 2000;
Bucher, 2012; Cheney-Lippold, 2011; Gillespie, 2014). For example, algorithmic ranking
determines who and what gains visibility on social media (Cotter, 2018). I think it would
be interesting to see how fandoms might potentially play a role in these algorithmic
rankings.

27. Limitations & Future Research
- What I believe would be most beneficial for artists would be a scientific study on tested
methods for growing a platform, as well as communicating online with fans.
- It would be useful to see what methods are successful and unsuccessful for artists looking
to create a fandom. I also think it would be incredibly beneficial to see what methods of
communicating with fans are most efficient.

28. References
Barrett, G. (2018). How the 'Cash Me Outside' girl became an award-nominated rapper. Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-43808952
Beekhuyzen, J., Liisa, v. H., & Nielsen, S. (2011). Underground online music communities: Exploring rules for
membership. Online Information Review, 35(5), 699-715.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1108/14684521111176453
Chol, H., & Burnes, B. (2013). The Internet and Value Co-creation: The case of the popular music industry. Prometheus,
31(1), 35-53. https://doi-org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1080/08109028.2013.77459
Click, M. A., Lee, H., & Holladay, H. W. (2013). Making Monsters: Lady Gaga, Fan Identification, and Social Media.
Popular Music & Society, 36(3), 360–379. https://doiorg.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1080/03007766.2013.798546
Cotter, K. (2019). Playing the visibility game: How digital influencers and algorithms negotiate influence on Instagram.
New Media & Society, 21(4), 895–913. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818815684
Galuszka, P. (2015). New Economy of Fandom. Popular Music & Society, 38(1), 25–43.
https://doi-org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1080/03007766.2014.974325

29. References
Jeongsoo Han, Mina Jun, & Miyea Kim. (2019). Impact of online community engagement on community loyalty and
social well-being. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 47(1), 1–8.
https://doi-org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.2224/sbp.7545
Keiles, J. L. (2018, July 03). The Big Business of Becoming Bhad Bhabie. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/magazine/the-big-business-of-becoming-bhad-bhabie.html
Morris, J. W. (2014). Artists as Entrepreneurs, Fans as Workers. Popular Music & Society, 37(3), 273–290.
https://doi-org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1080/03007766.2013.778534
Suhr, H. C. (2011). Understanding the Hegemonic Struggle between Mainstream Vs. Independent Forces: The Music
Industry and Musicians in the Age of Social Media. International Journal of Technology, Knowledge & Society, 7(6),
123–136. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=915
44625&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Twersky, C. (2019, March 19). 11 Fun Facts About Pop Star Loren Gray. Retrieved from
https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/music/a25844917/loren-gray-facts/
Vaccaro, V. and Cohn, D. (2004) ‘The evolution of business models and marketing strategies in the music industry’, The
International Journal on Media Management, 6, 1–2, pp.46–58.