The document discusses social media use by musicians and provides examples of how different artists utilize various platforms. It analyzes the social media presence of Justin Bieber, Peter Hollens, Adam Levine, and Wiz Khalifa on Facebook and Twitter. Key findings include how often each artist posts, who they interact with, and the types of content they share. The document concludes with tips for musicians using social media, such as engaging with fans, maintaining a strong presence across multiple platforms without spreading too thin, and leveraging YouTube, Patreon and Soundcloud for discovery when first starting out.

1. Social Media Use By Musicians
Ryan Sokolowski

2. Introduction
- Social Media has become a very important part of the way everyone lives their
lives.
- The Music Industry has seen a large shift from simply being discovered by an
agent in a bar, social media like Youtube and Soundcloud have made it easier to
get an artists name out into the world
- By extension it has also become an increasingly important part in the careers of
musicians
- Good social media use can get an artist discovered, build up a fanbase, connect
with an existing fanbase, or increase an already existing fanbase
- In a study done by Jeremy Wade Morris, it is reflected that musicians are turning

3. Most Influential Media in Music
-Youtube: Youtube is a powerful website where anyone can post almost anything they like.
It is a good way to get your music out there that has a very low cost, and can sometimes, if
you go viral, cause you to be discovered. The best example of this is Justin Bieber
-Soundcloud: Soundcloud is a website that lets an artist immediately post their music and
release it to the world, this is especially helpful for independent artists. This is because on
soundcloud there is no way for record labels to bury your posts by paying for good slots.
However it is not uncommon for larger artists to post their new singles on soundcloud first.
-Patreon: Patreon allows artists not necessarily affiliated with a label to raise funds to help
create music videos for various sites, generally Youtube videos. It does this by using a
subscribe system where fans subscribe to pay a certain amount per month in exchange for
exclusive access to certain content. A very popular example of a Patreon user is Peter
Hollens.

4. Most Influential Media in Music Cont.
-Twitter: Twitter is a fantastic way to keep in touch with your fanbase in a personal
way. It allows for easy fan interaction with retweets and replies, and it is a very popular
tool among musicians to keep in touch with fans. A good example of a musician who
uses Twitter effectively is Wiz Khalifa
-Facebook: In general Facebook is one of the largest Social Media sites in the world,
and is very important for any celebrity trying to keep in touch with a large base of fans.
Facebook can be helpful by posting about tour dates, making events to remind people
of concert dates, and advertising your music videos.

5. Youtube
-Deserving its own page, Youtube is especially influential in the world of social media
and music.
-There are many artists that exist solely online, especially on Youtube. After going viral
many artists have made careers out of music on Youtube. Great examples of this are A
cappella sensation Peter Hollens, and viral sensation Tay Zonday, who is most famous
for his viral video Chocolate Rain.
-Youtube is also a good example of a website where people can be discovered if they
are especially good. The best example of this is Justin Bieber, who was discovered by
Scooter Braun when his Youtube videos became popular.

6. Case Studies
-In order to get a better idea of how musicians typically use social media I have taken a
list of artists of varying backgrounds and platforms to analyze their social media use
on the two most popular platforms, Facebook and Twitter.
-Artists will be analyzed by
1) How often are they posting?
2)Who are they interacting with? (ex. Fans, other artists, industry people)
3)Content (what they are posting, use of obscenities etc.
4)Differences between platforms

7. Case Study #1: Justin Bieber

8. Justin Bieber Facebook
- Bieber uses Facebook primarily to
promote his tours, and upcoming
singles and albums
- He also however uses Facebook to
share photos of himself, generally
captioning it with something to do
with his beliefs, many times religious
- Sometimes he simply posts a picture of
something relevant to his day just like
many non musicians do.

9. Bieber Facebook Examples Examples are representative of the majority of
posts by the Artist

10. Justin Bieber Twitter
- Bieber uses Twitter almost
exclusively to promote his tour and
music.
- Occasionally Bieber will post
something meaningful that has
happened to him or a meaningful
moment with a fan.
- On rare occasions Bieber will post
about random things like movies

11. Bieber Twitter Examples

12. Justin Bieber Findings
- How often does he post?
- On both sites Bieber posts fairly frequently. He posts multiple times a day on both accounts which
allows for a lot of potential interaction, and a lot for fans to follow
- Who is he interacting with?
- Bieber does not frequently actively interact with his followers. Most of his retweets on Twitter are
from other industry people, or companies mentioning him for whatever reason. He does not
frequently reply or retweet any of his fans that tweet at him.
- Content
- Bieber for the most part posts about tours and albums that he has happening at the time, with the
occasional off the wall post. He rarely posts any obscenities or references to drugs or alcohol.

13. Case Study # 2: Peter Hollens

14. Peter Hollens Facebook
- Peter Hollens is an artist who uses solely
social media in order to make a living out of
his music
- Well known for his presence on Youtube
and Patreon, Peter Hollens also keeps an
active Facebook account
- He also is very open about posting about his
family and personal life as well on his
Facebook. This includes pictures of his
family, and updates on what he is doing with
his day, and posting about current events
related to music
- He also promotes his Youtube channel’s

15. Hollens Facebook Examples

16. Peter Hollens Twitter
- Peter Hollens is incredibly interactive
on Twitter
- Frequently he responds to, and
interacts with his audience
- As well Hollens frequently posts
inspirational quotes, and general topics
about his daily activities
- He also occasionally posts about his
fan interactions

17. Hollens Twitter Examples

18. Peter Hollens Findings
- How often does he post?
- Hollens posts on both social media outlets every day multiple times every day
- Who is he interacting with?
- Generally Hollens is interacting with his fans, and occasionally other content creators.
- Content
- On both of Hollens’ social media pages he heavily talks about his music and his Youtube presence.
However he also talks about his family, and posts many inspirational quotes aimed at his followers.
- Comparison between platforms
- Hollens is far more interactive on Twitter than Facebook. He has many replies and retweets that

19. Case Study #3: Adam Levine

20. Adam Levine Facebook
- Adam Levine is an artist who grew into
his fame in the old way. In other words
his rise to popularity was not brought
by Social Media. However he
maintains somewhat of a good social
media presence
- Facebook is one of Levine’s primary
sources of Social Media
- On Facebook Levine tends to share
inspiring stories, and advertises his
various brands and music

21. Levine Facebook Examples

22. Adam Levine Twitter
- Adam Levine uses Twitter to heavily
interact with viewers from the show
The Voice, which he is a judge in
- Levine also uses Twitter to publicly
keep in touch with friends, especially
Blake Shelton a friendly rival on The
Voice
- Levine also uses it as a platform to
discuss his life, and talk about stories
that have heavily impacted him

23. Levine Twitter Examples

24. Adam Levine Findings
- How often does he post?
- On days where his show The Voice has things going on Levine will post quite often, however he
can frequently have lulls where he posts little to nothing for a good week on Twitter. However he
uses Facebook daily, multiple times a day.
- Who is he interacting with?
- Typically Levine is sending posts about his products or shows which are intended to get reactions
from his followers. However directly contacting he generally contacts other celebrities or singers,
like one of his co-judges Blake Shelton.
- Content
- Levine has two major types of posts, stories that are interesting or meant to inspire, and posts
related to his career or The Voice. Occasionally he will have posts that are a bit more personal but
these are infrequent.

25. Case Study #4: Wiz Khalifa

26. Wiz Khalifa Facebook
- Wiz Khalifa does a good job
promoting himself on Facebook.
- He frequently uses the platform to
take pictures of himself on tour, and
promote new music being released
- He also mentions marijuana in many
posts, which makes sense given that
many of his songs mention it

27. Wiz Facebook Examples

28. Wiz Khalifa Twitter
- Wiz Khalifa has a fantastic Twitter
presence
- He interacts with fans to an
incredible degree by using retweets
and replies, and does a good job of
making fans feel like part of a
community.
- He mentions marijuana many times
in his Twitter, whether it be replying
to people that mention it, or
bringing it up himself

29. Wiz Twitter Examples

30. Wiz Khalifa Findings
- How often does he post?
- Wiz Khalifa tweets almost constantly throughout everyday, and is very consistent when posting on
Facebook daily. This helps him keep a dedicated group of followers because they know that there
will be something to take in when they follow him.
- Who is he interacting with?
- First and foremost Wiz is interacting with his followers. He retweets and replies more than he
tweets out original thoughts and this is very unique. He is very community/follower centric. This
makes his account very successful
- Content
- Typically Wiz talks about three things on both of his social media accounts, marijuana, tour
advertising, and promoting his singles and albums when they come out.

31. 4 Good Tips When Using Social Media as a Musician
1) Engage with your Fanbase- find out what they want to hear about you or your
brand and then tell them
a) For more on this watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ltEd2Yh480
2)Spread your net wide, but not too wide- Have a strong social media presence on
as many sites as you can, however do not spread yourself too thin and have a
weak presence on all of your accounts
3)If you are just starting out- Youtube, Patreon, and Soundcloud are your friends
a) Post to them frequently and build up a fanbase
4)Interact with your followers- Every fan wants to talk with their favorite artists,

32. Any Questions? Want a Reference list?
Tweet me @sokolowski_ryan