How does online content go viral and what is its relevance in the music industry?

My BA (Hons) Arts Management dissertation at London South Bank University, looking at how online virality happens and what it means for musicians trying to build an audience.

abstract

Online media continues to assume an increasingly prominent role in everyday life. An industry highly influenced by any technological changes is the music industry. When a piece of content is shared rapidly across the web, or “goes viral” it can create global superstars overnight. This dissertation looks to see first how this online behaviour of “viral” takes place and second its impact on musicians and the music industry. […]

This thesis concludes that social media and online activities have surpassed use of traditional media as a promotion channel for musicians. It shows that changes in the music industry are escalating. Finally it demonstrates professional marketing tends to be at play in any viral phenomenon, as less of the rapid distribution happens by chance.

conclusion

It is worth noting this dissertation provides a snapshot of the relationship the music industry has with the Internet as of this moment. Both the Internet and the music industry are changing so rapidly that even over the course of writing this research significant events occurred that needed to be included. The biggest change is that the music industry itself finally came around and stopped seeing the Internet as a threat and rather as an opportunity.

It has become widely accepted that musicians simply must have online presence. Being online is not a revenue generator as such, but a tool for marketing considered by themselves to be “Extremely Important”. As touring becomes the most lucrative aspect of the music industry, the artists need to communicate with a spread out audience to sell tickets. The easiest way is to do so online, as it isn’t limited by geography. If, and only if, the artists have budget or industry backing some efforts are put into traditional media marketing channels, but that is purely as an addition and does not replace the online interactions.

Having the backing of a label or the industry can certainly further artists careers. However, as the labels’ resources have become more limited and they can spend less time on talent development they have come to expect the artist they sign to have their music online, social media following and touring experience. The labels also provide financial backing, which means online presence becomes more professional for the artists, that is more social networks are included and maintained better. For any artist starting out, the most important ones are Facebook and YouTube. Maintaining those well should yield better results than spreading efforts across a wider range of platforms. As artists become more established, they tend to add Twitter and Instagram as well, and have their music available for purchase on iTunes.

The Vevo agreement between YouTube and the majors marked a significant milestone as it was integral for the labels to secure income generated from online sources. Luckett describes that YouTube videos are not a marketing tool, but a product that generates income. Musicians themselves do not consider it so, likely because the labels keep most of the revenue.

It is interesting to see how “going viral” is not the random phenomenon it was necessarily perceived initially. Advertisers are starting to understand what it takes for content to become socially shared online, and it becomes a tool in their arsenal used as a component in overall marketing strategies. While some content “goes viral” randomly, it is unlikely to leave a lasting impact unless it has an established online presence it can continue to build on. Therefore the approach many have chosen is to not necessarily aim to “go viral” but to continuously post “shareable” content online to build a committed audience over time. In the case of a substantial viral hit, it works as a breakout marketing multiplier. It can lead to catching the attention of traditional media, the industry and of course the audience. When the cards are played right it becomes life-changing for the subject of the viral attention.

The dissertation received First-Class Honours.
You can read it in full here →

BA (Hons) Arts Management
London South Bank University
May 2014