Social media is a thing of the past

Create entertainment first, music promotion second.

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Let’s dive into today’s topic:

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Social media is a thing of the past

Why musicians should think like content creators while remaining an artist.

Why it matters

For music artists, understanding audience behaviour is crucial. While their location is obvious—TikTok, Instagram, etc.—their behaviour has fundamentally shifted. The era of social interaction has given way to passive entertainment consumption.

Artists, natural entertainers by trade, should excel on these platforms. However, there's a significant catch: Today's entertainment platforms thrive on unlicensed content, creating a paradox for musicians whose primary product is licensed music.

Generated with SDXL using the prompt ‘The OC cast’.

How it works

The evolution from social media to entertainment platforms reveals a stark transformation.

Then (early social media):

• Content primarily from friends and family.

• Direct peer-to-peer (group) interaction.

• It was all new, an experimental playground for users.

• Algorithms were based on engagement metrics such as likes and comments.

Now (entertainment platforms):

• Content dominated by brands and professional content creators.

• Fan-to-brand, and fan-to-fan, interactions.

• Success playbooks focused on retention.

• Algorithms are based on performance metrics such as video watch time and shares.

The platform paradox: Entertainment platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube don’t create content themselves. They all depend on their users for this. And they all favour unlicensed, rights-free content over licensed music.

• Spotify prioritises podcasts. It’s all we hear Daniel Ek talk about nowadays.

• TikTok’s core is fullscreen, rights-free content. (Let’s park TikTok’s music rights issues for now)

• Other platforms follow TikTok’s lead.

This poses a significant threat to music. However, music artists could thrive on entertainment platforms if they approached their work more like content creators. If you can’t beat them..

Yes, but..

There are still many platforms that focus on interaction instead of consumption.

• Micro social media such as WhatsApp.

• Community platforms such as Discord.

• Niche platforms such as Strava.

Music has its opportunity here: Spotify’s testing social features hints at potential opportunities for music-focused social interaction on the platform. The bad news: While progress in this direction remains slow, Spotify has already released comments under podcast episodes.

Take action now

Artists should pivot their strategy:

• Create entertainment first, music promotion second.

• Think like a content creator while remaining an artist.

• Align with entertainment-first metrics:

  • Three-second video views (get people to stop scrolling).

  • Watch time (longer connections between fan and brand).

  • Shares (grow organic spread within the platform).

Your thoughts

Further reading

• Content creators are disrupting entertainment’s obsession with rights. What does it mean for music? (MIDiA)

• TikTok exec: We’re not a social network like Facebook, we’re an entertainment platform (CNBC)

• What Is Web 2.0 (O’Reilly)

• Why the internet isn’t fun anymore (The New Yorker)

• Spotify CEO Daniel Ek on the Future of Podcasts (The Colin and Samir Show)

• Spotify is no longer just a streaming app, it’s a social network (TechCrunch)

• Chasing YouTube, Spotify adds comments to podcasts (TechCrunch)

• Improve short-form videos with creative strategies (The Fanbase Builder)

• Optimising fan funnels using Instagram's new primary metrics (The Fanbase Builder)

• Why video shares are crucial for creators on TikTok and Instagram (The Fanbase Builder)

• How to leverage user intent (The Fanbase Builder)