Harnessing the diaspora through embracing cultural heritage of artists
Audiences are becoming ever more fragmented; glocalisation has allowed for more movement across the world whilst presenting more opportunities for success in local markets. By engaging with their cultural heritage artists have an authentic route to connecting with the diaspora’s established community spread across many regions.
The power of identity, to act as a unifying element that can bring audiences closer to their favourite artists is often overlooked. To see yourself represented and a part of your identity reflected in an artist allows for a deeper formation of community.
An artist who has recently found immense success by showcasing his cultural identity in his music and visuals is Hanumankind. The Indian-born artist has seen major success with his latest track “Big Dawgs” which has garnered more than 11.5 million streams on Spotify whilst maintaining the top spot on the Viral Songs Global chart since July 26. The track and music video perfectly encapsulates how embracing cultural heritage can create distinct and powerful moments. Humankind filmed the video in Ponnani, inside the “Wall of Death” This visually stunning video and the engaging track immediately sparked virality, highlighting the power of culturally significant references to reach a wide audience.
“Even beyond the South Asian diaspora, there’s a mutual admiration among fans for the breakthrough artist. Creators are posting videos where, within the span of seconds, you can witness their features shift dramatically from doubt to confusion and finally appreciation. (One called it “The HARDEST Music Video I Have EVER SEEN!”)” (Rolling Stones interview)
Viewing the diaspora as a significant audience to reach allows for growth in developing markets, but success in this space goes deeper than just expanding reach. Live Nation promoter Menna Dief speaks on the importance of reaching this audience.
“Success, for me, isn’t confined to a single tour or concert. It’s about connecting the diaspora with their cultural roots— allowing people who haven’t been in touch with their language or culture to enjoy their music and a simple night out with people from the same background.
We are making local Arab talent accessible to the diaspora. It is part of our journey and our mission as a company to provide an experience for those who can’t take flights to the region to listen to their favourite Arab artists.” (Cosmopolitan Interview)
When discussing how culture can act as a device for connection, it's important not to see this as a fad or trend and to understand that this takes a level of respect and acknowledgement of history that comes with representation. An artist who has been embracing their cultural heritage through their music is Nemhasis, the Palestinian Pop act who despite backlash from her previous label has stayed true to representing her culture in her music, giving space for underrepresented communities to be shown in a light that feels genuine.
Another artist who has embedded their cultural history into the narrative of their music is Bashy. The West London-based artist returns to the music industry after a decade with an album laden with references to his connection to the Windrush generation, the plight and triumphs of Caribbean and African people living in the UK. Through this narrative, Bashy has created a project that feels important and despite the time away from the medium, his perspective in the music feels current and authentic.
The industry is trying to lean more into the strong relationship between artists and their fans, with an emphasis on cultivating super fans. I believe that to build core fans connections, bonds that go deeper than the music need to be formed. Culture, heritage and history can be a powerful catalyst for an artist to build this relationship. We must treat these representations of identity with respect and dignity, it is not a one-size-fits-all approach but when authenticity is prioritised, real community and connection can emerge.
Fan participation and leveraging cultural momentum
Fan participation and leveraging cultural momentum
The fan and artist relationship is often a one sided affair, with fans acting as recipients of targeted creative marketing strategies devised by artists and their teams. However this top down approach can be limiting as it fails to draw the innate relationship between fans and their favourite artists. In this piece I aim to showcase the ways in which incorporating fan participation in artist marketing campaigns can be a beneficial tool in tailoring campaigns that speak directly to core fans and creates a sense of an interconnected community.
“You don’t build community, you facilitate it” Dr. Marcus Collins. When leading the digital strategy campaign for Beyoncé, and tasked with bringing her offline community to the digital space, Marcus initially wanted to name this fan group “Beyontourage” inspired by the rise in popularity of the show “Entourage” around that time. It is not surprising that this name didn't work and fans rejected the idea. It wasn’t until Marcus tasked his team with searching the web for ways fans were engaging with Beyonce content online that they found an already brewing and deeply passionate community forming, named the Beyhive. And the rest is history. I believe this is an amazing example of how artist branding and community building doesn't need to just stem from the artist themselves and that by allowing the natural and unique interactions of fans to direct strategy can be exponentially more rewarding.
Allow fans to direct the conversation - One of the biggest stories this year in music was undoubtedly the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. The beef saw multiple diss tracks released and conversation online dissecting each bar dominated the social space. On YouTube reaction videos and breakdowns flooded the feed. To further gain more fan engagement on the platform, both Kendrick and Drake removed the copyright from their diss tracks allowing for anyone to post and monetise reaction videos online using their tracks. This move perfectly capitalised and rewarded the already hyper engaged fans and content creators and removed the barrier for fans to engage with the music. Understanding a cultural moment was taking place and that fan engagement was already immensely high, by removing the barrier in which fans could fully engage with the content, the two artists were able to leverage the discourse in their favour and expand their reach to a wider audience through digital word of mouth.
Provide a template - When utilising fan participation it is important to understand the reciprocal nature of this approach. It is not just a solely fan led strategy. Artists play a major role in cultivating the brand image and aesthetic. By providing a base of inspiration giving fans the ability to create around allows for an aligned and cohesive campaign. Some recent successful campaigns using this method are Grimes - music video editing campaign, where Grimes shared a free art kit video of herself in front of a greenscreen and tasked fans with creating a music video using the asset. Another popular way we see this is through artists sharing the stems of a track and allowing fans to create remixes. But there has been one campaign that has perfectly executed all these strategies and fully leveraged fan participation and cultural momentum. Charlie XCX’s latest album campaign has showcased the power of fan participation, whether it be creating whatsapp groups that give space for fans to engage, lead conversation and collaborate on ideas or utilising an easily modifiable aesthetic in the BRAT Green, allowing fans to use the colour in whatever manner be directly linked to the album or just asking her fans to host their own BRAT themes party. This rollout truly felt like a collaboration between artist and fan with each element of the campaign being influenced or directly created by the fans.
When you shift away from viewing fans as solely consumers of an artist brand and allow for a participatory dynamic, new and unique marketing strategies that feel authentic can be realised. Understanding that community is fostered by an interconnected dialogue allows for fans to direct strategy that feels personal.
The Importance of World Building and Fan connection
Importance of world building and fan connection
How audiences engage with and interact with artists is an ever-changing paradigm. These changes in connection between audiences and artists can be signifiers of major cultural and technological shifts. The era of mass consumption of content brought on by the onset of streaming services, social media platforms and short-form content saw the need for artists to lean into adopting an always-on approach to building awareness from an expansive yet fickle audience base. To sustain attention in a time where audiences are promised endless streams of stimuli it becomes difficult to establish a sense of world-building where creatives are given the time to craft narratives that encapsulate their character, community and artistic essence.
As we move away from this space of fast consumption and the rise of digital detoxing and dopamine breaks become more prevalent and tech companies pivot into VR, AR and AI. We are seeing a generation become aware of the consequences of this hyper-attention economy, crafted in the tech space, and are searching for deeper and more meaningful connections. This is where I believe the creative industries and artists can lead in introducing audiences to interactive worlds that offer more space for slower consumption and substantive experiences.
An artist who embodies this idea of world-building is Tierra Whack. The North Philly artist has quickly established herself as one of the most engaging and enigmatic artists through her music. Yet it's the creativity in crafting a world outside of her music that showcases the power of multi-medium storytelling that adds dimension to a narrative and character. Tierra’s focus on the abstract in her music, fashion and visuals makes it so you feel you are entering her own personal creative world when consuming any of her work. We see this embodiment of creativity go beyond her creations and expand into her brand partnerships with Lego and Adobe. “Cypher'' the Hulu pseudo-documentary based on Tierra’s life is an excellent example of the artists utilising different mediums to establish an interconnected motif that builds on the world her fans can interact and engage with.
Tyler the creator may epitomise this idea of developing a multi-faceted world more than any other contemporary artist. With his first recording debuting in 2007, it would take 10 years before he would begin his ascent into the mainstream zeitgeist, as 2017 saw the release of his highly successful album ‘Flower Boy’ and his first premier radio play of the song ‘See You Again’. Despite it taking a decade for his music and brand to expand outside of the niche misfit culture he had been cultivating, this time was spent building a world in which fans could interact in a multitude of ways.
His Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, is a prime example of cultivating a culture and community that connects artists and fans. Despite the commercial success Tyler has seen, this festival remains true to the indie and alt scene he started in and his hardcore fans align with most.
His fashion brand goes a step further than the typical artist brand partnership and instead is a clear extension of Tyler's brand image. Whether it’s the shared aesthetic of his Louis Vuitton collaboration and the themes of his last Album ‘Call Me if You Get Lost’ or limited edition Golf Le Fluer designs being sold at his own festival, there is a deliberate cohesiveness that ties all these projects under one world that fans can pick and choose how they engage.
For world-building to be effective, audiences must feel a sense of connectivity and a relationship must be formed with the artist. This creates a culture and accessibility to the artist that feels more substantive. Artists who have done this by utilising digital spaces and the illusion of exclusivity/scarcity are Billie Eilish and Clint of ‘Cortiez’.
The illusion of scarcity is nothing new and has been used by brands and artists to generate an artificial sense of rarity or exclusivity. However, when teasing her upcoming project Billie Eilish took this concept and applied it to the social connection with her fans. By simply adding her fans to her close friends, a sense of exclusive insight and connection into her world was created and fans rushed to be a part of this, allowing Billie to gain over 7 million new followers.
Clint, the founder of the clothing brand Cortiez has mastered this tactic, despite having one of the most recognizable clothing brands, he remains steadfast in creating an air of exclusivity through his password-protected website and invite-only drops. This method rewards superfans who are hyper-engaged with the brand and creates an incentive to keep a brand in mind despite not always being on.
This rise of leveraging artist-fan connection through exclusive clubs and rewarding the superfan can be seen with more artists adopting platforms like WhatsApp, discord and private servers as ways to connect with smaller, more engaged audiences.
World-building takes time and is developed through an understanding of an artist's brand and fan relationship. This can be useful in cultivating deeper connections and forming culture. It leverages the fan connection and widens the scope of fan interaction.
Why great art takes time (As it should)
The immense anticipation that builds in between that season finale that ended on a cliffhanger, listening to old albums from your favourite artist as you wait for a sign of a new project. The disappointment in hearing the release date is being delayed another 6 months.
It is understandable as fans and consumers of art to develop a sense of frustration when faced with these common scenarios, however it is also important to recognise the time, effort and emotional weight that is required to produce works of substance.
In the era of digital and streaming the need for content is paramount in order for large platforms to retain attention thus creating an incentive that encourages creators and artists to constantly create with the reward of maintaining relevance. However this practice comes at a cost for both creators and audience as, with this increase in demand puts pressure on artists to create work with an increasingly shortening turnover rate and has led to the devaluation of art; lack of substance and a prevailing sense of content over everything. Creating a cycle of lacklustre work that fails to hold the attention of its intended audience creating a need to produce more work in order to stay in the collective consciousness.
When maintaining a sense of relevance becomes the arbiter of success, quality and substance take a back seat to shallow and generic ideas, this can be felt in the music industry as placating to the whims of streaming platforms has led some artists to forego artistic direction instead opting to create work optimised for algorithmic favorability. We have seen this in the trend of shorter songs, lengthy albums composed of mostly filler music and an annual schedule of album releases. Cluadia Dragone perfectly captures this shift in music as she describes how many artists
It can be hard as someone who is heavily embedded in the digital space and truly believes that technology can be a great equaliser in providing artists a way to get their work seen by many, as well as recognise the amazing, passion filled work that exists today in this digital space.
Despite this it is impossible to ignore the trends and not highlight the incentives that have created this new paradigm. The current digital landscape may feel incredibly democratised in that anyone can seemingly create and upload work, but we must consider the fact that the platforms with the most reach are limited to a few mega corporations and artists in order to exist on these platforms must adhere to their core business model, Attention. Not art, not creativity, not authenticity or whatever marketing buzzword is trending. Attention and watch time are the defining models in which these platforms operate.
The term “crunch” is often associated with animators and game developers to describe
This demand for quality and substance without allowing the breadth of time needed to create such work in a healthy and sustainable way breads this type of crunch culture.
Art and creations of passion have existed before the digital age and will continue to do so after. It takes innovation and creative minds to create outside of the confines of the norm. For creatives today to build sustainable careers that allow for longevity over fleeting relevance I believe it is evermore essential that true connection between artist and audience is cultivated through works that are of depth and substance.
This allows for the art to be valued more by the consumer giving space for more artists to fan tailored platforms such as Bandcamp, Serenade and Medallion providing more options for artists to operate in.
In addition artists must find new ways to cultivate genuine connection with fans that speak to their unique perspective. We are seeing this steady shift in the industry, a focus on what has been deemed “superfans”, which is good yet I believe for artists, especially those who are independent, it is important to recognise that this shift directly positions you in control over the value of your work and the connection with your fans.
For consumers and fans of creative work, I believe that the concept of constant consumption of content is over and that is a good thing. We can now take a slower approach to art consumption that is deeper and more substantively nourishing.
This isn't a return to the old ways of creation and fan engagement but a new frontier in the value we place on creativity. A change in power from faceless algorithms and mega corporations that act as middle men to the art and creatives that actually produce the work we love.
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Photos from: “Sony, Fenty and Amazon Prime’s Invincible”
The importance of artistic growth
Growth is an inevitable process in life, however, when it comes to the creative practice of an artist, this can be a challenging concept. The fear of losing the audience you started with or losing sight of your original sound can be a daunting task to undertake. Despite the reasonable preservations artists may have about this development I believe for those who strive for more than a moment of success and see longevity as the goal then growth is a necessary step one must take.
One artist I believe has truly embodied this essence of maturing in sound is Lil Yatchy, an artist who came up as a pioneer in the infamous mumble rap era. Once touted as a flash in the pan artist with few giving his music any artistic merit, his recent album “Let's Start Here” provides an incredible example of an artist growing into their sound whilst maturing with their audience. His transition to a more experimental and darker sound with trippy aesthetics is a complete departure from the artist who blew up with the song “Broccoli” However the move does not feel forced or an abandonment of his core fan base but instead feels like an authentic growth and maturing of both Yatchy and his fans.
Yachty has previously stated his desire to please his critics by focusing on showcasing his rapping ability as a means to prove his credentials to more old-school listeners. However, this album depicts a different Yachty, one that isn’t seeking approval but instead is comfortable with his inner voice and fearless in delivering a body of work that speaks to him now.
This concept of character growth is also perfectly exemplified by Miley Cyrus’ anthem “Used To Be Young” which acts as a battle cry for those who are able to acknowledge their past while also coming to the understanding that they are no longer defined by it. Miley’s career encompasses the notion of continual growth and redefining oneself.
These artists are proof of the benefits of artistic growth and the ability for any creative to not be limited by who they once were and to have the confidence to step into whatever version of themselves they feel is representative of who they are now.
How Nipsey Hussle proved ethical consumption of music can work
The late Nipsey Hussle, an LA native was a true pioneer in the independent artist space. Before his untimely passing, Nipsey would often advocate for artists to take ownership of their careers and take advantage of the opportunities that arise from independence.
A legendary example of Nipsey’s incredible foresight and self belief in his own art, was the infamous release of his $100 Crenshaw mixtape in 2013. What at the time was considered a crazy move, a gimmick and definitely not a sustainable business model. Despite the large amount of attention and press this release made, with the likes of Jay Z purchasing 100 copies and being covered by forbes. I believe that this move made by Nipsey has been overlooked in regards to how much the current day music industry can learn from this concept of artist led monetisation of their music.
In the streaming age the power to dictate how much your music is worth has been regulated to streaming platforms, with a ubiquitous pricing of £10.99 across most of the streaming landscape. This pricing model values the collective music contributions of millions of artists under the same bracket of £10.99. This process devalues music and is only being exacerbated by the ongoing proliferation of AI music and fraudulent music uploads.
This is where I feel Nipsey was on to something. As his individual pricing of his work presents a way in which artists are able to regain a level of control and ownership on what their art is worth.
It is important to highlight that Nipsey wasn’t just selling his mixtape alone for $100, a purchase of this mixtape also included
This is what makes Nipsey’s approach so applicable to the current state of the music industry as Nispey looks beyond the music and content when valuing his art. He understood that music can act as a tool to connect with his audience on a deeper level and in turn dictate the price of his own work.
“We shouldn’t force people to buy it, what we should do is create different methods to monetise the connection.” Nipsey Hussle.
For artists today there are so many more opportunities to cultivate a deeper connection with your fans and leverage this into producing art that has real value to them. The Nipsey Hussle model also alleviates the strain of needing to appeal to a massive audience as you are able to generate income from a smaller and niche fan base.
I believe what made Nipsey Hussle’s $100 Mixtape so impactful is how it counteracts the notion of certain artforms being less valued than others. For years music which has been a form of art historically accessible to the masses has been devalued compared to other art forms such as fine art and fashion which has historically been attached to the wealthy. This difference in monetary value has nothing to do with the effort needed to produce each art form or the artistic complexity; rather it is merely the way in which audiences have been accustomed to value the different artistic mediums. Streaming has conditioned audiences to value all music the same regardless of its artistic merit, effort to create or even the cost it takes to produce.
The industry is beginning to understand the power of the micro base of an audience that is willing to support an artist through purchasing their work in multiple ways whether that be attending live shows, buying vinyls or merch. Naming this subsection of fans “Superfans” which Spotify claims to be 2% of an artist fan base. There are also companies such as SERENADE and BANDCAMP that give artists the ability to dictate the price of their work.
I hope to see the 2% of fans who are considered superfans to grow and more opportunities for ethical consumptions of music to arise that allow for artists' work to be valued at a true level that gives space for artists to make a living.
Image by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
Is local the new global?
The importance of local creative communities
As a society, we have become ever more interconnected and with the advancement of technology, the digital space has made global reach achievable to anyone with a smartphone.
However, for many creatives, reaching a global audience isn't possible or even desired as their art is centred around the authentic culture of their local communities. This departure from the guise of mass global appeal and instead favouring more niche and intentional audience targeting is allowing creatives to take risks and explore new fronts of creativity that may not be afforded to more globally targeted projects.
This year has provided amazing examples of art centred around local communities, reaching audiences they represent whilst also offering new perspectives and creative approaches that differ majorly from what is being produced for the masses.
Two films that capture the beauty of authentic storytelling that doesn't water down its cultural links to reach wider audiences but instead wears its representations of real communities on its sleeves, showcasing the power of local scenes are “Rye Lane '' and “Polite Society ''. The two films differ immensely in style, approach and cultures they aim to represent; however what both films share is the innate feeling of a genuine appreciation of their respective communities.
By creating through the lens of authentic experiences, creatives can tell more relatable stories that speak to real experiences:
Nida Manzoor, Director of “Polite Society” discussing her desire to convey Asian experiences in a way that felt more real to her and stray from western misrepresentations.
Additionally, the inclusion of local communities in the creation of one's art allows for a collaborative connection to the people you represent. We can see this approach taken in the rollout of the Film Peckham Rye, with its initial run and debut taking place in Peckham.
Director Raine Allen-Miller on the importance of representing her native community in a way that differs from the misrepresentation often placed on marginalised communities.
Rye Lane premiered at Peckham's Peckhamplex Cinema, this fusion of local representation highlights how artists and local businesses can collaborate when reaching a shared audience.
The shift in local artists being favoured by their communities without needing to expand globally can be felt in the music industry as well. Especially in Europe, we are seeing a rise in domestic acts topping the charts over international artists.
Will Page, ex-Chief Economist of both Spotify and UK collection society PRS For Music discussing the shift in music consumption favouring more local talent.
As you can see, for creatives the benefit of thinking locally when it comes to their art is becoming ever more so beneficial, organisations such as Bounce Cinema and Rich Mix showcase and celebrate local filmmakers as well as LNDBR and Reprezent Radio giving spaces for local musicians to perform. This speaks to the importance of fostering communities for local creatives to collaborate and share their work.
There is still a lot of support needed in the local sector, especially when it comes to funding. There must be more value placed on local creative projects, venues and artists for them to survive. One reason more globally appealing projects are funded is due to the potential revenue they can generate, However, we see with films such as Rye Lane making 1.5 million USD that there is an appetite for more local storytelling.
We need more local artists to create because it offers diversity in the stories and art we consume, the more insight we can get into different communities through authentic and respectful art the more opportunities will be given to those from different backgrounds.
Is this the best time for Independent artists?
Is this the best time for Independent artists?
The independent music space has historically been positioned as second place to the giants of the music industry, The major music labels. The big three are Sony Music, Universal, and Warner. Due to their scale and monetary backing, major labels have dominated the top echelon of the music industry and for artists aiming to achieve global success, it seemed that the only way was through the doors of one of these major labels.
However, we can now see that the tide is changing. The independent sector has seen a huge growth in market share and global reach, altering the playing fields for independent artists and now offering a space for unsigned artists to reach the top of the industry without ever having to give away any of their rights.
To understand this change in the industry we need to understand the role majors play in the industry and their relationship with artists. Major Record labels act as the institution in which the music industry has been built, they control the biggest share of global market share and are home to some of the biggest artists in the world. These facts coupled with international reach and significant budgets have made it so getting a record deal by one of these companies is the gold standard marking an artist's success.
Despite this there has always been disputes between artists and the majors, a big reason for this is due to the ownership of an artist and their music that comes with such a deal. Major labels are entitled to a bigger percentage of an artist's royalties and can limit creative control.
The alternative to the industrialised path of the majors is going independent. There are many definitions of what makes an artist independent, for this article we will be using the basic understanding of an artist who is not signed to a major label. The independent route has been seen as a way for artists to maintain creative control, and hold on to more of their rights and royalties with the drawbacks being a lack of advance funding and growth potential internationally. Being independent also means that more of the work done to grow an artist such as marketing, A&R and promotion falls to the artist themself.
This paradigm is changing, as the digital space becomes ever more present, the reach of independent artists is expanding and global success is becoming more common for unsigned artists. Streaming services have allowed for artists to reach wider audiences through digital distribution. Services such as Venice Music also take on tasks such as marketing, pitching to DSP’s and finding sync opportunities for independent artists. Allowing independent artists to focus more time on creating music.
This change isn't going unnoticed as companies such as DOWNTURN aim to support “the extraordinary growth of the independent music economy”. Altering the notion of limited funding in the independent music sector both DOWNTURN and BeatBread have created funds investing $200 million and $100 million respectively into the independent music sector.
We are now living in an age where it is no longer uncommon for the top spots in the charts to be held by independent artists. We are seeing success stories such as Raye, getting her first no.1 Billboard Hit as an independent artist, Little Simz winning a Mercury Award beating major label superstars and one of the biggest artists Bad Bunny, an independent artist being the most streamed artist on Spotify for three consecutive years.
This significant growth in the sector, emphasises how “Independent and self-distributed artists in the long run will continue to erode the market dominance of Universal, Sony and Warner.” Tracy Maddux, DOWNTOWN.
“With artists developing and being successful independently, it’s going to be an opportunity for the major labels, whether they want to or not, [to improve] the fairness in how their deal terms are [structured]. It’s not just the major labels, but everybody’s deal terms.” Ty Baisden (Manager of Brent Faiyaz)
There are still areas that still need to develop in the independent music sector, such as fairer pay percentages from streaming services, more funding for the live music sector and standardised industry practices that protect independent artists from right violations and their work being used to train AI software without permission or compensation.
Despite this, it is undeniable that the independent music sector is in a place of exponential growth and I hope that this encourages a change in the industry that gives artists more leverage to dictate their careers.
Should musicians go on strike?
Should musicians go on strike?
What we can learn from the actors/writers strike
What we can learn from the actors/writers strike
After a series of failed negotiations between both writers and actors and the Hollywood film establishment, for the first time in over 6 decades, writers and actors will unite on the picket lines, in a unified striking effort against the Hollywood establishment over the lack of what they believe to be fair pay and compensation in the age of streaming as well as no job security in regards to AI.
This is a historic moment that has major implications not only for the participants of the strike but for society as a whole. To understand why this is such a prevalent issue, let's first understand why both actors and writers feel the need to strike in the first place.
Why are they striking?
One of the biggest reasons writers first started striking is due to the lack of compensation for their work as the studios grow their wealth exponentially. In the last 10 years, studio profits have increased by 39% and yet in the same period, writers have seen a 4% decrease in their earnings, which begs the question, where is the money going?
A large reason for this is the advent of streaming, which has led to the vast amount of shows being produced on these platforms, many of which don't get renewed past the first season. Thus work retention for writers has dropped significantly. As for actors, the impact of streaming is felt, a combination of outdated contract terms and a rapidly changing media landscape means shorter season orders and longer hiatuses between seasons. All of that “makes it increasingly difficult for our members to achieve and maintain a middle-class lifestyle working as a performer,” according to SAG-AFTRA’s website.
In addition to this, the threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI) looms over both parties. Writers are looking to limit the use of AI and artificial intelligence cannot be used to create uncompensated work based on the work of writers. “You can also expect to see the training of AI programs on older, hit TV series in order to create new seasons,” Filmmaker Justine Bateman states, highlighting how AI can be trained to create scripts based on work produced by writers.
For actors, the stance on AI is similar, for them, there is a particular urge for protection against AI being used to recreate their likeness, voice and performances without their consent.
How does this relate to musicians?
The parallel between the actors'/writers' strike and the current state of the music industry is quite stark. I feel like the music industry is in a state of transition and where it's headed is being decided behind closed doors, in boardrooms with execs, social media CEOs and no artists in sight. I believe it is necessary for those of us in the industry to learn from the unity shown by actors and writers as they take on giants.
“My view on the market is that its kinda a race towards zero… unfortunately” This a quote from Charlie Torrible Head of Data & Insight at Warner Records, in regards to streaming services and social media platforms such as TikTok’s movement in the direction of artist no longer making money from the work and effort they put into building their careers. “Where artists are having to give more of themselves for […] zero revenue” Charlie Torrible. In an attention economy where artists are having to give more of themselves in order to garner the attention of their fans, one must ask whether this attention is translating to monetary gain or are they just increasing the watch time for these social platforms and making them more money through advertising deals while the artist is being left to pick up crumbs?
When we look into this quote we can see why artists need to take a look at the current state of the music industry and ask themselves where the industry is headed. The rise of social media platforms like TikTok has provided artists with the gem that is virality through trends and portions of their music going viral, usually a sped-up version. This push for virality has pushed the industry to take a step back from the role of trendsetter and become a follower of algorithmic favorability. This in itself positions the music as secondary to the algorithm which lessens the leverage artists have when negotiating payouts for the use of music on these platforms. However, this issue goes deeper as threats of AI also add an existential element to this as social media platforms and other companies that operate outside the music industry have clocked on to the way in which music adds to gaining and holding attention from audiences and now with the rapid development of AI, are now able to produce music without a single artist involved and the required compensation that comes with artist participation.
This is not a worry of the future as companies such as Anghami have stated that they will be the first platform to host 200,000 songs generated by artificial intelligence. Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) – the owner of China’s largest music streaming platforms have created and released 1,000 tracks with vocals generated by an AI that mimics human voices.
This devaluation of music is also being escalated majorly by streaming companies. The price for a premium Spotify account has been consistent at £9.99, despite growing inflation. This decision to maintain the price consumers pay for music acts to condition audiences to not place significant value on the music they consume as for £9.99 they are able to listen to almost every song ever made in history. Like, let it make sense? If music streaming companies continue with this £9.99 business model despite that same £9.99 being worth less than it was 12 months ago due to inflation then music is being devalued. It just is. Now this is a decision being made by streaming companies, with artists having to take the brunt of this.
I wrote this piece as I believe, for independent artists especially, who don't have the backing of major record labels, who are struggling to even afford to take advantage of the supposed ways artist make money like touring and merchandise, we see this with acts such as Little Simz having to cut tours short due to a lack of funds. There is a need for artists to be in the rooms when these types of decisions are being made on their behalf. In addition to the need for protection of their rights, likeness and regulated industry standards when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence in the industry.
The creative spaces seem to be the guinea pigs of how far AI can be used to replace the work of real humans and I believe it is up to us to stand up for the world we want to live in. Where artists big and small are able to make a living doing the thing they love.
This article acts to ask the music industry the question of who is dictating the future of the industry, and are we ready for what is to come, are artists protected and is there space for artists to have more say in how the industry is run?
So do musicians need to strike? Well maybe, but I think that what is more important is that artists are aware of these challenges and look out for initiatives that are making a positive impact on artists such as the Musicians’ Union and MMF (Music Managers Forum). Platforms like Bandcamp and Serenade use technology to allow musicians to sell their music directly to their fans. AI is not inherently negative and can be used as a tool to aid in making an artist's life easier.
It is crucial to remember that music is more than just a way to make money, it’s a passion and artists do not need to sacrifice their integrity, mental health or love of the craft in order to find success.