Monday, September 15, 2014

How Six Seconds are Changing the Music Industry

I am a frequent checker of BuzzFeed. I thought I would use the site to find some inspiration for my social media post this week. As soon as I clicked on my bookmark and the page loaded, I saw what I was going to post. The featured article was entitled “How Vine Became The Music Industry’s Next Hope.” Reggie Ugwu writes about how the music industry is using Vine to find the next big thing.

David Massey, president of Island Records, recalls how the search for new talent has evolved from open-mic nights to Myspace to YouTube and recently to Vine. He claims he can “tell whether an artist will have a career in music within two minutes of meeting them.” Now he can save one minute and 54 seconds by just viewing a Vine of an artist.

The article describes Shawn Mendes’ rise from a nobody on YouTube to now being signed with Island Records. Mendes got 10,000 likes on his first Vine and about 3.1 million followers. This ability to reach a large number of people with the simplicity of a six second video “can suggest a star power that will translate outside of the service, at the record store, and on tour stages,” which means big bucks for music companies.

I definitely think the music industry will continue to use Vine. The industry will be able to save time and money by looking at vines rather that scouring YouTube. Although record labels haven’t figured out the exact science of turning a Vine artist into a mega-hit, they have definitely reaped the financial benefits from single sales.

So many people use Vine that artists can create a fan base before they even sign with a record company. An artist with talent, a social media presence and an existing fan base? Sounds like exactly what the record companies want.

Who do you think will be the next Vine artist to make it in the music industry?


2 comments:

  1. Kelly,

    Although I don't know who the next Vine artist will be, I do know that I am guilty of spending way to much time watching people sing for six seconds. It's basically addicting. I think it's so interesting how the music industry has changed throughout the years, but more importantly, that we the consumers are changing the music industry. Industry leaders are having to follow where we take them (different platforms) to find the next big name. But I like that the industry is listening to us rather than trying to find talent their own way. I think the only videos I watch more on Vine than people singing is videos of cats.

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  2. Kelly,
    I personally don't send a lot of time on Vine which is why I find this post particularly interesting. When Vine first became the trendy new application a few years ago, I jumped on the bandwagon and used it like everyone else, but I quickly lost interest. I felt like Vine was a social media fad that wouldn't stay around. Obviously, I was wrong. Thinking that six second videos are changing the music industry amazes me and serves as a great testament to the power of social media. Vine famous artists prove that if you know how to properly utilize social media it's possible to yield big results.

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