With Christmas right around the corner, everyone is in the midst of getting those last minute gifts for their loved ones. Typically, supporting your favorite artists during this time is the last thing on the mind of fans. Usually, people equate supporting artists to buying merch or tickets to financially support them. With the strain on everyone's usual budgets from the holidays, artists understand that buying merch and tickets isn't feasable for their fans. Instead, artists would be happy to have your virtual support during the holiday season.
What do I mean by virtual support? I mean following, liking, commenting, and sharing content put out by your favorite artists. In this day and age, the music industry is heavily driven by social media. These follows, likes, and shares are like currency to independent artists. These three things have the capabilities to make or break an artist that is trying to take the next step in their music career.
Followers and likes are known as vanity metrics. When you click on a profile or see a post, these are things people look at immediately. Though these statistics have little to do with an artist's audience, people with more followers and posts with more likes are automatically considered more "legitimate" than posts without them. Unfortunately, social media algorithms tend to promote people in the same way. You are more likely to see recommended posts from people that have a lot of engagement on their profiles and posts. Adding a like and a comment on a post from an artist you like can help keep their posts circulating.
Following an artist on Spotify can also be a big help to them and potentially have a huge impact on their music getting out there as well. Followers and monthly listeners on Spotify can help get songs onto more popular playlists, mean more plays and higher royalty payouts to the artist. When a song gets playlisted, it also helps other people to discover the artist and continue this cycle.
Sharing is by far the most helpful gift you can give an artist during the holidays. With each piece of content you share, you are exposing an artist to a whole new audience. This can help artists find new fans that will support them in the same way that you do. I know as I have built the label, I have discovered artists through shared posts and songs. That has led to me working with several of the artists currently on our label. You never know who will see what you share, but it could mean so much to the artist in the sake of new fans and connections for them to grow in the music industry.
Simply engaging with your favorite artists on social media is the best gift you can give them this holiday season. And the best part about it is that its free and takes minimal time on your end. Your like or share can lead to a potential new fan seeing the aritst for the first time. Maybe they will buy the artist's merch or go see their next show. Regardless, every interaction you have with their content and music plays a huge role in their success or not. You have the power to help bring your favorite artists to the biggest stage at any given moment. Just open up Instagram or Tik Tok and engage.
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