It must be acknowledged at the outset that the life of a musical artist in the days of yore involved a rather different sort of hustle. Once upon a time, you could plonk yourself in a smoky bar, strum your guitar, and if you were reasonably competent and could sing without causing the audience physical pain, you might just gather a following or at least earn enough for a decent supper. These days, however, the picture has shifted somewhat dramatically. Being a musical artist is no longer merely about creating melodies; it’s about creating market strategies, digital identities, and, crucially, audiences.
Imagine if Mozart had to manage his Instagram account, or if Beethoven paused between symphonies to check his YouTube subscribers. It sounds absurd, but that’s essentially the reality for today’s musicians. They must be as adept with a tweet as they are with a tune.
The digital age, bless its silicon soul, has democratized music production and distribution. Today, with a smartphone and a decent internet connection, you can broadcast your compositions to the world. This is both liberating and enormously daunting because while everyone has access to the digital stage, not everyone knows how to make the crowd listen, or indeed, make it grow.
Let’s consider for a moment that you’re a hypothetical indie artist with a penchant for folksy tunes and a harmonica. You, like many aspiring musicians, might start your musical journey in your bedroom, surrounded by posters of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. With a head full of dreams and a YouTube channel boasting all of three subscribers (two of which might be your understandably supportive parents), you quickly realise that singing into the void isn’t going to pay the rent.
What you need is a strategy. First, you master the art of digital presence. Social media isn’t just a place to share photos of your meals; it becomes your concert hall, your flyer, and your magazine interview. You tweet, you post, you share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your creative process. Each post is a note in your digital symphony, each hashtag a chorus.
But understanding the mechanics of social media platforms is just the beginning. You also have to engage with your audience. This isn’t the passive, faceless crowd of yesteryear; this is a crowd that can talk back. They can ask questions, make requests, and, most terrifying of all, unfollow. Engagement becomes the name of the game. You answer comments, host live sessions, and even ask your followers what they want to hear. Your audience isn’t just listening; they become part of the creative process. This is audience-building in the digital age–interactive, incessant, and incredibly intricate.
As your digital savvy grows, so does your audience (one hopes). You learn about algorithms, those mysterious beasts that decide whether your music soars to the top of feeds or sinks into digital obscurity. You experiment with ads, collaborations with other artists, and even dabble in some light meme-making. You are no longer just a musician; you become a media maestro, conducting an orchestra of online tools to amplify your music’s reach.
This, then, is the modern musician’s reality. The music still matters, of course. It has to resonate, to touch hearts, to make feet tap and souls soar. But the music is just the beginning. The rest is a blend of marketing, engagement, analytics, and, above all, a relentless pursuit of digital relevance.
And it’s never-ending. Just as one does not simply plant a garden and then retire indoors forever, one does not simply release an album and wait. You water it, you tend to it, you pull out the weeds and fend off the birds. Sometimes, it feels like a battle. Other times, it’s a joy. But always, it is work.
So if you’re sitting there, waiting for fame to find you, remember this: the world is noisy and distracted and endlessly busy. If you want to be heard, you’re going to have to raise your voice.
Even after saying all of that, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a better way?