“Will Playlists Kill Off Albums?” plus 1 more

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“Will Playlists Kill Off Albums?” plus 1 more

Will Playlists Kill Off Albums?

Posted: 07 Jun 2018 08:10 AM PDT

I’m a musician who doesn’t do Spotify — I buy records. I’ll admit I do YouTube, and therein lies the issue: even for purists of the album format — people who insist on buying records, CDs, and tapes — the lure of streaming music is hard to resist. Not far from every song I listen to, there’s a YouTube “mix” (a playlist curated by YouTube’s astute algorithms). Meanwhile, on Spotify playlists dominate and underground musicians only start making anything close to real money if they get on a playlist. It’s not hard to picture a world in which the album format has gone the way of the dinosaur and playlists dominate. In such a world, each song is independent of the rest of an artist’s work. A song’s playability is based on where it fits within the world of playlists. Artists release collections of songs, but they only do so as a formality, and physical collections no longer exist because everything’s digital. More than collections, artists release individual songs. This isn’t far from happening, but could it actually become the norm?

The Merits of Playlists

Playlists provide many joys. They cater to our tendency to categorize, curate, and collect. Even more than that, they cater to the listener’s desire for songs that fit a certain mood or occasion. The DJ in all of us exalts when a song comes on that fits the moment perfectly, as if we’re in a movie with a well-appointed score/soundtrack. When someone skillfully constructs a playlist, it’s an art form. It pops with contrasting feels, it flows with complementary keys, it unearths songs that — were it up to the gatekeepers of commercial success — would never creep out from beneath the rug. The Byrds once sang, “To everything/There is a season/And a time to every purpose under heaven.” An updated version would read, “To everything/There is a playlist/And an occasion to every playlist under heaven.” Moving to a new city? Here’s a playlist of the best songs about moving away. There are heavy hitters on here, including Tom Petty, Billy Joel, and Johnny Cash. And, of course, you can find it on Spotify. Studying for finals? Here are some playlists to help you survive finals week. The diversity here is impressive, with Justin Timberlake, Kid Cudi, and M83 — just a few of the artists whose songs satisfy the need for “upbeat pop.” If you want “coffeehouse chill,” check out some tracks from Bon Iver, Tycho, and (shudder) John Mayer. Looking for some old-school hip hop? Look no further than Run D.M.C., A Tribe Called Quest, and a collab from Dr. Dre, Blackstreet, and Queen Pen. That’s right. “No Diggity.” Playlists put the power in the hands of the listener. Now, instead of letting an artist or a radio station tell you which songs belong where, you make the call. Want someone else to make the call for you? Check out their playlist. No doubt they’ve felt the same as you, they’ve been to a similar party and walked out, after which they made a playlist. Oh and a final merit of playlists: they eliminate clutter. No more heavy vinyl to move around. No more CDs strewn all over the place. You can play a playlist virtually anywhere and it fits in your pocket.

The Merits of Albums

Conversely, albums leave the power in the hands of the artist. The artist decides which songs belong in a collection. When you listen to a song, you might as well let the album play through and hear the other stuff. The artist gets to transport the listener into her world. While a single song can transport you, it ends quickly (unless it’s an epic jam) and you’re wrenched out of the experience. An album gives you time to explore. A single song can be a work of art, but an album is a more complex, immersive work of art. An album asks you to pay attention and get to know the artist on a deeper level. A well-done album showcases the artist as an artist, not just a hitmaker. The album allows the artist and listener to forge a relationship.

What Streaming Means to Artists

So far, when it comes to the art, artists are better off releasing albums. Plus, streaming barely pays. Spotify pays you $0.006 to $0.0084 per stream, and that money goes to “rights holders” — if you’re on a label and no one knows about you, you’d better hope to win the streaming lottery and land on one of Spotify’s playlists, which means you’ll get more plays. Hopefully you’ll get enough plays to make the cost of recording and promotion worth it for the label and the band. In the world of streaming, you’re going to be pretty strapped for cash if you’re not a big pop star. That’s why bands are charging more for concerts now. According to the co-founder of Bandsintown, 90 percent of payout comes from live shows. If the future of music is streaming, it would help artists immensely if platforms like Spotify and Pandora were to become record labels that charge regular prices for access to songs. Don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.

The Resurgence of Vinyl

There’s good news for artists and labels: 2017 was a record-setting year for vinyl sales. The sales numbers don’t take into account the years before 1991, when Nielsen started keeping electronic records, but this still means there’s a taste for vinyl out there. So will playlists delete albums in the future? I don’t think the answer is yes. As long as there’s a taste for the full-blown album experience, as long as there are good artists proving albums are important, people will continue to want albums. There’s no telling what will happen to hard copy albums, but I’m willing to bet people’s desire for physical art forms will always exist.

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7 Ways To Engage More Fans On Twitter

Posted: 06 Jun 2018 06:01 AM PDT

Have you checked out the list of 100 most popular musicians on Twitter? Twitter is all about creating a connection with the audience, and that’s exactly why it’s so valuable. So how do you do it? What if you’re not as famous as Lady Gaga? She has 78.4 million followers on Twitter at this point, and the level of engagement on her profile is huge. Does this mean you should make peace with the fact that you’re not popular enough to start using Twitter? Absolutely not! Twitter can be a massive aspect of your personal branding efforts. We’ll suggest 7 ways to engage more audience on this social media platform. Understand What Twitter Is All About
When people start following on Twitter, they will surely like to get updates on your projects. But does that mean you’ll solely be tweeting about new releases and upcoming events? No. You want to become part of the real community on Twitter. Just get there and start tweeting. You already have a style and you probably have your way around lyrics, so you can express yourself clearly without using too many words. Voila; that’s Twitter’s essence. You won’t gain a million followers in a day if you just show up and start tweeting (unless you’re Lady Gaga), but just go out there and do your thing. The results will come. Write a Good Bio
The bio has to describe your personality and be witty at the same time. This is not the type of biography you’d write for your official website. Twitter doesn’t give you much space for the bio. You have only 160 characters. If you approach this the right way, that’s more than enough. This is what Taylor Swift’s Twitter bio says at the moment: “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now.” It works because her fans know what she’s talking about, and it describes a turning point in her career. Mind the Grammar in Your Tweets
Yes; you have limited space, so you’ll definitely use slang and abbreviations. Grammar and spelling mistakes, however, are not allowed. Everyone makes habitual mistakes. That’s why it’s important to use an editing tool that will warn you about flaws in your tweets. Here are few suggestions for such tools: • SpellCheckPlus – a simple grammar and spelling checker that doesn’t require subscription; • Ginger – a more advanced grammar checker that works as a Google Chrome extension; • BestEssays.com.au – a writing and editing service with real pros in its team; • Wordrake – a tool that encourages you to get straight to the point; Just Tweet!
Here are few suggestions on what to tweet: • Invite the followers to check out your website, other social media profiles, podcast or blog. • Tweet some updates on the way you live. If, for example, you’re on a tour, tweet about the cities and experiences. • Tweet about rehearsals, composing, writing, recording, and all other aspects of your work. • Tell them something about you. Share some of your favorite music, blogs, books, and hobbies. Start Following People
Start by following the people from your email network. Twitter links to your email account and suggests these profiles to you. Interact with the profiles you follow and keep expanding your network. Here’s a trick that will speed things up: check out the list of followers on the profile of a fellow musician. These people are already interested in the style of music you produce. Check out their profiles and give some of them a follow. If they notice interesting activity on your profile, they will follow back. Be Part of the Talk
You can’t just show up on Twitter, share some stuff about yourself and expect to engage people. This activity should not be self-centered. When someone you’re following shares something interesting, get involved in that conversation. This is great since their followers will notice you and some of them will check out your profile. Be a Regular
The biggest stars don’t tweet every day because they don’t need to attract a large following. They already have that. Uprising musicians, however, have to be more consistent in their activity. This doesn’t mean you should share 10 tweets in a single hour. That’s called spamming. However, scheduling few tweets per day with at least half an hour between them is a good idea. Be open to the promotional potential that Twitter can unlock! Popularity doesn’t come easy and you know you have to work for it. With this platform, however, self-promotion is as fun as it gets. Bio: Joan Selby is a creative writer and social media marketer. In her free time, Joan enjoys playing the guitar and songwriting. Drop her a line on Facebook or Twitter!

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