Social media continues to shape the way that we consume music, in the ways artists release songs and how we, as consumers, are able to find music. Music listeners all over the world use a variety of techniques to promote, create and popularize songs. TikTok uses its vast community to create large communities for artists. We see this with songs like Dove Cameron’s quick release of “Boyfriend” or songs like Leith Ross’s much anticipated song “ We’ll Never Have Sex” which attracted millions of views from a one minute TikTok. SoundCloud has pioneered the music industry for years with large artists like Lil’ Yachty, Trippie Redd and Lil Uzi Vert getting discovered on the platform and growing to be artists with millions of Spotify listeners.
But the outlet that is least recognized for its sway in the music industry is Instagram.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms; they are owned by Facebook and have been around for decades. The influence that Instagram has on the music industry is not spoken about nearly enough. Artists use the app to share their music on a far smaller scale to the direct audience who has been anticipating their releases. Artists often use Instagram to tease their loyal fans about upcoming work. When artists go on a long hiatus—whether that is to take care of themselves or because they’re feeling uninspired—Instagram entertains loyal fans in their absence. When the artist makes their eventual return, the app plays a central role in their release. Die-hard fans of Adele remember the artist’s six year hiatus, after which she began teasing her new album 30 with an Instagram story featuring the iconic blue of her new album.
Instagram gives both large and small artists a platform and equal opportunity to interact with their fanbase. A particular feature that makes it easy for artists to share their songs is Instagram stories. Because the stories are only up for 24 hours, there’s an opportunity for artists to share snippets of music without having any commitment to releasing those songs. Artists also often use Instagram Live to see their fans' reactions to new music in real time. Four days before its release, Instagram users tuning in to Conan Gray's livestream heard the first verse of his hit song “Heather” before anyone else. The popular singer-songwriter Clairo has also performed multiple unreleased songs on Instagram stories and lives, including fan favorites “Caught me by surprise” and “I wouldn't ask,” which are now only available as screen recordings of Instagram on YouTube.
Jason Korn is a freshman at Emerson College majoring in Musical Theater who has released three acoustic ballads since 2021, including his latest release “Jester”. As an artist new to the business, he uses Instagram as a tool to promote his music. Korn shared his love for Instagram stories, which he often uses to share snippets of his unreleased music. “I personally like those little snippets,” he said. “I always start off with a little, 30 second thing on my story. And then I'll probably be like, ‘Are you guys ready?’”
Korn also spoke to the intimacy that social media can create. “Creators showing little snippets of things that they just create… that's really special because it creates a lot more intimacy with your audience. It definitely lets them know, ‘Hey, this is what I'm writing about. If you feel compelled by this, let me know.’”
Josie Arthur is a second year Theater and Performance major at Emerson who goes by JOBIE. JOBIE’s music is indie pop-esque and she has been releasing under that name since 2021, when she released her first single “Half Way.” The temporary nature of stories poses an appeal for JOBIE. “There's definitely less pressure with posting Instagram stories because they do go away in 24 hours… I feel like if I post something on my actual feed, it has to be thought out or aesthetically pleasing and has to go with the rest of the feed.”
Alongside the low stakes nature of Instagram stories, JOBIE shared how instrumental she has found the platform’s story features to be.
“I use stories the most just because that's the easiest, that's also what gets viewed the most,” she said. “If you're trying to be like ‘Hey, come out to the show tonight,’ or ‘Hey, watch this video,’... it's quick and it's right now. It's very in-the-moment.”
There seems to be a general consensus that social media forms a love-hate relationship with artists. JOBIE expressed, “I kind of hate [social media]... I do feel like streaming as well as social media has negatively impacted the music industry, because you don't have to pay for anybody's art.You can watch that video of someone singing for free and you can listen to that song essentially for free. And it kind of devalues the art a little bit.”
Korn expressed a similar frustration, saying, “With a new song coming out, I'm like, ‘Crap, I have to post,’ which is completely untrue. I don't have to do anything. But I just feel very strongly about what I want to put out so I finally did [post on Instagram].”
Many artists face a loss of agency when it comes to social media. “Social media can have such a presence, where sometimes the artist doesn't have a choice… they can put out one song that they feel very passionate about, but if the audience of social media doesn't like it, then it's not going to get the traction that it deserves… and that, to me, just seems very suffocating.”
Despite this love-hate relationship, all artists can acknowledge how instrumental social media is for their careers. Korn spoke on Instagram’s ‘promote’ feature that “helps small creators and small artists and things. If your music gets out there once then it can start a chain reaction and it can just keep growing and growing and growing.”
Instagram is paving the way for how artists and their audience interact with music and consume music. Korn said, “Social media has such an impact on what the world is listening to,” and this rings true. Social media, specifically Instagram, changes what we, as consumers, are listening to as it presents us with new artists. But it's a double-edged sword, simultaneously confining and supporting artists. So next time you're scrolling and stumble upon an artist, remember to interact with their content to help social media uplift them.
Article also found in Five Cent Sound's spring print issue page 50-54
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