In 2018 I began working as a private social media manager for an up and coming artist. In the beginning my sole job was to manage all of their social media, however soon I began to think bigger and suggest some ideas to the artist on how to grow their platform not just in terms of the number of followers but also how to translate them into fans who support the artist, the music and their personal brand. From working alongside this artist and having many friends who are also pursuing a career in the music industry, I have compiled a small list of ways to support these up and coming artists on their journey to stardom.
Listen To Their Music
While this may be the most obvious way to support an artist, listening to their music has a huge impact and increases the artist’s monthly listener count, youtube streams and translates to actual revenue the artist can use to put back into their music. In addition, listening to their music around other people is a perfect way, and one of the easiest ways for the artist to grow followers and fans. Lastly, interact with their music by adding it to your playlist or reposting the song on your social media.
Follow Their Social Media
The artist’s image and personal branding is just as important as the music and by following their social media you increase their follower count legitimizing new artists and solidifying their reach on social media. Though it may not be a big deal to you, many artists depend on followers to spread the word about their new music dropping or their new merch line. Today social media connects the artist on the fan and in many ways validates them as a legitimate musician so even a single new follower for these up and coming artists is huge.
Buy Their Merchandise
Buying their merch is one of the best ways to support up and coming artists. Not only are you giving money directly to the artist, but you also become almost like a walking billboard or advertisement when you wear their merchandise in public. Though the merch may be expensive, it’s important to know that you’re doing more than just buying a shirt, you’re supporting the artist, the music and a small business.
Connect Them With Your Network
Another way to support up and coming artists is to connect them with your network of people who already have a foot in the door in the industry. This includes engineers, managers, A&Rs, other artists, graphic designers, models etc. By merging your network with theirs, they are able to potentially collaborate with other artists, produce songs with better engineers, find a manager to get them in the room with some of the right people to further their career or are able to start their own merchandise line.
These are just a few ways I have found to be most effective in supporting artists. It takes just a minute, and you could do it from the comfort of your bed, to listen to their song, follow them on instagram, buy a shirt or message them that your cousin’s boyfriend is an engineer in their area. So next time you see your old highschool friend post that her new single is coming out, I hope you refer back to this list to help them on their journey to pursuing their dreams.