How Pop-Star Halsey Turned Social Media Followers into Huge Streaming
All you need is listeners.
Every artist knows that social media is a huge factor in cultivating a loyal fan base…but few are able to establish a following, grow a fanbase, and then turn it into loyal listeners with as much success as pop-star Halsey did.
Halsey found massive success through one major factor: her presence in social media. Since the very beginning, Halsey has had a very outspoken voice in social media, which she was able to turn into a massive audience.
Over the past few years, singer-songwriter and recently named pop-star Halsey has become somewhat of an international hit sensation among the teen generation.
Her debut album, “Badlands,” was certified platinum, and since then, she has had a number of hit releases which have managed to garner hundreds of millions of streams over the past couple years.
At the start of her career in 2012, at just 17, she released a cover song of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble,” creating a parody of the song in which she expressed her distaste for the relationship between T-Swift and One Direction’s Harry Styles.
The song became a viral sensation among the teen generation, and she gained a massive following practically overnight.
Unlike many artists we see, she was able to capitalize on this new following she had gained, and turned it into a fan base which helped her establish a quick-growing career in music, and eventually more viral hits and a record deal.
She has since worked with major names in the industry such as Justin Bieber and The Chainsmokers, and she has multiple songs which individually have earned literally hundreds of millions streams.
So, what can we take from her story when it comes to streaming?
Use Pop Culture to Attract People
When Halsey created that first cover song back in 2012, she was taking advantage of an opportunity she saw in pop culture. The relationship between Swift and Styles at the time was somewhat unpopular among perspective fans, so her parody-cover of the song struck a chord with them.
That first song created huge interest in this little-known singer, and she was savvy enough to know how to take advantage.
This is a great story of how an artist can use what is popular among people in a moment of time in order to create an emotional appeal to their audience.
Nowadays, pop culture is so pervasive in society, it can be easy to find a story to use to your advantage.
Look at your Facebook / Instagram / Twitter feeds, and you’ll see ten different stories today that people are getting fired up about. Take a lesson from Halsey, and find a story that you yourself are interested, and figure out how you can use that to speak to your audience.
Be Outspoken in Your Opinions
Don’t be afraid to share your opinions about events, people, or situations you see. Be polar in your opinions and your views, and don’t be scared of offending some people.
One of the worst things that has happened in society is the advent of “political correctness.”
When Halsey released her cover song back in 2012, there were probably plenty of people that didn’t like it. But the ones that agreed with her, loved for saying it. And those turned into loyal fans, most of which probably still listen to everything she says online and in her music today.
Some of the biggest online followings have been gathered by people who were not afraid to share their opinions on certain matters, even if it meant that offending or angering certain people.
Remember, there will always be those who agree with you, and when you say out loud what they are too afraid to say, they will respect you for it, and they will love you for it.
Don’t Lose Momentum
This is perhaps the most important lesson to be taken from Halsey: once you get the first viral hit, and you start to see a rise in followers, you cannot allow yourself to lost that momentum. You absolutely must continue building on it, or it will fizzle out and you will be lost and forgotten.
One of the most impressive things we saw from Halsey’s rise was that she never stopped moving forward for a second.
Once her first cover song went viral, she followed up immediately with her own songs, releasing singles on SoundCloud that her audience could listen to. She maintained a strong social media presence, which she was able to leverage into more listeners.
She used streaming to her advantage, driving her fans to YouTube and Soundcloud, and eventually to Spotify to listen to her music. She understood something that a lot of artists nowadays are still fighting against, which is that the most important, vital thing to any artist’s career is to get people to listen to their music.
Don’t worry about selling anything. Just create great music, and make sure people want to listen to it. Make sure they add your songs into their personal playlists, and that they want to share your music with their friends.
With the advent of major streaming services, you have the opportunity to make money every time someone listens to your song. So your goal, now, is to get them to listen.
Chris Park is an experienced record label manager, sound engineer, producer, and musician who has been working in the music industry for close to ten years. He has helped dozens of artists find success in the music industry using the knowledge he has found by studying these stories and issues, but he plans to help thousands using the info found in this blog.
Originally published at www.streamersinternational.com.
