DJ or influencer?
In the dance music scene, there’s plenty of artists and plenty of fans. Interestingly, the way which these elements interact with one another is something which has recently changed. Massively. Back in the days of the famous ‘Hacienda’, raves were about the music. In order to get booked you simply had to know the people running it, be talented and not be scared to perform in front of the massive crowds. However, nowadays it doesn’t quite work like that. With the rise of social media, artists have so many different ways of getting these big bookings, and someone who is utilising these various avenues is that of ‘East End Dubs’.
East end dubs
East end dubs is an artist from London, who has risen to fame at an alarming rate. In the latter end of 2022 he wasn’t able to sell out venues with a capacity of 100, yet now he’s playing in front of tens of thousands at places like Parklife and Music On. This progression is amazing, but how has he done it?
Through a deeper look into his Instagram we can see the various marketing techniques which he uses in order to reach and engage with his fans, whilst simultaneously exposing his brand to new listeners.
In the studio
One of the first things we see once we look at Dubs’ Instagram has to be the outrageous studio setup. This man has got more synths than sense. His studio is a cacophony of wires, plug ins, effectors, synths and drum machines — and he’s not afraid to show it off.
The way he does this is mainly through a highlight reel called (fittingly) ‘STUDIO’. Here are the kind of post’s you can expect to see in this reel;
While these Stories may look like basic Instagram posts, the benefits they give Dubs’ in terms of marketing are vast. Initially, these posts allow him to show off the expensive set up that he has, which connotes his wealth and success. The music he’s previews not only shows off his talent, yet asking questions like ‘What should i call this track?’ engages his fans, as they’ll want to think of an answer — even if they don’t tell him it. This pondering of a name will increase watch time, which boosts the story itself on Instagram algorithms, allowing him to reach a wider audience.
What you giving all this away for mate?
Another element of the social media game which Dubs uses is the famous ‘giveaway’. To the common eye, these look like big acts of kindness towards his fans, I mean, just look at all this merchandise he’s giving away for free;
You see what I mean? Interestingly though, giving all this away has big benefits for the artist. In order to enter, fans have to tag a friend, more tags = more entries. This is simply promotion. Due to his fans tagging their friends, he’s vastly increasing the amount of engagement his post will get.
All in all
All in all we can see how the rise of social media marketing has made various avenues of promotion accessable for present day Artists, and how the lines between Dj and Influencer are becoming increasingly blurred.
