Influencer Killed the Rock Star: challenges and opportunities afforded to the music industry in a digital age
The music industry has seen a rapid paradigm shift over the past couple of decades alongside the rise of the digital age. 80% of all recorded music revenue in 2022 came from streaming services, a stark contrast to 2008 in which only 20% of music sales were digital at all. As lead singer of UK based rock band The Subways, Billy Lunn puts it — “the industry doesn’t work the way it used to”.
The Subways formed in 2002 and have experienced many facets of being successful artists, supporting the Foo Fighters and playing Glastonbury Festival. The digitalisation of the music industry is a topic used as inspiration in some of their released music, in particular their song Influencer Killed the Rock Star, possibly a nod to 1979’s Video Killed the Radio Star. Lyrics include “they sell a smile with an inspo quote… cause it’s about the banknotes” and “forget music, art… this is your life now”, a direct nod to the modern attempt at ‘making it’ full of social media trends as opposed to authenticity.
A challenge present in our digital society is the rise of the “influencer” and the need for virality and fame rather than genuine skill and authenticity. In 2022, videos on TikTok began going viral by celebrities claiming their record labels were forcing them to make viral videos. These ultimately were outed as being attempts at virality themselves, which were indeed successful. Indeed, it seems one of the only ways artists can be successful in this digital age is through manipulating their audiences. As Lunn sings in The Subways song Money, “it’s a criminal waste, to even try to fake”
This change in industry brings forth a plethora of challenges to artists, already established and new. A huge challenge at present resides within the amount of money made from large streaming services as an artist — not much. An average of $4 is earned per 1000 streams on popular streaming site Spotify by the artist, at a cost of $9.99 a month to the consumer. These numbers resulted in pop artist Taylor Swift holding her own boycott of the streaming service in 2014, stating “Valuable things should be paid for”
However, there are positives that come along with these new opportunities. Already existing songs have been given a chance to re-exist in the spotlight. Take Metallica’s Master of Puppets as an example. The song was used in an episode of the TV show Stranger things, and then subsequently went viral on TikTok. Following this, the song reached the Billboard 100 for the first time since it’s release in 1986, and is featured as an emote in the popular video game, Fortnite. Fortnite is particularly admired by younger players, therefore showcasing a song to those that weren’t alive during its release. Indeed, the digitalisation of music can be shown to be of benefit to certain artists that get lucky.
Despite the previous opportunity displayed arguably only benefitting the lucky few, it can be said that the increase of social media allows musical artists to engage with their fans more meaningfully. Charlotte Cooper, bassist of The Subways explains, “bands can have such direct access to their fans via social networks… you can reach such a huge amount of people”. And indeed, I myself have had multiple interactions with The Subways over social media, one of which leading to them playing my favourite song at a gig in Manchester where I was present!
As my classmate Laura Brown writes, “The market is becoming oversaturated due to how easy it is to release music” and accompanied by the rise of technology such as autotune, it can be argued that it is now simply easier to be good at music. Being the singer of a new rock band myself, I suggest that this possible connection with audience be prioritised and utilised. Gain feedback, speak to your audience, and figure out what is liked. Work at what is available to you, rather than crossing your fingers and hoping for a viral TikTok.
There is also exciting opportunity to capitalise on multiple revenue streams in the current age. Artists can use social media to promote merchandise, advertise their tours, or even live stream on sites such as Twitch. Self-made pop/rock band Halocene formed in 2008 and have found success through their music streams on Twitch, to the point of being able to self fund a tour throughout Europe (which I also attended!) Their competency with growing technology has allowed them the longevity and growth not often present for today’s emerging artists.
Through evaluating the above points, it seems that ‘making it’ in the music industry now can be fairly dependent on a combination between social media competency and either luck or money. Of course, there is always the chance that your TikTok video or Instagram Reel goes viral and from there you are launched into music fame, but this is highly unlikely. Many resort to hiring already “famous” influencers to advertise their music, but this can require a hefty sum of money, which from personal experience — many emerging musicians tend to lack.
Ultimately, I’d like to see the priority rest once again on musical ability, passion, and authenticity. That isn’t to say that such a thing doesn’t exist in the current digital age, and there are absolutely many beautiful additions to music available due to the rise in technologies. But it is evident that the industry can be less than accessible and ideal to certain parties in the modern age. An important reminder is present in The Subways’ newest single You Kill My Cool — “You are more than an algorithm”.
