The music scene is forever changing, and in recent years, technology and social trends have played a significant part in what’s hot and what’s not. For example, Justin Timberlake invested in – and became the face of – the new and improved Myspace, and Lady Gaga essentially dominated the Twittersphere and social media in general.
2013 was the year of Twerking, selfies, relieving yourself into mop buckets and all out bad behaviour, but it created a lot of publicity and that is unlikely to change in the next 12 months. But what is expected to change? One prediction is that stars will become more involved in their branding a la Rhianna, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga with perfumes, and Will.i.am, Kanye West and Liam Gallagher (among others) with their clothing ranges.
Now that music can be streamed, musicians have to find new ways to make as much cash as they can whilst they’re on top. Hence why so many musicians end up in movies (mostly a bad idea, with a few notable exceptions) and putting their name to various products.
Here are some predictions for what is going to be happening in the music scene in the coming 12 months:
Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber will Only Get Bigger
It may sound a little cynical, but there is no way on earth that the music industry heads are going to allow for their two biggest cash cows to fall spectacularly from grace, as so many websites and media outlets are predicting. Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber simply generate too many dollars for them to be slip through the fingers of execs and industry corps.
The two former child stars are more savvy and smart than they are given credit for. Cyrus has given plenty of interviews since her notorious VMA Twerking exhibition, where she highlights that if Breaking Bad can be championed – despite giving an almost step-by-step guide on how to make crystal meth – then people are overreacting to her behavior.
Whether you agree with Cyrus and Bieber, or like them, you are going to be seeing a lot more of them. After all, nothing sells better than sex and controversy, and they bring huge amounts to both to the table.
Social Media will Replace Publicists
Kay Perry – 50m Followers
Lady Gaga – 41m Followers
Justin Bieber – 49m Followers
Miley Cyrus – 16m Followers
Will.i.am – 11m Followers
And that’s just Twitter…
When you have that many people connecting to your social media account, why would an artist need a publicist? Their job is to promote you as a brand, but when you can do that yourself on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and all from your smartphone, why bother paying a publicist to do the job for you?
Having said that, bands and artists that are just starting out are using music marketing agencies to get their names out there, and that is likely to continue as the web continues to play such a huge part in all our lives. Social media is going to continue to play a huge part in the music industry, and is likely to focus more on the visual side of things, i.e. YouTube, Vimeo, Snapchat, Instagram and Vine.
Natasha Bennett currently works for Quite Great a Music PR Company specialising In Music promotion, band promotion and Entertainment in the UK. Natasha uses her vast industry knowledge to contribute as a writer to a variety of publications across music, business, magazines and blogs.
