Music Marketing

DJ Shadow Adds Discography To Facebook Timeline [CASE STUDY]

Djshadow_workWithout question, DJ Shadow is among a special group of music artists who can be safely considered as “legacy” artists. Regardless of how much more music he continues to put out (and he still does), and no matter how many more shows he plays, he has already built up enough of a legacy throughout his 20+ year career of providing the world with influential music.

Shadow’s story is one that is both historic and dense, with an incredible amount of material released over the years. So with Facebook’s new Timeline layout, Shadow’s digital marketing team at Fame House saw a perfect opportunity to tell that story through a visual display of every one of his releases posted to Shadow’s Timeline, dated to the time in history it was released.

Click images to enlarge

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The response from fans was overwhelming, as many of them have been following Shadow’s story from the very beginning. Each of these releases has its own story to tell and unique sentimental value for his fans.

The likes, comments, and shares have been off the charts!

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Traffic to Shadow’s Facebook page skyrocketed as a result of this campaign, and it definitely brought his fan base together in sharing their own stories of what each release meant to them. Many comments were filled with nostalgic anecdotes and memories of when they first discovered Shadow, or when and where they were in life when each release came out – all of which served to strengthen their emotional attachment with the artist, and thus, continued to prove that an artist’s community (and their connection to that community) is truly their greatest asset.

The Best Marketers Are Good Storytellers

As an artist, one of your strongest pieces of marketing equity (if not the strongest) rests is your story, and it's important that you hone your ability to communicate that story. It gives your music context to listeners and provides a refined mental and personalized association. Facebook’s Timeline provides album, yearbook, scrapbook, and diary software all in one, while providing you greater control over which posts are highlighted and how prominently posts appear.

If you have a compelling story to tell, consider utilizing Timeline to its full potential to communicate that story.

Disclosure – In addition to writing for Hypebot.com, Hisham Dahud is part of the Fame House team.

This post is by regular Hypebot contributor and independent music business professional & musicianHisham Dahud (@HishamDahud)

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1 Comment

  1. Dear facebook,
    You seem to be doing all that is in your power to be like MySpace. Please stop. I don’t know if you noticed, but they failed miserably. Good web design requires adding “features” users want….not at your whim decide this is what is best for them. Civilizations have fallen for the same decision making. Please make this an option, not force it down our throat. Google+ is right around the corner waiting for your mis-step like this.

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