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Guest post by Nick Susi, creative strategist in music & media on Rethink Music(This is a continuation from last week’s Part I)User behavior in music consumption is making a clear shift towards discovery-obsession, as well as shorter attention spans. Streaming may have flattened the barrier of entry, but as a result, the volume of songs and artists entering the streaming ecosystem has risen significantly. This has led to an age of noise. So what does this mean for creators, managers and the rest of their team?Creators need to keep in mind that cutting through and being discovered is only half the battle. Sustaining a long, meaningful career will always remain the real challenge. The notion of artists vying to be discovered is nothing new. For decades, artists have sought that tipping point of getting signed by a label. Even right before the advent of streaming, artists clamoring to create a viral YouTube video for rapid discovery. But this was never the endgame of a long, successful career. The streaming ecosystem is no different. While there is definitely real value in landing a single in New Music Friday or Global Viral chart, there are two key components to consider –Who Is Your User?Creators must take the time to deeply understand who their tribe is, and how they are connecting with them. Owning this audience and its associated data is key. Meaning, creators must avoid handing over all access and control of their audience to a label or digital service provider. Instead, creators should focus on mindfully collecting emails and phone numbers, directly messaging users on social media, tracking users through pixels and cookies, scheduling Skype calls and Google Hangouts. These are all ways to create meaningful growth and engagement with a community outside of a streaming ecosystem. Even within the streaming ecosystem, Spotify and Pandora AMP have begun to provide creators with direct messaging tools. These tools are only likely to improve over time, as well as be added to other streaming platforms that have yet to implement.Recognizing that all fans are not created equal is of similar importance. To create the best user experience for all users, creators must consider how they are incentivizing and engaging with each tier of their community. Creators should not assume that casting as wide of a net as possible with each content release is the best means of super-serving all users. Creators should also not assume that releasing one album every so often best serves all user tiers. Rather, they should analyze the pacing of content that best caters to each tier’s consumption habits. Even within the streaming ecosystem, not every listener is the same. Spotify’s Fan Insights has begun to leverage their data to better define users, segmenting certain groupings as Streakers – who have listened to the artist every day in the last week, Loyalists – who have listened to the artist more than any other artist over the past 20 days, and Regulars – who listened to the artist on the majority of the days that month.Related articles
