Tag: social media

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Instagram’s Reels is DOA. Here’s Why TikTok Is Superior

Instagram Reels Vs TikTok

As the world waits to see if the United States follows through with a TikTok ban, Instagram’s competing service Reels feels dead on arrival.

Instagram launched its long-teased Reels feature at the beginning of August. A direct competitor to TikTok, Reels allows users to post 15-second clips set to music and other sounds they share with the global Instagram community. Its release follows the news that President Trump will be banning TikTok in September, but so far, the rollout isn’t taking the world by storm.

On the surface, Reels should be a hit. The feature looks and feels a lot like TikTok, which boasts more than a billion users worldwide. Users can browse through a seemingly endless collection of user-generated content set to catchy and humorous audio that provides a quick escape from the hellscape of 2020. Content creators can also use the sound from other creators’ clips, a tool that helped songs like “Old Town Road” from Lil Nas X go viral on TikTok.

But there is a problem—actually, more than one.

Reels may have the look and feel of TikTok and a large potential user base, but it suffers from being a small part of a much larger platform. To find Reels, users must first open Instagram, navigate to their explore page, and click on the Reels option at the top of the page. That is two more steps than TikTok, and the problems continue from there.

TikTok users have two feeds of content two choose from; one that they curate themselves through follows, and another that is generated by the platform’s algorithm. Reels only offers one feed, and it combines algorithmic predictions with what users want with the people they follow. You cannot follow someone in Reels alone, so any Reels creators someone follows will have photos and videos from those creators appear in the user’s main Instagram feed.

Then there is an issue with the length of Reels clips. TikTok allows users to make their content up to one-minute long, but Reels limits clips to fifteen seconds. That may be enough time to do a quick dance or lip-sync, but it places a seemingly unnecessary cap on creative expression.

Many of Reels’ most significant flaws stem from a core misunderstanding of why people use Instagram as opposed to TikTok. Instagram is a social network people use to give friends, family, and followers a glimpse into their lives. It is, in many ways, a carefully-curated glimpse into someone’s private life (or the life they want you to believe they lead). TikTok, on the other hand, is made with entertainment in mind. Most users don’t share personal content, just memes. It’s about making people laugh or smile or momentarily forget about whatever is bothering them. As the kids say, “it’s not that deep.”

However, all hope is not lost. Reels could become a go-to platform for creatives, but to do so, Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, need to reconsider their goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you want to entertain, and if so, how do you make that clear? Give users the ability to curate a Reels-specific following and make it easier to find the app’s feature. Facebook could even take things one step further and make Reels a standalone app for content creation that allows for cross-posting to Facebook and Instagram.

Instagram has built a large part of its business by stealing ideas that other services made famous. Its popular stories feature, which is the most used part of the app, is a variation of a similar tool that Snapchat brought to the public years prior. Similarly, though with less exciting results, IGTV is a variation of YouTube. These features both had their fair share of growing pains, but the longterm value is worth the effort needed to make them right. Reels could be the next ‘borrowed’ idea that hits big, but it’s not there-at least, not yet.

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The Social Network Artists Should Avoid

Your time is precious, so why would you waste it using social media that offers nothing of value?

Social media is a gift. For the first time in history, artists everywhere can grow and connect with a global audience in real-time. It’s a miracle anyone gets anything done when there are so many possibilities to connect and interact, but not every social media platform is right for musicians.

The only social media that matters for your career are the platforms your fans prefer. If you find a high concentration of your audience exists on Facebook, then that is where the major of your social media marketing should take place. If your audience engages more with Instagram or Twitter, then those platforms are where you need to focus your efforts. You want to make finding the latest information about your music and career as easy as possible for fans to find, which means going where they already are and working to leverage that platform’s tool for success.

But in all our years of social working study and analysis, there is one platform that offers nothing of value for musicians. It’s a place where professionals go to meet other professionals and browse job opportunities, but it offers no tools or design options for music promotion. In fact, we sincerely doubt the developers even consider musicians part of their target market. Still, every week, artists are incorrectly using this platform in a seemingly desperate attempt to connect with people in positions of influence that may be able to help their careers. We will let Music Biz host James Shotwell explain:

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Four Social Media Shortcuts To Avoid

There are a lot of tricks for improving your social media stats, but just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

Social media has given us many gifts. The world is more connected than ever. People from all walks of life can share thoughts and feelings with anyone willing to engage them. Complete unknowns can become famous with one great idea. Anyone can be anything they choose, both for better and worse.

But the problems with social media are numerous. Rather than focusing on the miracle of our connectivity, social media has cultivated a culture of attention-seekers who lack the patience or work ethic traditionally associated with success. Many people believe there are shortcuts to getting the attention they seek that replicates the work generally required without the effort.

Sadly, lies and deceptions about the ability to scale the digital social hierarchy have been greatly exaggerated. Anyone hoping to get ahead in music today should realize their online presence will be under review. You can amass as many followers as you need to feel important. That said, unless you can show those followers are actively engaging with your creativity, the numbers associated with your social media mean nothing.

Before you fall victim to thinking there is a way to game the system, please make it a point not to fall victim to these negative social media trends.

The Follow/Unfollow game

One of the oldest tricks for building a social media following is for artists to follow as many people as possible who could potentially take an interest in their work. If they play punk music, for example, they might spend hours following people who follow other, more popular punk bands. After someone follows them, the artist then unfollows that individual to keep their “Following” count as low as possible.

Promoting in the wrong place (artist/label/festival feeds)

A popular way for artists to promote their music is by comparing their art to the creative output of someone more famous. That method of promotion is as old as the music business, and it works perfectly fine in press releases or conversations.

However, artists come across as desperate when they begin sharing their music in the feeds of the artists, labels, and industry events they idolize. If you look at any tweet from Billie Eilish, for example, inevitably, you will find numerous artists replying to her tweets, encouraging Billie’s fans to give them a chance. Maybe they sound similar, but that isn’t always the case. Either way, it’s not a good look, and it does not impress anyone in music.

Don’t DM anyone

Social media is a public place to engage with private citizens. You do not need to send your music to anyone’s direct messages on any platform without first receiving a request from the recipient. No one is logging onto Twitter or Instagram with the hope someone they have never met nor heard of is dumping new music into their direct messages.

You want Billie’s manager to hear your music? Send them an email. You want her label to listen to you? Send them an email. You want Billie to hear from you? I don’t know how you would find her email, but go ahead and send one if you acquire it.

Sliding into a music professional’s DMs out of the blue is a quick way to get written off as another desperate artist spamming the industry because they are too lazy to develop meaningful relationships.

Don’t shame or criticize industry professionals (unless it’s necessary)

There are very few good reasons to shame a fellow music professional publicly. Did they abuse you or someone you know? Are they a threat to someone? If so, make sure you have all the correct information and utilize every possible path toward resolution before making a fuss online. If you don’t, you may position yourself for blowback and backlash that will damage your reputation more than theirs.

That said, if you are mad that someone isn’t returning calls or emails, that is by no means a substantial justification for harassing them online. The same goes for unacknowledged press kits. Very few, if any, music professionals ignore people for the sake of being mean. Everyone in the business of music is busy all the time. The industry never stops, and the same goes for the people in it. Be respectful of people’s time, and if they can respond, most will.

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DaBaby Sheds Light on the Reality of Social Media for Musicians

DaBaby is one of the biggest artists in the world right now, and even he doesn’t feel comfortable leaving social media. Why? It’s just too lucrative.

Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, otherwise known as DaBaby, has reached the peak of commercial success in the modern age. After a string of big singles in 2019, the North Carolina rapper has appeared on virtually every major television show and in the pages of every influential entertainment publication. He’s gone platinum, gold, and platinum again, not to mention having standout guest appearances on some of last year’s biggest songs. Your mom probably knows who DaBaby is by now, and there’s a decent chance your grandmother does as well.

But even now, with hit songs at radio and sold-out shows all over the map, DaBaby feels he is unable to leave social media. The viral success of his songs and their often outrageous videos certainly play a crucial role in his rising profile, but one would think he could leave and retain his prominence in the public eye. After all, if not him, then who?

Speaking to Fans over Twitter this week, DaBaby posted about his concerns with social media. “If social media wasn’t such a lucrative tool in the business I’m in I wouldn’t even be on it,” he wrote. “Lost souls influenced by lost souls. I hate to see it. I encourage people to have the courage to find themselves without the false sense of security they search for on the internet.”

He followed his initial post with another, adding “I always preferred to say less because social media ain’t a place for the truth. But lately, I been feeling like it’s my calling to say more. ion know how I wanna play it though, I respect my mind too much to allow myself to be identified as one of [these] internet mfs.”

We wrote earlier this week that social media often costs artists more than it produces. Fans want to hear from their favorite artists, and artists want their fans to feel heard. There is a belief in an unspoken agreement between fans and any social media presence in music that states, “if you engage with me online, then I will continue to support your career.”

That belief can be dangerous. Hip-hop is specifically at risk of diminishing returns due to the ability for artists to quickly record and release new music. Generating a high volume of output will help to raise any performer’s profile, but you earn longevity through quality, not quantity. Many young artists are falling victim to the ease of creation instead of taking time to craft great songs. These artists are training their fans to see music as a commodity to be consumed and almost immediately forgotten, which indirectly makes their careers similarly disposable.

But the question remains: What would DaBaby lose by leaving social media? What would any of us lose, really? Would our friends stop talking to us? Would our fans stop listening to our music? Would we slip through the cracks of culture and descend into obscurity because no one will know we exist or are continuing to create?

It doesn’t make sense from a business standpoint for any artist wishing to remain relevant to disappear from the internet altogether. However, you can take steps to limit how much time and energy you’re spending on social media. Artists that post less often receive better engagement on their content, in part because every piece of content they choose to share becomes an event.

Consider movie marketing as an example. The first trailer for a new Star Wars film is guaranteed to generate millions of engagements in its first day of release, as well as several million more in the days that follow. Disney, the company that owns the rights to Star Wars, will often wait months before revealing any additional footage or imagery from the upcoming film. Why? They know that fans are hungry for content, but they don’t want them to get so familiar with the new movie that they begin to lose interest. They want every new reveal to be an event, and the anticipation of those events is what keeps the film a focal point of pop culture conversations for months at a time.

So maybe DaBaby cannot quit social media, but he (and you) can step back. Your fans want more music, more videos, and more shows. They appreciate the tweets and Instagram posts, but that is not why they follow you. Fans want the thing you do, which is making music. Don’t be afraid to set boundaries that allow you to create more efficiently.

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Is Social Media Ruining Your Music Career? [Video]

Social media is [literally] a job in itself. Balancing a music career with your engagement efforts online can be more complicated than many are willing to admit.

There is a moment in every superhero origin story where the protagonist fails. Maybe there is a bomb in an amusement park or a plane falling out of the sky two-thousand miles away, and for whatever reason, the hero cannot save the day. These moments are viewed as character building events because the hero’s response to failing often signals how they see their responsibility to protect others moving forward. Some double down on the heroism, but others choose darkness.

The lesson is always the same: No one can be everywhere all the time, nor can anyone expect to do everything. Even the strongest and most gifted among us are incapable of perfection, including you.

The music business tells us something different. Music industry experts often say that every artist is a business and that every business needs social media to survive. You need to tweet your specials, post Instagram updates featuring your product, and offer timely responses to fans who comment anywhere you have a presence. The music industry also tells us that we need to create original content for every channel that utilizes the space allotted to us on each platform. That means vertical videos for Instagram Stories, 280-character bursts of genius for Twitter, and something ‘Likeable’ for Facebook, and so on.

Experience teaches us that the music industry experts are mistaken and that our culture’s current obsession with social media is not a good enough reason for artists to become update slaves. No artist, but especially no up and coming artist, can hope to build a lasting music career when they are throwing away countless hours trying to develop a following online.

Don’t get us wrong. It would help if you had fans, and having a presence online can be essential to engaging with your audience. It can also help build an audience in places artists cannot travel themselves and open doors that may otherwise remain off-limits. However, if making a following online comes at the cost of doing something artistically rewarding that brings joy to those whose passion is music above all else, it may be time to rethink how we view our relationship with social media.

On the season premiere of Music Biz, host James Shotwell explores the cost of social media versus its impact on a musician’s bottom line. There is an easy way for any artist to how much time they should focus on social media, as well as where those efforts are most effective, and James reveals it in this video. Check it out:

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The Most Popular Song on TikTok Right Now (December 2019)

The world’s fastest-growing social media platform, TikTok, has quickly become the number one source for music discovery.

TikTok made its presence known in 2019. From the seemingly unstoppable success of Lil Nas X to the quick ascension of newcomers Blanco Brown, Stunna Girl, and Ashnikko into the pop culture spotlight, TikTok has proven itself as one of the essential music discovery platforms. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but right now, it seems no other platform has the star-making power possessed by this wildly popular app.

The numbers behind TikTok speak for themselves. The app now has over 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, which is far more than any music streaming platform, and it is more popular on Android devices than iPhones. 29% of monthly users open TikTok every day, and they typically spend around 52 minutes per day on the app.

Even better, 60% of the app’s monthly active users in the U.S. are 16- to 24- year-olds. That means, the key demographic for new music discovery in the United States turns to TikTok for entertainment and activity. That’s a massive segment of the population.

TikTok users create and share short video content. The majority of clips involve lip-syncing to music, but others use songs to soundtrack the action happening in the video. Some posts have no music at all, but for this post, we won’t address that content.

Finding the next big thing by scrolling TikTok posts can be difficult. The app currently has no chart system in place, so the only way to understand what songs are popular is to watch a lot of videos.

Every label and artist would love to experience the level of viral success TikTok can provide, but users of the platform tend to enjoy hip-hop and pop music more than any other genre. The artists seeing the most success on the app often blur genre lines while delivering infectious and straightforward melodies. As a result, a great hook or strong opening can mean more than the quality of a song overall.

Even musicians are catching on. Instead of waiting for TikTok to discover her latest singer, pop star Camila Cabello uses her account to share original videos using her songs.

We cannot tell you how to make TikTok users fall in love with your music. We are researching that topic, but so far, the best advice anyone has given us is to ensure your songs are as immediately catchy as possible. To further prove this point, we took the most popular songs on the platform right now (December 19) and put them into a Spotify playlist.

What surprises us the most about the content that goes viral on TikTok is that the vast majority of it comes from artists with relatively no pre-existing fame. Aside from a select few fast-rising stars, such as Doja Cat and Die Antwoord, many of the artists going viral on TikTok right now are virtually unknown.

Take “Becky” artist Championxiii, for example. The Houston rapper has less than 300 followers on Twitter, but on TikTok, he has more than 1.4 million followers. Similarly, “Becky” has amassed over 11 million streams on Spotify, which is over 10 million more than his second most popular song.

There are two ways the industry can view talent that goes viral on TikTok without first establishing themselves elsewhere. On the one hand, TikTok may hear something that industry A&R does not. At the same time, however, a single viral hit on TikTok does not mean someone is capable of replicating their success or building a career. TikTok talent is, in many ways, a high-risk investment.

That said, the kids like what they like, and the industry will continue to follow their lead.

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Twitter is planning to delete dormant accounts in the near future

Twitter users who have not accessed their account in a long time are encouraged to log in before December 11 or risk losing their handles.

Username availability is a growing problem in social media. Much like email before it, social media has now been around long enough that new users are increasingly struggling to find unclaimed handles. For example, if your name is John Smith, you cannot use @John or @JohnSmith or @TheJohnSmith on Twitter. You also probably can’t use @John_Smith, @JSmith, @J_Smith, or @The_John_Smith. Those names are already in use, and getting someone to surrender their handle is often an uphill battle that can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Adding to the frustration is the fact that not all the usernames are in use. Someone claimed the name, but now the account sits dormant. Usernames that many would want, such as @AuxCord, sit unused on social media with abandoned accounts (or worse, accounts that never posted in the first place).

But a reckoning may be on the horizon. Twitter user Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) shared an email they received this week from the social media giant regarding an account he owns that has sat dormant for some time. In the email, Twitter informed Navarra he needed to agree to the company’s terms, privacy policy, and cookie use to continue using the platform. The letter also said they had until December 11, 2019, to access his dormant account. If Navarra failed to do so, they would risk losing their handle permanently.

Navarra, wanting to retain the dormant account, logged into Twitter using a link in the email and captured the prompts that appeared:

The decision to mass delete dormant accounts will open hundreds, if not thousands of desirable usernames to the public. Such a move would boost interest in the social media platform and likely lead to a rise in new accounts, not to mention increased engagement.

Twitter has not publicly commented on Navarra’s tweets or officially announced plans to remove dormant accounts. That said, the company is well within its rights to delete accounts that do not agree to Twitter’s new terms, privacy policy, and cookie use.

Readers hoping to claim a dormant account when they become available should consider using Handlescout. The service, which is free, tracks username availability on Twitter and sends email alerts when desired handles become available.

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What TikTok Users Want To Hear

TikTok is making superstars, but what kind of musicians are most likely to get ahead on the fastest-growing social media platform?

TikTok is an unstoppable force in the world of music. With more than one-billion downloads worldwide and over 500 million monthly users, TikTok has a sprawling community of creators who are actively shaping pop culture on a daily basis. From dances to jokes and even music, TikTok is at the forefront of social influence among young people, and that trends is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

TikTok’s influence on music is perhaps its most interesting. Since helping Lil Nas X rise to history-making success with his hit song, “Old Town Road,” the platform has aided other unlikely stars in finding success. First came Blanco Brown and “The Git Up,” which is now a platinum-certified song, and then came the one-million-dollar deal Stunna Girl received after her track “Runway” went viral. More recently, fast-rising star Ashnikko found a burst of attention after TikTok users discovered her sexually-charged smash, “STUPID.” 

The users of TikTok are catapulting artists to the forefront of pop culture that may otherwise have never received a chance at stardom. Many of the biggest songs on the platform are from musicians with no deal, no touring experience, and only a small catalog of tracks. With the right users finding a track, virtually anyone can become the next star the platform gives to the world at large.

To help get you started, we studied the biggest hits on TikTok in October 2019 to find what, if anything, the songs have in common. Here’s what we learned:

Memorable lyrics are often key

The greatest songwriters from previous generations made an impact on culture with songs and albums that told elaborate, sprawling stories of the human condition. Some of those tracks may find an audience on TikTok as well, but most users are seeking out 4-16 bars that make an immediate impression on listeners. Lyrics that may seem silly or outright ridiculous to average music consumers often take TikTok by storm. Here’s just one example:

TikTok Loves Lyrics You Bring To Life

Going hand in hand with memorable lyrics are songs that are easily brought to life. That can mean direct call to action lines like those found in Blanco Brown’s “The Git Up” or a story that people can easily act out. Tongue-in-cheek lyrics tend to perform best, like these lines from rapper Lil Mayo:

People want to dance

Dancing is a huge part of the TikTok community. When users find a song that inspires them to move, trends begin that can change an artist’s career in a very short amount of time. Whether the dances are good or bad doesn’t matter nearly as much as the fun one has performing them, which is good news for every artist whose material has a great beat.

Don’t be afraid to switch it up

Sometimes the thing that makes a song popular on TikTok has nothing to do with the lyrics or the ability to dance. Kesh Kesh found success by sharing a song that includes a beat change in the opening moments that inspired an entire lane of TikToks where people surprise viewers with (often elaborate) outfit changes. Check it out:

You can never have too much bass

The majority of the viral songs on TikTok hail from the worlds of rap and EDM. Both areas of music are known for in your face production and lyricism, which fits well with the need all TikTok users have to make a quick impression on viewers. Bass-heavy tracks, as well as song that contain bass drops, have been known to take the platform by storm. 

Remember: TikTok clips are usually fifteen-seconds long. When looking for tracks to upload and share on the platform, try searching from the most memorable clips from your material that fit that time restriction. 

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The Top Priority For All New Artists

Every artist has a unique journey to success in the music industry, but they should all start with the same goal.

Now is the best time ever to start a music career. The opportunities for exposure and success are at an all-time high, and virtually everyone can begin making money for their creative output as soon as it’s uploaded to the internet. Artists have never been as empowered to express themselves as they are right now, and that has made music as a whole far more interesting.

But regardless of who you are and the kind of music you seek to create, the goal of every musician starting today should be the same: Growth.

Jesse Cannon, music producer and author of numerous books geared at helping musicians succeed, says all new artists should prioritize growth until they have at least 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Why Spotify? If you asked a few years back, Cannon would have said the goal growth on Facebook or Twitter. Online metrics matter significantly in the industry, and having a sizable audience on any platform is a clear sign to the industry at large that people care about what you’re doing.

These days, however, Spotify is the most sought-after platform for strong performance stats. After all, the streaming giant is where digital engagement transforms into money. Every stream on Spotify counts towards an artist’s income. When labels, management, and the like are looking for new talent, Spotify is the place most turn to gauge an artist’s value.

When asked for more information, Cannon said 20,000 was indicative of an artist having “buzz beyond those of us who talk about [music] all day.” Meaning, an artist with a large Spotify following confirms the general public has discovered and taken an interest in their music. There are many artists that critics and industry professionals love who may never reach a following that large, so it’s important — from a business standpoint — to know music consumers are embracing someone.

Cannon further suggested that artists should avoid releasing or working on albums until they hit the 20,000 listener goal. Until that time, Cannon recommends releasing singles regularly. Consistently giving people a new reason to care or give you a chance is a proven tactic for developing an audience. Until people are willing to wait for something that could take a long time to complete, stick with singles as a means of showcasing your talent.

Careers are built on fans. In the age of the internet, engaging with listeners is incredibly easy. You can tweet at people, post to Facebook, share stories on Instagram, create videos for YouTube, and maintain a mailing list, among other things, without spending a dime. Growth on any platform is excellent, but growth on Spotify makes a difference that other digital communities cannot. Focus your efforts, build a community, and in time you will have the audience needed to support a full-time career.

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TikTok bans all political and advocacy advertising

The fastest-growing social media platform on the planet is taking steps to ensure its community can escape the worries of the world for a few minutes.

TikTok has become the first major social media platform to ban all political and advocacy advertising. The news comes not long after the app came under fire for adhering to Chinese foreign policy by censoring certain topics. Pro-LGBT and the Hong Kong protests are just two topics the app has been working to censor. The upcoming US presidential election is likely another.

Blake Chandlee ⁠— TikTok’s VP of Global Business Solutions ⁠— says advertising needs to fit with the platform. 

“Any paid ads that come into the community need to fit the standards for our platform, and the nature of paid political ads is not something we believe fits the TikTok platform experience.

To that end, we will not allow paid ads that promote or oppose a candidate, current leader, political party or group or issue at the federal, state or local level — including election-related ads, advocacy ads or issue ads.”

TikTok is unique in the world of social media. While the vast majority of companies in the social space hail from America, TikTok started in China. The app was called Douyin at launch, which means ‘vibrating sound,’ but was changed to TikTok in 2018 when the it was made available in other countries. 

In addition to having a different name outside of China, TikTok also existed on different servers than Douyin, which was necessary to comply with strict Chinese censorship laws.

As TikTok became a global phenomenon, advertisers took notice. The app offers in-feed video ads, launch screen ads, and sponsored hashtag challenges. The TikTok Creator Marketplace recently launched to connect brands with TikTok creators for their marketing campaigns.

However, as political tensions around the world rise, TikTok is making the smart decision to remove itself from all conversations. The platform understands its young username is susceptible to the messaging its advertisers share. By rejecting all political and advocacy advertising the company is maintaining a space for fun and self-expression that cannot be accused of leaning one way or another on hot button topics.

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