Post 2: The role of the internet in the music industry

My research into the role of the internet in the music industry

The internet and especially social media has become essential for artists. This is because it is a the main method of reaching out to their fan base and interacting with them in order to keep them engaged. Fans are interested in any news, merchandise, or general information associated with the artist. One example of an artist that shows demonstrates this is Khalid.

Khalid's website

Khalid's website includes many features that make it easy and interesting for fans visiting the page. The website is digitally converged and possesses links to his social media pages, which includes his Instagram. The website also possesses tour dates and merchandise, allowing audience to spend more to either come and see him live, or to wear clothes so others see them as fans. These features are things that I have taken note of for my website creation.

Khalid's Instagram

A key feature of Khalid's Instagram, is how the content he posts is less about his music and more about himself. Fans who follow him learn about his life, interests and beliefs.
Social media is especially good for expanding his brand, while website's aren't updated that frequently, posting on a social media happens very often. This allows for constant internet traffic on the social media, that could be directed to the website or other content created by the artist. By making use of this platform, artists like Khalid are able to gather more fans through content and more money from advert clicks that come with the website.

By integrating links between his website, social media, music videos, tour dates and news, Khalid like many artists who use social media, is able to further expand his audience and bring in more money from streaming his music, buying merchandise and tour tickets, as well as gain a more dedicated fan base who have genuine interest in him as an artist and a person.  By posting regularly Khalid keeps his followers well engaged.

This research has influenced me to include much of these features and use the internet in order to further create my artist. For my website flat plans, I will include links to social media, tour dates and merchandise.