Since 1877, the year Thomas Edison created the phonograph (the first machine ever to record music and play it back), music has become an important aspect in our lives. We listen to music to deal with the motions of our daily lives and create institutions that rely solely on music. Let’s face it, there is no one on this planet that protests to ever experiencing music and now with the emerging prevalence of social media the way we listen to music is evolving before our very eyes... and ears.
With the precursor to our rampant fragmented zip files and streaming apps being cassettes and CD’s, we tend to forget music was once held as a physical asset. Artist would sign to labels, record and sell records so that the label and the artist would make money but the digital age has interrupted this simple business model. Nowadays society turns to twitter, facebook and blogs for what’s new and trendy, including new music as well as keeping up with our favorite artists. Attentive music fans regroup online to discuss new music, or mutual artists. Magazines like The Fader and Complex are primary outlets for trending music on social media. This plays a tremendous part as labels and artists have to put out more money in marketing for special releases; however, the artist can strike gold if a trending face like Kylie Jenner features their music on snapchat or on her Kylie Radio show via the Kylie Jenner app.
Trends forged according to the number of likes and retweets, social media has changed the entire flow of business in the music industry. Chance The Rapper, for example, hailing from Chicago is the first independent artist (meaning he is not signed to a label), to be nominated for a Grammy. In 2014, Chance released his second mixtape via DatPiff. Acid Rap has been downloaded over 1 million times, catching the eye of Forbes magazine and the highly acclaimed charts of Billboard and Rolling Stones. He paved the way for a plethora of soundcloud rappers like Lil Uzi and more—cutting out the middleman and relaying his message to the public directly. Artists like Chance, who make a name for themselves without the tight hold of a label company, are innovating the public relation model we were accustomed to before.
So shoutout to all those twitter rappers making a movement, Chance did it. So can you.
