This article is from a blog post from MIDiA, a third-party consulting firm, and is compiled for members' reference only: If you're in the "music industry bubble" that is buzzing on social media "X" this week, you might hear honest feedback from musician Bethany Cosentino about her solo album releases. For the uninitiated, the vountain of the cult Californian rock duo Best Coast released her first solo album, Natural Disaster, in July, but it didn't go as planned. Cosentino posted a five-minute medium video on TikTok expressing her frustration and frustration at the speed at which today's cultural cycle (songs and artists) is circulating so quickly. "When my album came out, it basically disappeared." Cosentino lamented in the video, "I mean, no, it's not gone, is it? You can listen to it anytime. I can listen to it whenever I want. But when we look at it from the point of view of commercial success and evaluate it, yes, it's gone." Of course, one possible reality is that the album didn't resonate with listeners at all, and Cosentino actually admitted it. "Best Coast" transcends its heyday in the 2010s, when it was more noticeable and many people even listened to the full album! Yes, something didn't feel right to hear a musician bemoaning TikTok culture in a TikTok video. But in this "highly fragmented, algorithmically dominant" music landscape, Cosentino's experience is becoming more and more common, and it's a reality for both new musicians and big stars, and it's not a sustainable thing.
"Music Discovery" is dying in the video, with Cosentino joking, "If you follow me, you probably already know (this album) because I've wanted to sell it to you for months". But in fact, the comment section was packed with fans who didn't even know the album existed. It's also becoming a common experience for creators on TikTok, as the platform's algorithm is designed to keep videos as far away from the original creator as possible – even if it means bypassing their existing audience. All of this begs the question of how artists should deliver music to their listeners? At the time, the delivery mechanism was albums. But MIDiA's survey shows that most consumers no longer listen to full albums, and new album publishing is no longer the primary way to explore new music. Playlists have been gradually replaced by TikTok as the key to music discovery. But if TikTok is no longer effective, what exactly are the tools for the next generation of musicians to deliver their music and discover new music? Part of the answer will be a shift in mindset from a "moment of driving exploration" to a "journey of discovery". Perhaps the algorithm will have to be recalibrated to strengthen the ongoing connection between fans and creators. Ironically, however, this was how they operated before TikTok came along. At MIDiA, we believe that future success lies in building niche scenes and deep, engaged fan bases, but musicians can't build these communities without a way to reach and sustain them.
Can we reset the expectations of our fans? Fans are now expecting a steady stream of music and social media content from artists. In this environment, most artists feel that they can't afford to fall behind by jumping out of the "content treadmill", which is the typical "prisoner's dilemma". The result of this is that everyone continues to release more and more stuff, which also makes it more difficult to break through. In addition, if scarcity breeds value, we will constantly tell consumers that new music and other new "content" are worthless. It would take a legion of well-known artists jumping off the "content treadmill" to reset those expectations. While it's hard to imagine this happening, a growing number of musicians like Cosentino are openly saying how unsustainable the current situation has become, and even imagine protesting with a "content block" period. However, you can only truly control the expectations of your users if you are able to control the experience. Moreover, record labels don't have control over social media platforms or streaming services, and controlling them can cause more problems than they solve.
Responsibility to focus on the development of the industryIn this environment, the creator industry has a responsibility to take care of content creators. When these goals are no longer realistic, record labels can't promise musicians the fame and fortune of reaching the mainstream, and we can't compare today's musicians to the success of past music stars. Maybe the artists can't jump off the treadmill completely. However, the music industry has a responsibility to do everything we can to ensure we don't deplete the next generation of music creators, which should be a top priority in 2024. Source: MIDiA, "Artists are speaking out about the content treadmill — is it too late to slow down?"
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