It is a matter of years since music was generally only available in various physical forms such as CDs, or online in a select few places such as Napster. We have now reached the stage where music is available in a myriad of locations across the web and social media has certainly played its part in bringing the music industry to where it is now, therefore opening up a potential market for a social network like miXXerS.

The advent of social media has opened up an entirely new platform where artists can promote their music to a wide range of people, fans and potential fans alike. Artists can link fans to new music, inform them of upcoming music as well as promote any upcoming live events they may be performing at. We are at a point where you will likely hear any news about your favourite artists on social media before you hear or see it anywhere else. Features like Twitter’s trending topics highlight any recent news that has generated a lot of talk over social media. A big announcement from a music artist is likely to end up on this list. Outside of the music they produce, artists are able to promote themselves by interacting with their fans, something which social media has enabled on a much greater scale.

Case Study: Spor

Spor, the alter-ego for UK based drum and bass producer Jon Gooch, was created in 2006, taking the electronic music industry by storm. After a lengthy hiatus, Spor returned to the scene in February, immediately announcing his new and long awaited album, and sending drum and bass fans into a frenzy all over social media. Moving away from the traditional approach of releasing an album, Spor announced that he would be first releasing the album as a ‘pay as you want bundle’, where purchasers can choose the price they pay for the album, as a torrent through the BitTorrent bundles service. Spor further promoted his return to the drum and bass scene by doing an ‘ask me anything’ thread on the message board website, Reddit. Spor’s use of social media, from announcing his comeback and new album, to his interactions with his fans over a number of social networking platforms, enabled him to generate as much publicity and hype for his new release as possible.