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CULTURE

GETTING OFF THE DIGITAL TRAIN

Written By Adeolu Banjo 

25 January 2023

With social media becoming more present than ever in our daily lives, the thought of increased interconnectedness in a globalized world prevails. Seemingly, the situation offers a net positive for artists and creatives to reach fans outside their sphere of influence. We can upload thoughts and ideas into the infinite reach of the digital age and enjoy the opportunity to go viral and reach millions of people with just the click of a button. This allows for the democratization of the creative industry, breaking the barrier of entry for emerging talents, and giving way for anyone to cultivate a fan base.


​This has been the thought of many in the creative industry and now, as we enter this post-pandemic era, this trend is increasing. Audiences’ digital consumption habits, that arose during the pandemic, have completely shifted the ways in which creatives have to navigate their careers in order to reach as many eyes as possible.


​For many, the change in audience consumption has led to commercial success, due to how quickly a moment can be recorded, transcend the niche and enter the mainstream. But with this access to virality comes a loss of control over how creativity is expressed and received, and sometimes newfound visibility can have negative consequences.


The case of the American artist and producer Steve Lacy demonstrates the duality presented by a viral moment in the creative world. Lacy has built a cult following, stemming from his work producing for the likes of Solange, Kali Uchis and, most notably, on Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy award-winning album “DAMN”. He was propelled into the limelight later in his career once he released his sophomore album Gemini Nights – however a problem soon arose.


​A product of this new generation’s consumer habits, in which people’s attention is ever more fragmented, is that a reduced snippet of a song can gain immense popularity and commercial success, not for the artistry of the track as a whole but for just a single moment. Nothing in recent memory exemplifies this more than Lacy’s song Bad Habits which was subject to the full extent of what ‘going viral’ can mean for an artist. Lacy achieved sold-out shows, a number one in the charts and was catapulted to superstardom. However, his success also revealed how these viral moments, popularized on TikTok and Instagram, may not be conducive to building a fan base that is engaged with the creative beyond the viral moment. This is epitomized by videos of Lacy’s tour where fans can be seen watching the show through the lens of their phones, unable to recite any of the lyrics to his songs aside from the viral snippet popularized on TikTok.


So what can artists do in order not to fall to the same fate? The answer is community. This is something that has been long prioritized by artists, however, with the appeal of overnight success that comes with virality its importance has been somewhat lost. Nevertheless, the longstanding benefits of community building can be still seen in the industry today. Tyler the Creator, for example, started his career on the fringes of the rap scene, developing a scene of alternative and indie sounds and artists. He would utilize his niche following to cultivate a fanbase that shared similar values in fashion and music inspirations, as well as being social misfits. This led to the creation of the collective Odd Future, a band of alternative artists such as Earl Sweatshirt and Frank Ocean, all contributing to an emerging scene.


​This community has stayed with Tyler throughout his career, even before his break into the mainstream when his music was shunned from the radio and he was banned from the UK. In fact, although his success allowed him to move away from the fringe and enter popular spaces, by maintaining the core values shared by his fans he was able to retain the dedicated following established in his early career. This community has also given Tyler the backing to enter different creative spaces, launching his own Festival Camp Flog Gnaw, the fashion line Golf and his own cartoon show.



This community of shared values, cultivated from a long career outside the mainstream, could even be felt when in 2019 the biggest pop-rap act Drake was booed by fans at Camp Flog Gnaw, not satisfied by the mainstream artist's presence, and demanding instead Odd Future alumni Frank Ocean. The graft that is needed to cultivate a community over many years does not lead to the instant gratification that comes with a social media viral moment, however, the sustainability and ability to cultivate the way your audience receives your art in the long term offer its own benefits.


​Taylor Swift’s Swifties, BTS’s Army and Beyonce’s Beyhive are all examples of how significant community building for artists can play an integral role in the longevity and growth of an artist's career. Swift is one of the best at activating her community of fans in order to generate sales. This can be seen as, after a 4-year hiatus from touring, Taylor Swift and her dedicated community of Swifties broke the Ticketmaster website as her fans attempted to secure a place on her new tour. Unable to keep up with the demand from real fans who wanted to see Taylor Swift live, the site crashed.


London’s own Cortiez fashion brand embodies the success that can be gained through grassroots community building. Started in 2017 by founder Clint, the clothing brand has garnered mainstream coverage due to its ability to activate its engaged community through the use of guerilla-style marketing campaigns. Da Great Bolo Exchange highlights the brand's focus on community participation in their campaigns. By having fans exchange puffer jackets from mainstream brands such as Moncler, North Face and Nike in return for a Cortiez jacket, Cortiez established itself as being on par with these brands. The exchange jackets were then all donated to charities, further generating good publicity for the clothing brand. All this is executed outside the conventions of the mainstream. Clint intentionally conditions fans' consumption habits to align with his values, as he only sells his clothes through limited drops on his password-protected website, forcing fans to stay attentive to his social media activity, whilst also publicly shaming resellers who mark up the prices of his items on sites such as Depop. This is due to Clint valuing his fan base and wanting to keep prices low to ensure good faith.


The grassroots work it takes to create a base in which fans feel connected to the artist, not just as fans but as part of something bigger, opens the door for artists to take risks, expand into different roles and take time off the mentally taxing job of being an artist. By building a fan base that aligns with their values and culture, artists become sustainable as their career isn’t in the hands of nameless followers or an unreliable algorithm. Instead, they can rely on a community, based on what makes them unique.

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