Beats and tweets

Social media in the careers of independent musicians

Bibliographic Data

ID12656780
AuthorsJo Haynes (0000-0002-7462-8859, University of Bristol), L Marshall (0000-0002-9243-2016, University of Bristol, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume20
Issue5
Pages1973-1993
Publication date2017-06-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1461444817711404
OpenAlexW2620717474
LanguageEN
Citations received45
References cited16

While mainstream accounts of the impact of internet technologies on the music industry have emphasised the crisis of the major-dominated mainstream recording industry, a more optimistic discourse has also been promoted, emphasising the opportunities that the Internet creates for independent musicians. These same new technologies, it is argued, enable artists to reach new global audiences and engage with them in ways that can facilitate more stable, financially self-sustaining independent careers. Little research has been conducted, however, on the effect of new Internet technologies on the careers and practices of independent musicians. This article, part of a pilot project on the working experiences of independent musicians, examines how musicians signed to small labels in the South-west of England use social media in their careers and discusses their understanding of its benefits and disadvantages. It concludes that social media use is an essential tool in the arsenal of an independent musician, and does provide advantages for them, but significant disadvantages have also emerged and thus the benefits of social media for independent musicians have likely been overstated

Emerging technologies · Mainstream · Political science · Public relations · Social media · Sociology · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Diverse Music Education Insights · Music History and Culture