The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many concerts and other live events being cancelled. As musicians depend on live shows for revenue, this situation has affected them badly. However, some musicians like Matteo Belcastro have managed to take advantage of the situation. The lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic gave him the opportunity to explore the power of social media and take his career to new heights. Like many other musicians, Belcastro was struggling to pay his bills in the wake of the pandemic. Soon, however, he discovered that more and more people were turning to virtual platforms for entertainment. He began exploring popular social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to reach out to his audiences. Doing so helped make him a popular rapper on social media.
Belcastro believes that the strength of social media can be utilized to great effect through certain strategies. He has used these strategies to effectively shape his career.
How to trend on social mediaLivestreams: Belcastro knows how much people miss attending live concerts. Musicians can use the livestreaming options available on most social media platforms to connect with their audiences. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube all support livestreaming, and artists are making the most out of this feature to keep their audiences engaged. Multiple sources of revenue: With the advent of social media as a platform for releasing their projects, multiple revenue-generating options are now open to musicians. Some common ways musicians are able generate revenue in the modern era are sponsorships, royalties from streaming, and YouTube monetization.
Genre crossovers: Genre crossovers are becoming a growing trend among musicians. In an effort to keep their audiences interested in their output, more and more artists are taking creative risks and experimenting with incorporating other musical genres into their work. This not only keeps their existing fans interested in their work, but also helps them draw in listeners who are fans of other genres. Genre crossovers aren’t always successful, but when they are, it can boost an artist’s popularity significantly.
Consider being independent: With social media helping musicians engage more effectively with their audiences and release material whenever they want, they are becoming less dependent on record labels. Nowadays, more and more musicians are opting to work independently, as they find this preferable to working within the restrictions placed upon them by a record label.
Recreating live performances: With the pandemic restrictions being in place since early 2020 and continuing well into 2021, it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing any live concerts happening anytime soon. However, musicians who are active on social media platforms can host live events via livestream, giving their audiences an experience that is almost the same as an actual live concert.
Matteo Belcastro feels that the attention that musicians are able to gain on social media will help them generate long-term interest from their fans. Even when the pandemic inevitably ends, virtual mediums will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the career of a musician.
