The digital revolution has transformed every walk of life. Industries across the board have had to change their way of doing things. If not, they risked getting stuck in their tracks and steamrolled out of contention. Yet, in an ever-changing landscape, it’s perhaps the music industry and its artists who have been forced to adapt and evolve the most to stay relevant and viable. As new-gen musical artists such as Trev Daddy have discovered, the new digital landscape can be a potential minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing. However, if you’ve got the skills to pay the bills and the insights to deliver the goods, it can also be a potential gold mine.
“Being a new-gen artist involves having a completely different mindset and skillset to those of old school musicians,” explains Trev Daddy. His latest hit single, ‘Button-Down Summer,’ has been a runaway success. The North American musician added, “Of course, the talent and know-how to write, record and produce a killer song is still an absolute must, but a new-gen artist is also required to be a master at promotion, extremely social media savvy, and something of a technological whiz kid to make it in today’s digital landscape.”
Making music in the digital age is a different kettle of fish to way back when. Audio production has evolved significantly, consumers listen to music differently, and artists are not tied to the whims of a corporate record label. They can distribute their tunes far more efficiently than ever before. Yet, with new freedoms come new responsibilities, and new-gen artists are expected to connect and interact with their fans more than those artists of yesteryear.
Trev Daddy explains, “The biggest mistake a lot of artists continue to make is to think they’re above their fans. It’s your fans that made you, and you should always respect that. So, if they reach out to you on social media, make sure you respond. The digital landscape has made it possible for everyone to get their music out there, but it’s a saturated marketplace. Not only have you got to ensure you’ve got the tunes with the cutting edge, but you’ve got to give the people something to relate and connect to. Thanks to technology, it’s never been easier to record a song or build a fan base, but you shouldn’t take either for granted. If people are respecting you enough to listen to your music, then you need to respect them back.”
