How to Market Old Artists? A Lot Like Marketing Younger Artists, Survey Finds

Should a record label have different marketing strategies for developing acts versus established legacy artists? Probably not, according to the results of a new survey from the consulting firm Bain & Company. Whether it’s a new artist or a familiar one, people will discover music through roughly the same diverse set of online and offline formats, the survey found.   

In the survey, Bain asked U.S. music streamers who listen to music weekly how they discover new music from both familiar and unfamiliar artists. Instead of finding a diversity of responses, the answers were “pretty similar” for both scenarios, says Matt Keith, a partner at Bain and a co-author of the report about the survey. In other words, social media platforms, digital service providers (DSPs) like Spotify and YouTube, radio, and personal recommendations play the same role in informing consumers about songs from new artists like Alex Warren, and new releases from older, familiar artists such as Bob Dylan. 

The results were surprising in another way. Keith says Bain went into the survey expecting to find that a small group of discovery methods had risen to the top across the various age groups. But the results instead showed a great deal of diversity in how consumers learn about new music, encompassing DSPs, social media, TV, advertisements, radio and concerts, among other channels. “We no longer live in a monoculture, and people are discovering music through a diverse range of channels,” says Keith. “It makes it much harder for our clients to try to break through the noise and find where their fans are.” 

The findings have important implications for how music companies reach listeners. Bain believes that marketers should take a “Moneyball” approach to social media and DSPs by tailoring content to the platforms’ algorithms. Young artists are known to benefit from viral moments, but Bain recommends that older artists also take advantage of fast-moving trends. That requires monitoring engagement across channels to react quickly when necessary. “If you are marketing the next Bruno Mars or Taylor Swift album, you still need to be pretty surgical and have better data on your fans,” says Keith.  

To no one’s surprise, social media scored high. It was listed among the top three discovery methods for 65% of 18-to-24-year-olds — the only demographic to rank social media as the No. 1 discovery channel. It was also an important discovery tool for other young demographics, being named a top 3 channel by 59% of 25-to-34-year-olds and 51% of respondents under 18. But social media’s influence trailed off with age: 43% of 35-to-44-year-olds, 34% of 45-to-54-year-olds, 21% of 55-to-64-year-olds and 15% of respondents 65 and over named social media as a top 3 discovery channel.  

DSP-created playlists, not social media, ranked as the overall top channel for discovering new artists, with 56% of respondents placing these playlists in their top three channels. For teens and 25-to-34-year-olds, DSP playlists were the No. 1 source of music discovery, outranking social media, which was No. 2 in both demographics. DSPs are also popular among older age groups, but Keith says the gap between DSPs and social media is wider for the older demos.  

The importance of DSP playlists differs by type, however. Playlists that are personalized by the DSP ranked first, with 31% of respondents naming them a top 3 discovery channel. Genre or mood-based playlists created by the DSP were named by 24% of respondents, while just 14% of respondents named DSP playlists created by influencers or a public figure.  

Recommendations from friends, family, or a trusted community member were named by 29% of respondents, beating industry awards (10%) and trusted critics and publications (8%). When it came to digital platforms, TikTok videos were named by 20%, followed by YouTube/YouTube Shorts (16%) and Instagram (14%). Movies and TV shows were each named by 18% of respondents, while video games were named by just 6% of respondents. Live settings had some of the lowest scores, with public places being named by 14% of respondents, followed by advertisements (11%) and concerts or festivals (9%).  

Traditional marketing channels are more prominent among older age groups.  Radio was a top 3 discovery channel for 45% of respondents over 65 and 36% of respondents aged 55 to 64, according to Keith. Older consumers also watch more TV — streaming is more popular amongst younger consumers — and are more likely to be influenced by out-of-home advertisements. Across all respondents, radio was named a new music discovery channel by 24% of respondents — less than family or friend recommendations but more than any single social media platform. 

Figuring out how to market music is increasingly important when discovery is fractured, and a deluge of music is released every week. Approximately 100,000 new tracks have been distributed to streaming platforms each day, and music companies must compete against a deluge of AI-generated music. Frontline labels in the business of breaking new artists are “experimenting” with marketing, says Keith, while owners of catalogs — whether financial investors or traditional music companies — are trying to learn how to market more effectively. “We’re talking to them a lot about what actually can move the needle,” he says.