MAHAK RAJGARHIA
Redefining Work
Showcase, via
Instagram.
That is the name of the latest secret weapon that the new and
upcoming artistes are using to get their foot in the door. An
informal and a flexible medium, this social media platform
has given the Snapchats and the Facebooks a run for its
money when it comes to music. According to a Nielsen study
authorized by Instagram, people who use Instagram are more
musically inclined than the others. They tend to spend 30% more
time listening to music than people who don’t use Instagram.
Point of the matter being, this encouraged the new entrants
in the industry to get on with their promotion and marketing
themselves than hire someone to do it the old way. Omkar
Potdar of the indie-soul project Flying Shoe has ‘scored gigs’
as he puts it through Instagram. “Instagram is very flexible
because it is visual and is very raw. Writing requires more
thought unlike pictures which are way more engaging and
natural than Facebook or Twitter,” says Omkar. So much so
that he does on-request live performances for his fans from the
comfort of his house.
An artiste or a performer in his/her element is much more
organic and FOMO-inspiring than a dry post which JUST
announces an upcoming event. And that is exactly what
Instagram aims to provides, a tiny peek inside what goes on
behind the curtains. It makes you feel a part of the journey.
And given that our attention spans are now that of a goldfish,
Instagram has a solution to that problem as well, short videos.
A 15 second video is what you can make on the platform and
that has proven good enough to spread the word.
And to illustrate that, let’s look at Dist II, a music duo from
north-east who play the guitar, the violin, keyboard and
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who knows, what else! They do a lot of lives when they are
practicing at home but prefer properly captioned posts above
all. “Posts get us more followers than live streaming because
people can watch and follow our work when they want at their
convenience,” says Noah Chettri, the violinist of the two.
Although they do find Instagram easier to use, Dist II has a
social media manager who words their captions smartly and
posts to milk whatever traction they can get.
Remember Beyoncé’s baby bump photograph that went viral
-- Well, it was not a clip from a magazine or a shoot, it was
clicked only for Instagram and that’s the power that this
pictorial media platform commands today. Who wants only
information? A little dirt or cuteness never hurt anyone. And
to prove the point, let’s look at Omkar’s room décor which has
more likes than his cover of Budapest by George Ezra. And that
is what Instagram is, a medley of personal and professional
life which makes it a more popular platform. Self expression
counts and Instagrammers do take note of it.
A smarter discovery and recommendation algorithm has also
helped the newbies. A few shout outs, likes and posts from
friends make it easier for other people on the platform to
find out who the musicians are and discover their work for
themselves.
So, lives, stories and posts are all what helps an upcoming
artiste to gravitate to Instagram and go about making their
work recognized out there. Add DMs (stands for direct
messaging) and prompt replies to it and BAM! It could be the
next gig knocking at your inbox.
An imperfect medium for a perfect display of who and what
the artiste is!