In this article, we explore how Connor Price is redefining success for independent musicians, with a music marketing style that shifts from selling to entertaining.
The Advertising Epochs
History tells us that the advertising industry has passed through two major shifts in style. Prior to 1954, the prevailing style was product-focused, where advertising was filled with dry research facts and product claims.
In 1954 The Marlborough Man came along and changed the game forever. Rational product facts were replaced with aspirational lifestyle messaging. This shift was a game-changer and paved the way for a new era of advertising that tugged on the heartstrings and created want not just need.
The TikTok
It's probably now time to recognise a third epoch of advertising, 'The TikTok'. While influencer marketing preceded it, the TikTok community changed the game again. Almost immediately brand advertisers recognised that their standard brand ads created for social formats wouldn't work on TikTok and worse still they could even be rejected, doing the brand harm and showing them as being out of step with this new platform.
European airline KLM even put it to the test, running two versions of their advertising. The first, a studio-shot standard ad, and the second an iPhone-filmed ad made by creators. The message was the same, but the results were not. The creator-filmed ad outperformed the traditional ad by 11x1.
The Rules of TikToks
Now if you are a brand that wants to show up on TikTok you have to make a TikTok, not an ad. So what are the key differences?
TikToks must first be entertaining or you'll be lost in a swipe
TikToks must be authentic and genuine
TikToks rely on people not products as the star
TikTok replace the hard sell with the contextual endorsement
And while a lot of brands utilise established content creators and influencers to create their content, the savvy next wave of brands have realised they can and should be doing it themselves and have created their own channels. For example, Brands like Snag Tights have built an engaged community around their size-inclusive tights and shorts.
Connor Price
Connor Price is one of the first musicians to recognise this shift, he doesn't show up on TikTok to sell his singles, push his videos or encourage those god-awful pre-saves. Connor Price shows up to entertain, recognising that if he does viewers will hear and engage with his music by osmosis and it's working.
At the time of writing Connor Price has 7.7m monthly listeners on Spotify that's approximately £26,000 per month while his top track Spinnin has over 100m streams.
Working alongside his wife Breanna, this power couple combines infectious hip-hop with slick, fast-cut skits that keep viewers coming back for more.
Connor Price has raised the bar for indie musicians on social media, showing how with a little creativity you can create genuine engagement in your music that translates into a sustainable income without the need for a record label.
The next time you are planning to release an album, stop and think about how can you show up to be more like Connor Price.