Democratization Of Music Promotion

The Good, The Bad, The Viral of Music’s Current Landscape.

Ten years ago, when finding new artists, music listeners would have to rely on streaming services to show them what was new in music. Apple Music had just gone live. Radio stations were still the mode of best promotion for artists, where they would be thoroughly questioned by Ebro, Big Boy, or Charlamagne Tha God about their upcoming project.

In the present day, the entire landscape of the way artists promote their music and the way they are discovered has evolved.

Many young listeners are discovering music through TikTok rather than Apple Music’s “new music” tab. Radio stations are no longer the only way of gaining notoriety for artists because self-promotion across social media apps is easier than ever. The old gatekeepers have been surpassed by younger media personalities who run their own platforms on video streaming services like Twitch or YouTube.

This is not to say that these older methods of promotion aren’t still used. Mainstream artists still perform on late night shows, do radio interviews, and have Billboard ads in Times Square. But younger artists have leaned heavily on new social media mediums to gain notoriety among rap fans.

Many who are considered part of the “underground” start off posting snippets of their music on TikTok or Instagram, hoping that listeners will latch onto their sound. With so much music out there, some have realized that good music might not be enough. Instead, some artists are finding more success marketing themselves in ways that showcase their personality without pushing songs directly.

Singing sister duo Alarie have built a 201K following on Instagram primarily from showing off their vocal talents while singing everything from other artists’ hits to the Chili’s baby back rib jingle. That video alone has over 2 million views on TikTok. Other artists similarly let their personalities lead, hoping to build a fanbase rooted in personal connection before trying to sell listeners on a full body of work.

Florida rapper Cochise has always engaged heavily with fans, doing Instagram Q&As, posting memes on X, and streaming on Twitch. Because of the strong fanbase he has built, he is headlining his own tour later this year.

In today’s music world, fans don’t just want music; they want access, relatability, and moments. For many up and coming artists, their first viral moment might be a funny livestream clip or meme before anyone presses play on a song.

That shift is powered by algorithms and the growing importance of continued virality. On TikTok, one catchy bar or five second snippet can make an entire song explode. Sometimes the part that catches people’s attention isn’t even the hook. It might be a singular line, an ad-lib, or the intro.

While artists like Cochise and Lizzo have embraced streaming platforms, many entertainers who dominate Twitch or Kick now hold real influence over who breaks through. PlaqueBoyMax, a YouTuber turned Twitch streamer and rapper from New Jersey, has had a meteoric rise over the past few years. Over that time, he has become an unofficial gatekeeper of the rap world.

Artists like Lazerdim, BabyChiefDoIt, and Nino Paid saw their popularity skyrocket after appearing in Max’s “In The Booth” series, where he plays beats, the artist picks one, and together they create an entirely new song live on stream. These sessions can be life-changing for underground rappers, but they’ve also attracted mainstream names like Lil Yachty, Cash Cobain, and even Grammy Award winning rapper and actor Will Smith.

But just like the radio freestyles of the past, stream appearances come with good, bad, and ugly. This version of ugly can be even worse.

Streaming is so popular because it allows viewers access to levels of entertainers’ lives that would have been previously unimaginable.

Some artists understand how powerful these appearances can be and take full advantage. In 2023, Offset, once part of the legendary Atlanta trio the Migos, joined streamer Kai Cenat, whose rapid rise has made him one of the biggest names online. The appearance went incredibly well. The Atlanta rapper, who has been a part of his fair share of controversy over his career, was able to show the fun side of his personality, endearing him to viewers. During an appearance on Sway in the Morning, he discussed how positive his experience was on Kai’s stream and how happy he was that people got to see that side of him.

On the other hand, these appearances can have the opposite effect on an artist’s image. Artists like Lil TJay, Lil Baby, and Fivio Foreign all walked away from PlaqueBoyMax’s stream with a damaged public perception after disrespecting the streamer on his platform.

Beyond streams, the underground to mainstream pipeline has also changed. Where SoundCloud once dominated, TikTok, Twitch, and even Discord communities now set the pace. Sonically, young rappers are experimenting with rage beats, pluggnb, Jersey club flips, and drill variants. What’s notable is that “underground” doesn’t necessarily mean low quality anymore. Many of these songs are professionally engineered and mixed, even if the marketing stays grassroots.

From the listener’s side, the shift is just as sharp. Traditional album rollouts, with big press cycles and radio pushes, don’t hold the same weight for Gen Z and younger millennials. For many, music discovery is social.

Kaan Erel, also known as Ikaanic, is an artist, streamer, and digital marketing strategist. He sees modern day artists’ fanbases as being “almost less about the celebrity and more about the community that being a fan of that person creates,” and it’s easy to see why someone who observes the current landscape of music as closely as he does would say that. Music has become a form of digital currency to share, remix, and joke about as much as it is something to stream in headphones.

All of this points to a bigger picture: the democratization of music promotion. Anyone with talent, charisma, or just the right viral moment can blow up overnight. But turning that flash into a sustainable career is harder than ever. With the democratization of not only promotional tools but also the ability to make music itself, there is more competition for attention than ever. Artists of past generations could count on a fanbase sticking with them more closely because listeners had less to choose from. Now artists must find ways to be more captivating than ever before. They have to constantly continue to do so. If they don’t, listeners may move on to the next big thing, who could be discovered in a matter of days. For every artist who translates virality into long term fans, dozens are remembered only for “that one TikTok song.”

Erel says that mass promotion can help: “Share their music on every platform that they can. Whether it’s Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or streaming.” But in the end, he believes that good music will prevail.

“Music itself can do the talking. Be sure to implement your music within those stories you tell on social media,” he says.

The landscape has changed, and it’s not going back. The question now is less about who gets discovered and more about who can last.