At the start of this year, we declared ‘push’ marketing was dead, now as we approach the end of the year self-released, Canadian hip-hop artist Connor Price is here to show us all exactly what effective ‘pull’ music marketing should look like.
But hang on… what is ‘push’ marketing?
Push marketing is when a brand or a band pushes content at their audience. Push marketing is most associated with broadcast channels like TV or outdoor advertising. EG. ‘We have something to tell you and you will listen’. Conversely ‘pull’ marketing is the opposite it’s helpful, entertaining, and inspiring it pulls audiences in and gives them a reason to engage. Pull marketing is less selfish and more selfless.
The problem is 90% of the content on social media has become about passive push, and consequently, 99% of it becomes bland wallpaper that is ignored or skipped. People go to social media to be entertained not to be shouted at.
The mistake independent musicians make
One of the biggest mistakes independent musicians make on social media is to assume that sharing a clip from their music video, or an image of their latest artwork is sufficient ‘pull’ marketing. Sadly it’s not, because nobody knows their name or their music, so to assume people care is a mistake.
Major Label artists relying on lazy push marketing will soon be over-taken
Established artists with established fan bases can get away with push marketing because they have fans who are interested to know they have a new release. But let’s be clear, just because they can get away with it doesn’t mean they should. Lazy marketing is always lazy marketing, and even these major label stars are now being challenged by a new breed of artists who recognise that to be heard they first need to engage and entertain with great pull content. Step forward Connor Price.
Introducing Connor Price
Connor Price follows the fashionable format of releasing singles, lots of singles. The theory is to keep stoking those Spotify algorithms and regular releases increase your chances of Spotify playlist support. For most unsigned artists, this idea falls flat. With no plan for promotion, all that happens is you end up wasting your releases, with lots of tracks that nobody hears. Remember approximately 4 million of the tracks on Spotify have never been heard!
But when you are Connor Price, this approach makes a lot of sense, because there is genuine momentum behind his music. A quick scan of his Spotify reveals that he has released a staggering 22 singles in 2022.
Connor Price in numbers
At the time of writing this article, Connor Price has 6.7m monthly Spotify listeners and 392,000 Spotify followers. Connor Price is made for TikTok and TikTok is made for him. He has amassed 4m followers and counting. Five years ago he would have been a YouTuber now it plays second fiddle to TikTok with a cool 1.5m subscribers. Meta platforms lag behind with 1.3m on Instagram and 320,000 on Facebook. But when you consider he is an independent artist, these numbers are staggering. So what is he doing?
Content Creation
Connor Price makes great content, the type of content you can’t stop watching. Connor recognises that on TikTok the music industry has been replaced by the entertainment industry. Few people care and watch content exclusively about music anymore so he skillfully fuses his music into entertaining content. Now you discover his music by osmosis, it never feels forced on you like a traditional music video clip. The top three pinned videos on his TikTok have attracted over 124,000,000 views!
Connor has landed on a format and it’s repeatable. Create a story around the components of his music. Suddenly a flute sound becomes the inspiration for a clip about a carrot flute! All the clips are fast-paced, funny and importantly they make his music feel both massive and hugely exciting. I challenge you to watch more than 3 of his clips and not find yourself listening on Spotify. Even if you don’t like hip-hop there is something to love and admire here.
@connorprice__🇨🇦🤝🇿🇲♬ Violet – Connor Price & Killa
The only disappointing thing is the lack of money flowing back to Connor for his art on TikTok. Did you know that exercise bike company Peloton paid more royalties to musicians in 2022 than TikTok?!
Discover more about Connor Price
Discover more on RCM
- Push Marketing Is Dead. 10 Ways Independent Artists Can Succeed In 2022
- Five reasons why music PR consistently fails unsigned musicians
- Unsigned Bands: Should Stop Wasting Money On Radio Pluggers
- Free Music Marketing Training For Independent Artists
Words Mark Knight
