Artist Spring Cleaning List 2020 - INDEX - Virtual Music Performances Spotify Spring Cleaning Instagram Spring Cleaning Facebook Spring Cleaning ...

Artist Spring Cleaning List 2020

           -   INDEX -

Virtual Music Performances     Pages 2-4
Spotify Spring Cleaning        Pages 5-6
Instagram Spring Cleaning      Pages 7-8
Facebook Spring Cleaning       Page 9
Snapchat Spring Cleaning       Page 10
TikTok Spring Cleaning         Page 11
Checklist                      Page 12

Virtual Music Performances
                                  (courtesy of Cherie Hu):

Free

If you’re looking to make your livestreaming experience available for free, below are the best
options, which are already pretty popular among people in the music industry.

       • Zoom
       • Instagram Live
       • Facebook Live (usually used for free — but they also have a Donations button in case
           artists want to raise funds for a charity during their stream)
       • LinkedIn Live
       • Google Hangouts

Free-to-play

The platforms below are able to host “free-to-play” livestreams — meaning that the streams are
free for anyone to access, but include the ability for viewers to contribute financially to the
streamer if they so wish, usually through some kind of in-app “tipping” mechanism and/or direct
monthly subscription.

The term “free-to-play” comes from the gaming world, which is important to keep in mind
because many of the below platforms originally targeted online gaming communities. Hence
“free-to-play concerts” work best when they act like games and have highly interactive, game-
like mechanics built in.

       • Twitch
              o Music examples: JVNA, HANA, Flux Pavilion, Aeseaes, Monstercat
              o Recommended resource: Twitch for Musicians
              o In-stream donation and direct channel subscription capabilities
              o Twitch was already actively trying to get more musicians on their platform prior to
                    the COVID-19 outbreak; that said, Jimmy Whisenhunt, a Music Partnerships
                    Manager at Twitch, has made his Twitter DMs open for any artists affected by
                    event cancellations who are looking to use the platform to engage with fans
                    online
       • YouNow
             o Music example: Emma McGann
             o Recommended resource: Emma McGann talks music, live video and finding fans
                    on YouNow (Music Ally)
                 o In-stream donation capabilities
       • Mixer
                 o Music example: Monstercat

o One of the top competitors to Twitch, but still has nowhere near the same reach
                 or engagement
             o In-stream donation capabilities
      • Caffeine
              o Similar user experience to Twitch and Mixer
              o Struck exclusive deals with music celebrities like Drake, Offset and Doja Cat
              o In-stream donation capabilities for select channels
      • Periscope
              o Owned by Twitter
              o Allows for in-app tipping
              o Music example: Clare Means
      • YouTube Live
              o Allows for in-app tipping via “Super Chat,” as well as direct channel memberships
                 and merch integrations

Ticketed/paywalled

The platforms below offer the closest thing to putting on an actual, in-person show, in terms of
the capability to charge visitors upfront to access a paywalled livestream.

To my surprise, there’s a relative dearth of livestreaming platforms tailored for musicians looking
to stage these ticketed “virtual concert” experiences. One popular option in the past, Concert
Window, shut down in August 2019. Two of the options listed below were just launched within
the past few months.

      • Run The World
             o Best for conferences and larger events
             o Features include fireside chats with guests, direct-messaging among attendees
                 and virtual “cocktail parties”
             o Co-founded by Xiaoyin Qu, a former Senior Product Manager at Facebook who
                 oversaw the platform’s music and Rights Manager products
      • Moment House
             o Best for individual creators rather than multi-guest interviews or panels
             o Limited features — standard livestream and live text chat only, for now
             o Founded by Arjun Mehta
      • Stageit
             o The oldest company in this group — founded in 2009!
             o Examples: Tim Schou, Jenn Grinels
      • Key
             o Music example: Kalie Shorr
             o $2.99 flat rate for all event tickets; platform takes a 25% fee on sales
             o Keybox feature allows fans to bid on individual video responses from artists
             o Invite-only on the talent side, for now

• Crowdcast
      o While I put this tool in the paywalled category, you can host free or paid
            livestreams, for unlimited or limited audience sizes, depending on your
            preference
       o If streaming for free, you can also simulcast to Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and
            LinkedIn
       o Example of an archived, ticketed livestream related to music
       o Up to three co-hosts/guests
       o More advanced audience analytics
       o Integrations with several business management tools including Mailchimp, Stripe,
            Salesforce, Slack, ConvertKit and Zapier
• Patreon
       o Creators can livestream to paying members natively via the Patreon mobile app
            (powered by Crowdcast)
       o Best for ongoing rather than one-off livestreams and memberships

Spotify Spring Cleaning

Update Graphics:

Update Image: Header images are only available for artist pages. The artist’s
header image is going to be updatable through Spotify for Artists as mentioned
above. (management and artist access only). Please have artists or management
sign up for access to this tool. Extremely urgent priority requests for image
updates should be sent to your client manager if you do not have access to Fan
Insights.

HEADER IMAGE SPECS:

   •   - Width: 3840 px
   •   - Height: 2160 px
   •   - 4K resolution
   •   - On the desktop and web player, the main image is cropped to display a
       header image that is 1114 px high and 3840 px wide. Please consider this
       when formatting your image.
   •   - Spec Sheet: http://bit.ly/spotifyheaderspec
   •   - Template: http://bit.ly/headerupdateguide

       Update a Label Avatar: A label or curator can only customise their avatar if
       they have a verified profile. To request the update of the avatar or your
       label profile by way of verification please fill out this form. After you get
       verified, you can update the image on your own via the desktop client.
       Verifications are processed on Thursdays.

       AVATAR SPECS (Labels Only)

   •   - Size of the image: 2048 x 2048 px
   •   - Circle diameter: 1834 px

Create a playlist for your fans stuck at home:

● Include at least 15 tracks but not more than 60. You do not want a playlist to
be too long for someone to take it offline on their mobile.

● Seeding the playlist with the artist single or the new record at the top of the
playlist is a good way to promote the artist/label and their taste in music

● A themed playlist that includes hot new tracks within the genre is suggested. If
relevant, you may want to include some chart hits.

● Adding a link for cross promotion within the description is always suggested (a
Facebook page, band's D2C, pre-order, wherever you're trying to drive traffic). DO
NOT add any links to any Spotify competitors or download stores as Spotify can
choose to remove this functionality if they see it.

● The above suggested link has to be included in the playlist as such:
The text words go here
example: The Orchard

● Update regularly, but only a track or two at once. Remember, you’ll trigger a
notification to followers each time.

● Remove tracks that have been on for a long time to keep the playlist fresh.

● Share it with messaging, using the links outlined above.

● Engage with fans - ask what they would like to see on your playlist, run
competitions, make it collaborative.

Instagram Spring Cleaning

Live Performance for fans on IGTV

Use the Instagram stickers to make more interactive engagement for these live
performances. Ideas can include the “countdown” sticker to when you’ll be
performing, the “poll” sticker to see which songs they want to hear, and the
“questions” sticker for a fun Q and A after!

To go Live just swipe right to open your camera and tap the “Start Live Video”
button

• You can go live for up to an hour, and once you finish the Live story from the
app, or you can choose to add it to your story

Consider even joining a fellow artist for a fun collaborative live. (Once one artist
goes live, the other can request directly on their live)

Share songs from Spotify onto your Instagram stories that are inspiring you right
now. Tag the artist of the song for potential engagement and “reposts” from their
account.

Take a peek at your insights on Instagram. See where you stand with your
audience. It’s a useful tool to see what has been working and what hasn’t. Great
way to recalibrate for the new season:

Instagram offers an array of stats for you on Instagram as a business/creator
account. To become a business/creator account you’ll need a Facebook Fan Page
to connect your account to. Go to your profile and tap the menu bar, tap settings,
and then ’switch to Business Profile’or ‘Creator Profile’. We suggest becoming a
Business Profile as Creator Profiles have limited
functionalities when running advertising campaigns.

What Insights show you:

•How many post you’ve made this week
• Posts – measuring your posts by: Comments, Engagement, Follows, Impressions,
Likes, Profile Visits, Reach,
Saves, Shares, and more
• Can view from 7 days up through 2 years
• Stories – measures by backs, exits, link clicks, along with all the same
measurements as posts
• Can view from 24 hours, up to 14 days
• Promotions – measures visits to profile, how many people viewed the
promotion, impressions, engagements,
demographics, and money spent
Top Locations – by city or country
• Age Range – in general or by sex
• Gender
• Followers
• Hours – Average times when your
followers are on Instagram for that
day
• Days- The days of the week your
audience is most active

Facebook Spring Cleaning
Live Performance for fans on Facebook Live

Create an event on your Facebook page for live events letting fans know when the
performance is kicking off. These do not need to be fancy, they can be from your
sofa in the living room.

Listening Party

Host a virtual party for your new album release. Answer fan questions while they
hear the
new music for the first time.

Housecleaning:
• Add a smart link to your release in your About section for easy access
• Pin post with album release information to top of profile
• Use a profile picture with people in it – fans are more likely to pay attention to
faces than
logos
• Include new/recent release info in a cover photo/video – it’s prime real estate!
• Add a concert app (Bandsintown or Songkick) to make sure fans can always find
tour dates without digging through old posts.

                      Image courtesy of the Orchard

Snapchat Spring Cleaning

Getting Started

   1.   Tap the ghost to customize
   2.   Create a username
   3.   Add an image to your snapcode
   4.   Customize settings
   5.   Set “View My Story” to “Everyone”
   6.    Set “Send Me Snaps” to Everyone” (all fans) if preferred
   7.   Turn on filters and make sure location services are enabled

Give fans clips of your behind the scenes
What are you doing when not on tour? Show fans some inside scoop on your life
at home and off the road. In the process of writing a song? Show clips of the
writing/ironing out process.

Create your own filter
Snapchat has an easy way to create quick, customizable filters. Play around with
these and share them with your fans. It’s an easy way to stay active on the
platform but stay true to your brand.

If you have an iPhone, navigate to the filter creation page by opening up your
Snapchat app, and clicking your profile at the top-left of the screen. Click
the Settings cog in the top-right corner, and head to Filter and Lenses > Filter.

TikTok Spring Cleaning
Getting started:

You can make an account using your email, your phone number, or a third-party
platform like Facebook. The app automatically assigns you a username. If you
sign up for TikTok with your phone number, the app will generate a generic
username such as user1234567. Using an email address generates a more
personalized ID (although that may present a privacy issue for users).

To change your username, tap the icon in the right bottom corner that looks like
a person’s upper body. Then hit Edit Profile. Here, you can change it to
something more unique, as well as add a bio, picture, and Profile Video.

Tips:

All videos should be shot (or edited) for vertical viewing - embrace the full-screen
experience.

Shoot with your phone! Don’t worry about massive productions.

Start with a strong opening shot and build towards a big finish - give users a reason
to stickaround.

The ideal runtime for a TikTok video is 10-17 seconds

Use hashtags!

Additionally, now is a good time to create profiles on platforms you’ve neglected.
Are you on Snapchat? TikTok? Have you looked at your Shazam insights through
Apple for Artists tool? Now is the time to discover these platforms you’ve
procrastinated on. I’ve included a checklist for below.

      Access to Spotify for Artists
      Updated images on Spotify
      Access to Apple Music for Artists
      Updated images on Apple
      Updated Facebook page details (press contacts, bios)
      Have you refreshed your Instagram bio
      Have you converted your Instagram to Business Account
      for access to Insights
      Claim your profile on Amazon Music for Artists
      Sign up for Pandora Amp
      Create an audio message on Pandora Amp for your next
      release
      Created a Snapchat Account
      Created a TikTok Account
      Create a weekly schedule of live events for fans to look
      forward to